We read of God’s calling upon Samuel’s life in 1 Samuel 3.  Samuel was the child for which Hannah had prayed for ever so earnestly.  Once she finally birthed Samuel, she dedicated him to the Lord and to serve under Eli who was the priest (1 Sam. 1:26-28) who had blessed her concerning her ability to conceive a child (1 Sam. 1:17).

“Please, my lord,” she said, “as sure as you live, my lord, I am the woman who stood here beside you praying to the LORD.  I prayed for this boy, and since the LORD gave me what I asked Him for, I now give the boy to the LORD.  For as long as he lives, he is given to the LORD.”  Then he bowed and worshiped the LORD there.  -1 Sam. 1:26-28

Eli the priest was leading Israel’s worship at this time, but it was apparent that his sons unfortunately would not continue his legacy.  At the time when God was calling Samuel to minister, He was also rejecting Eli’s sons to follow in their father’s footsteps.

Take a look at 1 Sam. 3:10-18 to see how God help Eli responsible for his children’s sins:

10 And the Lord came and stood, calling as at other times, “Samuel! Samuel!” And Samuel said, “Speak, for your servant hears.” 11 Then the Lord said to Samuel, “Behold, I am about to do a thing in Israel at which the two ears of everyone who hears it will tingle. 12 On that day I will fulfill against Eli all that I have spoken concerning his house, from beginning to end. 13 And I declare to him that I am about to punish his house forever, for the iniquity that he knew, because his sons were blaspheming God, and he did not restrain them. 14 Therefore I swear to the house of Eli that the iniquity of Eli’s house shall not be atoned for by sacrifice or offering forever.” 

No matter the age of Eli’s sons, God held him responsible for neglecting to address their sinful lifestyle.  Other families in the Bible experienced conflict when one’s children decided to reject following God.  Jacob suffered hardship (Gen. 34:30) and heartache (Gen. 37:33-36) because he was ignorant concerning his sons’ deceptive dealings.  Job was known for sacrificing extra offerings just in case his children had sinned or cursed God (Job 1:5).  Church leadership in the New Testament was restricted to only those men who were able to “manage his own household competently, having his children under control with all dignity” (1 Tim. 3:4; cf. 3:12; Titus 1:6).

As parents, we are called to address the sin in our children’s lives.  As we help them grasp the gravity of sin, we are creating boundaries in their lives to bring them stability and holiness.  If we are to mold our children in such a way that they desire holiness, we must teach them to fear God, honor parents, and respect boundaries.

I am now the father of two 5-year-olds.

14 days ago, we celebrated Obadiah’s birthday.  Since he turned 5, he was telling everyone that he was “1 whole handful.”  So, I guess today, I have two whole handfuls.  I think I have known that for quite sometime.

Eli came home when he was 2.  Now living with us for 3 years, there is something special about the fact that he has been with us longer than he has been without us.

I am so honored to be the father of this little boy.

I cannot imagine our family without him.

Eli has a way of lighting up a room like no other.  That infectious smile can make you forget about the insignificant concerns you carry.

There are many things that I love about Eli: his love for all things hauling, his passionate love of music, his addiction to cuddling with his mom, and his desire to play with his brother and care for his sister.

On this birthday, I am incredibly grateful that he is his father’s sidekick.  There isn’t a moment that I’m working outside that Eli isn’t working alongside me (or asking to be).  I would take him over most grown men as a work partner.  I love that he loves to practice music beside me and mimic my mannerisms that he does so much better.  I love that he wants to ride in my truck and listen to my music.  I am grateful for the thousand questions he asks everyday to have knowledge about the things that fascinate him.

Happy birthday, little man.  Your father adores you.

Such a heavy, beautiful way to worship today.  It was honest, authentic worship.  We started a 2-week series today entitled “Through the Storms.”  Ken Petrus, Executive Pastor at North Side, preached this first week.

4 months ago today, Ken’s youngest child, Eric, went to be with Jesus after an 11-year fight with cancer. Eric had asked Ken to preach his funeral.  At that funeral, I witnessed one of the most beautiful expressions of faith, hope, and the peace surpasses all comprehension that I have ever seen.  When Jeff and I were planning out the remainder of the messages for 2013, 2 weeks at the end of May were vacant.  I asked Ken if he would want to address the congregation that had prayed so much for his family.  With tears in his eyes, he said he would love to.

He did an incredible job.  He shared the story but kept pointing us back to the Word as the source of our hope.  He had also asked for some specific songs in today’s service.  He asked Stacy Wideman to sing “It Is Well” as she lost her son a few years ago and can sing that song with more meaning than most.  He asked for Ted to sing “How Great Thou Art” which he sang at Eric’s funeral.  And “Amazing Grace” meant so much to the family to know that Eric’s chains are truly gone and he is finally free.

Today, we worshiped to:

Powerful time.  Genuine time.  It was what I call “ugly worship.”  It’s kinda like an “ugly cry.”  You just let it all out there.  And I can’t think of a more beautiful expression to give to Jesus.

I’ve been tapped to preach next week, and I felt a different direction during Ken’s message today.  It was a clear call, it will be a little different, but you can’t go wrong following the Holy Spirit.  Hope to see you there!

This week’s bad church sign:

WE LOVE HURTING PEOPLE

Thanks for the warning.  I will make sure to steer clear of you in the future so that I am not your next victim

This week I am off.

Mom is getting some time away during the day and I am playing Mr. Mom.

Two things I know about a stay at home mom that complicates the job: 1) it is a very difficult job, 2) you have the stinking cutest clients in the world.

We finished up our “Knowing That You Know Jesus” series today by studying 3 John.  The entire study since the beginning of this year has been so good.  Jeff’s message on 3 John concerning encouragement and confrontation within the church was so insightful and practical.  The Apostle John was encouraging Gaius concerning opposition he received from Diotrephes – a person within the church who loved to be first.  Don’t be one of those.

Since it was Mother’s Day, we had our ladies lead us in worship.  I thought about giving all these moms the week off, but then I realized that maybe someone else responsible for watching the kids that morning might be a welcomed treat.  My wife and the other ladies did great.  While they sing great, they lead great.  They are worship focused themselves.

Today, we worshiped to:

• Be Thou My Vision – North Side Worship
• Your Home – North Side Worship
• Sing to the King – Billy & Cindy Foote
• 10,000 Reasons (Bless the Lord) – Rend Collective Experiment

We also gave out baby bottles to raise money for Crossroads Pregnancy Center.  This story is great.  A discipleship group in our church served Crossroads during our Love [in]deed day, and they haven’t lost the itch.  In fact, they want to continue giving back.  So from now until Father’s Day, fill up these baby bottles with donations to serve this ministry.  Love when people get Kingdom service!

Here’s a church sign for you just in time for Mother’s Day:

“SHE AIN’T HEAVY

SHE’S MY MOTHER.”

Good to know, church with a pulse, good to know.

And I imagine your mother is happy to know that as well!

One of my favorite movies when I was a child was the Christmas classic, Home Alone.  When I was in elementary school, I got to watch Macaulay Culkin live out every child’s fantasy on the big screen: no parents, no siblings, freedom without end, and making your home into a legitimate war zone.  The desire to be a mischievous hero marked every little boy my age.

If you remember the plot line, Culkin’s character, “Kevin,” had a pretty awful family.  He had a brother Buzz who wanted to feed him to his tarantula.  He had to bunk with his cousin Fuller who was prone to bed-wetting and was downing some serious levels of Pepsi.  Worst of all, his cheapskate Uncle Frank was known for spouting off towards Kevin one of the most memorable movie lines of all time: “Look what you did, you little jerk!”

Let’s face it: Kevin did not have the best family in the world, so when they dramatically disappeared one morning before Christmas, Kevin thought he had been raptured into a parent-less bliss.  His wish had become true.  His annoying family had been whisked away from his home.

While every child has probably wished a family member away at some time in their lives, every person also knows what it is like to be overwhelmed with the state of their family.  While we all have those family members that disappoint or upset us, we also know what it is like to be truly concerned with the salvation of a family member.

It’s beyond they get on our nerves, we are truly worried about the state of their souls.

Do you have a family member that you believe is lost?  While we can’t read their hearts, there is a good chance that each of us have someone that is separated from God.  They need the gospel.  But who is going to tell them?

Most likely, if you are concerned about their salvation, you might be the one that God wants to use.  And if you are like the majority of Christians that fact scares you to death.  It’s one thing to share the gospel with strangers on the other side of the world, but when you start sharing with people in your family, things get tricky real quick.

God will open many doors for you to share the gospel with your family.  Here are some things to remember as you share Christ with those closest to you:

1. Live a life of integrity.

Even if your home isn’t as blatantly dysfunctional as Kevin’s, your family has its issues.  They probably majored in issues.  I realized one day that everyone seems to have the “family crazy” somewhere in their family tree (which made me wonder, if everyone has a “family crazy,” I must be the “family crazy” to someone else).  It is unavoidable that you will experience some type of family drama.

While it is easy to point out your family’s issues, can you acknowledge your own?   In reality, you will not be able to change your family members.  The nature of your relationship with your parents and siblings puts them at an intense defensive level.  No matter if you are right, it is simply difficult for your family members to take criticism from you.  If you want to change them, you are going to have to attempt it from another angle.

If you want to change your family, you must start with yourself.  Your family cannot change if you stay the same.  If you anticipate a day when your family puts the fun back in functional, comes to their logical senses, and starts bending to your every desire, you can keep on waiting.  If you feel a burden for your family to change, you must start the change within yourself.  Before you scrutinize their miniscule faults, you must learn to remove the obvious log from your own eye (Matt. 7:5).  Don’t preach them a message you cannot live yourself.

2. Don’t preach at them.

While we are called to share the gospel, your family is not your captive congregation.  They will probably also regret it if you treat them as that.  You cannot approach this group as you would teaching a Bible study.

For many people, the hardest place to be a Christian is when they are around their family.  Since this group has seen you at your worst, they have an uncanny knack at being able to provoke you to anger faster than anyone else.  You have an ability to spot their faults from a mile away.  Tempers flare, words fly, and an awful lot of regret is unfortunately birthed in someone’s very own home.

So don’t expect a sermon over a family meal to go over with rave reviews.  It might happen, but it rarely does.  Normally, sharing the gospel with family members work best when you live a life of integrity before them, listen to their struggles, and then show how Jesus is changing your life.  Your family can resort to arguments but they can’t argue with results.  If your life is being changed, they will see the difference and better accept your gospel encounters when you present them.

3. 

• Don’t be an “itinerant evangelist.”

An itinerant evangelist is someone who travels from church to church, event to event and shares the gospel.  They don’t have enough time to build relationships with the people in the churches where they preach.  They might drive into town, deliver a hellfire and brimstone message, and then they drive out onto the next destination.

If you try to be an itinerant evangelist to your family, you will fail.  To pop in and out of your family members’ lives preaching the gospel devoid of relationship rarely works.  Your family will listen to your message better if you simply listen to them.  If you are cheering at their games, encouraging them through letters or calls, or initiating quality time with them, they are more likely to listen to what you have to say.

Think about what Paul says in 1 Thess. 2:8: “So, being affectionally desirous of you, we were ready to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own selves, because you had become very dear to us.”  While Paul spoke this in regards to the Thessalonians, I can’t think of a better verse for you and your family.  You want to share the gospel with them, but you also share your very lives with them because they are that precious to you!  Don’t only speak to them when you have a sermon prepared, engage them in their lives.

4. 

• Trust God to save your family.

As I struggled in college to comprehend the theological tension between evangelism and the sovereignty of God, I searched relentlessly for answers.  I thought that my finite mind could understand the infinite mind of God, and I was wrong.  I wanted to understand how my efforts in evangelism worked alongside God being the active agent of salvation.  One of my mentors told me a line that has stuck with me since then: “Preach like an Arminianist and sleep like a Calvinist.”

To explain, Arminianism is the theological belief in complete free will where man chooses God.  So, if that’s the case, we better share Christ with all as often as possible because they will choose possibly on the quality of our presentation.  On the other hand, a Calvinist is one who believes that God elects the saints and free will has nothing to do with it.

So this piece of advice encouraged me to take advantage of every opportunity that God presented for me to present the gospel but yet trust Him with the results.  I cannot save anyone, but I can be faithful to proclaim the excellencies of the gospel and then trust the only One who can save to do what only He can do.

I got a new album today that I’m pretty excited about.  North Side’s “Knowing Jesus – Live” is available on iTunes.  If you are a purist, you can get your hard copy at North Side.  23 tracks of the story of Christ.  Pretty special stuff (even if I was a part of it).

Even if you have a hard copy, we would love for you to leave a review on iTunes or help spread the word.

Obadiah has kinda been excited about it to say the least.  He has been telling everyone concerning his upcoming birthday.  Yesterday, someone told him that he would now be one whole handful at five years old.  That saying stuck and he has proceeded to tell everyone in Greenwood that.

This morning, I did what he asked me to.  I woke everyone else up to get close to his bed and sing “Happy Birthday” to him the first thing.  I asked him if he felt five, and he said, “No, I just feel 4 still.”

We have some exciting things planned for today and this month as we celebrate both of the boys’ birthdays.

What I love about Obadiah is how excited he gets about the small things.

He wanted to take the card his mother made with him to preschool today.  He wanted to share with others that he could read what was on different birthday notes.  He squealed in delight over a simple cupcake just as much as he would if someone would have given him the most expensive thing in the world.  He thinks it is the best thing that I agreed to call him “lil’ Spiderman” all day for his birthday.

He is a joyful little boy.  Well, not so little anymore.

I can’t believe it has already been 5 years.  The time is going so quickly but I cherish that God has given me this precious boy to carry on my name and prayerfully a godly legacy.  He is a joy.  He is a delight.  And I am just excited that I get to be his dad.  Happy birthday, son.