Pre-New Year's Resolution

If you’re visiting today for Friends & Family Day, we’re so glad you’re here! Make yourself comfortable and let us get to know you better. You are important to the church and to the Lord (Matthew 5:14-16)!

It is an extremely popular practice to use New Year’s day as the starting point for life-changing promises—or resolutions. Although it’s always appropriate to improve our lives, we need to examine our attitudes about that improvement. If it’s important enough to begin at a later date, it’s important enough for today (Ephesians. 5:16). One of the most frequent New Year’s resolutions for Christians is to read the Bible through in the coming year. The task itself does not require taking “big bites” but rather consistently reading 3-4 chapters per day. Because we have spent so many years not reading our Bible’s regularly, it’s often difficult to keep on pace throughout the year.

Since reading our Bibles is such a valuable habit for our spiritual well-being, let’s do something about it today! Let’s make a commitment to reading the New Testament before the end of 2007. If we read —on average—less than 9 chapters per day , we will have read the entire New Testament in 30 days!

Over the next 4 weeks, I’ll run a reminder about our readings in this space and will write something about the material read during the previous week. Please pray for strength to commit to this opportunity. Set aside a specific time of day to read the Bible, find a comfortable translation , and don’t let anything hold you back! Fathers, commit to reading these passages in your home each morning or evening. Check in with other families to encourage their progress.

May God bless you and your family as you commit to His Word!

updated (11.20): Here's a link to the "Read the New Testament in 30 Days" schedule taken from Paul Sain's "Overview of the New Testament in 30 Days"

Why I'm a Fan of Lads-to-Leaders/Leaderettes -- Bulletin Article 04.29.07

Since we are honoring our 2007 Lads-to-Leaders/Leaderettes participants and kicking off our 2008 efforts this evening, we are presented with a wonderful opportunity to notice some of the benefits of participating in this program.

This is not an attempt to prove the scriptural soundness of Lads-to-Leaders. Lads-to-Leaders is a tool through which the church (Titus 2:4, 6) and the home (Eph. 6:4) train and raise children in the sight of the Lord. Those who quibble over Lads-to-Leaders from a Biblical standpoint must also take the same stand against any organization that carries out various aspects of the Lord’s work.

Our elders have decided to support the work that is done in the lives of our young people through Lads-to-Leaders. Therefore, we follow their lead in supporting this effort.

Both Amanda and I are Lads-to-Leaders Alumni. We have been instilled with irreplaceable attitudes, skills, and knowledge because our home church and our parents encouraged us in its spiritual involvement. We know first-hand about the doors that Lads-to-Leaders opens. If you will, notice some specific reasons why I’m a fan of Lads-to-Leaders:

Lads-to-Leaders allows for diverse spiritual growth. Over the past three decades, Lads-to-Leaders has grown in countless ways. One of the ways this benefits our young people is by offering them many different opportunities for growth. Lads-to-Leaders encourages young people by giving them an opportunity to display their strengths and build experience in new areas. Each young person is important; therefore, there is something for each of them.

Lads-to-Leaders allows for growth in the home. While the program is organized on the congregational level, the bulk of the work is intended to be done within each child’s home. The best place to practice speeches and song leading is at home. Parents can assist their children with their puppet lines each night at home. Parents who read the Bible and memorize scripture along with their children set a powerful example of spiritual maturity.

Young people spend time together. This is the most important aspect of the “youth group” in any church. Our children need to spend time together. Granted, what they’re doing when they’re together is important, but being together is the first step. Lads-to-Leaders provides a framework for different relationships to be built within our church family. This opportunity is priceless.

Young people acquire the single-most important attribute for spiritual growth: confidence. Of all the possible attributes to build through Lads-to-Leaders, I think spiritual confidence is the greatest. We must make sure we are not prideful and haughty (1 Cor. 10:12). However, many of today’s young people are going through life without any confidence in either themselves or the ones they love. Most importantly, Lads-to-Leaders helps young people get to know their Lord better. Having confidence and trust in Him is at the core of our spiritual existence (Heb. 11:6). Additionally, we should have personal confidence and security in ourselves as God’s creation (Ps. 139:13-16). Lads-to-Leaders can open our children’s eyes to the wonderful purpose they serve in the Kingdom.

For those households who do not participate in Lads-to-Leaders in some way, how confident are you about the spiritual growth and maturation of your children? Are you able to give them the opportunities they need (and deserve) to grow in the sight of the Lord? We all know that is a difficult task. That is why Lads-to-Leaders exists: to help train young people toward spiritual growth. As parents, they want to help you! If you have any interest in participating whatsoever, we would love to have you stay after the PM Service so that we can answer any questions you have. We love our young people; we know you do too. Let’s make sure we’re doing all we can to help them.