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Some Bible studies, in an effort to reach a wide audience, seem so general it is hard to get a handle on just where they would fit into your life. Here is a different type of Bible study. You can do it on your own, at your own pace, and it is very practical. As you answer your friends letter be sure to give a scriptural response. No opinions are allowed. Everything in your response must be supported by scripture. Sometimes it helps if you actually write out the responses.

Dear Friend –

My oldest child is a senior in high school and is preparing to go off to college. He tells me the Bible says not to have sex outside your marriage once you are married but it is ok to have sex before you are married. Is this true?

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Dear Friend,

My middle schooler is really having a hard time making friends. One of the reasons he is finding it so difficult is that he is seen as a nerd because he prays before he eats his lunch at school. The kids at school know he goes to church on Sundays and he has invited them to church but no one will ever come. Now he says he is tired of going to church, and if it is going to keep him from having friends then Christianity is just not worth it. What should I do?

Photo credit: Wim Mulder

Characteristics of God
We can talk about/know God by understanding his attributes, his characteristics. One of the ways people have tried to discuss God’s attributes is to understand that their are some that he shares with (or communicates to) us. God loves — and we love. God shows mercy, and we too can show mercy. When we stand up for the poor or those who are being oppressed - we demonstrate justice. God is just. These characteristics aren’t exactly the same in both us and God - surely His justice, mercy, and love are purer and better than ours. But we have (or can have) these things.

Incommunicable Attributes
There are some attributes that are a lot less shared, a lot less “communicable” — the fancy adjective in theology for these attributes is “incommunicable”. Use that in a sentence this week! God’s eternity. His omnipresence. He is unchanging. Those don’t translate all the way into our lives - at least not 100%, not the same way (if at all).

God’s Independence / self-reliance / self-sufficiency
Consider God’s independence - everything in all of creation is dependent upon something, and dependent upon Him. The most Macgyver-ish, Man vs. Wild-ish, loner guy in the world is not truly independent. MacGyver needs that duct tape and hair pin (even if that’s all). Bear, the guy on Man vs. Wild, still depends upon finding a stream for water, a zebra carcass to get nutrition, or a tree for shade. God depends upon no one. That’s an attribute of God that we just can’t attain. It should be humbling to consider that God doesn’t need us. Or anyone.

Questions

• How should we respond to God in consideration of these incommunicable attributes?
• Are there any of God’s incommunicable attributes that we could come closer to attaining?
• If yes, would any of them be good for us, positive growth?
• If yes, would any of them be harmful to us, perhaps a temptation?

Source: Systematic Theology, Wayne Grudem
Also see: Bible Doctrine, Wayne Grudem - a thinner, lighter version of Systematic Theology

The company I work for stresses having a sense of urgency in everything we do. We are encouraged to get the most out of every day we possibly can. I do not think my company is unique in this attitude. Living this way can make life feel rushed, hectic, and really not a lot of fun. God did not intend for us to live this way.

Physicians in a group practice will often designate one physician of the group to be the “on-call” physician for the day. The on-call physician will leave gaps in his schedule in order to accommodate patients that call in sick and need to be seen that day.

Living your life as if you were on-call may be a better way to live. Leaving time in your schedule for unexpected interruptions/opportunities is wise. When Moses saw the burning bush I am glad he had time to “go over and see this strange sight”. When raising teenagers life is going to be a time of constant interruptions. Discipline yourself not to pack your days full of activity. Being available will allow you the time to pick up on things your kids are struggling with. Kids need wise parents that are on-call ready to help with Godly wisdom. How do you feel when you are sick and the physicians’ office tells you they have no openings until tomorrow or the next day? Do your kids get an equivalent response from you when they call for help?

Photo Credit: Laurence Shan

Coming this Sunday, April 13… a new Collision series! Start preparing your super hero costumes for the Super Hero Collision April 27!

My dad taught me something years ago but it recently came back to me when I purchased a Garmin. You have probably seen the bumper sticker reading, “God is my co-pilot.” I have never much cared for that bumper sticker. I think a better slogan for a bumper sticker is, “God is my navigator.” let me explain.

The Garmin is a useful tool for getting to places. Sometimes the Garmin will lay out a certain route but I think there is a better route so I ignore the Garmin and go my own way. This is how I think God is more like a navigator than a co-pilot. God has given me direction in my life through bible study, prayer, relationship, etc. Sometimes I chose to follow his way and sometimes I choose not to follow his way because you see I am the pilot of my life. When I choose not to follow God’s way, God like the Garmin, will begin “recalculating” my life, laying out a route to get me back where I need to be, but again it is my choice.

In raising kids I believe it is important for them to develop the ability to listen to God. We need to teach them they worship God my making good decisions. I believe God is greatly pleased when people choose to follow the path (navigated routes) he has laid out for them. Our job, as the pilots of our life, is to decide whether we will listen to our navigator or if we will go our own way.

 Photo Credit:  mdumlao98

If you want to affect people’s lives, affect their understanding of who God is. Not what you say God is, but who you live God out to be every day.

Al Mohler (President of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville) shares this commentary on some research from Po Bonsen of New York magazine. The topic: teaching our teenagers to lie.

Excerpt:

When adults are asked to keep diaries of their own lies, they admit to about one lie per every five social interactions, which works out to one per day, on average. The vast majority of these lies are white lies, lies to protect yourself or others, like telling the guy at work who brought in his wife’s muffins that they taste great or saying, “Of course this is my natural hair color.”

Encouraged to tell so many white lies and hearing so many others, children gradually get comfortable with being disingenuous. Insincerity becomes, literally, a daily occurrence. They learn that honesty only creates conflict, and dishonesty is an easy way to avoid conflict. And while they don’t confuse white-lie situations with lying to cover their misdeeds, they bring this emotional groundwork from one circumstance to the other. It becomes easier, psychologically, to lie to a parent. So if the parent says, “Where did you get these Pokémon cards?! I told you, you’re not allowed to waste your allowance on Pokémon cards!” this may feel to the child very much like a white-lie scenario–he can make his father feel better by telling him the cards were extras from a friend.
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Christian parents should consider this analysis with care. Do we, along with other parents, effectively teach our children to lie? Have we traded off permissiveness for getting teenagers to tell the truth? Would we rather not know, if knowing means putting children and teens into situations in which they might lie?
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Is honesty “on the ropes” at your house?

Read the full article here.

The greatest cause in the world is joyfully rescuing people from hell, meeting their earthly needs, making them glad in God, and doing it with a kind, serious pleasure that makes Christ look like the treasure He is!

John Piper

Willow Creek Community Church just outside of Chicago is an influential church among evangelicals, with many seeking to replicate the models they create. Pastor Bill Hybels recently went public reflecting on what they have been learning. Christianity Today shared part of Hybel’s story in this article. May we learn from them - successes and mistakes.

Excerpt:

In the Hawkins’ video he says, “Participation is a big deal. We believe the more people participating in these sets of activities, with higher levels of frequency, it will produce disciples of Christ.” This has been Willow’s philosophy of ministry in a nutshell. The church creates programs/activities. People participate in these activities. The outcome is spiritual maturity. In a moment of stinging honesty Hawkins says, “I know it might sound crazy but that’s how we do it in churches. We measure levels of participation.”

Having put all of their eggs into the program-driven church basket you can understand their shock when the research revealed that “Increasing levels of participation in these sets of activities does NOT predict whether someone’s becoming more of a disciple of Christ. It does NOT predict whether they love God more or they love people more.”