Good Friday Edition. Did Jesus ever really claim to be God? Or was this belief invented by the early church? In this episode, I offer 6 quick reasons we know that Jesus claimed to be God. Also my quote of the week by J.I. Packer and some family fun ideas during quarantine. Enjoy!
How should Christians uniquely approach our circumstances right now during the Coronavirus pandemic? What should our posture be? I’ll share 3 quick do’s and 3 dont’s, some fun things amidst the hard and my favorite quote from C.S. Lewis that helps us navigate these times. Make sure you subscribe so you don’t miss a podcast! Listen below…
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How to Explain the Trinity to a Child
How do you explain the Trinity to a child? For that matter, how do you explain the Trinity to anyone?
The first thing you need to know is that the Bible never uses the word “Trinity.” The word Trinity captures the various ways the Bible talks about the nature of God.
Also, the Trinity is one of the essential and foundational doctrines of the Christian faith. You can’t have Christianity without it.
I want to share a clear and memorable way to understand what the Bible teaches about the Trinity. I first came across this illustration from Norm Geisler.
There is one what and three who’s. There is one God and three persons. The “what” refers to the nature of God that all three persons share.
The belief that there is only one God is clearly taught in Scripture. For example,
“Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord is one! – Deuteronomy 6:4
That there are three persons is also clearly taught in Scripture. We see all three persons described and at work in various passages, including 2 Cor. 13:14:
“The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with you all.”
The Father is not the Son, the Son is not the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit is not the Father. Each is a distinct person. Three who’s. (more…)
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Will Your Kid’s Faith Survive YouTube?
Worldview training is not optional for today’s teenagers.
As a parent, pastor, educator or youth pastor you need to know that training in worldview, apologetics, and theology is good for the heart and soul of the next generation.
I believe in the next generation. I love getting to spend time with them talking about the big questions of life and the everyday stuff of life.
Gen Z has amazing potential and I think God will use them greatly. (Here’s my interview with David Kinnaman of the Barna Group and Catalyst podcast on Gen Z)
But they must be trained.
Here’s the bottom line—it’s exhausting to live a compartmentalized faith.
Yet, many Christian teenagers are trying to do this impossible task every day. And it’s taking a toll on their soul and faith.
The cultural messages are strong, and the challenges are unrelenting. Students are being shaped more by YouTube and Netflix than by what they are hearing on a typical Sunday morning.
There’s a disconnect.
Faith and feeling goes in one category of life on Sunday; reason and thinking goes in another category the rest of the week. That kind of faith will not survive.
All the while, what they come to see as normal is being subtly changed—without rational argument by the way—by the videos they watch on YouTube and the shows they watch on Netflix.
Nancy Pearcey’s words are very preceptive here:
As Christian parents, pastors, teachers, and youth group leaders, we constantly see young people pulled down by the undertow of powerful cultural trends. If all we give them is a “heart” religion, it will not be strong enough to counter the lure of attractive but dangerous ideas. Young believers also need a “brain” religion — training in worldview and apologetics — to equip them to analyze and critique the competing worldviews they will encounter when they leave home. If forewarned and forearmed, young people at least have a fighting chance when they find themselves a minority of one among their classmates or work colleagues. Training young people to develop a Christian mind is no longer an option; it is part of their necessary survival equipment.
Confidence and integration come from knowing why you believe what you believe and then how to live it out. And that’s really good for the heart.
We don’t have to pick between thinking well and loving well.
We don’t have to choose between reason and relationships. As Christians, we get to do both.
That’s why I am so excited to share my new online course–5 Things Every Teenager Needs to Build a Lasting Faith—with you as a next step here.
It can be confusing to know where to start or what to focus on. There never seems to be enough time for the things that matter. I’ve removed the guesswork and created a Faith Ownership Dashboard for you to follow.
For years I have been sharing these truths with parents and church leaders in conferences and breakout sessions as an application of my book Welcome to College.
Now they are available for you to work through at your own pace on the go and apply to your own family.
We can’t choose for our kids and God will do what he will do in his providence—but our part is vital if we want to give our kids the chance to build a lasting faith. There is not a silver bullet formula, but there is a framework that we can apply by God’s grace to make a lasting difference!