I just completed the book Family Driven Faith by Voddie Baucham. Don’t let the name fool you; it has absolutely nothing to do with the purpose driven garbage being peddled by the seeker-friendly mega-churches. In fact, I doubt that this book would be well received at such social club churches.
In the book, subtitled Doing What It Takes To Raise Sons And Daughters Who Walk With God, Voddie sounds the call for parents to take back their biblical responsibilities as the primary spiritual mentors and shepherds of their children. He also calls for the church to not only stop interfering and usurping parents’ authority, but to quit dividing and segregating the family: Baby goes in nursery, toddler in Sunday school class, teen in youth group, parents in main sanctuary. If we are to have a multi-generational family, it starts with the family, not the youth pastor.
I highly recommend this book to parents, expecting parents, pastors, youth pastors, Sunday school teachers, church nursery staff, and even teens and children.
You can purchase this book here.
I do not understand how a man can be a true believer unto whom sin is not the greatest burden, sorrow, and trouble.
After many years of listening to non-sequential, topical, doctrinal sermons, most of which are based on isolated texts, many church members still do not know the Bible as one book. Often repeated verses and some doctrines may be known; but the Scriptures, according to their divinely-given historical structure, are seldom understood. This is equally true in most Sunday schools. Children are usually taught stories from the Bible out of chronological order, and large portions of God’s Word are never taught to them at all. Even a faithful Sunday school pupil is unlikely to graduate with an overall knowledge of the Bible.
Repentance is taking sides with God against ourselves. It is the unsparing judgment of ourselves because of our high-handed rebellion. It is a ceasing to love and tolerate sin, and to excuse ourselves for committing it. It is a mourning before God because of our transgressions of His holy Law. Therefore, Christ taught, “Except ye repent, ye shall likewise perish” (Luke 13:3), for He would not condone evil. He came to save His people from their sins, and not in them.
I just completed this work by Spurgeon (the audio book version) and found it to be a wealth of encouragement for those who wrestle with their assurance of salvation. It was also a deep source of doctrinal truths regarding God’s grace and provision for salvation; helping me to better understand that salvation is all of God. I recommend it to those who are looking for a great exposition on the truths of the doctrines of grace.
During the year 2009, the eyes of the world will turn to remember the anniversaries of the birth of the two most influential men of the last one thousand years—the 500th anniversary of the birth of John Calvin, and the 200th anniversary of the birth of Charles Darwin. No two men of the millennium have done more to shape the thoughts of mankind or to affect the political and social destiny of nations than Calvin and Darwin—the former for the glory of God, and the latter for unimaginable evil. . . . Where Calvin taught the inadequacies of the fallen mind of man, the supremacy of the law of God, and the sufficiency of Holy Scripture, Darwin’s Theory led to the supremacy of man’s reason, the rejection of Scripture, and to widespread distrust in the Bible as an accurate record of Earth history. The children of Calvin and the Reformers gave us the rise of nation states that embraced Republican representative government. The children of Darwin gave us Marxism and totalitarianism. Calvin’s legacy included respect for life, a defense of the biblical family, and the rule of law under God. Darwin’s philosophical progeny introduced the world to the horrors of eugenics and legalized widespread abortion on demand.
Many Christians believe the best thing they can do for their family is provide them with more stuff. So we continue to accumulate as though accumulation is the answer. All the while our children are screaming at us from beneath the piles of untouched toys and unworn clothes begging for a few minutes of our time. Time we simply don’t have because we are too busy trying to find that one thing we can add to the pile that will make the screaming stop.
We wrap up our December series on the deity of Jesus Christ and the doctrine of the Trinity with Don Green’s sermon 
But we know that the Law is good, if one uses it lawfully,
People fall into serious error and sin when they exalt their own authority over God’s authority or when they suppress the truth of God’s Word to promote their own self-serving agendas. The Roman Catholic religion has done this by establishing its traditions and teachings to be equal in authority with Scripture (Catechism of the Catholic Church par. 82).
Driven by vivid recollection of their own childhood, [some parents] are preoccupied with Billy’s and Suzie’s psychological adjustment. Books and magazines pander to these parents. They promote the latest pop psychology—all tailored to insecure moms and dads. These gurus promise to teach you how to build self-esteem in your children. Have you noticed that no books promise to help produce children who esteem others?
I found the following piece from Ingrid Schlueter over at 
If [the local church was] to draw the masses, like the televangelist did, it apparently could best be done by wrapping the faith in the package of entertainment—for the people, having now been trained to be consumers, have also been taught that the ultimate sin is to be bored. Hence the birth of the market-driven church that caters to the insatiable appetite for amusement in society in general.
Christ Alone Wyoming 