The most important school for theology.

Where is the prime learning place for God's word? It is the home.

Home is where we learn to learn. It is where patterns of learning and thinking are modelled and formed—and taken into school, to church and into the rest of our lives. What is often sown and nurtured under the trellis of the home flourishes into later life accordingly.

What an exciting privilege and responsibility this is for parents! May you love teaching your children to love being taught by Jesus—his words are spirit and life; he is wisdom from God; and his words will never pass away!

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Train up a child in the way he should go; 

even when he is old he will not depart from it.

Proverbs 22:6

Insights indebted to Phillip Jensen

Ministry principles:

Never do something on your own that you can do with somebody else.

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You, however, have followed my teaching, my conduct, my aim in life, my faith, my patience, my love, my steadfastness, my persecutions and sufferings.

2 Timothy 3:10-11

I found this funny.

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For Christ's love compels us.

2 Corinthians 5:14

We are not forgiven by all.

We have been forgiven by God in Christ Jesus, yet for some it can remain so defeating to know that they may never be forgiven by people they've deeply sinned against.

This is the damaging reality of sin, yet it also teaches us the immense beauty of forgiveness, grace and mercy.

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Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. 
Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will never count against him.

Psalm 32:1-2

Imagine wearing leaves.

After committing the sin which brought about the Fall, shame was thrusted into humanity. Nakedness was no longer without shame between Adam and Eve. They became helpless, scrambling for fig leaves in a desperate yet futile attempt to cover their nakedness.

Despite their rebellion, God showed incredible mercy and grace by clothing their nakedness and shame.

A few reflections:

• Humankind remains the only created order which experiences shame from nakedness. This is one of many characteristics that separates us profoundly from the animals.
• Regressing back to nakedness does not annul our shame. Rather, it would be an act of rebellion against the judgement God has instituted in clothing—nudity points to our shame, not to our freedom from it.
• This incredible act of grace pointed forward to the day when God would decisively and permanently deal with our shame. The cost would be immense — it would require the death of his one and only beloved Son. Yet he will not only cover our sin and shame but will also clothe us with glory and honour and power.

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For all of you who were baptised into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.

Galatians 3:27

Insights indebted to John Piper

Finding it hard to remember Scripture?

God has already given a solution to that problem:
Write it out then read it every day.

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When [the king] takes the throne of his kingdom, he is to write for himself on a scroll a copy of this law, taken from that of the priests, who are Levites. It is to be with him, and he is to read it all the days of his life so that he may learn to revere the LORD his God and follow carefully all the words of this law and these decrees and not consider himself better than his brothers and turn from the law to the right or left.

Deuteronomy 17:18-20

There is nothing a good resurrection can't fix.

Thankful for the example of friends who fix their eyes heavenward:

"My eczema has been terrible. But it's okay — I'll get a new body in heaven."

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Our citizenship is in heaven and we eagerly await a Saviour from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who.. will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.

Philippians 3:20-21