First time obedience? Really? Is there such a thing these days? Is it even appropriate to teach obedience or do we want to encourage children to make their own choices?

The child rearing years are typically the most challenging years of a marriage. Parenting is a full time occupation for which most people are not adequately prepared. Without instruction, the tendency is to duplicate how we were parented (with the underlying assumption that we turned out “Okay”) or to choose the opposite parenting style. For example, if someone was raised by excessively rigid parents, that person may choose a more permissive parenting approach. If someone was raised with too little guidance, they may choose a more structured and strict parenting...

Dr. Neil T. Anderson writes, “We live in rebellious times. Many people sit in judgment of those in authority over them and they submit only when it is convenient or they do so in the fear of being caught” (Steps to Freedom in Christ, p. 14). The truth is it is sometimes difficult to submit to those in authority with whom we disagree or who are poor leaders but the Bible requires us to submit to all in authority over us. “The only time God permits us to rebel against authority is when they require us to do something morally wrong or attempt to rule outside the realm of their authority” (Steps, p. 14). As a rule, God does not bless rebels.

One definition of submission is “to allow God to lead us through other ...

Elsie and I celebrated our 50^th wedding anniversary this year. Yep, we got married in 1968. I was the ripe old age of 22 and Elsie 21. We were very young, very immature, and selfish. By the grace of God we stayed together and grew each other up. One reason why we stayed married through all the ups and downs of our marriage is we took our wedding vows seriously. When the minister asked us to repeat after him, “I, Irv/Elsie, take thee, Irv/Elsie, to be my wedded husband/wife, to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death us do part, according to God's holy ordinance; and thereto I plight thee my troth," we meant every word...

Who taught you how to parent your children? You probably didn’t learn it in school. Did you learn how to parent from your mom and dad? Did you learn by “trial and error?” Parenting the next generation is a daunting task indeed. All of us need help in learning how to do it biblically. We want to reach the hearts of our children, not simply get external compliance. Elsie and I want to come alongside you and help you do that.

We are launching the biblical parenting class, Growing Kids God’s Way. Originally released in 1986 and updated in 1996, the Growing Kids God’s Way Series 5th edition, (DVDs and Workbook) was the first major parenting curriculum written for the Christian community, and has ...