Church hurt and miscarriages, “I couldn’t fight anymore, and we went to church for the first time in years…”
After being bullied at the church I grew up at, I never thought I would walk into a church ever again. I wasn’t angry with God, but I never understood what it meant to walk with or to know God. My understanding of church was, I would be talked down to by my peers and I … Read more
Baby Mama Drama
Genesis 21:10 – So she said to Abraham, “Cast out this slave woman with her son, for the son of this slave woman shall not be heir with my son Isaac.” As Isaac, the son God promised to Abraham and Sarah, grew older, tensions again escalated between Sarah and Hagar, who had given birth to … Read more
The Promised Son Arrives
Genesis 21:2-3 – And Sarah conceived and bore Abraham a son in his old age at the time of which God had spoken to him. Abraham called the name of his son who was born to him, whom Sarah bore him, Isaac. The book of Genesis has been building in anticipation since chapter 12 for the birth of Abraham … Read more
Marriage and Parenting in Genesis
Genesis 2:18 – Then the Lord God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him.” In Genesis, there is a wedding and then a war. Soon after Adam and Eve are married, Satan shows up to attack marriage and family. The pages of … Read more
What Kind of Home Will You Have?
Galatians 4:23 – But the son of the slave was born according to the flesh, while the son of the free woman was born through promise. We all grew up in a home and, once we get married and have our own kids, we all have a couple unhealthy options and one healthy option on … Read more
Don’t Add to God’s Laws
Galatians 4:21 – Tell me, you who desire to be under the law, do you not listen to the law? God has laws and principles that we should live by, and which parents should raise their kids by, but oftentimes we as parents add our own laws on top of God’s laws. We often hold … Read more
Young Bike-Riding Jesus
Galatians 4:31 – So, brothers, we are not children of the slave but of the free woman. This may seem like a weird question, and I’ve gotten myself in trouble before trying to explain this but stick with me and I’ll try to do a better job this time. When Jesus was a little boy, let’s … Read more
Church Should Be Fun
Galatians 4:31 – So, brothers, we are not children of the slave but of the free woman. I can think of a couple specific conversations with parents from the last few years at Trinity Church in Scottsdale, AZ, where I have the honor of being the senior pastor, that are great examples of law vs. grace-based … Read more
2 Kinds of Home Environments
Galatians 4:22-23 – For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by a slave woman and one by a free woman. But the son of the slave was born according to the flesh, while the son of the free woman was born through promise. In Genesis 16, referenced by Paul in Galatians 4, … Read more
Red Light vs Green Light Fathers
Genesis 2:16-17 – And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” If you have kids or have been around a kid, you … Read more
Pastors of Your Own Home
Hebrews 13:15–16: “Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name. Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.” There was recently a sweet little girl at our church … Read more