Articles for Parents

Reading Our Children: Is There Somebody Alive in There?
"A child who is unregenerate, for instance, one who has attended church, memorizes verses of Scripture, participates in his Sunday class, and knows his Christian music, is just as spiritually dead as Saddam Hussein. In fact, he is as dead as a corpse."
When Ball Becomes Baal
"'Behold, I say unto you, you have made sports the household god.' Too strong? OK, not all of you. But the deification of sports is happening to many."
Comfort for Christian Parents of Unconverted Children
"All Christian parents wish that God would show us something to do that would secure our child's salvation, and then "we'll do it with all our might" because we love our child so much. Yet, God has not made salvation the effect of somebody else's faith; our son or daughter must come to Christ on his or her own. "
A Journey in Search of Comfort as a Christian Parent of Unconverted Children
"The fixed disposition of a true believer in Jesus Christ simply is not there. And so the search for comfort begins—the journey begins in earnest. "
What They Did Before TV
"It seems almost inconceivable to believe that there was life before television. As good as the medium is for some things, it is an instrument of death to conversation in most families."
Christmas: Bah Humbug or Gloria in Excelsis?
"Today Christmas is almost entirely secularized. It is a merchant's most profitable period as eager shoppers raid their shelves. Can we be any more comfortable with a secular Christmas than the religiously-loaded Christmas the Puritans detested?"
Guidelines for Children
Outline to use with children that details what is included in respectful and obedient behavior.
Seriousness In Children and Teens
"Please don’t make the criteria for judging the success of a church’s efforts at reaching children and teens the fun-value of the meetings. God did not command the church to provide entertainment for your kids."
The Heart of Family Reformation
"Lewis Bayly said, "What the preacher is in the pulpit, the same the Christian householder is in his house." Family worship is the natural outcome of such a view."
Childhood Conversion - "Leaders and parents must consider the benefits of returning to a better method of dealing with the souls of our children. To give assurance on the basis of praying a prayer or some other outward, immediate sign is sealing many in deception and makes them harder to reach in their adult years."
A Really Funny Gospel for Kids - "My friend touted the act as "soooooo funny." It was. I mean that he was so funny that I could not help but laugh. What should we think about this approach?"

More articles from www.BulletinInsert.org

Fathering "by the Book" - "I'm sure (or at least I hope) Mr. Cosby was only kidding. Perhaps he meant to say that whatever you do as a father will either be right or wrong. If that is what he meant, I agree. But if he meant to say that the best you can do as a father facing difficult child-raising issues is to flip a coin (so to speak), he could not be more wrong."
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The Hardest Change So Far - "Tonight I will kneel beside the bed where he lay just two nights ago. I will stretch out my hands and feel the spot he always occupied with his cat sharing the foot of his cover. And I will grieve before God over my failures, over my harshness in my attempts to correct him and direct him."
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The Family, in Perspective - "One of the fascinating things about the New Testament's teaching on family life is that so little is actually said."
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The Word Fathers Long To Hear - "...I expect—and even hope for—the pleasure of one word thus far denied me despite my desires and prayers to hear it."
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Motives for a Holy and Careful Education of Children - "Richard Baxter recognized the fact that conversion is God's work, not man's. He also recognized that children sometimes reject even the best biblical instruction and training. My hope in providing this piece is that Baxter's words will prompt those who have remaining opportunity with their children to use the time wisely, and to encourage others to do the same."
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Children, Obey Your Parents - "Children have become experts these days at stretching and re-interpreting the words of Ephesians 6:1. The result has been to redefine various forms of rebellion as obedience. Even worse, parents have all too often allowed it to happen."
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What They Did Before TV - "It seems almost inconceivable to believe that there was life before television. As good as the medium is for some things, it is an instrument of death to conversation in most families. Add computers, a personal CD player, and speed-eating and we've successfully killed off the last remnants of conversation in most families. Frankly, most families have no meaningful conversation at all. Days and weeks pass, if not months and years, without the skimpiest morsel of a good conversation. When I think about this, I almost weep for the magnitude of the loss."
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When Ball Becomes Baal - "It's rare to see kids playing sports in the neighborhood anymore. We're now organized and 'professionalized'—including uniforms, state-of-the-art facilities, endless trips to the field, competitive coaches, equally competitive parents, and the after-season tournaments designed to give parents 'bleacher bottom.'" Read this article online - Download (USA) - A4 download
A Father's Spiritual Advice "You are now a year old, and words can't describe the joy you have brought us. Your birth was an answer to years of prayer, and we know that you will grow to be God's man. Toward that end, let me summarize some of the most important lessons I've learned about living."
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