Just some random stuff I came across:

• From the director responsible for Fast Food Nation comes a touching tale of saving Christmas. Saving it from what? Why, greedy corporations, of course. Check out What Would Jesus Buy? Based on the real life story of Reverend Billy and the Church of Stop Shopping.

• What’s better than the Bible? Why, the Bible rewritten in LOLCat, of course. I have been trying to think of how to describe ever since I came across the news of this “project.” Blasphemous is the first thing that comes to mind, followed quickly by disturbing and very sad. I first heard about it from a post on A Little Leaven. Check out the post and comments for some good insights. (For those of you not familiar with the LOLCat “phenomenon”, count yourselves lucky. For the insatiably curious, spend a minute or two here for the lowdown.)

• On a related note, Tim Challies has a review of The Death of the Grown-up. This sounds like a really good book that I will put on my (long, long) list of books to be read. It is incredible how much adolescence has been put up on a pedestal and adulthood is shunned.

“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.” (Deuteronomy 6:4-9 [ESV])

Recently we began celebrating family worship in our home. Previously we had a pretty simple devotional time after breakfast where I read a passage from the Bible and then our oldest son would read from his Bible in Pictures for Little Eyes before we went on about our days, never to really discuss it or think about it again. Lately, though, I had begun to feel that something was missing. That was when I was reminded of something I had written about Psalm 119:11 and I knew what we needed to do.

Getting Started With Family Worship

The two hardest things about family worship are getting started and getting started. On the one hand I had a desire to lead my family in studying God’s Word and helping us all to store it up in our hearts, but it is difficult with busy and erratic schedules to know when to do it. Combine that with the fact that there is very little precedent for actually leading it or knowing how to lead it and you have a recipe for never getting going. I knew that it was something that needed to be done so I set a date when we would get started and then began my hunt for resources that would help me know exactly what I should do in leading this time. I did a bit of research and found a book called, aptly enough, The Family Worship Book. After taking a look and reading some reviews I decided to order it, and am I glad that I did. This book is a great resource for anyone wishing to start family worship or for anyone who is already leading but feels that there could be more to it. The book gives a good introduction to the what and why of family worship (which I, frankly, skimmed since I didn’t need any convincing). The author then dives into the meat of the book; how to lead and what this time should consist of. The book includes several hymns and selections from the psalter (sans music, although it does give suggested tunes for all the songs). There are also several other resources including creeds and confession, suggested Bible reading timelines, the Westminster Shorter and Larger Catechisms, articles on prayer and many other great resources for leading worship. I have found this book to be truly indispensable as we have begun this endeavor.

What About The Kids?

Having found the perfect book for me to lead, I then turned my attention to finding some resources that would speak to our boys at the level they are at (currently 5 years old and 18 months old). I discovered two great books that I would recommend every parent have. For the 18 month old I picked up The Big Picture Story Bible. This Bible has big, bright pictures that appeal to him and a great narrative that flows from Genesis to Revelation, clearly showing the consistency and interconnectedness of the entire Bible. Currently he mostly likes to look at the pictures (especially the donkeys), but I know that he will grow into it and it is good for our 5 year old to hear. I am sure we will continue to use this book for years to come.

The other book that I found was The Jesus Storybook Bible. This book is great for kids and adults alike as it focuses on the fact that the whole Bible is about Jesus and the author makes sure to point this out at every opportunity. I cannot stress how important this fact is as there are many adult Christians who have no clue that this is the case (I was one until not too terribly long ago). I could write all day on the subject — and someday I will. Suffice to say that this Bible will be well read and used for many years to come as well.

Imagine my surprise and delight to come across this article today. All I can say is that Al Mohler has great taste in books .

Just Do It

Family worship is not something that is easy to start or continue doing. There are not a lot of resources available (although it does seem that there are more available all the time), and there never seems to be enough time in the day. But don’t let excuses get in the way of spending this very important time with your family. In the short time that we have been doing this I have seen changes in myself and the rest of my family that I know are God at work in us.

Just do it, you will be glad that you did.

I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you . . . . I rise before dawn and cry for help; I hope in your words. ( Psalm 119:11, 147 )

About three or four months ago I read a little booklet by John MacArthur called Found: God’s Will that really lit a fire under me. As you can probably deduce by the title, the book is about finding “the direction and purpose God wants for your life.” In about 55 pages he presents six principles that help you to know what God’s will is for your life — what direction to take in everything that you do.

My focus is on the second principle, which is that you must be Spirit-filled. This is an “easy” step because it follows right on his first which is that you must be saved. Once you have received Christ His Spirit comes to dwell in you. However, it is more than that. Living a Spirit-filled life is not just some emotional, energized 24/7 experience; it requires work. Ephesians 5:18-33, 6:1-9 includes a list of how we are to live if we are filled with the Spirit. It speaks of singing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs, making music and giving thanks to God and interpersonal relationships between husbands and wives, fathers and children, servants and masters. Colossians 3 has the same theme only “here Paul does not link such living to the filling of the Spirit. He says that it is the result of letting ‘the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom’.” For me, personally, this was the real starting point. In this section Dr. MacArthur shared how he studies the Bible.

One day he sat down and read the book of 1 John straight through from beginning to end. Too often we like to read snippets and bits and pieces of a book each day to get through the Bible in a year or six months or two years or pick-your-timeframe. This is good for getting an overall feel for the Bible, but this isn’t how it was written. “The books of the Bible weren’t written as an assortment of good little individual verses. They were written with flow and context.” Reading a whole book, or a good portion of a book, in one sitting is the best way to preserve and understand the flow and context of the whole. On day two Dr. MacArthur sat down and read 1 John from beginning to end, again. He did the same on days three through thirty, reading the whole book each day. What a radical concept. Okay, maybe not too radical to some, but it really opened my eyes. As you know, I like to get from point A to point B with as few interruptions as possible and as quickly as possible. In this case, point A is Genesis and point B is Revelation and I want to get from here to there in about a year. Using this method of reading the Bible, if you were able to read one book per month, it would take 66 months to get through the entire Bible. Five and a half years! Hokey Smokes! After 1 John he went on to read the Gospel of John. This book he split up into three sections for reading. Three months to read one book! Figuring that there are more books like John (the Gospel) than 1 John, I figure it probably took closer to seven to ten years for Dr. MacArthur to get through the entire Bible.

So, I figure that’s about how long it will take me, too. Today I officially begin the joyous journey of storing up God’s Word in my heart. I don’t want to just get from point A to point B anymore. I’m tired of just reading the Bible and not knowing the Bible. I understand the basics of the Bible well enough and I have a decent understanding of God’s character and His laws, but I need to be armed with the “sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” (Ephesians 6:17) The interesting thing about the sword of the Spirit, in this context, is that it doesn’t refer to some great broadsword we swing about, hacking off the heads of demons and obliterating sins. Instead it speaks of a short sword — essentially a long dagger — used as more of a weapon for close-combat to target the vital organs of your opponent. So instead of grabbing my Bible to whack Satan over the head, I am to use God’s word to attack individual temptations — just like Jesus in Luke 4:1-13 fought Satan’s temptings using the right verse for the situation.

So, God woke me up at six o’clock this morning and I got up, not only willingly, but joyfully (sorry Mom and Dad, I should have warned you before springing that one on you) and here I sit, having read Psalm 119, which I felt was a fitting beginning to my journey through God’s word.

I truly do want to store up His word in my heart so that I can live a holy life, pleasing to God and that I may shine His light in the world.

God’s working on me, and He’s not finished yet. In many ways I think He’s barely even started.