The Hebrew vs the Christian ordering of the Old Testament

If you’ve ever seen the movie Momento, so much of the story-telling lies in how they order the story. It all feels jumbled until you realize the ordering is intentional. Interestingly, you can find an “unofficial” cut of the movie where the whole story is re-edited in chronological order. You’re still told the same content by watching it chronologically, but it certainly hits differently.

The same can be said when structuring the Hebrew vs. the Christian order of the Old Testament.

As mentioned in our latest podcast episode, this difference occurred during the formation of the Septuagint translation (typically abbreviated as LXX) when the Old Testament was translated into Greek. In the process, the three-fold structure of the Hebrew Bible (Torah-Naviim-Ketuviim, also known as the TaNaK) would instead be “re-edited” into a four-fold structure that catered more towards genre - Law, History, Poetry, and Prophets. (See the charts below).*

To add to the complexity, the New Testament authors who wrote in Greek regularly cited from the Septuagint since Greek was the dominant language of the day. (For more on this, see Richard B. Hays’s Echoes of Scripture in the Gospels and Echoes of Scripture in the Letters of Paul.)

So, which is the better way to study the Old Testament? Well, it depends.

By reading according to the Hebrew order, we’re able to see the macro-story of the Old Testament more. The Torah sets up God’s people and promised land. The Naviim (Prophets) sets up how God’s people lived in the Promised Land and eventually were exiled. The Ketuviim (Writings) speaks primarily about how to live in exile and trust in God’s promises. (For more on how to interpret the Hebrew ordering, see Stephen Dempster’s Dominion and Dynasty: A Theology of the Hebrew Bible.) It also seems Jesus and the apostles affirm the Hebrew ordering with the oft-repeated phrase “Law and the Prophets” (Matthew 7:12; 11:13; 22:40; Luke 16:15, John 1:45, Acts 13:15; 24:14, 28:23, Romans 3:21).

By reading according to the Christian order, we can read more clearly from genre to genre. The New Testament authors seem to endorse this ordering, albeit implicitly, when they use word-for-word phrases from the Septuagint.

So which way is better? Well, the good news is we don’t have to pick sides. Both orderings are helpful and provide fresh ways to understand and appreciate the Old Testament. Not to mention - it’s a story worth re-reading over and over again!

These orders are from Chronological and Background Charts of the Old Testament by John H. Walton, p.12

*Note: There is some discrepancy in both the Hebrew and Christian ordering of the Writings.

Core Four Training

This recording was taught on November 14, 2023.

To catch up on what you may have missed, below were the Leader Meetings before this:

-September 12 - Thriving as Leader and Creating Room for Hospitality

-October 10 - How to Recruit a Core Team

Recap

Discussion Group Leader

Welcoming New People

Prayer Care Follow Up

Hosting Logistics

How to Recruit a Core Team

This recording was taught on October 10, 2023.

To view the Leader Meeting before this, click here.

Four Core Areas Job Description

Coaching / Leader Discussion Time

Share the wins if you have any: Do you have any updates on getting people moving in your group? Have you seen any movement from being a Level 1 Group to being a Level 2 Group or from being a Level 2 Group -> Level 3 Group?

Your homework is to pick 1-2 people or a couple to oversee each of these four areas, recruit them toward the role, and invite them to our third LG Leader meeting coming up on November 14th. 

Discussion Leading

Who?

Any anticipated obstacles?

What’s the plan?

Welcoming New People

Who?

Any anticipated obstacles?

What’s the plan?

Hosting Logistics (Hosting and Childcare)

Who?

Any anticipated obstacles?

What’s the plan?

Prayer/Care Follow-Up

Who?

Any anticipated obstacles?

What’s the plan?

What stood out to you from Chris’ training on how to recruit people? 

What do you anticipate will be the hardest part of recruiting for you?

Once everyone has shared, pray for God to make this happen. At the end, take a snapshot of your answers and send them to your coaches.

Thriving as a Leader and Creating Room for Hospitality in LifeGroups

This recording was taught on September 12, 2023.

To view the Leader Meeting after this, click here.

Once you’ve listened to the video work through the discussion questions below.

1 - How would you identify your LifeGroup right now? Why?

Level 1 - no Core Group in place

Level 2 - Core Group in place and LG is surviving (leader is still scrambling, exhausted, not much room to take on more ppl, etc)

Level 3 - Core Group in place and LG is thriving (leader is overseeing, the group is growing, an eye towards planting a new LG, etc)

2 - If you self-identify as Level 1 or 2, what obstacles are in the way, and how can you level up? If you self-identify as Level 3, what are some good practices you’ve put in place to get there?

3 - If you had to pick one person/couple to oversee each of these four areas today, who would they be?

Discussion Leader

Prayer and Care Follow-Up

Hospitality

Welcome Wagon

4 - If all four areas were led out by someone else besides you and you jumped up to level 3, what would be a dream timeline/prayer goal for your LifeGroup to plant a new LifeGroup?

Gospel Fluency

The gospel is not just a one-time thing to believe in in order to become a Christian, rather, the gospel is something we’re called ongoingly to believe as we follow Jesus daily. The more we believe, trust/ and internalize the good news of Jesus, the more we’re empowered by the Spirit to live the life Jesus has called us into.

How to Study the Bible: Inductive Bible Study

As God’s people, we want to be guided by His Word and empowered by His Spirit to be a Jesus-centered family on mission. And while no one expects us to all be seminary professors or in full-time ministry, we are expected to be in God’s Word regularly (Psalm 1). When we do, God uses that to slowly make us more and more like Him. Inductive Bible study is one way we do this. Just like regular Bible reading or lectio divina, it involves three main steps: read, reflect, and respond with questions to ask yourself for each step. As you work through this, you’ll notice the similarities and differences between inductive Bible study and lectio divina. Whereas lectio divina relies more on reading a passage meditatively with our hearts, inductive Bible study relies more on reading a passage methodically with our minds, and as followers of Jesus, we want both. As Bible teacher Jen Wilkin puts it, “The heart cannot love what the mind does not know...If we want to feel deeply about God, we must learn to think deeply about God.”

READ (COMPREHENSION) WHAT DOES THE TEXT SAY?

Studying the Bible begins by first carving out time, sitting down, and thoroughly reading the passage. While this sounds simple enough, there are often many barriers that keep us from studying the Bible - time management, lack of focus, lack of sleep, etc. So as you begin, find a quiet place (ideally not a coffee shop), that is free from distractions (ideally not in the same room as your TV or other screens), where you can be alert (ideally not in your bed), at a time when you can be alert (ideally not as you’re about to fall asleep). If you’re in a LifeGroup, consider holding each other accountable by scheduling a time each day where everyone in your group will study the Bible together - for example, one of our LifeGroups makes a conference call to each other every morning at 6am to pray and remind themselves to study their Bibles!

Below are some helpful steps to comprehend a passage:

Look at the context - Imagine how frustrating it would be to watch a movie clip with no context whatsoever on the plot or characters - and yet we do that so often with our Bibles! So to help us unpack what a passage means we need to know some background information. (To make it even easier, The Bible Project has broken down the context for every book in the Old Testament and New Testament.) Below are some questions to ask:

• What’s the genre of this passage?

• Who’s speaking? Who’s the audience?

• What’s the historical context?

• Why was this written?

Print out the passage - have a physical copy of what you’re studying so you can underline, circle, and mark up your thoughts. To do this, simply copy/paste from BibleGateway.com onto a blank document, making sure your printout is double-spaced with plenty of room in the margins for your notes. You can also purchase one of Crossway’s Bible journals to write down your notes.

Use different translations - Reading from different translations helps you encounter a passage afresh and can help clarify any questions you have with the text. (BibleGateway.com offers an “Add parallel” feature where you can compare up to five translations back-to-back. To start out we’d recommend comparing a passage against the ESV, NIV, CSB, and NIrV translations.)

REFLECT (INTERPRETATION) WHAT DOES THE TEXT MEAN?

Once you’ve comprehended a passage, it’s time to do the hard work of interpretation. We don’t want to import our own biases and have the passage say something it doesn’t (eisegesis), rather we want to discover how the original audience of the passage would have received it (exegesis). Below are some helpful ways to get started:

Take notes - Ask lots of questions and mark up your passage, you can either give special markings to your notes or use a color-coding system, whichever works best for you. Those questions include: •

• Certain words, phrases, ideas repeated?

• Is there a particular attribute of God illustrated or celebrated?

• Does the text make several points in a row? (If so, number them on your printout)

• Are there words you don’t understand? (Put a question mark on there and look up later)

• Are there key transition words? “Therefore” “and so” (Draw arrows to them)

• Is there a confusing idea? (Write out your questions)

Paraphrase the passage in your own words - writing down the passage in your words helps us better engage the text as we ask the Spirit to engage us.

Look up cross-references - all Scripture is breathed out by God. Because of this, we use Scripture to interpret Scripture. When we encounter difficult passages, we use easier to understand passages to shed light on the harder ones (this is known as “the analogy of faith”). If there are any words that are confusing, Blue Letter Bible is a great free resource to use.

Consult commentaries - Commentaries are like crutches. They can be helpful assistance, but the aim is not to grow too dependent on them. The aim is to learn how to equip yourself so you, in turn, can equip others (Eph 4:11-16). A great go-to is John Piper’s Desiring God resource page where he’s broken down nearly the entire Bible by book, chapter, and verse. Along with that, he has an incredibly helpful video series called “Look in the Book” where he breaks down how he studies the Bible. Also, The ESV Study Bible is also a wonderful mini-commentary to get you started.

RESPOND (APPLICATION) WHAT DOES THE TEXT MEAN FOR ME NOW?

It’s not enough to simply study the Bible for spiritual information. We want to study the Bible for our spiritual transformation. As James 1:22 says, we want to be doers of the word, and not hearers only. At the same time, right application is based on right interpretation. Both go hand-in-hand. If you haven’t done the proper work of Bible interpretation, your application will be off too. Those application questions include: •

What does this passage teach me about God?

How does this aspect of God’s character change my view of self?

What’s this passage calling me to do today?

What’s this passage calling me to pray for today?

Once you’ve written down these answers, this becomes your prayer time. Spend some time focusing on what God has brought to your attention as well as attributes of who He is and who you are in light of that. Confess and repent where you need to. Ask the Spirit to work in you to do what the passage is commanding you to do. As you wrap up your time, pick one thing from your study today that you can “write on your heart” to reflect on (Psalm 119:11). You may want to write it down somewhere visible or memorize it. Ask God how you might encourage someone with what you learned and reach out to them right away. Reach out to your LifeGroup what you learned about this morning. At the end of the day, write down any insights as you meditated on the Scripture. It’s important to remember, studying the Bible is a life-long process. But it’s this very process that Jesus uses to shape us and form us into being made more like Him.

For Bible study plans and more resources on being with Jesus, make sure to check out our Abide page at FollowingJesusTogether.com

Studying Scripture

The Bible is a library written by God through men that tells a unified story that leads to Jesus. And as God’s people, we want to be guided by His Word and empowered by His Spirit to more fully experience the life and love of Jesus.

Reading, reflecting, and responding are the three basic, crucial steps to ask about any passage of Scripture. To build on that foundation, we ask more questions in each of those categories to more fully flesh out and unpack the passage. This method is known as inductive Bible study because we’re relying on inductive reasoning to understand what we’re reading. Think of it like we’re a detective or an archaeologist; we’re searching for evidence and digging for clues in the text in order to draw out biblical insights, connections, and conclusions. 

In this approach, we engage our minds in a more critical approach as we seek to know God through His Word. Part of loving God and experiencing His love comes when we love Him with all our minds, and inductive Bible study helps with that.

Try this method out on 1 John, Ephesians, or the Gospel of John. Take a paragraph at a time.

1. Observation - What does the text say?

We read the text just like we do any text, but we want to go a little further to more fully comprehend what we’re reading. Once you select a passage you want to unpack, here’s a few suggestions: 

• On a computer, copy/paste the passage into a document and then type out any observations and questions you have of the text.

• Print it out in double-spaced text. Then as you’re reading the text, mark up your paper - underlining any words or phrases that pop out to you, putting a question mark over things that seem confusing, etc.

• With a journal, have your Bible open and record everything you notice or have questions about

Whatever your approach, the big idea here is that we’re interacting with the text to get a lay of the land. In this stage, you may even want to paraphrase the passage in your own words to help you process or look at other Bible translations to compare.

2. Interpretation - What does the text mean?

In step two, we reflect like we do any text, but now we ask a lot more questions to help us understand what’s going on. We’re trying to unpack the main idea. When starting this step, it will seem daunting at first but will get easier over time if you stick with it.

To help you determine the main idea, do an initial unpacking of the book you’re reading:

• What is the genre of the passage - narrative, poetry, a letter, etc? 

• Who is the author and the audience? 

• Where is this passage in terms of its redemptive history? Was this text written before Jesus’ life, during, or after? How would that time period impact the text?  

You can then ask:

• What is the immediate context of this passage? How does this passage fit within the logical flow of the passage and chapter or chapters that came before it? 

• What words are significant to know about in the passage? A concordance would be helpful.

• How does this passage connect to other passages of Scripture? A bible cross reference tool would be helpful.

• What questions do you need help answering? A study Bible or commentary will help.

Most importantly, during this step, you want to answer the question:

• What does this passage reveal to us about God and people? 

• Is there an attribute or a promise of God that is highlighted here? 

• Is there an example to follow or an error to avoid? This is also a good place to cross reference. 

• Where else in the Bible is this attribute or promise of God highlighted?

Once you’ve arrived at your answers, consult a commentary or two to make sure you’re on the right track, especially if you’re new to this method.

3. Application - What does the text mean to me?

In this last step we reflect; we want to apply this to our lives now. Application, in a sense, is how we love God with all of our strength.

First, we only ask this only after we’ve put in the work of interpreting the passage, that way we don’t come up with a misguided application.  

Second, while we are saved by grace through faith, we are expected to apply God’s Word into our lives. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 says the Word of God is designed so that I might be equipped for every good work. In other words, it’s not enough to stop at Bible interpretation; it ought to lead to application. We’re not mining the Bible purely for information, but we’re using that information and asking the Spirit to help us live it out so that it will lead to transformation. 1 Corinthians 13:2 says if I have all the knowledge there is but don’t have love - in other words, I don’t apply it to my life, then I am nothing. Loving God with my mind ought to lead me to love Him with every aspect of my being.

Ask yourself:

• What is this passage calling me to do today and how should I pray now?

• How does this passage lead you into deeper obedience and love of Jesus? Again, this is a good place to use cross reference. 

• Where else does the Bible talk about this topic?

This practice is a little challenging at first but if we stick with it, invite others into it, and do the work of getting into God’s Word, we allow the Spirit to get God’s Word slowly into us more and more.

Memorizing Scripture

The Bible is a library written by God through men that tells a unified story that leads to Jesus. And as God’s people, we want to be guided by His Word and empowered by His Spirit to more fully experience the life and love of Jesus.

Long before Scripture was mass-produced for everyone to have access to, memorizing God’s Word was one of the primary ways His people meditated on His Word.

Psalm 1 talks about the person who is blessed because they delight in the law of the Lord, meditating on it day and night. Because God’s people didn’t necessarily have personal access to Scripture, the main way they were able to meditate day and night on Scripture was through memorization. Look at Psalm 119:11, where the Psalmist says, “I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.” So how exactly do you hide God’s Word into your heart when you don’t have your own personal Bible? Again it’s through memorizing Scripture. When we do, according to that verse, we actually are more empowered to follow Jesus because His very words are at the forefront of our minds. 

In the Old Testament, God’s people would generally have large chunks, if not whole books, devoted to memory. If you’re just starting out, start small. Here’s some ideas on what verses to have memorized:

• What is the Gospel - John 3:16, Romans 3:23-24, Ephesians 2:1-10

• Why the Gospel is good news for you - Matthew 3:16, Romans 8:1, Psalm 23

• A command or a promise you need to remember - 1 John 1:9, 1 Cor 10:13

Once you know the verse you want to memorize, how do you do it? A lot of great apps are out there, such as Fighter Verses and Bible Memory. If you want to go low-tech though and prefer not to be on your phone, try writing out the verse by hand a few times over each day. When you do, you engage your body and your mind together, allowing the verse to stick in your mind more quickly. If you want to go really old-school, God’s people for the longest time remembered things through oral tradition, so try spending a few minutes saying those verses out loud.

The beautiful thing is we can do it together with church family. Share ideas about what works best for you or what verses you’re committing to memory. Keep one another accountable. If you have kids, make it fun. Try putting these verses to melody to help sink into your minds. If you do a quick search online, you’ll find lots of recordings of people putting God’s Word to music.

The main thing: find whatever method works best for you and stick with it. Put a reminder on your phone to spend a few minutes each day. As we expand and push our minds to retain more of His Word, we in turn are more freed up to experience God’s goodness and love in our lives.

Practicing Sabbath

Sabbath is the practice of intentionally stopping from your work to spend a day resting and enjoying God and His gifts...

This goes all the way back to Genesis 2:1-3, that once God created the universe and everything in it - it says:  “he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done so God blessed the seventh day and made it holy”

It should be noted that God didn’t “rest” because He was exhausted and needed to sleep-in. Rather, “rest” in this sense means stepping back and delighting in the beauty of everything that was made. 

And God says this same sort of stopping and stepping back to delight one day a week is so woven into creation, that He actually says in the Ten Commandments that His people are invited to do the same. Which says something pretty insightful about the human experience: that as Image Bearers of God, part of what it means to be human is to set aside time and rest in the same way God rested.

For God’s people, Sabbath became a reminder that they’re identity is not bound up in their productivity or what they accomplish - their identity first and foremost is that they are saved by grace based on nothing that they do. 

So to begin the practice, look at your calendar and set a time each week where you can stop from all productivity. If you have a traditional Monday-Friday work schedule, then plan out when during your weekend you can come to a full stop for 24 hours - perhaps Saturday evening to Sunday evening. This will likely mean putting away unnecessary devices, disabling work-related apps, and hustling a little more during your work week to make sure all your tasks are done.

Once you come to that hard stop, Sabbath consists of three categories: upward rest, outward rest, and inward rest. 

So upward rest asks “What Godward activities should you include in your Sabbath?” That should look like, at bare minimum spending time with Jesus, whether that looks like an extended time in Scripture and prayer, or journaling, or reading a devotional book that stirs your heart towards loving Jesus. Maybe it looks like listening to worship music or going for a prayer walk around your neighborhood.

Outward rest asks - “who can you include in your Sabbath activities?” Some tangible ideas could be things like sharing a meal with good friends, or spending time outdoors with your church family. Maybe it looks like hosting a slow, no agenda potluck with friends and neighbors. If you’re a parent this means including your kids in your Sabbath, and narrating to them why you’re doing what you’re doing - and making family Sabbath something they look forward to each week. 

At bare minimum for followers of Jesus, the main way God’s people have combined both upward and outward rest is through Gathering weekly together as part of their Sabbath. So as you prepare for Sabbath, you should orient those 24 hours around Gathering with His people - whether that looks like kicking off your Sabbath or concluding your Sabbath by participating in weekly worship.

And finally Inward rest asks “what are restorative activities to include?” If your normal work week consists of sitting down a lot staring at a screen, restorative activities probably look like being on your feet or working with your hands. Or if you are on your feet a lot during the week, maybe it looks like taking a long nap or slowing down and reading a book purely for the fun of it - whatever is restful for you.

And just like learning a skill, so this practice is one that is to be cultivated. If you’re a parent or a full-time student, this will require some figuring out, and that’s ok. You’re expected to be a rookie when you’re starting out. Bring others in to help you strategize how to Sabbath well.

Because the more we do this, and assess how our Sabbath went, and plan for the next Sabbath, the better we can get at it. The more rest you can experience. The more delight is in store for you. And in the process, the more you can experience Jesus’ grace for you.

Related Following Jesus Together Resources

Planning Your Sabbath worksheet

Ways to Manage Your Screentime (How to Digitally Detox)

Making the Most of Your Time (How to Use a Time Audit)

Other Resources

Practicing Gratitude

Biblical gratitude is recognizing and expressing thanks for what Jesus is actively doing in us and through us - that by grace through faith, He’s given us His presence and His love and His life so that we might live out His Kingdom here on earth.

This is why Philippians 4:4-8 puts it like this, “Rejoice in the Lord always, again I say rejoice!” The passage then goes onto to say that through ongoing gratitude we push back against worry and experience deeper peace in Jesus. So no matter our circumstances, we’re called to think about the goodness of God and His gifts towards us daily. And this passage tells us something pretty important about gratitude: that it’s just as much a mental practice as it is anything else. It’s about intentionally directing your attention to recognize God’s presence and activity in your life, even if on the surface there doesn’t seem to be anything to celebrate.

So to practice biblical gratitude, we want to encourage you with a few ways to cultivate this practice:

1 - List out daily what you’re thankful for

First set aside a time and a place each day and take a few minutes listing out what you’re thankful to Jesus for. So maybe you have a gratitude journal by your nightstand so that either when you wake up or before you go to bed, you can spend some time listing out those things. Or you can download the One-Second app on your phone, and make an ongoing video journal of the things you’re grateful for.

By having a record of these things, when times get difficult, you can look back on your list and see all the ways God has provided for you and blessed you.

And learning to fight for joy means fighting to be thankful in the moments that are less than ideal too, knowing that no matter the circumstances, God loves you and sees you and is using even the hardest moments in your life so that you can look more like Jesus. So as you list out the positive things you’re thankful for, thank God for the hard moments too, knowing that our God is good and faithful and at work in your life no matter what.

2. Write down Gratitude Verses

So on a post-it note or Index card, write down Philippians 4:4-8 or 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 or Lamentations 3:22-24 or Romans 8:28 and place it in a prominent place in your house or your office or car. That way when you see it, it becomes your cue in that moment to meditate on those passages and give thanks to God throughout your day.

3. Share with Others

And as followers of Jesus, we don’t follow Him on our own, but we share our joy with others. So as you work through these practices, talk about what you’re thankful for ongoingly with the people in your life. Or when you share a meal with someone, pray and share something you’re thankful for even if it’s just the food in front of you. Because when we share our joy - we actually increase our joy. 

And when we practice gratitude more and more, the Scriptures tell us we fight anxiety, we push back apathy, we multiply our joy, and in the process, the Spirit uses our gratitude to look more like Jesus.

For more on the practices, go to FollowingJesusTogether.com

Dating Resources

TEACHING | RELATED SERMONS

If dating is not mentioned in the Bible, then how exactly are we to think about dating biblically?

This is what we want to answer and unpack for you in these videos. The following were filmed during our Saturday Dating Seminar in February 2020.

And as learning is often best done in groups, we would recommend processing this content with others. So if you’re single wanting to pursue a relationship or you’re in a relationship and want wisdom, watch these with those in your LifeGroup of the same gender. If you’re a parent wanting to train up your children, watch these with your spouse and process through each video one at a time.

---

TEACHING

You

Before we talk about dating, we have to first look inward. We have to look at ourselves and our own sin tendencies and inadequacies as we approach dating because the Bible is first and foremost concerned about your inner life.

Them

Now that we’ve established our identity in Christ, let’s lay some groundwork for the type of person we ought to look for.

The Pursuit

We’ve covered who do I need to be and who do they need to be…let’s start to tackle the question: What do I actually do in a relationship?

Dating

While there aren’t any “dating” verses in the bible, it’s ultimately a wisdom issue. By following wisdom we can avoid unneeded suffering. Dating biblically our call is to discern if that is the person God wants you to marry.

The End

When dating biblically there are really only two outcomes: break up or get married. Both are successful in light of the goal.

---

RELATED SERMONS

A Marriage You’d Actually Want

This 10-week series takes an honest look at marriage, unpacks God's intention for it, and paints the picture of a marriage you'd actually want.

Theology of Sex

This series spends seven weeks unpacking God’s design for gender and sexuality in an effort to understand ourselves, love our neighbor, and live out our mission.

Resources on Politics

Every year, (and especially every four years), we’re faced with the daunting task of voting for those who will shape policies and legislation that will impact us and our neighbors. So how do we as followers of Jesus exercising Spirit-filled wisdom navigate this topic faithfully? Below we’ve provided a series of sermons, articles, and books to better equip you to think through this.

Watch/Listen

SERMONS

“Christians and Politics” from the Exiles sermon series

“Following Jesus in a Polarizing Political Climate” from the Greetings from 2020 sermon series

podcasts

Midweek Podcast | “The Age of Anxiety (Part 1)”

Videos

---

READ

ARTICLES

“How Do Christians Fit Into a Two-Party System? They Don’t” by Tim Keller in The New York Times
“The historical Christian positions on social issues don’t match up with contemporary political alignments.”

“Bad Reasons to Vote for Someone and Good Questions to Ask” by Midtown Fellowship
“Biblically, I can’t even tell you as a Christian that you absolutely should or should not vote. But I can tell you the good news of Jesus’ life, death and resurrection give us a new perspective and a new identity.”

“America is in the Grips of a Fundamentalist Revival” by David French in The Dispatch
“I wasn’t sure I’d ever live to see a truly large-scale religious awakening. But here we are. Here it is. There’s just one catch. It’s not Christian. It is, however, quite fundamentalist.”

“I’m Not Hateful, You Are!” by David French in The Dispatch 
“Do the first verses of Matthew 7 describe a reality that isn’t just personal but also cultural and political? Can a nation suffer the consequences of mass-scale intolerance? I think yes. I think we’re living it right now.”

“Jesus is Not Your American Patriot” The Gospel Coalition
“‘God and country’ is a popular sentiment. Despite the fact that America was reputedly built on Judeo-Christian values, this seemingly honorable motto is problematic.”

“Patriotism and Christianity” in Christianity Today 
“What is the difference between patriotism and nationalism?”

“Our Exile Heritage” by Midtown Fellowship
“Like the Christians Peter wrote to in Asia Minor, we are now called to pick up the mantle of living as exiles for the benefit of the world around us by seeing and knowing and glorifying Jesus.”

“Parenting and Patriotism” - by Midtown Fellowship
“Should we be leading the charge in celebrating this nation? Or should we lead the charge in mourning the many sins of our nation? And how should we talk to our kids about it?”

“The Freedom of Fear” by Midtown Fellowship
“Fear of God means politics and politicians aren’t ultimate. So if my candidate loses or the worst candidate ever wins, I can remain confident that God will hold the universe together.”

---

Books

Onward: Engaging the Culture Without Losing the Gospel by Russell Moore
“As the culture changes all around us, it is no longer possible to pretend that we are a Moral Majority. That may be bad news for America, but it can be good news for the church.”

Compassion (&) Conviction: The AND Campaign’s Guide to Faithful Civic Engagement by Justin Giboney, Michael Wear and Chris Butler
“Too often, political questions are framed in impossible ways for the faithful Christian: we're forced to choose between social justice and biblical values…  As a result, it's easy for Christians to grow disillusioned with civic engagement or fall back into tribal extremes… When we understand our civic engagement as a way to obey Christ's call to love our neighbor, we see that it is possible to engage the political process with both love and truth―compassion and conviction.”

Thou Shalt Not be a Jerk: A Christian’s Guide to Engaging Politics by Eugene Cho“When we stay in the Scriptures, pray for wisdom, and advocate for the vulnerable, our love for politics, ideology, philosophy, or even theology, stop superseding our love for God and neighbor.”

The Four Deep Idols

Jesus calls us to walk in the light, confessing our sins to God and each other. God’s Spirit works through confession and community to lead us to repentance. (Romans 3:23-24, James 5:16 and 1 John 1:5-10)

Surface sins and idols are visible, noticeable sin patterns whereas “deep” idols address the sin underneath the sin. Surface sins ask, “What did you do?” Deep idols ask, “What prompted you to do what you did?” As followers of Jesus, we want to examine and confess both surface sins and deep idols in order to experience deeper freedom and joy in Jesus.

The four deep idols are power, control, comfort, and approval. Below is their breakdown.

Power

• Definition: over-desire for significance through success, winning, and influence. May feel the need to be right, the best, competent, outstanding, “special” person. In fact, you may hear your those whose go-to is power assert how “good” they are.

• Fears: Humiliation and meaninglessness. Wants to avoid feeling insignificant.

• Impact on relationship dynamics: Others are either idealized (corresponds to desire) or devalued (corresponds to fear). Others feel used by them. Affirmation/praise from others is not a priority or they do not depend on it, because they are their own judge and they know that they are right and good.

• Problem emotions: Dominant emotion is anger expressed outwardly.

Control

• Definition: over-desire for certainty which exhibits through control of self, environment, others - not necessarily by dominance, but more by control over doing something, working hard, being self-disciplined, upholding standards. They may seek certainty and may seek to be self-sufficient.

• Fears: Uncertainty, criticism, and may want to avoid feelings of uselessness, irrelevance (I don’t matter), which may lead to a sense of being invisible (non-existent).

• Impact on relationship dynamics: Others feel condemned around them. They believe others rely on them. Others are drawn to their capacity to perform (very capable) and solve problems, but others are kept at a distance and they usually do not feel much affect towards others. Social distance is present, while power people seek a wider social circle.

• Problem emotions: Feeling worried or anxious

Approval

• Definition: over-desire to please, to get affirmation and acceptance through relationships by helping and meeting others’ needs/desires. They need to get positive feedback, to provide services so that others need them. They may be susceptible to codependency.

• Fears: Rejection, avoids conflict, and may struggle with cowardice.

• Impact on relationship dynamics: Others are feared or idealized. Others may feel smothered by them because they need affirmation to feel worthy. Others tend to see them as warm, friendly, and non-aggressive. Absorbs criticism and may easily say that they are bad or wrong.

• Problem emotions: Implosion of fear. Avoids situations for fear of conflict and avoids people for fear of rejection. Usually seeks connections with others to soothe their fear.

Comfort

• Definition: over-desire for avoidance of pain/stress by seeking freedom from responsibility, expectations, and anything that may feel unpleasant by seeking immediate gratification through addictive behaviors or through numbing and escaping.

• Fears: Stress and demands and may seek privacy.

• Impact on relationship dynamics: Others may feel neglected or annoyed because they may seem indifferent and may be unproductive. They do not believe that others care about them, thus the lack of response to others. They tend to be passive-aggressive.

• Problem emotions: Restlessness, boredom, and weariness as a result of detaching, consequently feeling meaninglessness and isolation.

A Breakdown of the Beatitudes

The Sermon on the Mount - and more specifically, The Beatitudes, are some of the most written and taught about passages of Scripture in the Bible. 

The Beatitudes are snapshot statements on what life in the Kingdom of God looks like for the follower of Jesus. Each statement begins with a statement and ends with a completely unexpected conclusion.  (In fact, some translators will include a “because” instead of “for” in each statement to help the reader more clearly see the correlation between the two statements.) For example, when Jesus says “Blessed are the poor in spirit,” His audience would not expect Jesus to follow up that statement with “because theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Jesus’ intent is to show just how upside-down his values are from the world’s.

This upside-down value system Jesus offers is easy to forget. Living in a post-Christian culture, we can treat these statements as spiritual niceties and proverbial wisdoms when in reality they are shocking, counter-cultural statements about the ever-invading presence of God’s kingdom.

While not exhaustive, here is a breakdown of each of these statements along with Scripture cross-references to explore this passage more on your own.

Related resources: “The Beatitudes” sermon series from Desiring God, “How the Order of the Beatitudes Could Change Your Life” from The Gospel Coalition

1 - Blessed are the poor in spirit (v.3)

The poor in spirit are not proud or boastful. God has a particular affection for “the least of these”, the outcasts, the lowly, the destitute, the sojourner, the orphan, the widow. Such people recognize their shortcomings and are more able to humbly experience God’s grace and His Kingdom invitation. Like the tax collector in Luke 18:9-14, participants of God’s kingdom are aware of their sin and their need for God’s mercy. Eugene Peterson puts it this way:

You’re blessed when you’re at the end of your rope. With less of you there is more of God and his rule.

See Psalms 14:6; 22:24; 25:16; 34:6; 40:17; 69:29.

2 - Blessed are those who mourn (v.4) 

Those who mourn do not avoid, distract, or numb themselves to the brokenness in themselves and the world around them. This promise is the first of several reversals in the Beatitudes. Life in the Kingdom of God is both something to experience now and something that will be experienced later after death for the believer. Mourning will one day turn to celebration, every tear will be wiped away, and suffering will be forgotten.

See Rev. 21 and Rev. 22

3 - Blessed are the meek (v.5)

Those who are meek do not seek after power. Flowing out of spiritual humility, a meek person is open, vulnerable, and quietly submits and trusts God’s rule and reign no matter their circumstances. And Jesus says these types of people, who willfully give up power, will one day inherit all of creation. This concept of inheritance implies adoption, that we are co-stewards and co-rulers of God’s creation. Joseph Dillow in The Reign of the Servant Kings says:

Inheriting is not always the same as entering. A person can enter another’s house, for example, without inheriting it. The Old Testament concept of inheriting involved not only entering but also becoming an owner of what one entered. In this beatitude, Jesus was saying more than that the meek will enter the kingdom. They will also enter into it as an inheritance and possess it. 

4 - Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness (v.6)

Those who hunger and thrust for righteousness do not demand personal gratification. Whenever Matthew speaks of “righteousness” he is referring not to initial salvation but to personal holiness and a desire to see that personal holiness extend to God’s people. As a participant of the Kingdom, they pray and work towards others encountering the presence and power of God in their lives.

Those who hunger are people like the poor Jesus has already mentioned. The term has OT roots both in conjunction with the poor (Isa 32:6-7; 58:6-7, 9-10; Ezek 18:7, 16) or by itself (Pss 37:16-19; 107:9).

 5 - Blessed are the merciful (v.7)

Those who are merciful are not vindictive. Flowing out of the other Beatitudes so far, a humble, single-minded Kingdom participant is quick to extend forgiveness because they are fully aware of how much they have been forgiven. John Stott in The Message of the Sermon on the Mount says it this way:

A merciful person forgives the guilty and has compassion on the needy and the suffering. A meek person acknowledges to others that he or she is sinful, but a merciful person has compassion on others because they are sinful.

6 - Blessed are the pure in heart (v.8)

Those who are pure in heart do not have hidden agendas. To be pure in heart does not imply moral perfection or sinlessness but a single-mindedness in devotion to God - someone who knows they are saved by grace through faith and works towards orienting and prioritizing their lives more and more around the Lordship of King Jesus. This concept is prevalent throughout both Matthew and the Old Testament.

See -  Deut. 10:16; 30:6; 1 Sam. 15:22; Ps. 24:3-4; 51:6, 10; Isa. 1:10-17; Jer. 4:4; 7:3-7; 9:25-26). 

 7 - Blessed are the Peacemakers (v.9)

Peacemakers are not divisive. Jesus followers make peace in mirroring King Jesus, the Prince of Peace (Isa. 9:6-7). Though we were at enmity with God because of sin, Jesus conquers sin and death on our behalf and reconciles us to the Father. Isaiah predicts this of the Messiah in Isaiah 52:7. To be a peacemaker not only means we forgive others (v.7) but that we proactively herald the gospel that brings people into a peaceful relationship with God and with others.

 8 - Blessed are the Persecuted (vv.10-12)

Those who are persecuted do not seek acceptance and approval from others because all of their acceptance and approval is found in Jesus. In Jesus’ conclusion of the Beatitudes, He reminds His disciples of both the current reality and future rewards of those who suffer. The world stands in opposition to life in the Kingdom. As a result, the righteous become targets of the unrighteous This happened to Jesus, The Suffering Servant, and the expectation is this should happen to us as well. (In fact, according to OpenDoors, the global church has experienced more persecution and martyrdom now than anytime in church history.)

See -  John 15:18-25; Acts 14:22; 2 Tim. 3:12; 1 Pet. 4:13-14

Practicing Journaling

“I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart; I will recount all of your wonderful deeds.”

Psalm 9:1

Journaling is a means of consciously reflecting on the Word and work of God in our midst. This act of reflection has been a practice of followers of Jesus in one form or another throughout history to slow down and examine our thought life, to center ourselves on the presence of God and His Word, to better focus on our prayers (since it’s easy to get distracted praying silently or out loud), and to keep a record over time to look at where God has been faithful.

And while there’s no one right way to go about it, we would strongly recommend beginning with Scripture so as to allow God’s voice to take priority over our own, (check out our Bible reading plans for where to start).

From there, use Scripture as a launching pad to journal. The point is not so much in the method or approach - rather through journaling, the point is to get ourselves in a place where we are experiencing God’s love for us afresh as we approach Him in His Word and in prayer. 

The following prompts are ways to get you started, after reading Scripture:

• Paraphrase the passage in your own words

• Study the passage on your own - What does the passage reveal about God and/or people? What is the passage calling you to do/pray for?

• Write out your prayers, focusing on particular truths you need to be reminded of

• Recount where you have seen God’s faithfulness recently - How have you seen Him at work?

• Process your thought life - What are you wrestling with and what does God’s Word say in light of that?

Related Resources:

How to Study the Bible

Examen Prayer

Lectio Divina

Mind Mapping

“Abide” from Following Jesus Together

How to Prepare for Sunday LifeGroup Gatherings

Please spend time reading through the following list and the Sunday Liturgy in order to be prepared for your Sunday LifeGroup Gathering.

HOSTING

Select a place to host Sunday LifeGroup Gatherings. We’d encourage you to select a different location than where you meet during the week for LifeGroup night to take the hosting burden off of one person or family.

Prior to gathering together, the host should clean and disinfect frequently touched surfaces (e.g. door knobs, light switches, countertops, faucets, chairs, etc.) and primary communal areas (e.g. kitchen, bathroom, living room, dining room, etc.) in their home. Consider reaching out to everyone in LifeGroup to see who’s coming to make sure you have enough seating for everyone.

Because Sunday LifeGroup Gatherings still involves teaching, please make sure you have access to technology (e.g. laptop, tv with internet access, etc.) so you can watch and listen to the teaching. 

Note: Sunday LifeGroup Gathering should last 60 to 90 minutes.

---

SAFETY & SANITATION RECOMMENDATIONS

In order to ensure the safety and health of those gathering together, we recommend the following precautions be taken before and after people gather.

• Follow CDC Environmental Cleaning and Disinfection Recommendations

• Do not attend a Sunday LifeGroup Gathering if you are sick, might be sick, or have any reason to think you have been exposed to COVID-19.

• Make sure shared surfaces (e.g. doorknobs, light switches, countertops, faucets, chairs, etc.) are disinfected before and after each gathering.

• Wash your hands thoroughly (more than 20 seconds with soap and warm water) upon arrival and upon returning home.

• If serving food and/or drink, serve individually and with washed hands.

• Keep as much distance as possible between members of different households and their belongings.

---

SUNDAY LITURGY

Before Sunday you will be provided a Sunday Liturgy. A “liturgy” is the arrangement of elements that Christians follow when gathered together. It’s a practical way of doing the “one anothers” that the New Testament calls us to. Those elements traditionally involve singing, praying, and reading/listening to God’s Word.Your leader should look over the Sunday Liturgy to familiarize themselves with the flow of the gathering. The leader can also divvy out responsibilities (such as singing, corporate prayer, etc.) to Core Group members in the LifeGroup so as to share the ministry weight with others.

---

KIDS 

Families make up a large part of our church and LifeGroups, so children should be a part of your Sunday LifeGroup Gathering experience. There are two primary options for your group:

1. Include kids in your LifeGroup Gathering time. This option is more ideal for groups with older kids and a fewer number of kids.

   • Benefits: Kids get to see adults being the church and learning together. It’s also logistically simpler.

   • Negatives: Kids can be very distracting to the group and the content isn't geared toward their learning level.

2. Run a Kidtown space for the kids in your LifeGroup. This option is more ideal for groups with younger kids and a larger number of kids.

   • Benefits: Kids get to learn on their level and adults aren't distracted by their kids during the gathering.

     • A great way to do this is to have kids leave to go to a separate room after the music portion of the Gathering.

     • Based on Kidtown guidelines, there should always be at least two adults in the room with the kids.Rotate adults each week, so the adults also have time to engage in the Teaching and Discussion portions with other adults.

     • Another option could be to find a LifeGroup with kids that meets at a different time and swap childcare with them.

     • Lead kids through the Kidtown curriculum that will be most easily understood by every child.

TEENS AND PRE-TEENS

Teenagers are in a massively important transitional and formative stage. They aren't adults yet but they certainly aren't kids anymore either. The best options for them during LifeGroup Gathering time are to include them in what the adults are learning or to have them help with childcare for younger kids.

Each week we provide a Student Conversation Guide to help you debrief and engage with the teens in your LifeGroup.

SHARING A MEAL

While optional, part of being church family together includes sharing meals.

f you do decide to eat together, use GroupMe a few days out to decide who’s bringing what or set up a list through PerfectPotluck.com

Remember to take proper precautions as we eat together. Serve food and drink individually and with washed hands.

Through this all, please remember to follow the safety and sanitary regulations according to the CDC.

---

FAQ

What do we do if our group is too big?

First make sure to send out an RSVP event via GroupMe. While your group may be large on paper, it could be only some will actually attend.

If your group is too big for everyone to gather comfortably and safely, we’d recommend the following. 

• Sitting outdoors with your electronic device connected to a speaker.

• Splitting your LifeGroup into smaller groups to practice social distancing. 

  • If your LifeGroup is near multiplication, consider using this as an opportunity for the new group to begin meeting together.

  • Other options could include separating a LifeGroup according to gender, geographic location, or a 50/50 ratio of Core Group to non-Core Group.

How do we incorporate those who aren’t able to attend in person?

While we would encourage people to meet and think it best, we also understand if people aren’t ready to meet face-to-face. For those in LifeGroup who can’t attend, create a zoom link for them to watch the sermon with your group.

Parenting & Patriotism

Parents, the 4th of July is right around the corner. Hopefully, you have plans to grill out and shoot fireworks with friends and family. However, have you considered how we as Christians should think about the 4th of July, as well as patriotism in general? For example, should we be leading the charge in celebrating this nation that we grew up hearing was founded on biblical principles? Or should we lead the charge in mourning the many sins of our nation? And how should we talk to our kids about it? Hopefully, these few simple ideas will help.

---

1. Remember that our citizenship is in heaven and our identity is in christ

Above all else, we should remind our children that the truest and most essential thing about us as Christians is that we are God’s. It’s not the grades we get in school, the color of our skin or the country we live in. As Christians, we have more in common with believers from other nations than we do with our unbelieving fellow Americans. The Bible says that our citizenship is in heaven. (Philippians 3:20) We are on this earth for just a little while before we spend eternity with Jesus and even while we are here, our allegiance is to Jesus and His kingdom above all else.

“The truest and most essential thing about us as Christians is that we are God’s.”

---

2. Celebrate the Good

As parents, we should help our kids remember all the good that we have by living in America and be grateful for it! We are free to meet openly with our church family on Sundays and throughout the week. We are not in danger of physical persecution for being a Christian. As well, most of us have access to food, drink, education and healthcare and we can be grateful for that! 

By celebrating and thanking God for the good things that we have in America, we are not saying that we are better than other nations. There is a good emphasis these days that ultimately has its roots in Scripture of celebrating other cultures and seeking diversity in every sphere of life. In fact, the Bible says that when we worship God in heaven, we will be doing so with people from every nation! (Revelation 7:9)

At the same time we’re thanking God for all of the blessings we have, we can pray for those who don’t have the same blessings.

---

3. Mourn the bad

It’s good for our children to know that neither America nor any other nation is perfect, because every nation is made up of imperfect people. We need God to intervene to end racism, religiosity, greed and selfishness which run rampant in America. We should mourn this and teach our children biblical values, not American ones.

---

4. Pray and work for the good of our nation. (Jeremiah 29:7)

Finally, as citizens of heaven, we should pray for the good of our nation, the leaders of our nation and the people in our nation. We should also find every opportunity to work for the good of our nation and neighbors.* So enjoy your hotdogs, hamburgers and fireworks, and find a second to talk to your kids about how we as Christians should view this holiday and this nation.

*For ideas of what you can do regarding racial justice, click here.

---

Additional Resources:

• Exiles: A Study of 1 Peter, sermon series by Midtown Fellowship

• Jesus is Not Your American Patriot, article by Ameen Hudson

• Patriotism and Christianity, article by Ryan Hamm

• Onward, book by Russell Moore

Parenting is Hard

Let’s start here: Parenting is hard. Anybody have a hard time just getting your kids up and going in the morning? But I mean more than that. Parenting is truly difficult at all kinds of levels, even physically. Parents deal with an extreme lack of sleep, with sensory overload - crazy sounds and smells, and with a constant need for diligent attention. 

I know of nothing else that exposes our selfishness like parenting. As well as laziness, control issues, anger, anxiety, and the list goes on. It stresses the marriage relationship. It makes you face areas of brokenness in your own family of origin. And don’t hear me wrong. It’s also wonderful...sometimes. And it’s hard almost all the time. And that’s just normal day to day parenting. We’re not even talking about the thousands of types of suffering families go through every day.

Thankfully, God’s Word is incredibly helpful for us as parents. Deuteronomy 6 is known as the shema. This is the ancient Hebrew philosophy for how education, parenting and generational discipleship work. We’ll use this picture of 3 concentric circles as we walk through this passage.

Deuteronomy 6:4-9 “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 

This is the center, the anchor. Reality and truth are not beholden to our preferences or perspective. There is a fixed, immovable anchor at the center of the universe. Yahweh, the Lord our God. This is good news because anchors help us not drown in storms. And parenting is a storm. 

5 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. 6 And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. 

Circle #1: Your relationship with God.

How beautiful is it that God’s primary command in all the Scriptures is to love Him. For many of us that’s hard to believe, but the thing God cares about most is that you walk in a loving relationship with Him. What an incredible God. Jesus was asked what the most important command is in the whole Bible and He quotes this verse. 

Why? Because everything else falls apart if you live with anything else as central in your life. Pleasure, substances, a significant other, your kids. They can’t hold up under the weight. Nothing else is worthy of centrality in your life. Nothing else is worthy of your ultimate love.

At a more practical level when it comes to parenting, you have to start here with Circle #1 because you cannot mandate onto your children’s hearts something they don’t see modeled in yours. 

One of our favorite and slightly terrifying ways to say this came from a pastor named Wayne Cordeiro. “You can teach what you know, but you reproduce who you are.” You can tell your kids 1000 times that prayer is important but none of that changes the fact that they will look at your life and see if you pray or not. 

Some of you are playing this silly religious game - “Well I want to raise my kid in church so they’ll be good and moral and stuff.” But the problem there is you can’t honestly believe 1 hour a week here with us is going to put a dent in the 167 other hours they spend elsewhere every week.

The only way this thing works is if the church is partnering with you to help you love the Lord your God with all your heart and all your soul and your kids are getting to see that in you. It is not possible for the church to replace you as your kids’ primary discipler. And we don’t even want to try. 

7 You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. 8 You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. 

Circle #2: Your relationship with your kids.

If you focus on God as the anchoring center point of your universe and build out from there--if your primary focus in life is loving and walking with Him--then it will flow naturally that you would want to share that with your kids. 

“But I don’t know what to say!?” Well ... what do you know about God? Tell them about that. What are you thankful about who God is and what He’s done in your life? What have you read about God in His Word recently? What do you pray to God about? Tell them about that. If the answer to all that is “uuhhhh... I got nothing.” Then that’s a problem with Circle #1.

And because God knows that our schedules are crazy busy, I love the simplicity of the commands in these verses:

“You shall talk of them... when you sit in your house.” Do you ever find yourself sitting around your house? Perfect. That’s a great time to talk to your kids about God. 

“And when you walk by the way.” This can literally be translated, “As you’re out and about.” We need to see that this is not saying add 10 more things to your routine. It’s saying as you’re going, weave conversation about God into the rhythms you already have. 

“And when you lie down” - Every night. Bedtime is a great time to think about and talk about and love God together with your kids. 

“And when you rise” Every morning. This is another opportunity to remember who God is and that we are His.

So here’s how this works in the Ludovina household. 

• “When we sit in the house”. Almost every night at dinner, after we eat we get out a Bible and a devotional and we read some Bible together and discuss it. And I get to share my love of God and His Word with my kids. And we say out loud the same 4 rules every time. Things like “I will not ask questions that have nothing to do with what we’re talking about.” And “I will not get up and go to the bathroom.” And half the time we break half those rules, but we’re aiming for 18 years of parenting that show off God’s splendor, not 18 perfect minutes of a single devotion. 

• “When we walk by the way.” Most often this is in the car. Once we were listening to a song and the lyrics were, “your love, your love, your love is my drug.” I reached over and turned it down, “What are they singing about? Why would they say love is like a drug? They depend on it, huh? Do y'all think that’s healthy? No, no it’s not. Why not? Because they’re treating that person like God. That won’t ever work will it? Want me to tell you again how daddy idolized relationships when in high school and college? No, heard that one enough? Ok, we can go back to music. No we can’t turn it up. Daddy gets migraines.”

• “When we lie down” Almost every night bedtime involves singing, prayer, and snuggles. I love to get down in my kids’ bed with them and ask, “How was your day? Was anyone mean to you today? What was the best part?” I have 5 kids and it’s a lot. But it’s worth it. Almost every night I say, “You know daddy loves you? Forever and ever? No matter what? And you know I’m proud of you? And you know why? Because that’s how God loves me. I’m trying to show y'all His love.”

• “When we rise” Every morning is a bit of chaos before we get out the door, but we all huddle up in the kitchen and pray for 20 seconds before we leave. “God help us. Help us wake up. Help us love the people you put around us. Help us remember that we go out with You today.”

Now this is an article about parenting and it’s easy to read this text with an assumed parental lens. However, if you go back to verse 4, this whole set of instructions was given to Israel. Not just parents. So while it certainly applies to parenting, it’s also bigger than that. Because raising kids is an all-of-us project. A village of people are needed to teach our children how great and worthy God is.

9 You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

Circle #3: Your relationship with your neighbors.

I won’t get into this deeply but the third circle is when the first 2 circles are working well, our families start to become this beautiful oasis of joy and laughter and peace. Our families and community have the ability to be a signpost to heaven for other families in our city. To where other families start going “what’s that about?” And you get to have conversations about this unbelievable God at the center of the universe who loves us more than we can imagine. And the thing He cares about most is that we love Him and walk in relationship with Him. So I’m just trying to bring my kids in on that and help them understand that in my own limited and imperfect ways. That’s our 18-year goal. And yeah we’d love to invite you and your family into that in any way that’s helpful to you. You will find this to be a different approach to parenting and mission and your neighbors than “I can’t believe you let your kids watch Harry Potter. Ughhh. You know that’s witchcraft, right?”

Remember, the shema only works from the inside out. If you don’t start with God and your love for Him. Your identity will be off. Your sense of security and hope will be off. Your ability to train your kids will always end up imbalanced in one direction or the other. It’ll be child-centered or parent-centered and both are broken because neither you nor they are God. You're going to be crushed by the fact that your kids are infringing on your freedom and there’s no way to actually parent them without infringing on their freedoms.

However, if you start with God as the center and move to circle 1 and then circle 2 and circle 3, it all works. 

• When it comes to truth, God decides what is true and He teaches us and we teach them. 

• When it comes to authority, God is in charge and He puts us in charge, not to abuse or dominate our children but to lovingly serve them with godly direction and discipline.

• When it comes to purpose, God gives us meaning and He gives us purpose in loving our kids and leading them into where real purpose and meaning is found. 

• When it comes to relationships, God invites us into a perfect loving relationship with Him. He trains us why it’s worth it to restrict our freedoms for the incredible joy found in a loving relationship with Him, with our kids, and with our community and we get to share all of that as we lead our kids into it.

With these circles in order, over time, you’ll find that God of the universe -- the God who invented parenting -- has all the wisdom and all the love and all the patience and all the joy and strength and courage, conviction, and resolve that you’re going to need for the parenting marathon. Even through the terrible 2s. And even through the middle school years. 

And over time He’ll grow fruit in you and in your relationship with your spouse and kids in such a way that even the neighbors might start to notice. 

For more resources on parenting, visit midtowncolumbia.com/parenting.

Resources on Race

As followers of Jesus - who hold firmly to this gospel and look forward to the day when Christ returns putting to death all pain, injustice, oppression and even death itself - we stand up for righteousness, truth, justice and love - because those things are definitive of life in the Kingdom of Heaven.

So, justice and reconciliation - especially regarding race - have been in the collective consciousness of our churches for the past several years.

We believe it’s timely to put those resources, conversations, and teachings back to the forefront of our minds and invite us once again to be a force for change.

In the list of resources, we’ve also included links to organizations and opportunities for you to take further steps to stand up for justice and love. We’d ask that you’d prayerfully consider giving your voice, energy, and resources to these opportunities.

---

Recommended Resources:

• Prayer Sign-Up

Join us each Wednesday morning as we pray together as a church family.

Midtown Resources: 

• Precious in His Sight

A collection of Midtown sermons and a supplemental book dedicated to racial injustice and reconciliation in the church. 

• #Ferguson, Race and the Gospel

A conversation hosted by our Downtown and Two Notch churches shortly after the events of Ferguson, MO. 

• An Honest Conversation about Race in America

A sermon from our Lexington church on race relations in America and how the church responds.

•  Breaking Down Walls

A teaching given by our Two Notch church’s pastor, Ant Frederick, at an Outreach North America conference. 

Additional Resources:

**Inclusion on this list does not necessarily equate to an endorsement of everything they say, but we believe the following media is helpful and important when discussing race in America.

• Things White People (and anyone else) Can Do For Racial Justice

Actionable steps white people (and anyone else) can take.

• The AND Campaign for Biblical Values and Social Justice

Campaign for thoughtfully biblical civic, political and social Christian engagement. 

• The Witness

The Witness is a black Christian collective that engages issues of religion, race, justice, and culture from a biblical perspective. 

• Be The Bridge

  A Christian organization empowering people toward racial healing, equity and reconciliation.

Podcasts: 

• Truth’s Table

• Pass the Mic - A Witness Podcast

• The Church Politics Podcast

Things White People (and anyone else) Can Do For Racial Justice

As followers of Jesus - who hold firmly to this gospel and look forward to the day when Christ returns putting to death all pain, injustice, oppression and even death itself - we stand up for righteousness, truth, justice and love - because those things are definitive of life in the Kingdom of Heaven.

So, justice and reconciliation - especially regarding race - have been in the collective consciousness of our churches for the past several years.

We believe it’s timely to put resources, conversations, and teachings back to the forefront of our minds and invite us once again to be a force for change.

In the list of resources, we’ve also included links to organizations and opportunities for you to take further steps to stand up for justice and love. We’d ask that you’d prayerfully consider giving your voice, energy, and resources to these opportunities.

**Some items on this list were adapted from the article 75 Things White People Can Do for Racial Justice by Corinne Shutack

Read, Watch and Listen:

**Inclusion on this list does not necessarily equate to an endorsement of everything the authors say, but we believe the following books and media are helpful and important when discussing race in America. Consider starting a book club with your LifeGroup and/or invite in people you are building with.

• Read Be the Bridge by Latasha Morrison.

• Read The Color of Compromise by Jamar Tisby

• Read The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander. 

• Read Caught by Marie Gottschalk. 

• Read Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates. 

• Read A People’s History of the United States by Howard Zinn.

• Read The Next Evangelicalism by Soong-Chan Rah

• Read Ta-Nehisi Coates’ article, The Case for Reparations. 

• Watch these videos to hear first hand accounts of what our black brothers and sisters live. Then read everyday people’s experiences through the hashtag #realizediwasblack. Share with others.

• Watch movies that portray the realities of America’s history Roots, 12 Years a Slave, and Selma are great films to begin..

• Check out black movies, TV, and other media that show persons of color as lead characters and in their full humanity. 

• Watch “13th” - a documentary on the American criminal justice system and mass incarceration of African Americans.

• Watch “The House I Live In” - a documentary on the American criminal justice system. 

In sum, diversify your bookshelf and your watch/listen lists to include authors, speakers, stories and story-tellers of color. 

Give, Buy, Share:

• Donate to groups dedicated to ending racial injustice and uplifting minority communities. A few we are particularly fond of are: The And Campaign, The Witness, The Witness Foundation, and Be The Bridge.

• Support black businesses. Find them on WeBuyBlack, The Black Wallet, and Official Black Wall Street.

• Don’t buy from companies that use prison labor. Find a good list here.
  

Advocate, Vote, Volunteer:

• Engage in local elections, especially those involved in the criminal justice system, and advocate for legislative criminal justice reform. We tend to focus our attention on federal elections, but local and state elections (e.g., solicitors, sheriffs, town and county council) are very important as well.

• Research your local police department. Do they currently outfit all on-duty police officers with a body-worn camera and require that the body-worn camera be turned on immediately when officers respond to a police call? If they don’t, write to your city or town government representative and police chief to advocate for it.

• Multiply your voice by soliciting others to advocate as well, writing on social media about it, writing op-eds, etc.

• Sign and share The And Campaign’s 2020 Presidential Statement.

• If you are an educator, buy books that feature people of color as protagonists and heroes. A few good lists are here, here, here, here, and here. And/or purchase educational toys that feature people of color, such as finger puppets, Black History Flashcards, etc for their classroom. Use these items year-round, not just in February. 

• Work on ensuring that black educators are hired where black children are being taught. Listen to this episode of Malcolm Gladwell’s podcast to understand why this is important and the difference it makes. 

• Work with your HR department to recruit African Americans. Recruiting from HBCUs is a good start.

• Learn about criminal justice disparities and advocate for policy changes to address them by contacting your state representatives. For example, read up about mandatory minimum sentences and watch videos about this on Families Against Mandatory Minimums (FAMM’s) website. Call or write to your state legislators and governor about reducing mandatory minimum sentences for non-violent drug crimes.

• Research your local prosecutors. In South Carolina, our prosecutors are called solicitors. Solicitors have a lot of power in their decisions about which crimes to charge a person with, when to schedule cases (yes, solicitors schedule cases in SC not judges), and what sentence to recommend.

• Find out how slavery, the Civil War, and the Jim Crow era are being taught in your local school. Advocate that history is taught correctly and certain parts are not skipped over or barely mentioned. Advocate that many voices be used in the study of history. Often these decisions are made by the local school board or set by the state Department of Education. Find out who makes the decisions and reach out to them. For example, when talking about slavery, is your school showing images such as Gordon’s scourged back, a slave ship hold, and an enslaved nurse holding her young master? Are non-white explorers, scientists, politicians discussed? Are non-white male and female authors on reading lists? Are Japanese internment camps being discussed? There are a lot of great resources out there with a little googling, like PBS’s resources for teaching slavery, this People of Color Online Classroom blog, Teaching for Change, and The National Association for Multicultural Education.

• Get to know your local police department. Call and ask to meet the officers who work in the region you live in or set up a time for them to come meet you and your neighbors. Most departments have programs in place to set up these kinds of events.
  

Relationships, Parenting, and Etc:

• Listen without ego and defensiveness to people of color. Truly listen. Don’t scroll past articles written by people of color — Read them.

• Buy and read God’s Very Good Idea by Trillia Newbell with your children. Consider buying to give to others as a gift, too!

• Provide and read books that feature persons of color as protagonists and heroes. The previous lists here, here, here, here, and here may be a helpful place to start.

• Seek out a diverse group of friends for your kids.

• Seek out a diverse group of friends for you. Practice real friendship and intimacy by listening when people of color talk about their experiences and their perspectives. They’re speaking about their pain.

• Don’t be silent about that racist joke.

• If there are black children/teens in your life, contribute to their college savings plans.

• Be honest about your history - both American history and your own.

• If you have a close relationship with a young person of color, make sure he/she knows how much you love them. Love and affirm that child.

• Talk to the white people you know who aren’t clearly upset by white supremacy. Use “I” statements and “I care” messages (“I feel [feeling] when you [behavior]”). They need to know you see a problem. Call them out, and call them in.