Yesterday, Sarah and I attended a Catholic Baby baptism. It was a new experience for me, I think it was the first time I’d ever attended any type of Roman Catholic service. Now there were some very interesting and spiritually uplifting aspects of the Church and the service that I really admired. The priest spoke about how the journey through the baptism service represents our lifelong journey with God and how He is always with us. The priest lit a candle for the baby and gave

“Dysfunctional” has become one of the buzz-words of this mixed-up generation. Most often we hear “dysfunctional” applied to human relationships—we hear of dysfunctional families and dysfunctional marriages. In both cases, dysfunctional describes intimate human relationships that don’t work the way they are supposed to work. Our particular focus in this study is on dysfunctional families. Here’s a working definition: A dysfunctional family is one in which there has been a maj

Matthew 12:38-45 New International Version (NIV) The Sign of Jonah 38 Then some of the Pharisees and teachers of the law said to him, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from you.” 39 He answered, “A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a sign! But none will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. 40 For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. 41 The me

Genesis 25: 27 - 34 The Birth Order Book - With your children, it is important to understand that their personality, temperament and their outlook on life is greatly shaped by where they appear in the birth order. For example, first-born children tend to be leaders. They usually have a strong sense of personal responsibility. They also are usually the keepers of the family traditions. By contrast, middle-borns tend to be much more relaxed and laid back. Often they make fri

You ARE Your WORDS – Matthew 12:33-37 I read a study this past week that showed there’s a significant difference in the number of words that are spoken by each gender. Ladies, can you guess how many words you say on an average day? According to this study, it’s 20,000. Now men, do you think you speak more, or less, than that? How many words do you think you say in an average day? According to this study, it’s 7,000. That’s according to a 2006 study. A 2007 study said that wom

Genesis 25: 19 - 26 When you read the great biographies of the Bible, you are reading truth clothed in human personality. When we want to teach our children, we begin by teaching them the great stories of the Bible. We teach them about Noah who built an ark - Abraham who left Ur of the Chaldees - Moses who crossed the Red Sea - Joshua who “fought the battle of Jericho” - David who killed Goliath - Esther who saved her nation - Daniel who slept with the lions. It is in those

2 Corinthians 4: 8, 9 The way we respond to the trials of life reveals a great deal about the strength of our Christian faith. If we deny our troubles, or if we give in to anger or bitterness, or if we blame others for our problems, we miss what God intends to teach us through what happens to us. It is a great advance spiritually to be able to say, “I believe God has allowed this difficulty for my good and his glory.” In these verses, Paul makes 4 statements that describe –