“This ‘new Reformed body’ is intended to foster a new way of being the church, just as traditional, mainline denominations rose to serve in their day,” wrote leaders of the new Evangelical Covenant Order of Presbyterians.

More than 2,000 people attended the ECO’s meeting in Orlando, Fla., this week, but a straw poll indicated that most have not yet decided whether to leave the PC(USA), according to the Presbyterian Outlook, an independent magazine.

The creation of the ECO follows the PC(USA)’s churchwide vote last year to lift its longtime ban on gay clergy. Though homosexuality is not mentioned in the ECO’s founding documents, its stated commitment to conservative theology and the inerrancy of the Bible indicates that gay clergy will not be tolerated.

The ECO also hopes to distinguish itself by creating peer review systems for churches, promoting leadership training, and instituting a less hierarchical form of government than the PC(USA), according to a statement.

Incoming congregations will be given the option of pursuing joint membership in both the PC(USA) and the ECO, or joining the ECO as full members, which would require dismissal from the PC(USA).

Several dozen congregations have already started to leave the PC(USA) to join another conservative denomination, the Evangelical Presbyterian Church. Unlike that denomination, the ECO says it is “fully committed” to allowing female clergy.

Though still the largest Presbyterian denomination in the U.S., the PC(USA) lost more than 500,000 members between 1998 and 2009, according to church statistics, and now has about 2 million members.

In a joint statement, eight PC(USA) elders pleaded with conservatives not to leave the denomination, even as they acknowledged tensions over the gay clergy decision.

“Do not allow one-sided presentations to be all you consider as you seek to discern God’s call to you and your congregation,” the elders wrote.

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Answer:There is no doubt that some of what we now refer to as Christmas traditions can be traced back, in some form, to pagan cultures and celebrations.

The ringing of bells, for example, is generally thought to have had its origin in the early pagan winter celebration of ringing of bells to drive out evil spirits.

In later centuries, bells were rung on Christmas Eve to welcome in the spirit of Christmas with joyful noise (Psalm 95:1).

When Christians enjoy the beauty of a glorious bell choir ringing Christmas carols, we are reminded of the coming of Jesus into the world, not the driving out of evil spirits.

Similarly, there was an early pagan tradition of lighting candles to drive away the forces of cold and darkness. However, is it likely that our hearts are drawn to those early pagans rather than rejoicing in our Savior, the Light of the World (John 1:4-9) as we light candles?

Of course not.

Nor is it likely that when I give gifts to my loved ones at Christmas, the gifts will have less significance to either of us because some Druid somewhere in time offered a gift to his goat as part of some pagan ritual.

No, we remember, as we should, the gifts given to the Christ-child by the Magi (Matthew 2:11). Jesus was the greatest gift ever given, and therefore His birth is worthy of celebration.

So obscure are the beginnings of many Christmas traditions that reference books and internet sites contradict one another on the details.

Some of our most popular and beloved Christmas symbols are entirely Christian, and were never part of any pagan religion anywhere.

At the same time, some Christmas traditions undoubtedly do have their origins in the pagan past. What is important is not the origins of traditions, but their significance to us today as believers in the Son of God.

December 25 was not mentioned in the biblical narrative as the day Jesus was born, and, as such, we cannot be dogmatic about it one way or the other.

But even if the date is completely wrong, there is still the opportunity for thousands of people who wouldn’t go to church any other time of the year to go on Christmas day and hear the gospel of Christ.

If you are fully convinced that you cannot, in good conscience, observe a particular Christmas tradition, do not observe it. If you are fully convinced that a particular tradition is too steeped in paganism to honor God in any way, by all means forsake that tradition.

At the same time, if you are fully convinced that you can honor and worship God through a particular tradition, honor and worship God (Romans 14:5)!

For Christians, Christmas traditions can be an important part of the celebration of the birth of our Savior, and they remind us of that momentous event that changed the world forever. More importantly, they bring to mind the miracle of new birth He created in us when He came into our hearts, saved us from our sins, and made us children of God by the shedding of His blood on the Cross (Colossians 1:20).

It is this amazing truth that enables us to say with the angels, “Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace, good will toward men” (Luke 2:14).

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Read this article on the Examiner.

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Answer: With people thinking about the September 11 terrorist attacks on the tenth anniversary of the horrific event, many are again asking the age-old question: “Why does God allow evil?” The Bible describes God as holy (Isaiah 6:3), righteous (Psalm 7:11), just (Deuteronomy 32:4), and sovereign (Daniel 4:17-25).

These attributes tell us the following about God: (1) God is capable of preventing evil, and (2) God desires to rid the universe of evil. So, if both of these are true, why does God allow evil?

If God has the power to prevent evil and desires to prevent evil, why does He still allow evil? Perhaps a practical way to look at this question would be to consider some alternative ways people might have God run the world:

1) God could change everyone’s personality so that they cannot sin. This would also mean that we would not have a free will. We would not be able to choose right or wrong because we would be “programmed” to only do right. Had God chosen to do this, there would be no meaningful relationships between Him and His creation.

Instead, God made Adam and Eve innocent but with the ability to choose good or evil. Because of this, they could respond to His love and trust Him or choose to disobey.

They chose to disobey. Because we live in a real world where we can choose our actions but not their consequences, their sin affected those who came after them (us). Similarly, our decisions to sin have an impact on us and those around us and those who will come after us.

2) God could compensate for people’s evil actions through supernatural intervention 100 percent of the time. God would stop a drunk driver from causing an automobile accident. God would stop a lazy construction worker from doing a substandard job on a house that would later cause grief to the homeowners.

God would stop a father who is addicted to drugs or alcohol from doing any harm to his wife, children, or extended family. God would stop gunmen from robbing convenience stores. God would stop high school bullies from tormenting the brainy kids. God would stop thieves from shoplifting. And, yes, God would stop terrorists from flying airplanes into buildings.

While this solution sounds attractive, it would lose its attractiveness as soon as God’s intervention infringed on something we wanted to do.

We want God to prevent horribly evil actions, but we are willing to let “lesser-evil” actions slide—not realizing that those “lesser-evil” actions are what usually lead to the “greater-evil” actions. Should God only stop actual sexual affairs, or should He also block our access to pornography or end any inappropriate, but not yet sexual, relationships? Should God stop “true” thieves, or should He also stop us from cheating on our taxes?

Should God only stop murder, or should He also stop the “lesser-evil” actions done to people that lead them to commit murder? Should God only stop acts of terrorism, or should He also stop the indoctrination that transformed a person into a terrorist?

3) Another choice would be for God to judge and remove those who choose to commit evil acts. The problem with this possibility is that there would be no one left, for God would have to remove us all. We all sin and commit evil acts (Romans 3:23; Ecclesiastes 7:20; 1 John 1:8). While some people are more evil than others, where would God draw the line? Ultimately, all evil causes harm to others.

Instead of these options, God has chosen to create a “real” world in which real choices have real consequences. In this real world of ours, our actions affect others. Because of Adam’s choice to sin, the world now lives under the curse, and we are all born with a sin nature (Romans 5:12).

There will one day come a time when God will judge the sin in this world and make all things new, but He is purposely “delaying” in order to allow more time for people to repent so that He will not need to condemn them (2 Peter 3:9).

Until then, He IS concerned about evil. When He created the Old Testament laws, the goal was to discourage and punish evil. He judges nations and rulers who disregard justice and pursue evil.

Likewise, in the New Testament, God states that it is the government’s responsibility to provide justice in order to protect the innocent from evil (Romans 13). He also promises severe consequences for those who commit evil acts, especially against the “innocent” (Mark 9:36-42).

In summary, we live in a real world where our good and evil actions have direct consequences and indirect consequences upon us and those around us. God’s desire is that for all of our sakes we would obey Him that it might be well with us (Deuteronomy 5:29). Instead, what happens is that we choose our own way, and then we blame God for not doing anything about it. Such is the heart of sinful man.

But Jesus came to change men’s hearts through the power of the Holy Spirit, and He does this for those who will turn from evil and call on Him to save them from their sin and its consequences (2 Corinthians 5:17). God does prevent and restrain some acts of evil.

This world would be MUCH WORSE were not God restraining evil. At the same time, God has given us the ability to choose good and evil, and when we choose evil, He allows us, and those around us, to suffer the consequences of evil.

Rather than blaming God and questioning God on why He does not prevent all evil, we should be about the business of proclaiming the cure for evil and its consequences—Jesus Christ!

Recommended Resource: 
If God, Why Evil?: A New Way to Think About the Question

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Lisa Gibson, an attorney in Colorado Springs, and founder and executive director of the Peace and Prosperity Alliance, met personally with Gaddafi when he visited the U.S.in 2009 In that meeting at the Libyan Mission, she told him of the love of Christ.

Of the meeting Gibson told ASSIST News Service, “[The] Libyan Ambassador … invited me … to meet the leader. So, myself and another young man who lost his father on the Lockerbie plane were invited to a one-on-one meeting with Muammar Gaddafi.”

She recalled to ANS telling Gaddafi that she had “been to Libya three times, and have truly fallen in love with the Libyan people. I also talked about the projects we are engaged in there. He was grateful. I also gave him a gift. A ‘Cross’ brand pen and a card. In the card I shared that I have been praying for him since my first trip to Libya in 2005, wished him the best for himself and the people of his country, and blessed him.”

Lockerbie bombing

Her journey to that incident, and her current message to the bereaved dictator from Libya, came about after her brother, Ken Gibson, died when he was just 20 years old, one of 270 victims in the 1988 Lockerbie Pan Am terrorist bombing, which the International Court ruled recently that Gaddafi is responsible for.

Gibson’s brother, ironically, was on the plane by accident. He had been bumped off from an earlier flight. He had just spent two years in military service overseas, and was on his way home for Christmas.

Fight terrorism with love

Gibson told 7News that after her brother’s death she asked herself, “Is there any way I can see my brother’s death not be in vain?” She adds, “The most effective weapon in the war on terror is love. Because at the heart of terrorism is hate. And the only way to fight that battle is to walk in the opposite spirit with love.”

Gibson did this by traveling back and forth to Libya to do missions work. She told ANS, “It is the most tangible way I have known how to overcome the act of terror that my brother was killed in for good. It is the essence of the gospel, which calls us to love our neighbors as ourselves and to love our enemies.”

When the International Court ruled last June that Gaddafi is personally guilty for Lockerbie and ordered his arrest, Gibson was addressing a huge crowd in Freedom Square in Benghazi.

Today, she feels that the Libyan people have at last found their own voice. She told 7News, “Ultimately we always thought we would see justice in some way, and whether we got a conviction or not to me wasn’t important. I knew at some point he would come to justice. For me, it’s encouraging.”

As of this writing, Gaddafi opponents have taken over the majority of Tripoli. It is not known yet where the Libyan dictator is, and two of his sons, who were detained by the opposition, have escaped. But plans are already afoot on a post-Gaddafi Libya.

In an open letter to the dictator published on ANS, Gibson urged Gaddafi to step down for the sake of the Libyan people and said, “I met with leaders of the National Transitional Council and they have already begun to focus on the future and rebuilding from the ground up. Just this week I have been dialoguing with one such leader who has asked us to bring in leaders in organizational management, administration, leadership, and ethics to train the Libyan leaders. We are responding to this request by finding qualified people to help.”

Looking back to the day that she met Gaddafi three years before, she told ANS that as she walked out of the Libyan Mission, “I felt God’s peace. I had fulfilled that particular mission. While the rest of the world was spewing hate and rhetoric against him, one simple woman welcomed him to America and shared the love of Christ with him in the simplest ways I knew how. I pray that it will in some way make a difference.”

To see Gibson’s full letter to Gaddafi, go to http://www.assistnews.net/Stories/2011/s11080111.htm.

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She has had a textured life as the child of separated teen parents, with one side fully agnostic and the other Christian.

She went to nine different schools, was bullied, and at one point considered suicide.

But the tracks on her album have surprising things to say. “Ordinary Day” is about how God can make the most ordinary things extraordinary.

And “Me” is about surrendering to God—not just in parts, but completely.

Her album took two years before it was completed. It was supposed to be secular, but midway Cox encountered Christ and figured that Christian music was the way for her to go.

“[We] were about a year into it when I became a Christian. From everything I had gone through, and all the experience over those two years, I became a Christian and I realized halfway through the project that God didn’t want me to go that route — that His plan for me was to be a Christian artist. I really felt called to do Christian music and positive music,” she told BREATHEcast.

Cox describes her album, produced by Red Hammer Records, as “positive pop with some throwback 80s guitars.” She told Cross Rhythms, “I chose songs that I feel I can relate to and things I’ve experienced and that other people have gone through too. Every song is a little piece of Katelynne. I want my audience to get a feel for who I am through my music and be able to relate to me and my life.”

By everyone, she doesn’t just mean Christian music lovers. She has kept secular pop songs in the album as well, which she hopes can be a way to reach out to a wider crowd. But the focus is God.

Born in Portland, Ore.  and now based in Camas, Wash. , Cox told BREATHEcast that her parents were teenagers when they divorced, and while one side was agnostic, the other was Christian. She started out being agnostic.

She says middle and high school were especially difficult. She had changed schools nine times, and switched from private to public schools. She told Cross Rhythms, “[In public school] I got called words that I didn’t even know, that I didn’t even understand. I had to look them up or ask my parents what they meant. I had threats to kill me. I had people stalking my house and people got arrested for some of the stuff that they were doing to me.”

She remembers being tackled to the ground and getting sprayed with foul smelling men’s cologne. She also remembered feeling suicidal. “It took a big chunk out of my life,” she told BREATHEcast. “I really let it control everything that I went through…people don’t realize how much it affects you, not only personally but spiritually, and kind of how you view yourself…”

But now she tells BREATHEcast that God allowed her to be bullied so that she could share her experience with other kids and inspire them to move forward. Her title song, One Girl, talks of “being one girl in a huge crowd and making a difference, making your voice heard.”

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The Beginner’s Bible, originally published by Mission City Press, has been among the top 10 bestsellers of Christian children’s books for the last 20 years. It has stood out for its unique artwork and simple storybook-telling style, and is today considered a classic.

The Beginner’s Bible is geared to children age six and younger. It presents Bible stories in a way that is both entertaining and educational, and is widely considered to be a pioneer in this category.

Robust product line

Zondervan has had since 1997 a distribution agreement with Mission City Press. In 2004 Zondervan became the exclusive publisher of the book through Zonderkidz.

Zonderkidz has since then fully revised and updated the text and illustrations of The Beginner’s Bible. It also added a robust product line including various Bible storybooks, devotionals, children’s books, Bible covers, audio products, I Can Read Bible stories and others.

To date, all editions of The Beginner’s Bible (now available worldwide in over 20 languages) have cumulatively sold six million copies. The entire product line (including storybooks, audio products, et. al.) has sold over 18 million units.

“Zondervan has enjoyed a great partnership with Mission City Press as both organizations have long shared a common vision to bring God’s Word to life to the youngest generation,” Scott Macdonald, President and CEO of Zondervan, said.

“We are honored that Mission City Press trusts us to carry forward this wonderful brand, and we intend to continue to enhance and develop it to impact more young hearts for Christ,” Macdonald said.

Tim Lyles, President of Mission City Press said, “There are times when a highly successful past turns out to be just the warm-up for an even more astounding future.  We feel that way about The Beginner’s Bible.”

Lyles added, “[The Beginner’s Bible’s] amazing legacy as a No. 1 bestseller for over 20 years was preparation for the best that is yet to come. There is no better company than Zondervan, our longtime publishing partner, to take [this] brand to new heights.”

Zonderkidz has produced over 55 products for The Beginner’s Bible brand, including an interactive website with games and teaching resources. Zondervan is also planning new products for the brand including:

• The Beginner’s Bible: Kid-Sized Devotions for children to use daily.
• The Beginner’s Bible Book of Prayers, which includes a Bible verse and a biblical character per prayer.
• Heroes of the Bible, from the I Can Read series. Hardcover editions will also have an audio CD.

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Answer: The book of Job asks the question about an afterlife very simply: “If a man dies, will he live again?” (Job 14:14). Asking the question is easy, but the difficult part is finding someone to answer the question with authority and experience. “Death and taxes” have said to be the two universals that everyone living can expect to deal with. But while everyone is handled somewhat differently by government taxation, death is the great equalizer that treats everyone the same.

Because of this, it’s not uncommon for people to be afraid of death. The ancient philosopher Epicurus (341–270 BC) recognized that the fear of death was present in everybody and therefore he sought a way to remove that fear. Epicurus taught that humanity not need fear death because human beings are nothing more than a composition of atoms which at death simply disperse and that is the end of things. Epicurus didn’t believe there were any gods to fear or anything to face once a person breathed their last. His teaching of maximum pleasure in this life with minimum pain and suffering dictated that everything ends when death occurred.

One of the groups the Apostle Paul encountered in his trip to Athens were the Epicureans, who listened to Paul’s Mars Hill address up until he mentioned the resurrection of Jesus and then abruptly ended the discussion (Acts 17:32). They had been bathed in their teacher’s philosophy and likely knew well the statement made by Apollos the Epicurean who said during the founding of the Areopagus where Paul was speaking, “When the dust has soaked up a person’s blood, once he is dead, there is no resurrection.”

But after thousands of years since that time, the fear of death remains fixed in many people. The book of Job describes death as the “king of terrors” (Job 18:14). This fact is visible in the movie “The Bucket List” where the character played by Jack Nicholson, trying to come to grips with dying, says: “We all want to go on forever, don’t we? We fear the unknown. Everybody goes to that wall, yet nobody knows what’s on the other side. That’s why we fear death.”

But one person has gone to that wall, gone through to the other side, and come back to tell us what to expect. He alone possesses the authority and knowledge to tell everyone the truth about the afterlife.

The Expert on the Afterlife
From a historical perspective, no historical scholar disputes the life of Jesus of Nazareth. There is no debate about His teachings or the fact that He reportedly did miraculous things, and there is universal agreement that He was put to death by crucifixion under the Roman prefect Pontius Pilate. Jesus went to the wall of death and through to the other side.

The resurrection puts Jesus in a place of being the sole authority and witness able to answer the question, “Is there an afterlife?” And what does He have to say? Christ makes three basic statements about the subject of life after death:

1. There is an afterlife.
2. When a person dies, there are two different eternities to which he/she will go.
3. There is a way to ensure a positive experience after death.

First, Christ most certainly affirms there is an afterlife in a number of biblical passages. For example, in an encounter with the Sadducees who denied the teaching of resurrection, Christ rebuked them by saying, “Regarding the fact that the dead rise again, have you not read in the book of Moses, in the passage about the burning bush, how God spoke to him, saying, ‘I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? He is not the God of the dead, but of the living; you are greatly mistaken” (Mark 12:26-27). Jesus clearly told them that those who have died centuries before are very much alive with God at that moment.

In another passage, Jesus comforts His disciples (and us) by telling them specifically that they can look forward to being with Him in Heaven: “Do not let your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also. And you know the way where I am going” (John 14:1-4).

The Afterlife – Two Eternal Destinies
Jesus also speaks authoritatively about what types of destinies await every person that dies: one with God and one without God. In Luke’s account of the rich man and Lazarus, Jesus says, “Now the poor man died and was carried away by the angels to Abraham’s bosom; and the rich man also died and was buried. In Hades he lifted up his eyes, being in torment, and saw Abraham far away and Lazarus in his bosom” (Luke 16:22–23). One aspect of the story worth noting is that there is no intermediate state for those who die; they go directly to their eternal destiny. As the writer of Hebrews says, “It is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment” (Hebrews 9:27).

Jesus speaks about the two final destinies again when He is confronted by the religious leaders in John: “Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. For just as the Father has life in Himself, even so He gave to the Son also to have life in Himself; and He gave Him authority to execute judgment, because He is the Son of Man. Do not marvel at this; for an hour is coming, in which all who are in the tombs will hear His voice, and will come forth; those who did the good deeds to a resurrection of life, those who committed the evil deeds to a resurrection of judgment” (John 5:25-29). Christ restates the matter very plainly in Matthew when He says, “These [unbelievers] will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life” (Matthew 25:46).

The Afterlife – What Determines Our Eternal Destination?
Jesus also is clear on what determines each person’s eternal destination—whether they have faith in God and what they do with respect to Christ. The book of John contains many statements made by Jesus on this subject, with perhaps the most famous being these: “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up; so that whoever believes will in Him have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God” (John 3:14-18).

For those who repent and receive Christ as their Savior and Lord, the afterlife will consist of an eternity spent with God. But for those who reject Christ, their destiny will be spent away from God’s presence. Jesus contrasts these two destinies in the end of the Sermon on the Mount: “Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it” (Matthew 7:13-14).

The Afterlife – Conclusions
Speaking about life after death, G. B. Hardy, a Canadian Scientist, once said, “I have only two questions to ask. One, has anyone ever defeated death? Two, did he make a way for me to do it also?” The answer to both of Hardy’s questions is “yes.” One Person has both defeated death and provided a way for everyone who puts their trust in Him to overcome it as well. Epicurus may have believed that everyone fears death, but the truth is no one who trusts in Christ needs to be afraid. Rejoicing in this fact, the Apostle Paul wrote, “When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.’ ‘Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?’” (1 Corinthians 15:54–55).

Recommended Resource:The Wonder of Heaven: A Biblical Tour of Our Eternal Home

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Answer: The greatest commandment in Scripture is this: “Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength” (Deuteronomy 6:5). Going back to verse 2, we read, “So that you, your children and their children after them may fear the LORD your God as long as you live by keeping all his decrees and commands that I give you, and so that you may enjoy long life.” Following Deuteronomy 6:5, we read, “These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up” (vv. 6-7).

Israelite history reveals that the father was to be diligent in instructing his children in the ways and words of the Lord for their own spiritual development and well-being. The father who was obedient to the commands of Scripture did just that. This brings us to Proverbs 22:6, “Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it.” To “train” indicates the first instruction that a father and mother give to a child, i.e., his early education. The training is designed to make clear to children the manner of life they are intended for. To commence a child’s early education in this way is of great importance.

Ephesians 6:4 is a summary of instructions to the father, stated in both a negative and positive way. “Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.” The negative part of this verse indicates that a father is not to foster negativity in his children by severity, injustice, partiality, or unreasonable exercise of authority. Harsh, unreasonable conduct towards a child will only serve to nurture evil in the heart. The word “provoke” means “to irritate, exasperate, rub the wrong way, or incite.” This is done by a wrong spirit and wrong methods—severity, unreasonableness, sternness, harshness, cruel demands, needless restrictions, and selfish insistence upon dictatorial authority. Such provocation will produce adverse reactions, deadening children’s affection, reducing their desire for holiness, and making them feel that they cannot possibly please their parents. A wise parent seeks to make obedience desirable and attainable by love and gentleness.

The positive part of Ephesians 6:4 is expressed in a comprehensive direction—educate them, bring them up, develop their conduct in all of life by the instruction and admonition of the Lord. This is the whole process of educating and discipline. The word “admonition” carries the idea of reminding the child of faults (constructively) and duties (responsibilities).

The Christian father is really an instrument in God’s hand. The whole process of instruction and discipline must be that which God commands and which He administers, so that His authority should be brought into constant and immediate contact with the mind, heart, and conscience of children. The human father should never present himself as the ultimate authority to determine truth and duty. It is only by making God the teacher and ruler on whose authority everything is done that the goals of education can best be attained.

Martin Luther said, “Keep an apple beside the rod to give the child when he does well.” Discipline must be exercised with watchful care and constant training with much prayer. Chastening, discipline, and counsel by the Word of God, giving both reproof and encouragement, is at the core of “admonition.” The instruction proceeds from the Lord, is learned in the school of Christian experience, and is administered by the parents—primarily the father, but also, under his direction, the mother. Christian discipline is needed to enable children to grow up with reverence for God, respect for parental authority, knowledge of Christian standards, and habits of self-control.

“All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness” (2 Timothy 3:16-17). A father’s first responsibility is to acquaint his children with Scripture. The means and methods that fathers may use to teach God’s truth will vary. As the father is faithful in role modeling, what children learn about God will put them in good standing throughout their earthly lives, no matter what they do or where they go.

Recommended Resource: Fathering Like the Father: Becoming the Dad God Wants You to Be by Gangel & Gangel.

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