a word from the pastor

Movie Review: “The Social Dilemma”

Think of the following not as you typical movie review—but more of a plea to parents to be on high alert regarding their children’s social media interaction. If you’re a dad, I recommend you watch “The Social Dilemma,” a Netflix docudrama by Jeff Orlowski that reveals the incredible, intentional ...
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Leading Boys to Manhood

If you are a dad with young sons, I’ve got a question for you: How will you lead them to manhood? Do you have a plan? Ok, that’s two questions, but seriously, have you thought about intentionally leading those little guys to biblical manhood? Our present culture has a distorted perception of what...
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Don’t Just Say No

One of the more challenging aspects of parenting is navigating the stages of childhood development. It is often difficult to know how much freedom, knowledge, and discipline to give them as they grow older. Start with concrete rules and choices Little children require more concrete rules an...
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Two things great parents get right

Many years ago, when Judith and I were serving in youth ministry, we would often find ourselves impressed with the spiritual maturity of certain teens. I’m talking about young people who exhibited an unusual, though not abnormal, degree of spirituality and who, by their lives, impacted others for...
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When The Gospel Divides Your Family

On numerous occasions I’ve told parents that children come with promises but not with guarantees. Inevitably, every person must come to embrace faith in Christ on their own. Kids may question what they believe and what their parents taught them, and at some point, must decide whether “mom and dad...
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The Divine Mandate to Parents

In a New York Times article, author Laurie Frankel wrote about a dilemma involving her 6-year-old son’s entrance into first grade. Apparently, the lad developed a preference for dresses over what little boys normally wear. As soon as I use the word “normally,” I recognize that a growing number of...
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The Children Begin to Speak

In this day in age, children are often treated more like commodities to be used for adult fulfillment instead of the human persons they inherently are. Two gay men get “married” and want to be fathers. Obviously, there’s a problem. It takes a man and a woman to have a baby. No problem, they’ll...
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Dysphoria or Delusion?

We live in a society that encourages children to embrace their gender dysphoria; a condition where a person’s emotional and psychological identity as male or female is opposite to their birth sex World magazine recently ran an article about the increasing number of books in elementary and midd...
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Depression and the American Adolescent

Leaving God out of one’s life will always produce a negative outcome. Well known journalist Elizabeth Bernstein recently published an article entitled, “How to Spot Teenage Depression.” She cites statistics that clearly indicate an increase in the number of adolescents who experience depressio...
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Gratitude Never Rebels

Four Practical Steps to Help Your Children Be Thankful - Looking back on my years as a student pastor, a handful of teens stood out for their strong testimony of Christian character and spiritual maturity. Four Practical Steps to Help Your Children Be Thankful Looking back on my years as a ...
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