Leftovers from Refuge Sermon Series (Joshua, Judges and Ruth)

I hope that Soldier Creek members enjoyed walking through these books as much as I enjoyed presenting these sermons. I sometimes wonder if they really are much of an aid to the LTC kids in their activities, but I like to think that maybe something "sticks". Here are some thoughts, facts and FYI material that I chose not to take the time to cover much in the Refuge series.

• Did you know that an earthquake caused the Jordan River to dry up, allowing the Israelites to cross over? I remember reading on the web the first stories about the area where scholars believe the nation crossed the river in Canaan was prone to earthquakes and temporary shifts in the river. A basic explanation is given in this article. So yes, it is fascinating that in an area where the river historically had temporary natural dams God caused an earthquake that provided a normal, but timely, dry ground crossing of the river!
•    “So Joshua made flint knives and circumcised the sons of Israel at Gibeath-haaraloth.” (Joshua 5:3, ESV)  The name of that city literally means "hill of foreskins". Remember that the number of Israelite men may have numbered in the hundreds of thousands. Yikes!
• The request of the tribes of Rueben, Gad and Manasseh to stay on the other side of the Jordan, outside of the promised land is astounding to me (Joshua chapter 22.) To arrive at the Jordan and decide that's where they would prefer to stay, outside of the land God led them to through the wilderness, shows very clearly what was coming in the days of the Judges. Its also an example of  "instant gratification", as the tribes saw that it was good grazing land before they even set foot in the land "flowing with milk and honey." We might even speculate that they weren't convinced they would ever be safe in the land that God said He would help them conquer. They were right, the land was never fully subdued due to the people becoming weary of driving out the inhabitants. However, the trans-Jordanian tribes quickly fell away from God. 
• I love the details of Gideon. His own family basically renames him "Baal will deal with our idiot son" (more accurately, Jerubbaal in Judges 6:32.) In the dream of the Midianite that Gideon overheard, a "barley roll" would be the worst kind of bread possible - basically a poor man's bread. When they understood the bread to represent Gideon, it tells you a lot of what they assumed of him! That said, the next day Gideon does indeed go on a roll!!!
• Ever notice how much of a problem pride is in Judges, and the rest of the Bible for that matter? The unspoken weakness of many of the Judges and the Israelites was simple pride/arrogance. Gideon was humble enough to reject being made a king, but arrogant enough to think that having 70 sons through concubines and making a graven image to serve God was somehow not going to be a problem (Judges 8:22-35.) Abimelech and Samson are case studies in self-destruction via prideful sin. Several Judges had to deal with cities and tribes that opposed them because they weren't asked to join in a battle against an oppressor, leading to civil wars within the nation. I wonder how many innocent people in time have lost their lives or possessions due to the arrogance of a leader?
• Samson disobeys and breaks every single tenant of the Nazarite vow (see Numbers 6.) Every...single...one. 
• The book of Judges presents a condition of Israel as really depressing after Samson. God will still work through a nation and people, but He will allow it to sleep in the bed it makes!

Family Devotional Resources

Several weeks back, I presented a sermon titled "Spiritual Parenting" in which I went over several things I felt we really needed to be doing with our kids as Christian parents. It was a rather hard-hitting sermon based on the examples of how Joshua commanded that the children who crossed over to the promised land be taught all of the law - and how the next generation's failure to know God revealed that Joshua's command went un-heeded.

I prayed and obsessed over that sermon a lot more than usual! I even asked some elders and deacons to pray for that sermon. Any time you go into a lesson suggesting that some people in the audience aren't parenting to their fullest potential, you'd better have some good material and facts to back up your opinion.

Among the most important points were the following statements - "A good spiritual parent opens the Bible with their children in the home on a consistent basis. If we are not engaging and reading God's Word with our children in the home, we are failing and we are not a good spiritual parent."

Also - "A good spiritual parent has open discussion with their children concerning their spiritual hopes, dreams and goals. If we are not discussing spiritual development, teaching and growth - we are failing."

Fortunately, the lesson appeared to be well-received and many of you gave me positive feedback. I did get some requests concerning how exactly to begin to have family Bible study, and what are some good resources. After some research, I am going to present 4 very good study aids that I feel like almost any parent of even an elementary knowledge of the scriptures could use in Bible study with their kids. These books that I will highlight today can be found at Mardel Book stores, and at online book sellers. I chose these 4 as a starting point for Bible study, and they are probably going to be very easy to find for a few years.

HOLMAN ILLUSTRATED BIBLE HANDBOOK

This is an excellent addition to anyone's library. It is less devotional guide than it is a Bible resource. Lots of pictures, charts, and background information about the Bible. Widely available, this would be a good starting off point to learn about different concepts of Biblical books, history, archaeology, etc. The Holman Handbook even comes in a variety of sizes, with a handy version that can easily be carried along with your normal paper Bible. 

THE DUCK COMMANDER DEVOTIONAL

A true devotional book containing 365 lessons made up of a scripture for the day, devotional thoughts and a suggested prayer for that day's thoughts. Yes, it is steeped heavily in the "Duck Dynasty" show's characters. The devotional thoughts are good, and they are fine Church of Christ folks. Nothing controversial, just good spiritual thoughts. Notice you can get it in pink or green camo. 

TEEN TO TEEN: 365 DAILY DEVOTIONS. BY TEEN GUYS/GIRLS, FOR TEEN GUYS/GIRLS.

The title pretty much sums it up. A Bible study consisting of a passage of scripture and thoughts for each day of the year. Each lesson is written by teens, guy or girl specific. These books I reviewed were leather bound, but can be purchased as hard back as well. Very, very good devotional book to use with your children. For what its worth - I purchased this one to have our devotionals with Abby in mind. 

MAX LUCADO - GOD IS WITH YOU EVERYDAY: 365 DAY DEVOTIONAL

A devotional book based on the writings, wisdom and thoughts of Max Lucado. These Bible studies are not teen specific, but easy enough to understand and appreciate by just about anyone. Very easy to pick up and jump right into a discussion of spiritual truth. 

I'm certainly not going to say I read every single word of these 4 books. But the time that I did take to examine them make me confident that they are excellent places to start. That's what it takes to engage your family with God's word...a good start. Its similar to the old saying about exercise: What's the best workout to lose weight, get in shape and feel good? The one you will do. You don't absolutely have to have a study aid. You can pick up the Bible, gather your family around and go somewhere good. These are suggestions for busy families who want the easiest way possible to jump start their family devos. 

By all means, find something that works for you. Make it a priority. Have a set time every day (or most days of the week) to have a devotional. They can be as short as 10 minutes, or go as long as the discussion lasts. My prayer is that you and your family will grow in wisdom and knowledge because you took the time to make contemplating God's word outside of the church assembly a priority. 

I'd love to know if you have some Bible study/devotional tools that you use. Let me know in the comments section. For that matter, I'd love any kind of comment to know if anyone is reading my blog!

P.S. - May I make one little plea about purchasing these books? If you do, patronize a book store. Mardels and other stores are invaluable in that you can physically see the book and scan through it. They need your support, and we need to be able to have first-hand impressions of books. 

No, really...I DO still have a blog?

Blogs fall somewhere between the realms of "cool tool" and "vanity wanna-be writers". 

One of the reasons I haven't been able to sustain any kind of momentum on this blog is trying to realistically move from the latter to the former. 

Blogs are kind of a 2000's thing, as in the first decade of the 2000's. I remember when all of the cool kids had a well written blog, or maybe I should say just a blog. Social media took over, and kind of made the blog a rather arduous task if all you were seeking was simply an online forum to speak your mind. Now if you are going to spend precious time and creative energy, you better have something good to write and you better write it well. 

I think I at least now have a direction and theory in order to come back to blogging. 

Most of the content up to this point was largely comprised of religious articles I did for a now-defunct Piedmont newspaper. (I guess that means I can include myself among the many who helped drive a newspaper into the ground.) While my intentions (read:vanity) was to keep writing compelling material, I never really had the focus nor the purpose to do it much until now. 

I'm going to use this space to primarily be a "spillover" for my sermons and classes. My first thought is that I'm going to use this spot to put in leftover thoughts, facts, ideas and reflections from Sunday sermons and Wednesday night Bible classes. Trust me, every single sermon and class has something in my notes or brain that just somehow doesn't make it out of my mouth. This happens due to time constraints, an idea that simply didn't explode into relevance or I was distracted by a kid picking his nose. Sometimes I will mention a resource, web page or something that I recommend during a sermon...this is where I will post links or elaborate on those things.

Another use of this blog is what I mentioned in my last post over...a...year...ago. I will talk about congregational life, happenings and in's-and-out's. Think of it as a running commentary of all things Solider Creek. This might get interesting. I might get a little testy, or perhaps display my slants and opinions for everyone to see. We'll see how risky I get with these posts. That said - it is important to issue the little disclaimer that sometimes gets preachers fired.

All opinions on this blog are mine alone, and not necessarily reflective of the leadership or official positions of the Soldier Creek church of Christ.

Finally, I will reserve the right to also treat this blog as my social-media-on-steroids spot. Expanded thoughts on anything and everything...such as the following quick shots:

• ANDY'S FROZEN CUSTARD IS COMING TO OKC!!!!  And even more exciting, its first OKC location is being built at NW Expressway and Macarthur. Andy's is a Springfield, Missouri institution. Probably most of you who go to Branson even semi-regularly know about Andy's on the strip. It is one of the best frozen custard places I've ever known. I've loved frozen custard from my childhood of going to Ted Drewes, the St. Louis institution for frozen custard. Andy's is awfully good, with quality custard and more ways to make a concrete/sundae/shake than you can imagine! Particularly exciting to me is how close it is to my favorite bike trails connecting Lakes Hefner and Overholser. (Go HERE for more about frozen custard,) And yes, I'm aware that Freddy's has frozen custard. Mediocre at best - Freddy's makes much better burgers and hotdogs than any of their frozen offerings. 
• This is the year, THIS IS THE YEAR that I achieve my long sought after goal of a 100 mile ride. Kim and I are working out and in the best shape of our adult lives, and that is going to help me get 'er done. That "Richter Gran Fondo" can be planned to go right by Andy's!
• This also might be the year, sadly, that the road to the World Series doesn't run through St. Louis. Give up on the STL at your own risk, but my beloved Cardinals might have some holes.

That's all for now. My next post will contain some suggested books for having Bible study/devotionals with your family, as suggested in one of my sermons a few weeks back.