Onward Session 5: Family Stability

Our Soul Care Groups are going through the Onward series this fall. Different groups are on different schedules but over the last four Thursdays there have been topical posts at www.emmanuelbaptist.com/tag/onward
This post is taken from the Onward resource page.
There’s no such thing as the good old days. That reality is difficult for us to stomach because we tend to look at the past through rose-colored glasses. The bad times we experienced, from hindsight, weren’t all that bad, and the good times were exponentially better when viewed in the rearview mirror. This is as true of our picture of the family as other areas of life.
We might look to significant points in history, such as the sexual revolution of the 1960s, the introduction of abortion, or the relative ease of obtaining a divorce, as pivotal moments when the family came under attack. The truth, though, is that the crisis in the family isn’t downstream from Woodstock or the pill. Instead, it’s downstream from the wreckage of the fall in Eden. The family is and has been under assault in every generation of human history though sometimes in less visible and more subtle ways.
We must understand that the family isn’t an end in itself. Issues of family stability are important, both inside the church and in the culture of the rest of the world. But we become derailed when we begin to treat temporal issues as eternal. When we’re armed with an understanding of the kingdom, however, we can rightly confront these issues not only for the sake of the family but also for the greater purposes of the kingdom.
It’s only through Jesus that we can rightly interpret the rest of the created order. That leads us to one of the core truths of the kingdom: God is creating everything around Jesus Christ as part of an inheritance for Him, including marriage, family, sexuality, gender, and everything else in creation.
Apart from this foundational starting point, no matter what our outward commitment to a particular issue might appear to be, we’ll be the kind of people Paul described in Romans 1:18-32 when he noted that those who refuse to give thanks as creatures ultimately turn to the creation itself with their worship. We mustn’t do that. We must see family stability in light of the centrality of Jesus Christ. Otherwise, we become family idolaters in spite of our efforts to become family advocates.
Remember that our earthly constructs are meant to point to spiritual realities. The best example of God that children could have is their own father. This is a sobering thought for us in our families. It should take our breath away to think that our relationships are meant to model and point to heavenly realities and that both our marriages and our parenting point onlookers to the nature and characteristics of the kingdom. Let’s not, then, take a merely pragmatic approach to family stability. Let’s instead embrace the much weightier purpose God has in mind for us and understand that our families are meant to reflect relationships in His kingdom.
From Russell Moore's Onward

Managing Your Emotions from Mom's Matters

Spoke at Emmanuel's Mom's Matter meeting this morning.

Here are some resources connected with this mornings Mom's Matter meeting.

Our theme was Managing Your Emotions

Main points.
1.  God created us in his image with emotions.
2.  Emotions are not bad.  Sin is bad.
3.  Our hope needs to be in Jesus.



You don't need more parenting advice
http://www.desiringgod.org/articles/you-don-t-need-more-parenting-advice
For more about these fourteen principles click HERE

Your emotions are a gauge not a guide
http://www.desiringgod.org/articles/your-emotions-are-a-gauge-not-a-guide

Talking about Inside Out
https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/talking-about-inside-out
Some great ideas on how to use the movie Inside Out to talk about emotions.
1.  Help them recognize different emotions.
2.  Help them recognize what their emotions indicate they're wanting.
3.  Help them trust God with their desires.

How to handle fear
http://www.russellmoore.com/2016/08/26/signposts-draft-aug-26-free-fear/

How to handle shame
http://www.russellmoore.com/2016/09/30/signposts-christians-handle-shame/

How to prepare your children for suffering
http://www.desiringgod.org/interviews/how-do-we-prepare-our-children-for-suffering



Just for Fun.  

Snicker's Video



Here are all of the candy bar questions.

1. Witherspoon's nut-paste mugs (Reese's Peant Butter Cups)  Reese Witherspoon
2. Belonging to a controversial rap artist (M&Ms) Eminem's
3. Sweet polka partners (Dots)
4. Misfiring moo juice or moo juice bombs (Milk Duds)
5. Nickname of someone who's always dropping things (Butterfinger)
6. Best time to go shopping or when wages are disbursed (Pay Day)
7. What the silly rabbit with a lisp doesn't know is for kids (Twix)
8. Single women look for him (Mr. Goodbar)
9. Nut happiness (Almond Joy)
10. Pint-sized storehouses of large sums of cash (Junior Mints)
11. Half suppressed laughter (Snickers)
12. 10 X 10 G's or one tenth of a million (100 Grand)
13. One million dollars (1000 Grand)
14. Indian burial grounds (Mounds)
15. Citrus craniums (Lemon Heads)
16. Popular English pub game or nine pins (Skittles)
17. Steve Urkel, Screech, and Ugly Betty (Nerds)
18. paddle close to the ground (Rolo) Row low
19. Explosive Gravel (Pop Rocks)
20. Mechanical pocket candy you stick your neck out for (Pez)

I love the Old, Old Story!!

I have the privilege of teaching EBC's Senior Saints this fall.
We are doing an overview of the Old Testament.
It has been exciting and challenging studying and preparing for the classes.
I told someone I never thought I would be excited to teach the book of Numbers.
I was this morning.

Here are the first five lessons from this study.
I will be adding the other information this week.

Introduction
PDF of lesson Powerpoint
PDF of class notes

Genesis
PDF of lesson Powerpoint
PDF of class notes

Exodus
PDF of lesson Powerpoint
PDF of class notes

Leviticus
PDF of lesson Powerpoint

Numbers
PDF of lesson Powerpoint

Deuteronomy

PDF of lesson Powerpoint
PDF of class notes

Joshua

PDF of lesson Powerpoint
PDF of class notes

Judges
PDF of class notes

Ruth
PDF of class notes