Christ-Centered Home

We hope you have been as challenged and blessed by our current sermon series, Bless This Home, as we have been. We all want God to bless our home. And we can have a blessed home when we determine to be – not just a “Christian family” – but a Christ-centered home. Two weeks ago Frank challenged us with three building blocks for developing a Christ-centered home. We wanted to follow up and give you some specific ideas for taking the next step.

 Step One: Involve God in your daily conversation.

• Mealtime is talk-time!
• Ask about what the kids are learning in church, or what songs they’re singing.
• Share what you’re learning in your daily quiet time.  This is a great way to grow as a family as you learn what’s in the Bible.  Sure, it’s a big book and our God is even bigger!

Step Two: Make church non-negotiable.

• Church is not an option; it’s as important to your spiritual health as brushing your teeth is to your dental health.  Imagine what happens if taking a bath is negotiable…no one would benefit from that!
• We prepare on Saturday night. Our clothing is all laid out ahead of time. Our Bibles are ready to go. We make sure we know where our keys are. We try to avoid anything that might slow us down, make us late, or distract us on Sunday morning.

Step Three: Show how Seeking, Studying and Serving God is fun.

• Seeking God can start with a colorful Bible for kids!  A family trip to the nearest Christian bookstore will provide you with many options for toddlers through teens.
• Fall is a great time to get outdoors and study the beauty of God’s creation!  Go on your own color tour and look closely at what you find.
• Surprise a neighbor with homemade cookies or rake their leaves.  These are just a few ways to show your kids how to love others as God loves them. 

If you haven't already, check out the video above to learn more great ways to make yours a Christ-centered home.  What are you doing that’s making your family a more Christ centered home?  Share them on our Kid’s City Facebook page!

Football and Worship

Every week at South, the worship team comes out to begin the worship gathering. The beginning of the first song signals to everyone in the lobby that it is time to come in for worship. In the time of one worship song, the droves of people join the handful in the handful of people already in the room. Normally everyone is quick to engage. This week was slightly different.

As the first song came to an end, about twenty people clapped. In a room with over two hundred people in it, twenty people clapping sounds like you would expect it to sound….dismal. And, for the record, let me state that people clapping after a song has nothing to do with us on the stage getting accolades. We aren’t there for that. We are not rock stars. We are there worshiping along side those gathered with us. Our focus is revering God with our singing and music. I felt the need, as the worship minister, to stop the worship train and challenge our people. See, the MSU football game was the night before. It started at 8:00pm and went way late. I know this because I was up watching the almost self destruction of the green and white in the 4th quarter. I was there, frustrated, yelling, cheering, and so on just like everyone else. Understandably, everyone was tired and reserved the next morning.

Which leads us back to worship. We finished the first song where we were just singing about how God’s creation shares in our worship of the Creator. Our response was extremely lack luster, “Yeah God, for being the creator of everything….where’s the coffee…who is clapping…stop clapping!”

My challenge to our people was that we must have perspective on life. Staying up late and yelling/cheering at a football game pales in comparison to us joining together to worship God, the creator of everything. He who gives us breath to breathe should receive much greater accolades than a football game or team.

Now, understand. I’m not innocent in the matter. I don’t know that I clearly communicated that last week when I paused our singing (and I will probably address it again this week). We will get emotional and fired up for just about anything like a hockey game, a new apple product, the beginning of the new fall TV schedule, America, a new app, hunting, eating, exercise, or even our Facebook feed. This list is endless. It doesn’t even have any bad stuff on there like porn, gambling, drinking, money, power or whatever else we crave. Our attentions are continually distracted from the one who created life and gave redemption.

Our struggle runs really deep in our souls. How many of us have made time in our schedules to make sure we can watch the game each week, yet struggle to find anytime to read God’s word or pray? What’s the first thing you check on your phone each morning? Twitter? Email? The scores of last night’s game? Would we be embarrassed if we tracked how much time we spent on Facebook or playing video games and compared it to the time each week that we mentally engaged in our spiritual lives? We are a mess and in continual need of our Savior.

Like I said above, I am not innocent in this matter, not in the least. The question for us is this: How do we change so that our Creator has the top spot in our attention all the time?

Maybe you need to schedule God time each day. Maybe you need to delete some apps off your phone. Maybe you need to quit doing some things. Maybe you need to read Job 38-42 or Psalm 104. Then go spend some time out in nature, taking in God’s creation, seeing the beauty in it. Stand in awe of it, in awe of the Creator, the giver of life, the only one who can rescue us from ourselves.

Lord, help us to lay aside our idols so we can truly be your children.

Family Worship Experience: Spudtacular!

Kid's City is in the business of "Building Kid Size Disciples".  Pretty simple, right?  Basically, we teach on Sunday mornings and host events-opportunities for kids to grow in their faith.  That's what we do, and by we, I mean the Children's Ministry at SLCC.  We recognize that the job of parents is discipleship.  Seems to us that a Church and Parents partnership would be the most productive way to "Build Kid Size Disciples."  That's why we host Family Worship Experiences.  It's a chance for parents and kids to worship, hear a Biblical message and engage in creative activities together!  

Last Sunday night, parents sat with their kids and illustrated family portraits.  The rule was that everyone had to doodle, color or scribble!  After sharing the pictures, we talked about how each person in their family has different privileges, jobs and roles, but they are all important, and the other members of the family need them.  My family is not complete without my son, or my wife, or me.  We all contribute to the family.  Though there are several people, it's just one family.  

Paul, who wrote most of the New Testament, spoke about how though there are many people who follow Jesus, they form one body-the body of Christ.  In the first letter to the church in Corinth, we read that tensions arose among the members of this church.  Different members had different gifts, different functions, which some saw as divisive issue.  Paul's perspective was that this diversity among the members pointed to greater unity and appreciation. 

"Now the body is not made up of one part but of many.  If the foot should say, 'Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,' it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body.  And if the ear should say, 'Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,' it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body.  If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be?  If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be?  
But in fact, God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be.  If they were all one part, where would the body be?  As it is, there are many parts, but one body."   -1 Corinthians 12:14-20  (NIV) 

Talk about terrific tater-most other potatoes only have eyes.  Lots of 'em.  

Take Mr. Potato Head here.  Though there's just one of him, he's got 13 parts.  Imagine the poor guy covered with ears.  He'd be a wreck.  Or just feet?  Even worse.  Or without the big brown base?  He'd have no-body! (Ha?)  Rather, he needs several different parts with different functions in order to be a productive member of potato society.  

Though 1 Corinthians 12 specifically addresses unity based on people's spiritual gifts, I think there's something here for families too.  God placed each of us in a family intentionally.  Within that family, the members have different purposes.  My 2 year old son doesn't get up in the morning, drink coffee and drive to work.  (He does like the idea of driving my car though.)  Certainly my wife and I don't get to take 3 hour naps after lunch.  (Wouldn't that be nice?)  As dad, God has given me a specific role in my family and a different role to my wife and far different roles to our children. 
Though we are many, and different, we are one family, united in Christ.