give them Gospel

The Big Picture Story Bible

j.allen — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 05:59:13 +0000

The Big Story Is Clear

Devo time around our house is always in flux. We try a lot of different things and keep our kids guessing by putting new resources before them on a regular basis. We recently worked our way through The Big Picture Story Bible by David Helm and Gail Schoonmaker.

I’m a big fan of teaching our kids biblical theology. Teaching them the major themes of 1) Creation; 2) Fall; 3) Redemption; 4) Restoration helps them to see the connection between the stories that otherwise seem unrelated and disconnected. The Big Picture Story Bible carefully weaves the big picture of God’s redemptive work by highlighting stories that point to the four elements mentioned above.

Schoonmaker’s artwork is captivating and Helm does a great job of putting Jesus front and center. You realize early on there is a great need and it isn’t long before you’re longing for the solution to the problem we find ourselves in. We need a fix but will get a fixer. We want a king but will get a Forever King. Our three kids (10, 7, 4) each loved The Big Picture Story Bible for their own reasons. They were bummed each evening when we would get to the end of the short chapters. This is definitely something we’ll return to again and again as you can work through it in a few weeks by reading a chapter each night.

You can find The Big Picture Story Bible here.

Music Matters – Children, Meet Shai Linne

j.allen — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 21:23:03 +0000

God-Centered And Groovy

Music does something to us few things can – it changes us, it moves us, it shapes us. Music literally shapes the way we believe. This phenomenon is best showcased in the church and in cars of those who listen to “Christian” radio. I’m convinced the majority of what you believe about God is shaped by the music you listen to rather than the sermons you hear. I’ll defend that statement in a later article.

Maybe that’s the first time you’ve heard that. Maybe you’ve thought the steady diet of “Jesus music” you’ve been getting from your local radio station was beneficial for your walk with Christ. Chances are it isn’t. Most musicians are not theologians yet they play that role for their fans whether they mean to or not. They shape the way you think about God and you don’t even know it’s happening.

Recently, while listening to a new release by a rap artist named Shai Linne, I realized the depth of theology in his music. I was struck by the difference in his work compared to the majority of “Christian” music available today. The artistry is one thing, as far as production, his music can stand toe to toe with anything out there. However, it’s Linne’s ability to convey the truths of God through thoughtful (and accurate) lyrics that is so impressive. He is doing something with his music that other “Christian” “artists” simply aren’t.

Why am I reviewing a rap album on a site that is dedicated to equipping parents to disciple their children? Linne’s latest album, The Attributes of God, is an album you can use to teach your kids…well…the attributes of God. No, this is not a childrens album so you’ll have to discern whether it’s appropriate for your family. I can tell you it has been great for my kids (10, 7 and 4), causing them to think and generating questions. A word of caution, the song “The Jealous One”, paints an extremely graphic picture of a jealous husband who finds his wife in infidelity. The song is powerful and uses biblical nuance and imagery to describe the attribute of God’s jealousy.

What I really appreciate about artists like Shai Linne is the singular focus he has in creating music. He is creating music that is Christian because he has been redeemed by the gracious God and wants the world to know. His goal is to help the un-regenerate come face to face with Jesus the Christ.

Our kids don’t need another alternative to godless music or that which passes for Christian music, they need truth and can find it in Shai Linne’s The Attributes of God.

Advent – The Hope of His Return

j.allen — Sun, 20 Nov 2011 04:13:54 +0000

He Is Coming

The Village Church (Flower Mound, TX) has designed a magnificent Advent Guide for their people to use beginning November, 27th (the start of Advent). What is Advent? Let me allow Geoff Ashley of The Village Church to help you here:

“Christ is coming. He has come, and He will come again. This is the message of Advent.
Though Advent is often neglected in many contemporary churches, it has a long history of remembrance. It is a season of waiting, a time of anxious and eager anticipation for the coming (advent) of Christ to His bride.
Though it overlaps with modern Christmas celebrations, it is quite different. Whereas Christmas tends to be a season of noise and commotion, Advent is a time to slow down and reflect. It is a season to consider the first coming of Christ and patiently ponder His second.
This year, The Village will celebrate Advent together. Starting the last weekend in November, we will corporately begin to walk through the Old Testament anticipation of a Messiah, the incarnation of the Christ and the Church’s eager expectation of His soon return.
As part of the celebration of this tradition, we have produced a guide to walk you and your family through the season.
Our hope is that this guide and the weekly sermons will help drive you and your family more deeply into the meaning and message of Advent as we fix our eyes on Christ, glory in His incarnation and eagerly await His return.”

Find out more about The Village Church here and make sure to download your copy of the Advent Guide

Under Where?

j.allen — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 18:00:38 +0000

What's More Fun Than A Barrel Full Of Monkeys?

If you’ve promised yourself or some guy named Ramsey you wouldn’t buy another album for your kids (or yourself) until next year, break that promise. Slugs and Bugs’ third studio album, Under Where?, is now available for pre-order and it is 43.3 minutes of foot-stomping, side-splitting fun. Randall Goodgame is the thoughtful creator of Slugs and Bugs.
I first heard of Randall by way of his friend and colleague Andrew Peterson who makes many appearances on Goodgame’s albums. Randall is a smart and creative artist whose primary ministry is to children. I’m sure he could be on your local radio station that is “safe for the whole family” but he has decided to take the up-hill route that has no guarantees. Randall is creating great art for your family that is speaking into a void. The niche he has found himself in is showing kids how much fun worshipping our God should be.
In a world where kids are growing up too fast, listening to Gaga and Perry, I’m thankful for this refreshing alternative that lets kids be kids.
Slugs and Bugs consistently offers a mixture of sillyness, fun, worship and thought-provoking tunes with the Gospel at the heart of it all. The world God has created is explored from every angle in Goodgame’s lyrics. As you can see from the track listing below, Slugs and Bugs’ subjects are anything but routine:

1. God Makes Messy Things Beautiful
2. Lightning Bug
3. I’m Adopted
4. Food
5. Mexican Rhapsody
6. The Wagon Song
7. I Wanna Help
8. Dizzy
9. Ninja
10. Where You Gonna Go
11. Tell It To Jesus
12. Under Where?
13. Pajama Drama
14. There’s A Hole In My Sock
15. God Made You Special
16. Sweet Baby Boy
17. Sleepy Time

A survey of my three little ones (along with my wife) on their favorite songs yields the following unanimous results:
1. Mexican Rhapsody
2. I’m Adopted
3. I Wanna Help (this had to have been written for my youngest child)
While I will agree with my family, “Ninja” and the title cut have to be up there in the running as well.
You can secure your pre-order here. Buy this album, listen to it again and again, dance, act silly and make memories your kids will remember while worshipping God the entire time.

History Maker. Family Forsaker?

j.allen — Sat, 15 Oct 2011 06:12:04 +0000

Who's Your Daddy?

I remember where I was the minute I found out Jerry Garcia had passed away – pumping gas while working a summer job in Yellowstone. I’m sure I’ll remember 16 years from now where I was the minute I found out Steve Jobs had passed away – sitting on a deacon nomination council. Garcia changed music but Jobs changed the world.
I don’t remember hearing anything about Garcia’s family life after he died and probably wouldn’t have cared if I had. The reason? I didn’t yet have a family myself so Garcia’s family and his dealings with them was irrelevant to me. Jobs however, well, I have a family now so I was captivated by an article that surfaced last week. In it, we find that Jobs was neglectful in his parenting, at least it seems he thought so. He tells Walter Isaacson, the biographer who chronicled Jobs’ life, “I wanted my kids to know me”. Jobs goes on to explain, “I wasn’t always there for them, and I wanted them to know why and to understand what I did.”
We can’t determine what kind of father Steve Jobs was on these two statements alone. Perhaps it will come to bare in his biography that he was the worst father that has ever lived. Or, we might see instead that he was being overly critical of himself and was indeed a loving and caring father. Whatever the case, this article has caused me to reflect on the cost of changing the world.
Were it possible for me to change the world would it cost me my family? I’ve got a secret I need to confess. I really, really, want to change the world. I mean, I want to Steve Jobs change the world. What would it be like to be Steve Jobs? I realize however, there is a price attached to changing the world. We all have the same amount of time in a day and if we are going to use that time to change the world we have less to devote to our families. These days, I am consumed with changing my children, doing everything I can that they might be conformed to the image of Christ. Oh how I pray they are conformed to the image of Christ. These days, I am concerned that I’m the Ephesians 5 husband who loves my wife sacrificially as Christ loved the church.Oh how I pray I love my wife as Christ loved the church. I desperately want to change the world so maybe I’ll do it by being the father and husband I need to be.No, I won’t create a device on which people learn of my death. No, I won’t be a household name. But maybe, with God’s help, I will be the conduit for change in four lives that then have an opportunity to impact the Kingdom of our risen Savior.
It’s not our duty to judge Steve Jobs. I hope his children have fond memories of the man that changed the world. I hope my children have fond memories of the man that tried to change their lives.

God is Great But…

j.allen — Sun, 02 Oct 2011 03:43:26 +0000

So you’ve stood on the south rim of the Grand Canyon with your mouth agape and wondered how anybody could not believe in the existence of God. Or, you’ve witnessed the birth of your daughter and while holding her for the first time thought, “Oh Lord, my God, when I in awesome wonder…” And yet, after coming face to face with the magnificence of God you can’t seem to find the words to convey that magnificence to your child.
On the other hand, there are those of us who are flying through life at break-neck speed with our eyes fixed squarely on that new boat or whatever and have lost sight of the majesty of God…if we ever had it to begin with. So, how can we talk to our children about the amazing creator God if we’re too busy to appreciate him for who he is?
For both groups, a challenge lays before us. How do we talk to our kids about the grandeur of God? For those of us who need help in this area but don’t know where to turn, take a look at what N.D. Wilson has to say. Wilson’s book Notes From The Tilt-A-Whirl: Wide-Eyed Wonder in God’s Spoken World has been turned into a bookumentery and released on DVD. I think you’ll find Wilson to be inspiring and assuring while providing you with some thoughts on how to help your kids open their eyes to the world around them that God has created.
***This resource is not targeted to parents for the sake of parenting. The intended audience is general.

The Gospel, Racism and Your Child

j.allen — Sat, 01 Oct 2011 03:51:39 +0000

John Piper discusses the issue of racism in his new book Bloodlines: Race, Cross and the Christian.
How do you talk to your child about this issue? I, like Piper, was raised in an environment that did nothing to help my eyes when seeing the value of people whose skin was a different shade than mine.
It’s striking to think the Gospel cuts through to the heart of racism. Jesus’ work of atonement was for people of every nation. Furthermore, considering our adoption into the family of God and that many of our brothers and sisters in Christ look absolutely nothing like us is compelling. The Gospel is racial at its core. It deals with race and puts to death the issue of racism.
I commend this touching 18 minute video to you. Watch it and talk to your children about this issue. Help them to grow in their knowledge of the Gospel seeing that while God loves the skin he made, he is primarily concerned with the heart.

Bloodlines Documentary with John Piper from Crossway on Vimeo.

Getting To The Heart Of Parenting

j.allen — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 19:16:28 +0000

I can’t over emphasize the value of this study. Paul Tripp does an amazing job of pointing out the job of the parent while providing biblical support for how to do it. What I most respect about Tripp is his unfailing reliance upon the Gospel regardless of the topic he is teaching on whether it be marriage or kids. He is an academic who speaks to lay men and women, not at or over them. Tripp’s love for the Gospel finds it way into his deeply theological approach at parenting.
I think we all have seen enough circumstantial evidence to agree there are no guarantees when it comes to parenting. At best we are influences pointing our kids toward God. We can’t make them choose him. However, we can do a lot to make them not want anything at all to do with God.
There are scores of “Parenting Promises” out there, studies that are the equivalents of get rich quick schemes. Many of them are jokes and end up leaving the parent or grand parent feeling hopeless. What have I learned from those videos…never leave a theologian’s work to a hack. Parenting is theological. Raising children, little Imago Dei’s, is a work that is God-centered. You therefore need God’s word to have any hope of raising your child Christianly. Paul Tripp resources you through the lens of Scripture. Get this series and watch it again and again until you are affected. You will never be the same. You will never parent the same.

Scared to Death of Death

j.allen — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 03:43:06 +0000

There was a kid who was pretty easy going until his grandmother died when he was 9. That’s when his life changed. He began to worry about death and dying. He was convinced death was right around the corner just waiting to snatch him up. This fear of death so gripped him that he formed a stomach ulcer and was given a prescription for Tagamet (yes, back in the days before you could get it over the counter).
The Tagamet was not what ultimately healed him. It was a relationship with Jesus. As corny as it sounds the fear of dying that ran him down completely left him upon his yielding to the Savior who ran him down.
Fast forward more than 25 years and I’m watching my son wrestle with something akin to what I experienced at his age. The major difference is his fear does not center around dying but where he’ll be after death. Worse yet, he’s not concerned about spending eternity separated from his creator. He loves the Lord and is convinced he’ll be with the Lord. That’s what is so heartbreaking. My son is scared to death of a death that will result in his being made whole. Eternity, or maybe the prospect of a never-ending reality, is paralyzing to him.
How can this be? How can he be terrified of complete joy? Especially in light of the fact that Scripture commands us repeatedly to not be afraid.
Whatever the reason, he’s not alone. His mom shares in his affliction. Joanie is still fighting this same fear she has had since she was a child. She describes it as paralyzing and says it’s what she would imagine an anxiety attack to be like. Joanie and I have talked about her fear and now Miller’s at length only to come to no conclusion as to the origins of this malady.
One thing I’m convinced of is that sometimes the cause of our problems is not found under a microscope or in a medical dictionary. Sometimes, I think we must remember there are things going on around us which aren’t evident to the human eye. Ephesians 6:12 says, “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.”
The solution is to take up the Whole Armor of God.
How different would my life be if I actually did what the Bible said to do? Better yet, how different would Joanie and Miller’s lives be? Let’s find out. My job as the leader of my home is to not only provide for the physical needs of my family but also to shepherd my family in their spiritual needs. Sometimes the stakes are high and the option to ignore Scripture is not beneficent and often harmful if not fatal.
My plan is to reinforce Joanie and Miller’s understanding of Ephesians 6 as well as help them to formulate actions that can help them battle against the spiritual forces of evil.

Baptism: How old do they need to be?

j.allen — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 09:03:36 +0000

J.D. Greear discusses his constant search for assurance of his salvation. The key here is his comment on the need to rest on the work of Christ and not our decision.