Superhero Households - September 23, 2009

Superhero Households

We don't need the Government's help in establishing Superhero households! A household is a family group including extended family, friends, close neighbors, close friends through work or providing services. A biblical Christian household lives out the message, power and glory of God to their neighborhood, community and the world.

How can you turn an ordinary household into a Superhero Household? We wish we had a Superheroes school like Sky High to send our kids to get trained. Actually God has designed the perfect place for children to learn to live by His power and grace: the Christian household. It takes a two pronged approach. The first is to establish a Family (Discipleship) Time:

• Commit to it (Know why it is important and make it a high priority, you will be tested and tempted)


• Set day, time, plan and frequency (i.e. - every Tuesday night, after breakfast each morning)


• Make age appropriate


• Patience till it is established (takes 3 to 6 weeks)

What do you include? The main thing is to keep it simple yet meaningful. Here are some elements:

• Bible Reading


• Bible Memorization


• Bible Media (Movies, songs, pictures, children's Bible story books)


• Recount Blessings (Keep list of how God has worked in your family's life)


• Life Training (biblical wisdom of how to live life God's way)


• Singing


• Games


• Serving together (neighborhood project, a neighbor, mission project, etc.)


• Praying together


• Prayer Walking (around your neighborhood, your school, where your mission project is located)

The second way is to not only have a scheduled activity, but also to practice God's presence 24/7/365. Weaving your faith into your everyday conversations and activities is vital to teaching your child that God is not just a part of your life, but is the very source of life. "Write these commandments that I've given you today on your hearts. Get them inside of you and then get them inside your children. Talk about them wherever you are, sitting at home or walking in the street; talk about them from the time you get up in the morning to when you fall into bed at night. Tie them on your hands and foreheads as a reminder; inscribe them on the doorposts of your homes and on your city gates." Deut. 6:6-9 The Message

Superhero Households

Households - A family group including extended family, friends, close neighbors, close friends through work or providing services

Biblical Households - Households that live out the message, power and glory of God to their neighborhood, community and the world.

• Old Testament:
  Genesis - Adam & Eve: 1st Houshold
  Abraham - through him God would bless families Gen. 12:1-3, to be careful to teach his household
  Israel was always organized by households
  Spiritual training was through households Deut. 6
  Fall and rise of Israel was always tied to the success of one generation passing on to the next a vibrant spiritual life

New Testament
Oikos - the Greek word for household, included all "under the roof."

• Acts 10:2 "He (Cornelius) and all his family were devout and God-fearing; he gave generously to those in need and prayed to God regularly."
  Acts 10:24 (Peter at Cornelius' House) "The next day Peter started out with them, and some of the brothers from Joppa went along. The following day he arrived in Caesarea. Cornelius was expecting them and had called together his relatives and close friends."
  Acts 16:15 "When she and the members of her household were baptized, she invited us to her home. "If you consider me a believer in the Lord," she said, "come and stay at my house." And she persuaded us."
  Acts 16:31 "They replied, "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household."
  Acts 18:8 "Crispus, the synagogue ruler, and his entire household believed in the Lord; and many of the Corinthians who heard him believed and were baptized."
  1 Corinthians 1:16 "Yes, I also baptized the household of Stephanas; beyond that, I don't remember if I baptized anyone else."

Jesus our SuperHero’s plan = be one as He and the Father are one - believers and families.

Archvillan Satan's plan = divide us from our Creator & divide families

My Prayer for my Family:

"I ask You, Father, to....Protect and guard my family from the evil one.Make them holy with truth.I consecrate myself for their sakes.Make them one heart and mind.I want them to be with Jesus.I ask all of this because I want Your Name not to be maligned by my unbelieving in-laws and neighbors. For Your honor give us victory in our Christian life.The community is watching, God, to see if we who are called by Your name will receive Your presence and power. For the testimony of Your name in this community, have mercy upon us, and use us to do a great work that is a witness to Your sovereignty."

Next Week: How can you turn an ordinary household into a Superhero Household?

Who Are the Super Heroes?

Do you remember the Super Heroes? Superman, Batman and Spiderman are our fictional comic book characters that came to save the day. What is a Superhero? According to wikipedia:
Super HeroA superhero (sometimes rendered super-hero or super hero) is "a fictional character of unprecedented powers dedicated to acts of derring-do in the public interest". Since the debut of the prototypical superhero Superman in 1938, stories of superheroes—ranging from brief episodic adventures to continuing years-long sagas—have dominated American comic books and crossed over into other media. The word itself dates to at least 1917.

What makes a Superhero? The ability to do the supernatural.



Why do we long for a Superhero? To come and change things, to make things right, to give power to the powerless, to revert an injustice nad to do for us what we cannot do for ourselves.
Are there any real Superheroes? No, not in the fictional comic book sense. But we have Someone far better: the Supreme Being of all the Universe. In fact He created all the complexities and harmonies of the universe out of nothing. Every particle of that universe is held together by Him. He is so powerful that when He speaks supernatural, incredible things happen. He supercedes the very nature He made: time is altered, the sick are healed, the hopeless are provided for, supernatural plagues, seas parted, enemies are defeated without effort, future foretold with mindboggling prophecies that came true, the blind see, the deaf hear, the deranged are made whole and the dead rise.



And in His greatest expression of power, He sent His Son born of a virgin, who lived a sinless life, bore all sin of mankind, died willingly on a cross and then three days later was raised from the dead. Colossians 1:15-20 "He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross."



Can a man be a Superhero? God is all powerful, all knowing, ever present and not limited by time. He has no peer and is beyond our comprehension. Yet, this Super Being has chosen to work through those whose hearts are fixed on bringing Him glory: 2 Chronicles 16:9"For the eyes of the LORD range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him." Recognize who we are not, in and of ourselves, powerful. He is God, we are not. We are very limited in what we can do in the context we find ourselves. At times we feel like we are in control, but soon find it an illusion.

To be a Christian is to believe in God through the work of His Son as revealed to us by the Holy Spirit. To be a Christian is to believe in the supernatural, because we believe in the One who supercedes nature. The Bible is full of persons that God worked through to acheive His purposes in supernatural ways:

• Enoch never tasted death, but was taken directly to Heaven
• Noah and his family was saved from the worldwide flood
• Abraham was given a son and the beginnings of a nation in his very old age
• Moses led the children Israel out of bondage in Egypt after it witnessed God's supernatural plagues
• The Children of Israel walked across the dry ground as God parted the Red Sea in front of them
• God did miraculous things through Joshua, Gideon, Samuel, David, Daniel and Esther to name a few (Hebrews 11 gives a great list).

Ultimate Expression of a Superhero is Jesus Christ! Jesus' ministry was supernatural. Luke 4:17-19 "The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written: "The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor." Since Jesus was fully God and fully man, He showed the incredible power to hold in check his power to allow His eternal purpose of salvation for all mankind to happen. Philippians 2: 5-11 "Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death—even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."



And the the supernatural ministry of Jesus did not end when He ascended to Heaven, in fact it increased as the Holy Spirit enpowered believers to continue His mission. John 14:12 "I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father." Acts 1:8 "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."



In 2004 a new kind of superhero movie was released. It was an instant hit and remains a classic. The Incredibles were the first Superheroes which highly valued family as a team. They discovered that being united in purpose was the most powerful way to live. But this is nothing new. God from page one of the Bible has used his first institution, the family, to carry out His purpose. Examples of Super Households of the Bible:

• Abraham: Genesis 18:19 "For I have chosen him, so that he will direct his children and his household after him to keep the way of the LORD by doing what is right and just, so that the LORD will bring about for Abraham what he has promised him."
• Joshua: Joshua 24:15 "But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD."
• The early church grew exponentionally in supernatural ways from household to household. We see the three households of Acts 16: Timothy (2 Tim. 1:5), Lydia and the Jailer. Their households were forever changed and became lighthouses to those around them.
  

Family FX definition of Superheroes: A household who radiates the power and glory of God.
Here are some of the ways God has worked supernaturally through our family:

• During my childhood and teenage years my guardian angel worked overtime. It is a testament to the power of God I'm still here.
• 1969: I accept Jesus as my Lord and Savior
• 1979: Through God saving me in a car wreck, I surrender to the ministry
• 1980: God heals a young boy of Reyes Syndrome that we prayed for
• 1984: Jana miraculously marries me
• 1988: First of many God moments on mission trip when He immediately answered prayer for the rain to stop
• 1993: Samuel is miraculously born unharmed because notice something a little off in his heartbeat and the contractions
• 1997: Lindsey is born with no complications
• 1998: While on a family bike ride, God saves us from a pack of pit bull dogs1999: God answers Samuel's prayer for a camper that we could afford
• 2003: God provides a car we could pay cash for the day after our old car dies
• 2008: God orchestrating my call to Celebration
• 2008: Finding the right home at the right price just a mile and half from the church2009: 41 answers to our prayers concerning Jana's cancer
  

What supernatural stories do you have? God wants to express His Power through your household:

• Power to see salvation come
• Power to see marriages healed
• Power to see hearts changed
• Power to see healing and wholeness
• Power to see addiction broken
• Power to see the purposes of God carried out through the household
• Power to see spiritual leadership established in the home
  

Every Superhero has an arch enemy. In real life we have a real enemy. 1 Peter 5:8 "Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour." It is the reason Paul talks about a godly marriage (Ephesians 5:22-33), then parents and children in the next verses (6:1-4) and other household members (6:5-9) before proceeding to explaining spiritual warfare (Eph. 6:10-20) The enemy has plans for your family. Do you?

We must commit as households to radiate the power and glory of God in a dark world that is in desperate need of a Hero, the one and only true Superhero, Jesus!

From My Family to Yours,
Doug Bedgood

"Home Improvements" - May 6, 2009

Family FX for May is going to be focused on planning and implementing home improvement projects for the summer of 2009. We are asking families to commit over the next few months to build well these four specific pillars in our homes:

1. Family Devotions


2. Family Prayer


3. Family on Mission


4. Church Family

"For I have chosen him, so that he will direct his children and his household after him to keep the way of the LORD by doing what is right and just, so that the LORD will bring about for Abraham what he has promised him." Genesis 18:19

"Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it." Proverbs 22:6

"These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates." Deuteronomy 6:6-9

"But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD." Joshua 24:15

"He decreed statutes for Jacob and established the law in Israel, which he commanded our forefathers to teach their children, so the next generation would know them, even the children yet to be born, and they in turn would tell their children. Then they would put their trust in God and would not forget his deeds but would keep his commands. They would not be like their forefathers—a stubborn and rebellious generation, whose hearts were not loyal to God, whose spirits were not faithful to him." Psalms 78:5-8

"Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. "Honor your father and mother"—which is the first commandment with a promise— "that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth." Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord." Ephesians 6:1-4

" Being an On Mission Family" - April 29, 2009

Our Mission Trip as a Family to Mexico in 2007


Personalize Acts 1:8 for your family:

“But you (Your family’s name):__________________________
will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you (Your family’s name):__________________________
will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—
1. in Jerusalem (neighborhood):__________________________,
2. throughout Judea (Community, Tallahassee):__________________,
3. in Samaria (i.e.—Gadsden County, Miccosukee):_______________,
4. and to the ends of the earth ( i.e.—Indonesia, North Africa): __________________________________________________.”

Becoming an On Mission Family

STEP 1 Family Readiness Questions

1. What does it mean to be lost? What are the short and long term consequences of being lost?
2. What difference does prayer make in people’s lives? What are four specific requests we should pray for the lost?
3. According to John 14:15, what is the role of the Holy Spirit?
4. What are the commitments a Christian must make for relational evangelism?
5. Name three methods for sharing the gospel. Which ones would you be most comfortable using?

STEP 2 Family Applications

1. Develop a prayer journal for the lost. Be specific by including names of individuals, their specific needs, and for specific requests for overcoming their “lostness” (e.g. for their eyes to be opened). Monitor your journal regularly and praise God as the people accept Jesus as their Savior and Lord.
2. Write HOLY SPIRIT on the left side of a piece of paper. For each letter, fill in what the Holy Spirit does in people’s lives (e.g., hears our prayers, opens our eyes, etc.). Once complete, make these phrases prayers to God, thanking Him for sending us the Holy Spirit.
3. For each family member, look for ways to make sharing the gospel intentional in two current relationships.
4. Obtain three or four witnessing tracts. As a family, evaluate them and determine which ones your family would like to use. Brainstorm ways to distribute and use them (e.g., leave them with a tip at a restaurant).
5. Make preparing your testimony a family game. Using index cards and markers, write the following headings on the cards: “My life before Christ,” “How I realized my need for Christ,” “How I accepted Christ,” and “My life since Christ.” Each family member should have a set of four cards. Spend some time talking about each card, writing in appropriate details for that card . Next, mix up the cards and challenge the family to place them in the proper order. For a greater challenge, place the cards in an envelope and then switch cards. Family members are then arranging someone else’s testimony. Once they are in proper sequence, each family member should read the testimony.

STEP 3 Family Building Activities

1. Go on a journey to see the lost-shelters, crisis pregnancy centers, the inner city, a mall, an airport, the movies, and a city or state park. After the experience, answer these questions:
* What are some signs of “lostness” you saw (e.g., empty, searching eyes)?
* What were people doing to fill the void in their lives (e.g., shopping)?
* How could your family meet the physical and spiritual needs of the lost people you encountered?
2. Have testimony night over a bowl of popcorn or a pizza. Each family member prepares and delivers his or her testimony. Family members then help one another refine the testimonies to have the greatest impact. Be prepared for questions and concerns, as some family member might not have a testimony. In other words, they might realize during this activity that they have not accepted Jesus as Savior and Lord.

.

Links to videos about On Mission Family opportunities:

.

http://www.namb.net/site/c.9qKILUOzEpH/b.1342843/k.F363/Families_on_Mission.htm

.

http://going.imb.org/volunteers/Step_1/family.asp

Difference Makers Not Place Takers, April 22, 2009

Notes:

We saw a funny video by a Dad about daily life as a family: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Zw8VTlxk9E

My little poem:
Get all you can
Can all you get
Sit on the can
Enjoy all you can
Before you kick the can

We eat to live to work to eat to live to work to eat to live to work…then we die!

As Christians believers and families we reject the endless circle of life mindset and know we are place uniquely in the world for a unique purpose.

We looked in Matthew 5:13-16
13"You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men.
14"You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. 15Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.”

We discovered that God has placed you where you are for a purpose. To be pro-active in the world you live in every day. As a light that is not hidden you have to:
1. Look and Listen to what is going on around you. Really hear what people are saying, see what is happening and recognize the needs. Discover people’s stories and help them see God’s story. Then show them how theirs can be a part of God’s.
2. Unconditionally love people and get over your pet peeves.
3. Be a voice of positive encouragement in people’s lives in contrast to the negativity.
4. Move from “got to” to “get to” help others.

Our families and homes are the “lighthouses” that God uses to dispel the darkness.

Areas of Influence
One thing we all have as individuals and as families is influence in the lives of others. Tonight we listed all we could think of at the moment from the neighborhood, school, office, relatives, people in the community, sports, online social networking, etc. When we tabulated all of those present we had over 650 unique points of influence in the community.

We are aiming at having our Family Mission Statement in rough draft form this week and in final draft next week.

Family Mission Trip Gone Local – Ideas for your family:
Families can help with the variety of needs in helping honor Single Moms. A special Mother’s Day lunch for Single Moms is planned for the Saturday before Mother’s Day.
This Summer, as a church we will have a Mission Project Venture to the Miccosukee community. It will involve a multi-faceted outreach, using many different skills and abilities to come along side this community to show them God’s love. We are going to need a vast team of church and community members to make this community makeover happen. Two events that families can join in on is the Mission Adventure Week- June 22-25 - and the Sports Camp—July 20-24.
Families can help this summer with World Changers. World Changers is a great program to involve students from across the country in mission projects. Families are needed to work together to commit to feeding lunch to the students.
Families can cook dinner for the Haven of Rest (and relieve the people that do it all the time) or another organization.
It may be a good Family time project to make a “Friendship Bag” and keep in your car when you see those in need:
a pop-top can of fruit, or fruit cocktail
a pop-top can of vienna sausage
a small can of juice or bottle of water
a package of cheese and crackers,
or peanut butter and crackers
plastic fork, spoon
a moist towelette
napkins
one all-day bus pass
a card with a list of community contact phone numbers (crisis clinic, food bank, Salvation Army, etc.)
a small tract and note from the church inviting them to stop by or call
small toothpaste, shampoo, soap
Toothbrush

Families can do repairs to the buildings of a helping organization like the Women’s Pregnancy Center.
Families can feed the homeless Saturday mornings at 7:30 a.m. with the “Frenchtown Breakfast in the Park” organization.
Families can visit the elderly in nursing homes/villas. Simply talk and/or play games with them.
Families can collect food and household goods and take them to the Florida Baptist Children’s Home.
Families can adopt a widow in the neighborhood or in our church to encourage and help. Call the church office or a current list.
Families can prayerwalk their neighborhood on a weekly basis.
Families can hold a neighborhood block party to allow the neighbors to get to know one another.
Families can go on their own mission trip in the U.S. or abroad.
Families can pull their grill out in the front yard or driveway and organize with the neighbors a cookout and games.
Families can start a home group study for the neighborhood that is geared for all ages to participate in.
Families can make and place small gifts on door hangers on their neighbor’s door that celebrate important holidays from a godly perspective.
Families can conduct a Backyard Bible Club in their neighborhood during the summer.
Families can keep an eye out for newcomers and help them get settled into the community.

Notice about the Family Camping Trip—That was scheduled for April 24-25 has to be rescheduled due to water and erosion damage at the Pole Barn. We will let you know as soon as a new date is set.

Family 2 Family - April 15

Family2Family
April 15

April 8 — 7 Realities of a Family Experiencing God
April 15 — 4 Steps to developing a Family Mission Statement
April 22 — Concentric Circles of Concern
April 29 — Choosing your Missions

4 Steps to developing a family mission statement:

Step 1: Take a family inventory. Ask:
¨ In what activities are we presently engaged as a family?
¨ What motivates us?
¨ How would others describe our family?
¨ How secure are we in each other’s love?
¨ What things are we afraid of?
¨ What is missing or lacking in our relationships?
¨ What is the spiritual environment of our family?
¨ What are our priorities?

Step 2: Consider your goals. Ask:
¨ What does our family stand for?
¨ What values do we live by?
¨ How will needs be addresses and problems solved?
¨ What activities will be important to our family?
¨ What is the desired outcome for our family?
¨ Is there a Scripture verse(s) or passage(s) that summarizes our intent?

Step 3: Conceptualize the statement.
¨ As a family, we will stand for ______, living by the values of _______.
¨ Needs, conflicts, and issues will be addressed by ______.
¨ This is based on these Scripture verse/passage _________.

Step 4: Fine-tune and personalize the statement.
Write the phrase again, this time in your own words. Each member of the family should answer, “Is there something crucially important to our family that is not included in this statement?” If so, refine it. Rework it until you develop a form and substance that will be appealing and meaningful.


Examples of Mission Statements
“Our family will share the love, grace, and mercy of Jesus Christ with each other, our neighbors, and our community as we go through life.”
“Our family lives to be the hands and feet of Jesus Christ, sharing His mercy and offering His salvation to all who will give us the opportunity.”
“This family will show love to each other through the traits of tenderness, mercy, grace, forgiveness, and gentleness. Our words will be uplifting, our tone encouraging. We will think of each other before ourselves. These characteristics will be carried outside our home as we share the love of Jesus Christ and those around us.”
“The mission of our family is to share the way of salvation through Jesus Christ with a lost and hurting world. We will do this by modeling a Christlike life first in our home, living the attitude and actions of Jesus before each other. Next, we will seek to build relationships with extended family, neighbors, and others we encounter daily. In these relationships we will model the love of Christ with the hope of earning the opportunity to share how Christ makes a difference in our lives, and how He can do the same in theirs.”
“This family exists to live the great commandments and fulfill the Great Commission, beginning in our home and extending to every arena of life.”
“Our family will work, play, pray, and study God’s word together with the goal of becoming Christlike and sharing the love of Jesus with all of those around us.”

Members or Regular Attenders who are widows - call the church and we can email you this list of names


¨ Family Mission Trip gone Local—Miccosukee Project (Mission Adventure Week, June 22-25; Community Center Addition, Sports Camp July 20-24)
¨ Family Camping Trip—That was scheduled for April 24-25 has to be rescheduled due to water and erosion damage at the Pole Barn. We will let you know as soon as a new date is set.

Family 2 Family - April 8th

7 Realities of Your Family Experiencing God

1. God is always at work around your family.
2. God pursues a continuing love relationship with your family that is real and personal.
3. God invites your family to become involved with Him in His work.
4. God speaks to your family by the Holy Spirit through the Bible, prayer, circumstances, and the church to reveal Himself, His purposes, and His ways.
5. God’s invitation for your family to work with Him always leads to a crisis of belief that requires faith and action.
6. You must make major adjustments in your family life to join God in what He is doing.
7. Your family comes to know God by experience as they obey Him and He accomplishes His work through them.


What’s Coming

¨ Family Mission Statement
¨ Family Mission Ideas (See back)
¨ Family Mission Trip gone Local—Miccosukee Project (Mission Adventure Week, June 22-25; Community Center Addition, Sports Camp July 20-24)
¨ Family Camping Trip—April 24-25 at Fellowship in the Field property near Lloyd–Food, Games, Adventure, Music, Movies in the Barn and much more. For directions and information go to www.fellowshipinthefield.org.


Some Family Mission Ideas

Families can help with the variety of needs in helping honor Single Moms. A special Mother’s Day lunch for Single Moms is planned for the Saturday before Mother’s Day.
Families can help this summer with World Changers. World Changers is a great program to involve students from across the country in mission projects. Families are needed to work together to commit to feeding lunch to the students.
Families can cook dinner for the Haven of Rest (and relieve the people that do it all the time) or another organization.
Families can do repairs to the buildings of a helping organization like the Women’s Pregnancy Center.
Families can feed the homeless Saturday mornings at 7:30 a.m. with the “Frenchtown Breakfast in the Park” organization.
Families can visit the elderly in nursing homes/villas. Simply talk and/or play games with them.
Families can collect food and household goods and take them to the Florida Baptist Children’s Home.
Families can adopt a widow in the neighborhood or in our church to encourage and help.
Families can prayerwalk their neighborhood on a weekly basis.
Families can hold a neighborhood block party to allow the neighbors to get to know one another.
Families can go on their own mission trip in the U.S. or abroad.
Families can pull their grill out in the front yard or driveway and organize with the neighbors a cookout and games.
Families can start a home group study for the neighborhood that is geared for all ages to participate in.
Families can make and place small gifts on door hangers on their neighbor’s door that celebrate important holidays from a godly perspective.
Families can conduct a Backyard Bible Club in their neighborhood during the summer.
Families can keep an eye out for newcomers and help them get settled into the community.

Connect 4 with Your Kids - Tommy's Notes March 25

This past week we discussed discipleship resources for our kids. We should strongly encourage them to begin reading the Bible and teach them to do so. I strongly suggest that every kid have their own age appropriate Bible and spend time reading it daily. Even toddlers can have a Bible board book and pretend to read as they look at the pictures.

When our children learn to read, they should already be in the habit of spending time with their Bible each day. Continue to get them new Bibles and allow them to complete them and then move on to a more advanced children's Bible.

We handed out the Wonderzone Kid devotional books. These are 60 day devotional books for children (grades 3-5). There are six different books and the can be found at https://mail.icelebration.org/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=http://www.wonderzone.com. I also keep some in my office to give out to parents and kids.

We also talked about online websites that encourage bible reading and learning the bible:
https://mail.icelebration.org/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=http://www.awana.org
https://mail.icelebration.org/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=http://www.wonderzone.com
http://www.jellytelly.com/

These websites have great kid games and daily devotional ideas for children. It is vital to get our kids enjoying and learning to read the bible on their own. One day they will leave our house and we pray that their faith will be theirs and not just that of their parents. It is our desire to see them grow and in turn make disciples of their children.

We walked around the bases (visual on board) as we desired to see our kids:
1- Saved
2- Baptized
3-Grow
4-Become a Disciple

It is our prayer that they would repeat the process with their own family some day.

Wednesday, March 11, 2009

Tommy's Notes:

This week in Family FX we talked about sharing the Bible at home with our children. We discussed the importance of having family devotions at home. We have goals in mind for our children as they grow up (intentional or unintentional), but if we want them to be godly young men and women we have to lead them in that direction.

If you want your child to be a great baseball player; you would have them play on teams, practice all the time, take them to watch big league baseball, buy them good equipment, etc. But what if you want your child to be a godly young man or woman? What do you do? Go to church? Is that enough to lead your child to be godly?

The bible teaches us in Deuteronomy 6 that the parents are to pass on their faith in God to their children. We are to do so as we get up, as we walk throughout our day, and as we lie down at night. I believe one of the greatest things we can do with our children is have a weekly time together of learning God’s word.

Yes, we all need daily reading and prayer, but a weekly family time gives us an outlet to teach our kids biblical truths as they grow up in our homes. Imagine if you did weekly family times every week for 18 years. You would not look back and say; “I wish I would have told them about…” You would have more than enough opportunities to cover most of the choices and temptations they will face in life. It is one of the best ways to guarantee that we get ample time to teach and train our children.

We pay $60 - $100 to sign our kids up for soccer, piano lessons, basketball, etc. Why not make an investment in family time and get some tools to help you teach your kids biblical truths in a fun way. Below is a list of resources we discussed this past week at Family FX.

Parent Resources for Family Devotions

BLAST lessons (weekly lessons from Sunday morning)
Review lessons with family devotional at home during the week. You can find them online and a weekly hand out at BLAST

www.famtime.com
These are great family time activities for children of all ages. You can purchase these books online or download their free on per month. We have some listed on our church website under Family FX. These are about $20 per book and they would last several months.

Family Devotional Books (we had several books on hand for parents to look at)
Family Night Tool Chest
Family Devotions2
Focus on the Family Activity Books

Unit Studies – www.christianbook.com and search for family devotion. For under $20 you can find some great family devotional books that will last for months and some all year long.

10 Tips for a successful Family Time

1. Make it fun
2. Make it relevant – it needs to be age appropriate
3. Make it short and meaningful – it should not be long and boring
4. Pick a theme or a topic – it is great to have a family calendar and place your themes or key words on your calendar. Your kids will know what is coming and look forward to that time.
5. Add your family extras – quiz night, game night, special dessert night, theme song, quick –no-mess dinner, etc.
6. With older kids – let them help lead and pick future topics
7. Be consistent and faithful – yes you will have some duds, but pray for God’s guidance as you lead your children. They will remember more than you think. Be faithful to protect your family time.
8. Change the scenery – it’s OK to leave the house, some of their best memories will be when you took them downtown to visit the homeless and teach them about helping others
9. Share the passion with others. It’s OK to invite friends over to be a part. You may change a family simply by opening your doors on family night.
10. Dad – lead the way. It is biblical and best when dad is leading. If that is not an option, then mom feel free to take start the ball rolling.

No Greater Joy! March 4, 2009

I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth. 3 John 1:4

We started off in small groups discussing when we accepted Jesus.

We made observations from Romans 10:9-17:

That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. As the Scripture says, "Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame." For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, for, "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved."

How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!"

But not all the Israelites accepted the good news. For Isaiah says, "Lord, who has believed our message?" Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ.

Then we saw Lindsey's baptism testimony video from when she was barely six years old.

1. Pray for your child's salvation. Never stop praying, be patient.
2. Prepare yourself to lead them to Christ. Know your own testimony and know the steps from God's Word.
3. Be patient as you continually provide spiritual nuture in age appropriate ways about God and His love, Jesus, sin, repentance, faith and eternal life; even before they accept Christ. Chrisitan attitudes, actions and truths need to be taught to the child before the child is saved. You create the environment; the Holy Spirit convicts and reveals the love and way of God.
4. Deal gently and with understanding when you see that their desire for salvation is an effort to please peers, to please you, to get praise, to join others in baptism, or to get out of trouble.
5. As age appropriate, let your child read scriptures aloud that deal with salvation. Ask them what the Word is telling them. Lead them in explaining the main points of accepting Christ in their own words.
6. Lead them in praying to accept Jesus, but let put it in thier own words. Also, have them follow up with a brief prayer of thanksgiving to God for their salvation.

We had the groups come up with a plan to present the gosple to a child.

We also watched "The Gospel for Kids" video from http://www.essentials.tv/site/c.bqLKI1OKKtF/b.486373/apps/s/content.asp?ct=617785

We handed out Plan of Salvation bookmarks with a simple Roman Road gospel presentation: Romans 3:23, 5:8, 6:23 and 10:9.

Remember:

• Salvation is a point in time and it is a life long process.
• Nuture and encourge them to trust God. They will need to trust Him for salvation and daily living.
• Repentance and faith are not one time acts but ongoing attitudes of the heart toward sin.We may lead them to Jesus, but it is the Holy Spirit who brings conviction and reveals to them their need for Jesus.
• Don't get ahead of the Holy Spirit, by coaxing your child into making an empty profession of faith. There is no set age a child should receive Christ.
• Don't get in the way of the Holy Spirit when He does start spontaneously working in your child's life.

We ended with a resource to use with your child after they accept Jesus: I'm a Christian Now! It comes in a version for younger children and one for older children. Both can be obtained from our Children's Pastor, Tommy Hendricks.

Pink & Blue Make Purple - February 25

Are Men and Women Different?

Emmerson Eggerichs tells us that women see the world with pink sunglasses and hear with pink hearing aids, while men see the world with blue sunglasses and hear with blue hearing aids.

In a hilarious video we heard Mark Gungor's "Tale of Two Brains" where he shows how different we are as men and women in the way we think and respond.

Good Irritations

Those differences can unite or divide. God uses our spouse to be the refining process of our character. Because no matter how irritating my spouse might be, my response is my responsibility. It is not what happens to us, it is what happens to us that makes the difference. Your spouse does not cause you to be the way you are, they merely reveal your true self.

Sand in the bathing suit can at times be extremely irritating, but in the oyster it can lead to a pearl. How we perceive and respond to the irritations of life, especially in the marital relationship, determines the results. Principle: "I can experience hurt, but it is my choice to hate."

Change our prayer from "Change them and bless me" to "Change me and bless them."

"Marriage is a tool and a test to allow God's will to be revealed in our lives."

Whining and contempt has never drawn a spouse in. "Disrespect never motivates love, and lack of love never motivates respect."

Ephesians 5:31-33

"For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh." This is a profound mystery—but I am talking about Christ and the church. However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband."

God commands men to love their wife and women to respect their husbands. Not because they deserve it or earn it, but because it is what God commands us to do. Ultimately we are really showing respect and love to God when we do it for our spouse, irregardless of their reciprocation or lack their of. When husband and wife are united as one in mutual submission and in submission as one under God, pink and blue can make for purple: hearts fully united and devoted.

The Safest Place - February 18th

Our focus this month has been on strengthening marriages. The principles we have learned can be applied in all relationships. Tonight our goal was to learn how to make our marriages the safest place on earth for our spouse. To kick off, we watched a short clip from Princess Bride on "Mawridge."

Then we looked at Ephesians 4:29-32 and made observations about how we are to treat each other in relationship, especially in marriage: "Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you."

We quickly reacted to and formed opinions on the picture above and realized we are very quick to form opinions and judge based on first impressions. We often slide into treating badly the ones we love the most. The same common courtesy and consideration we show to strangers or acquaintances, we often neglect to show our own spouse.

What makes for a safe place? A place where each spouse can share and express themselves without fear of: judgement, blaming, not being heard, rejection of feelings, rejection by body language or tone of voice, too quick and one sided solution forced on them, and becoming the enemy not the partner in meeting the challenge.

The Bucks were good sports and demostrated the "Trust Fall," as an illustration of the trust that must be there in a marriage, to know that my spouse will safely catch me. That level of vulnerability with each other is where becoming "one" is truly acheived.

We would love to give a "Chill Pill" like we saw in the video, but want to avoid the side effect of the bacon like body odor!? But we know that to make our relationship safe, we have to "be proactive for them, not reactive to them." Biblically, a married couple is one flesh. So if one hurts, the other hurts. If one is happy the other is happy. If one lashes out at the other, he or she is lashing at themselves. Then nobody wins, even if one feels they have "won."

We ended with a discussion of how to make each of the six levels of conversation (communication) safe:

1. small talk
2. facts
3. opinions
4. feelings
5. needs
6. beliefs
   

What is Love? February 11

Valetine's Day is this Saturday and "Love is in the Air!"

But, what is love?

We saw a monster of a squeaky Barry White music video!

Love is a Choice

Ephesians 5:33 "However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband."

A great resource on the issue of love and respect is Dr. Emmerson Eggerichs' book "Love and Respect" and website: http://www.loveandrespect.com/

LOVE: Making the choice everyday to treat them with love and respect.
LOVE: Giving someone what they need the most when they deserve it the least
LOVE: Committing to being committed and choosing to work on your own attitudes and habits.
LOVE: Doing your best to be selfless and serve one another.
LOVE: Conscious choice we must make because there are many times when we don't "feel" like loving.
LOVE: An unconditional commitment to an imperfect person.
LOVE: What is left in a relationship after selfishness is removed
LOVE: Is action that knows that the feeling will often have to catch up later
LOVE: Is commanded by God to love Him, love your spouse, love your neighbor, and even love your enemy!

We saw the AFV's "Love Boat." According to their formula people can fall in and out of love several times in a 30 minute episode! But is that real love?

Real love is a choice.

LOVE IS NOT: A feeling; they come and go and may or may not accompany our love
LOVE IS NOT: Perfect circumstances
LOVE IS NOT: A reaction to how the other person treats you

1 Corinthians 13:4-7 "Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres."

LOVE'S SOURCE: God is love. The greatest expression is JESUS. Jesus' love is a love so profound that He died for us - took our place on the cross. And we didn't even deserve it! Until we can grasp this love of our Father, we are not capable of truly loving another.

1 John 4:7-12 "Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us."

The ability to love our spouse and others comes from a love relationship with God. We are incapable without his indwelling Spirit to love another the way He does.

Secret to a Strong Marriage - February 4

We discussed why marriages are in trouble today.

We made observations from Ephesians 5:25-33

We saw a funny video of Noah and his wife and how they "discussed" the Ark.

The secret is security. Security is the freedom to truly open up and be known at a deep, intimate level without the fear of being blamed, criticized, judged, condemned or deemed unacceptable.

We discussed what makes a spouse feel secure.

Steps for providing security:

1. Die to self (Luke 9:23).
2. Value them as much as God does (John 3:16). Become a student of your spouse.
3. Have a Commital Ceremony: Die to a "Plan B" (Mark 10:9). Don't even toy with or bring up the idea there being an alternative to a life long commitment.

ParentZone January 28, 2009

We first looked at the world around us in regards to parenting. Are parents too permissive or too strict?


Then we made some observations from the Bible:


The rod of correction imparts wisdom, but a child left to himself disgraces his mother.
Discipline your son, and he will give you peace; he will bring delight to your soul.

Proverbs 29:15,17 (NIV)

Then we reviewed our basic diagram based on Ephesians 6:1-2 about how to keep our children in God's safe zone before watching a child get into the danger zone in the hilarious video Baptism Cannonball.

After which we dealt with the basics of spanking as a part of the discipline of our children. We established that it is always to be in conjunction with a lifestyle of rich communication with our child as we studied last week.

What spanking is NOT...

1. An act of anger or frustration
2. Public display or spectacle
3. For childish behavior

What spanking is...

1. Act of trust in God's ways
2. Parent's responsibility
3. Sets stage for obeying God

Words to accompany it...

1. Reassure them of your love and that is not because of anger
2. Restate clearly what they did wrong and that it was against God
3. Acknowledgement and repentance from the child
4. After the spanking, reassure them of your unconditional love and hold them close

Especially effective in preschool and elementary years.

If you do not have rich communication with your child, then you have no ground for using spanking.

A Full Deck

January 21st Family FX

January has been focused on discipline.

Tonight we dealt we had fun talking to each other about the joys of parenting with all its funny, challenging and rewarding moments. Responding appropriately to our child in parenting is very important. If you over react it could cause insecurity in your child. If you under react, you could fail to stop wrong attitudes, habits and behaviors.

The Bible has many references on tailoring our responses to the person (child):

And we urge you, brothers, warn those who are idle, encourage the timid, help the weak, be patient with everyone. 1 Thessalonians 5:14 (NIV)

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 2 Timothy 3:16 (NIV)

We also had fun watching an over reaction in the Reebok Super Bowl Commercial from 2003: "Terry Tate - Office Linebacker".

Then we went over the eight biblical responses we can use in parenting in the form of a deck of cards. To parent with a "full deck" we need to become masters at matching the response to the situation.

1. Encouragement: When your child knows he is wrong, and/or realizes he is powerless to change his own personality.

2. Correction: When your child is doing wrong, but does not realize it.

3. Rebuke: When you need to express your shock or dismay at your child’s behavior to impress how wrong it is.

4. Entreaty: (Pleading Intently) —When your child needs to understand about very serious subjects that have dire consequences.

5. Instruction: When you know your child does not know how to handle a situation and you need to give her guidance in advance on how to respond.

6. Warnings: When you know that your child soon will face pitfalls in life, you teach him biblical admonitions.

7. Teaching: When appropriate during the day’s activities and also in structured times, you help your child grow in knowledge about God, the Bible, life, relationships, and the world.

8. Prayer: In the times of praying together, your child can hear your concerns before God and you can hear theirs.

Our accountability challenge this week is to keep your "full deck" ready and play the right response. Be ready to celebrate next week how God worked through you to shape the heart and behavior of your child.

ParentZone for Wednesday, January 14

In January our focus will be on Discipline
Tonight's focus is on How God disciplines us and how that impacts our parenting.


Hebrews 12:5-11 (New International Version)

And you have forgotten that word of encouragement that addresses you as sons:


"My son, do not make light of the Lord's discipline,
and do not lose heart when he rebukes you,
6because the Lord disciplines those he loves,
and he punishes everyone he accepts as a son."


Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father? If you are not disciplined (and everyone undergoes discipline), then you are illegitimate children and not true sons. Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of our spirits and live! Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.


Although the context of these verses are to encourage believers that are going through hardships, it yields a great deal of insight into relationship of a parent and child concerning discipline.


Last week we talked about the ultimate weapon in parenting and in particular disciplining your child is PRAYER. This week we look at the ULTIMATE PARENT God and how He relates to us. As God's agents in authority over our children, we need to emulate his love in many ways - including expressing it in discipline.


Ulimate end: A child who grows into an adult who loves God and others, leads a fruitful life that expands the kingdom of God. It also leads to a peaceful home that is characterized by children who have been trained to obey without complaint, excuse or delay.


Ultimate poise: A child who knows what is expected and what the consequences of not doing the right thing. A child who knows that his parent will not use emotional ploys, yelling, manipulation or other forms of manipulation to control them.


Ultimate expression: A child who has no question as to whether their parent unconditionally loves them, even when they have to receive discipline.

We had fun learning from Bob Newhart how to just "Stop It!" However, we decided to let our Bible passage change our parenting. We each thought of a action to do this week to be more like God in our parenting. Can't wait to hear what God does in our parenting as we apply His Word this week!

See you next Wednesday.

Yours in Christ,
Doug Bedgood

Family FX ParentZone for January 7

In January our focus will be on Discipline

Today's Study - A Christian Parent's Secret Weapon in Discipline: Prayer

"God has not called you to be the perfect parent. Yet, He has called you to be a praying parent." Dr. Kevin Meador

You are not going to be 100% perfect in parenting - God, the perfect parent, by His grace changes your child from the inside out as you pray for them.

Although God still is calling you to function as His agent in disciplining your child, you should be totally dependent on Him to see true heart change in your child. Prayer is the "Declaration of Dependence."

Cosmic Struggle enters Family Realm

Ephesians 6:

vss. 1-4 Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. "Honor your father and mother"—which is the first commandment with a promise— "that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth." Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.

vs. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

vs. 18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.

Goal: See my child's character, heart and behavior change from developing specific prayers for my child.

• Make a list - What character traits, heart and behavior changes do I believe God would have in my child?
• Add power of the Word - What Scripture can I pray over my child as seek these things from God?
• Take the Challenge - Write out a prayer for your child to commit to pray each day for three weeks and keep a record of what God does.