FUKUSHIMA FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH

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  • Posted by Pastor George
  • Thursday, March 31, 2011
    • I read this and share with you where Tim Challies links to the web site of a pastor of a church ravaged by the Tsunami and nuclear accident by providing a sample of posts written by Pastor Akira Sato, who is the pastor for the Fukushima First Baptist Church, near the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant.

    [March 13] This has been triple disasters. Because of the quake, some member’s house was partially destroyed. I still haven’t been able to get in touch with the families who live near the beach. JR Tomioka station has been washed away by the tsunami. The city was utterly destroyed. You have already heard of the accident of Fukushima first nuclear power plant. All the residents were forced to evacuate, and my church members had to get on a bus without any belongings and sent to schools and gyms separately. It’s been hard to find out how they are doing. I heard that there were not enough blankets for everyone, and some couldn’t sleep all night because it was cold in the shelter. In some shelters, no water or food were distributed all day. I’m very concerned for Bro. Suenaga, 95-year-old, who was in a hospital due to pneumonia was forced to leave the hospital to evacuate. There are also people who have broken bones, in need of dialysis, with little children or children with disabilities.

    …

    [March 14] We have contacted 150 church members and they are safe. Hallelujah! One sister told me that waves approached her but she was able to swim to safety. My eyes fill with tears as I call members from a pay phone - fifty or sixty still need to be contacted.
    Read more »

    Get Wisdom! A Great Deal for You

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  • Posted by Pastor George
  • Sunday, March 27, 2011
    • In an effort to help you as parents with great resources every once in awhile .. this is a "you should not pass this one up."  It is on sale for 50% off this week at the link below!
     
    Question: What do our kids need? Answer: They need wisdom. "Wisdom is supreme; therefore get wisdom." Proverbs 4:7


    GET WIDSOM! 23 Lessons for Children about Living for Jesus


    Designed for parents or teachers to use with children from K-5-through Grade 4, twenty-three lessons illustrate qualities of wisdom and godliness. Each lesson is presented in a simple format with illustrations to capture the attention of the child, and supplemented at the back of the book with suggestions for teaching the lesson. Every child of God - both adults and children - should work hard to show these traits more and more, because we love Jesus and want to be like him. That's easier said than done, isn't it? We struggle with sin every day, and we will fail. The lessons remind us that when we do, we will find forgiveness and the grace to continue to get wisdom at the foot of the Cross.

    Paul Tripp wrote:
     
    "Ruth Younts has produced a wisdom character manual like I have never seen before. Forget that it was written for children, I need it!

    I wish I had been given such a fun, street-level and Christ-centered tool when my children were still at home.

    By the way, Ruth isn’t able to talk about wisdom with such practicality and grace because she did graduate work in wisdom. No, Ruth has spent years at the feet of her Heavenly Father listening. She knows that he is not only the source of all true wisdom, but is Wisdom himself."

    You can read some sample pages and more information about the book here: Get Wisdom!

    Parents & Kids of Faith

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  • Posted by Pastor George
  • Friday, March 25, 2011
  • Labels:





    • QUESTION OF THE WEEK:

    Question: What is required in the seventh commandment?
    Answer: The seventh commandment requires that we preserve our own and our neighbor’s chastity; in heart, speech and behavior.
    Scripture: 1 Cor 6:18; 7:2; 2 Timothy 2:22; Matt 5:28; 1 Peter 3:2


    WE ARE BUT DUST…
    (Maybe this really happened)

    Deb and I had the grandboys over last Saturday and fed them lunch. During the prayer of thanks for the meal, I took the opportunity to pray in thankfulness for the grace of God through our sin and feebleness. I turned my eyes heavenward and stated, “without You O Lord, we would be but dust …”

    Isaac, our-6 year-old grandson who was sitting next to Deb, leaned over to her and asked, “Grandma, what is butt dust?”

    It took awhile before we could eat.


    TEACH YOUR CHILDREN LESS RULES AND MORE ATTITUDES
    From Gospel-Centered Parenting by Rick Thomas, Counseling Solutions

    Christ was seemingly the ultimate Rule Breaker! The fundamentalists of His day had a hard time with Him. He didn’t seem to function from any particular list of rules. I’m thinking that He didn’t have a list at all. He was the kind of guy who made the controller and the insecure person miserable.
    Read more »

    Parents & Kids of Faith

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  • Posted by Pastor George
  • Thursday, March 17, 2011
  • Labels:





    • QUESTION OF THE WEEK:
    Question: What is the seventh commandment?
    Answer: The seventh commandment is “you shall not commit adultery.”
    Scripture: Exodus 20:14


    JUST WHAT SHE NEEDED
    (maybe this really happened)

    Like many couples, Deb and I had some difficulties in our first few years of marriage and adjusting to a life together. In the midst of one of our troubles which we were having a particular difficulty resolving, we decided to visit a wise elder in our church. After hearing what the struggle was and asking lots of questions and listening to us, he told us that he thought he had discovered what the main problem was.

    He stood up, went over to Deb, asked her to stand, and gave her a hug. He then looked at me and said, "This is what your wife needs, at least once a day!"

    I frowned, thought for a moment, then said, "Ok, what time do you want me to bring her back tomorrow?"


    The Dangers and Long-Term Liabilities of Pragmatic Parenting: Sacrificing our Children
    From Gospel-Centered Parenting by Rick Thomas, Counseling Solutions

    Christians are a reflection of God the Son. Though we are not perfectly imaging Jesus Christ in the way God desires us to image Him, the Father is parenting us toward a fuller understanding and practice of what it means to be like His Son. It was stated earlier:
    Read more »

    TALK TO YOUR CHILDREN ABOUT GOD AND THE TSUNAMI

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  • Posted by Pastor George
  • Monday, March 14, 2011
    • The devastation that has occurred in Japan is mind-numbing. Growing up near the ocean and being on the beach when waves were over 20 feet and experiencing their power is a frightening experience. I can easily see how the Tsunami did what we have seen.

    My reason to bring this article to you is to encourage parents not to miss the chance to put such an event into the light of accurately explaining it to their children. Over several disasters, and this one being no exception, I have read and heard god-diminishing explanations that have tried to defend God while what they actually did was humanize him.

    A biblically accurate and God-centered explanation is not always what we want to hear for the truth about creation, the fall, and redemption is not well understood by many. Please take time to explain to your children as best you can what has happened from a biblical view and do not feel you need to defend God – he does not need such advocates – but for the sake of the gospel – explain God to your children. To help, here is an article that Pastor John Piper wrote after the earthquake and tsunami in Indonesia a few years ago. I adjusted some of the words to fit the Japan situation.

    Tsunami, Sovereignty, and Mercy by John Piper
    “The waves of death encompassed me, the torrents of destruction assailed me. . . This God—his way is perfect” (2 Samuel 22:5, 31).
    Read more »

    SHOULD YOU MAKE YOUR KIDS READ THE BIBLE?

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  • Posted by Pastor George
  • Friday, March 11, 2011
    • Our friend, Erik Raymond of Emmaus Bible Church in Bellevue, addressed this question by personal example and good counsel. His practice is very close to what Deb and I did with our kids, where as they grew older, they not only participated in a family time but were to do private devotions that included journaling. What was asked of them was modeled by mom and dad. Here is Erik's article:

    This is probably one of the most common questions I hear from parents wanting to establish Christian disciplines in their kids.

    Every Christian parent deals with this at some point. They struggle with what they should mandate vs just encourage their kids to do. And with this, how much? At what point will we defeat our purpose and discourage them?

    OUR PRACTICE
    This is what we do in our home. I am not saying it is for everyone, but we are supportive of it as a practice by conviction and experience. Our children range from 20 months to almost 16. There is quite a variety.

    I’ll hit this from two angles, family and personal devotions.

    Family Devotions: As a family we work through books of the Bible. We typically do this after dinner in the evening. I read a section of Scripture and talk about it as we go. I weave in questions and application. I require everyone to participate and help the younger ones to do so.

    We are also going through The Heidelberg Catechism to help provide a firm theological understanding.

    Read more »

    Parents & Kids of Faith

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  • Posted by Pastor George
  • Thursday, March 10, 2011
  • Labels:





    • QUESTION OF THE WEEK:
    Question: What is required in the sixth commandment?
    Answer: The sixth commandment requires all lawful efforts to preserve our own life and the life of others.
    Scripture: Eph 5:29, 30; Psalm 82:3, 4; Prov 24:11, 12; Acts 16:28


    ALWAYS LEARNING
    (Maybe this happened)

    I must confess that after 35 years of raising children and grandchildren, I still often have to turn to Deb about advice for young children. Last weekend, Deb and I were babysitting our grandson, Asa, and Deb decided to go up to the barn and work with the horses, leaving Asa in my primary care. He was getting hungry so I poked my head in the barn and asked, “What should I feed Asa?”

    “That’s up to you,” Deb replied. “There’s all kinds of food. Why don’t you pretend I’m not at home?”

    A few minutes later Deb’s cell phone rang. She answered it and heard my voice, “Yeah, hi cowgirl. Uh…what should I feed Asa?”


    The Dangers and Long-Term Liabilities of Pragmatic Parenting
     From Gospel-Centered Parenting by Rick Thomas, Counseling Solutions

    I’m sure you have met the counting lady, right? You may have seen her in Wal Mart while standing in the checkout line. Her 7-year-old son Johnny was disobeying and she was fearfully hoping he would stop his disruptive mischievousness. Her method for getting little Johnny to behave is what I call the counting method. 1… 2… 3 …
    Read more »

    DO YOU TAKE YOUR BIBLE FOR GRANTED?

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  • Posted by Pastor George
  • Friday, March 4, 2011
  • Labels:
    • Take 10 minutes for this video and you will not be the same opening up your Bible. This is what church ought to be like as God's Word is brought to us through song, preaching and teaching.

    Parents & Kids of Faith

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  • Posted by Pastor George
  • Thursday, March 3, 2011
  • Labels:





    • QUESTION OF THE WEEK:
    Question:  What is the sixth commandment?
    Answer:  The sixth commandment is “You shall not murder.”
    Scripture:  Ex 20:13


    SNOW WHITE AND MY GRANDSONS
    (Maybe this really happened)

    Deb and I were watching Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs with our three youngest grandsons, as they were seeing it for the first time. The wicked queen appeared, disguised as an old lady selling apples, and the boys were spellbound. Then Snow White took a bite of the poisoned apple and fell to the ground unconscious. As the apple rolled away, Isaac, our 6-year-old grandson, spoke up. "See, Grandma. She doesn't like the skin either."


    DAZZLE YOUR TEEN: Part 2
    By Tedd Tripp

    Teenagers need grand and glorious things in their lives. They are idealists and need grand and ennobling things for which to live. But parents too often focus on the do’s and don’t’s of daily living together and fail to point teens to the truly great things in life. If we are to be successful in influencing our teens in a godly manner, we must keep things (even the struggles) in their place and focus on the big picture that God gives us. Struggles of both teens and parents look different and play out differently when we keep them in perspective.

    In this article, we’ll consider ways to give our teens biblical ways of understanding and interpreting their world. We will put the big picture of God’s glory in front of them.
    Read more »
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