As the holiday season approaches, many of us will share food with friends and family.  We will have family over for holiday meals.  We will share snacks at church events, parties, and homeschool groups. Everywhere we look we will encounter food. For many of us, food is the most delightful and joyous part of gatherings. Practicing hospitality through meals and celebratory food is something observable in the scriptures. It's not an exaggeration to say that food is an essential part of human life. We are so thankful to be a part of a church that shows hospitality with consideration for those who have food allergies and disorders. But I know that many churches do not show the same consideration. 

From time to time we interact with questions. If you have a question you’d like answered, send it to redeemingfamily@gmail.com.

When we think of Thanksgiving in particular, many think of the Mayflower, Pilgrims, football, turkey, and lots of food. There aren’t many of us who are thinking about God and His word on those days. There is nothing wrong with celebrating man-made holidays, but as Christians, we should be celebrating in order to give Glory to God. There are many ways in which we can give glory to God in our celebration of Thanksgiving. If you’re looking for some ways to tweak your Thanksgiving celebrations to focus more on our Lord and less on the things of this world, then you’ve come to the right place. 

Stories are built to be retold and experienced, not picked apart. Stories are kind of like jokes; they lose some of their power when they have to be explained. The story of the woman at the well is one of the most powerful stories I know, and the most powerful parts of it require very little explanation: this woman encounters her Savior. 

I want to focus on what we have in common with this woman, and how Jesus treats her and talks to her.

Jesus’ interaction with this woman is a window into how he might interact with you or me if we met him along the side of the road in our hour of need. We are sinful and yet can be accepted. We are broken and yet there is an invitation for us part of a new family, to be children of God.

Let's answer that question with a few things today, first, a few passages in scripture, second, with a story, and third, with a few statements for us as listeners of sermons and as preachers of sermons. First, let's look at scripture. What does Scripture say about God Judging?

A wise Presbyterian elder wrote a very good book entitled “How Should We Then Live” and asked the crucial question, of how to live the doctrines of God that saturate the pages of scripture. The foundational truth is that any good systematic theology begins with the doctrine of the Triune God.

Based on who this God is, coming to grips with the overwhelming magnificence of YHWH, the question then returns: how should we then live? 

Are you looking for an alternative to trick-o- treating celebration? One of our favorite things is to spend extra family time together, with a movie night! Come check out how we make our movie night extra special and a celebration our kids look forward to every year.

Four paraphrases float around my head regarding the task of the preacher in the sermon introduction. These four phrases will guide our conversation today about the sermon introduction:"Put a man in a hole"."The sermon introduction will set the stage for God's solution to the audience's problems" "You have about a minute to convince me to listen to your sermon or not"  "The best sermon applications begin during the sermon introduction" 

Each of these paraphrases summarizes different components or goals preachers aim for in their sermon introductions. 

I hope in giving a bit of a “behind the scenes” tour of how preaching texts are selected, you are better equipped to pray for those who have been called by God to deliver His Word to you in the task of preaching. I also hope that you develop a greater sense of wonder and awe of God who saves through His Word preached (Romans 1:16, Romans 10:14-15, 1 Corinthians 1:21, 1 Corinthians 2:1-5, Acts 2:40-41, 1 Timothy 4:11-16, Jude 22-23). 

I assured my friend that there was nothing for him or the preacher to apologize for. As far as I could tell, the preacher had not uttered a single heretical word. He had not tried to place in the sermon things that did not belong there. Though repetitious and hard to follow, he spent most of his time repeating after Jesus. If that can even be called a mistake, there are certainly far worse.

It’s October, and around here that means we spend a good amount of time thinking, reflecting, and learning about the Reformation. In some regards the Reformation is no different from any other period in history. We don’t magnify or worship the Reformation, or seek to venerate the influential leaders of that time. We do, however, appreciate and recognize the uniqueness of the Reformation in the ideas, ideals, and ideologies that emerged from the period. Most notably, we are thankful for how God used the Reformation as a means to turn many back to the truth of God revealed in the scriptures.

Welcome to our Guest Post Series! This week we have a guest poem by Ali that is based off of Luke 13:18-19

We often publish posts and works by other writers. If you’re interested in having your ideas posted, please send us an email at redeemingfamily@gmail.com

This week we have introduced why Federal Vision is a big deal, reviewed some of the history, and proponents of Federal Vision theology, and provided a list of resources from various Reformed denominations reviewing, rejecting, and responding to Federal Vision. In this section, I’ll briefly provide a synopsis of the gross errors of Federal Vision theology.

Here are some of the resources I've collected over the years that detail the problems with Federal Vision (FV) and its proponents. The FV and New Perspective on Paul (NPP) are often linked together. They are, to use an American phrase - "kissing cousins".  

There are many ways one could categorize the history of Federal Vision. I have chosen to summarize these three periods of the recent Federal Vision movement: The shepherd period (1975-2002), the Auburn Avenue period (2002-2015), the Re-branding period (2016-present day)

At the end of part 1, we ended with a question, "Have you heard God's call like Samuel, and responded, 'Here I am Lord'?" In today’s discussion, we will consider how the Bible speaks about Salvation. This is sometimes called the order of salvation (or Ordo Salutis in Latin) and is often broken into three groupings - justification, sanctification, and glorification. God's effectual calling is first in the order of salvation. Salvation begins with God calling and intervening in our exile from Him and ends with God consummating the covenant blessing and glorifying those who will inherit the promise.

In our family, we’ve experienced what it’s like in our own sin to stir fear and lob accusations toward brothers and sisters in Christ. Federal Vision legitimately is an enemy of Christian fellowship. Our aim is to encourage and equip families to live out the truths of Biblical Christianity within their local context. On this topic of Federal Vision, the church, across multiple denominational lines, from varied reformed traditions, has spoken clearly, and with biblical warrant against this false teaching. This is not a “hobby horse” personal agenda or topic of special obsession for us at Redeeming Family.

In this piece, we will consider the Bible’s explanation that Christ is the last Adam. In part two, we will consider the ethical implications of Christ as the last Adam for our daily lives.

Sometimes having ideas challenged and tested can have a refining effect. Not only do I ask my usual questions in the study of the passage, but I would also take note of what an unbeliever, a skeptic, a doubter, or a completely new Christian might make in response to the text. This can help bring to light where the tension points are in a passage. Today we look at 2 views of 1 Timothy 2 with regards to false teaching and women in the church.

There are some sources that would date 1 Timothy earlier (such as the 50s) and 2nd Timothy later in the life of Paul. One of the difficulties in discussing the dating of 1 and 2 Timothy today is the prevalence of modernist and liberal scholars in the 1800s and 1900s who deny the authenticity of 1 and 2 Timothy as genuine works from Paul.