And we neglect the glorious gospel when we fail to recognize his preeminence. How frequently we forget that everything is for him and about him. We forget that he is to be first, in our...

The one encouragement we can always give our children (and one another) is that God is more powerful than our sin, and He’s strong enough to make us want to do the right thing.

Some parents live more like reclusive monks than like first-century Christians who were famous for their love for and service within their cities, cities that in many cases were more overtly wicked than cities found...

When we soak our soul in the grace of the Gospel, we’ll find our desire to spend time with Him in prayer changing. We’ll begin to carry on a nonstop conversation with Him in our...

I admit that at times my prayer for my children is nothing more than vocalized unbelief aimed at God.

We will find it increasingly difficult to believe that we’ve been set free from sin, from the law’s power to condemn, and that God’s smile is resting upon us if we continually give ourselves over...

I did my best parenting by prayer. I began to speak less to the kids and more to God. It was actually quite relaxing.

We need days of failure because they help humble us, and through them we can see how God’s grace is poured out on the humble.

God never encourages self-reliance.

Pure, unadulterated, consistent love for God and pure, unadulterated, consistent love for others is the summation of all the law God has given us in both the Old and New Testaments. Of course, the problem...

I thought parenting was going to reveal my strengths, never realizing that God had ordained it to reveal my weaknesses.

We want our children to know and believe the one good story. Every other story is a copy or shadow of this one. Some copies of it are quite good and shout the Truth. Others...

Believe that God is strong enough to save your children, no matter how you fail.

Let us be so taken up with the knowledge of God’s goodness and the desire to fellowship with Him that our emotions are warmed and our outer man reflects great love. Although we must not...

When we fail to believe the truth about who Jesus is and miss the impact of His astounding work in suffering and dying for our sin, it will be impossible to resist the allurement of...

We are partners with our children because we are just like them, dearly loved sinners.

Idolatry is always subject to the law of diminishing returns.

We forget the gospel when we neglect our adoption and think that we’re still just a hired servant. The Father doesn’t let us come to him on those terms. We will either come as sons...

The Lord teaches us of His grace and the Gospel through difficult children. We learn what it’s like to love like He loved. It is there, in our personal upper room, where we learn to...

in my heart is rooted in lovelessness and thanklessness…. By contrast, every truly holy act, including even the inner desire to be holy, springs out of the love and worship that He has placed in...

Idolatry, like all sin, is devastating to the soul. It cuts us off from the comforts of grace, the peace of conscience, and the joy that is to be our strength.

We don’t need to pray to prove that we’re properly pious or really serious. Instead, we pray because we are completely assured, and because the Father hears our prayers because they come to Him through...

God is too great to be glorified only through the lives of His victorious children. He is glorified by our suffering and even by our sin. His sustaining strength is glorified when we walk through...

Because we don’t know the state of our children’s souls, and because they might simply want to please us by praying to be saved, we must continue to give them the Law and encourage them...

We need to remember how what Christ has already done transforms who we are right now — not later, once we get it together but right now in all the messes we’ve made.

Everything that isn’t gospel is law. Let us say it again: Everything that isn’t gospel is law. Every way we try to make our kids good that isn’t rooted in the good news of the...