A Father’s Joy Is Not By Accident

Jesus, teachings of, parenting

“I have no greater joy than this, to hear of my children walking in the truth.” With these words from his third letter (3 John 4), John shows us what fatherhood is really all about. He underscores the endgame for fathers, and it is much simpler than we often consider...

The Model for Discipline (Part 5 of 5)

parenting

In the previous four articles considering discipline (link to Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4), I focused especially on principles of discipline gleaned from the book of Proverbs. This final installment considers the Biblical ideal, modeled by our Heavenly Father, and...

A Biblical Perspective on Spanking, Part 3 of 5

parenting, spanking

Having previously considered some important hermeneutic principles, we return to our discussion of Proverbs 22:15: Folly or foolishness (Heb., iuelet, feminine singular noun) is being bound (Heb., qasurah, verb passive participle) in the heart (Heb., beleb,...

A Biblical Perspective on Spanking, Part 1 of 5

parenting, spanking

Especially in light of increasing public pressures not to spank children, parents are legitimately questioning whether or not spanking should be a part of their repertoire. As parents who seek to train up our children as God has prescribed, we must look to His word as...

A Biblical Theology of Punching Them in the Nose

humor, pacifism, parenting

Typically in the early mornings our family reads the Bible together. Right now we are working through the Bible in consecutive order to try to see how quickly we can read through the whole thing together. That’s always fun and challenging.  But every now and again, we...