Family Discipleship Newsletter // 13 (September 2023) - Tell the Story

I love the movie, “The Prince of Egypt''. I’ve been really enjoying rewatching it as I prepare these last three weeks of this term’s curriculum and the incredible adventures in God that Moses had.  And while I happily acknowledge it is just a movie production aimed to entertain and make some money, and that it's not always going to be accurately Biblical, there are some beautiful moments that absolutely delight my soul and remind me of the magic of storytelling.

I love that in Exodus 3 out there in the wilderness, as a man-on-run-turned-shepherd of someone else's flock, at the foot of the mountain of God, Moses heard God call out to him by name in the midst of a burning bush - which could be a whole sermon on identity just in itself, and Moses answers, “Here I am.”

In this moment there is some recognition of who God is, there is a sense that Moses knows who is calling him, and that he knows to give an answer. 

And God then explains who He is to Moses on this holy ground, 

“I am the God of your father, [your forefathers] the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.”

This verse really stood out to me. More than a genealogy, more than the lines of family history, more than just generational knowledge, but a legacy of faithfulness, a strong thread of inheritance, a reminder of who God has been and who He will continue to be, the God of I AM. 

In this big infinite title stands all the attributes of who God is stretching back into time, and reaching forward into eternity, but He is also God to Moses in that holy moment too, when Moses is afraid, uncertain, and unseen.

Just as He was the God of promise to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob - in their stories of weakness and triumph, and in their valleys and mountain moments too.

We are the ones who remember and we are the Story-tellers.

Let me encourage you in your family discipleship journey with God's words from verse 15. "This is my name forever; this is how I am to be remembered in every generation."

We too are part of this thread of God's everlasting presence and faithfulness. Carried, and revealed into every generation. We get to be the ‘remember-ers’ - those who remember and seek to make space for others to remember too.

We pass this on as Mothers and Fathers, telling the stories of our faith, reliving the tangible promises of God in our lives, remembering the characteristics of God - His love and His redemptive story. 

We do this in the big picture of our family values and rhythms, and in the small ordinary details of our everyday words and actions. We are the storytellers, and we get to introduce our children to God - the God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses and me.

And because we want our children to know God and we want our children to be curious about who He is, it is important that we teach them His attributes. 

Our God is a Creator, He desires relationship and He keeps His promises. Our God is Faithful, he redeems and rescues us. Our God is a Provider, a Warrior, and the great I AM - unchanging, everlasting, and constant. Our God speaks to us and can be known, can be trusted, and can be close. (This is what our Team Bay Juniors and Seniors have been learning about through our exploration of Genesis and Exodus this term).

Let's pray that our children in our care grow to recognise His voice, His call, and His character in their own lives
Let's tell our stories, tell His story, and write down the legacies for this generation. 
Let's remember around the table the times when we felt His presence, knew His provision, and were comforted in His community, both big and small.
Let's pray big prayers that connect us boldy and simply to our God, as well as small prayers of tiny needs and little daily requests.
Let's wonder together about His plans and His ways, not being afraid of His mysteries and our own doubts.
Let's make it clear to the next generation that they are part of this Big God Story too.
Let’s treasure their testimonies of just simply knowing God from a young age and growing in relationship with Him.

Psalm 78 (v1-7), one of my favourites in this season, clearly reminds us of the responsibility that there is to pass on the things we know to the next generation:

‘My people, hear my teaching; listen to the words of my mouth.
I will open my mouth with a parable; I will utter hidden things, things from of old—
things we have heard and known, things our ancestors have told us.
We will not hide them from their descendants; we will tell the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the Lord, his power, and the wonders he has done.
He decreed statutes for Jacob and established the law in Israel,
which he commanded our ancestors to teach their children,
so the next generation would know them, even the children yet to be born,
and they in turn would tell their children.
Then they would put their trust in God and would not forget his deeds but would keep his commands.’

Lord, we pray that our children would put their trust in you and that we would be parents who disciple them in the knowledge and experience of your praiseworthy deeds, your power, and your wonders. AMEN

Well done on making it through Term 3, have a safe and relaxing school holiday break. See you next term.

Arohanui,

Charlotte

Term 3 - 2023 // 'Hold firmly to the word of life'.

In Philippians 2 Paul encourages us to 'Hold firmly to the word of life'.

To hold onto it, to know its The Word and to know that it brings life. To not let go of it or replace it with other things to take hold of instead.

I picture (somewhat metaphorically) our children holding onto it as little ones, tucked in under their arms, surviving Kindy, hugged at night, and carried with them on their school days as they journey and grow. With them in the playground, at a sleepover, buried at the bottom of a sleeping bag on camp, nestled next to them as they play inside, carried on an outdoor adventure, or company for them in moments of silence.

We can all agree that we want our children to hold firmly to the Bible, to the ‘words of life’. This is our hearts cry as parents and a prayer of hope for our children too. But how does this beautiful end goal become a gritty reality? What does it look like for them on the way as they learn and stumble and cry out and discover for themselves?

Firstly they need a Bible, one that can be leafed through with pictures, one that can be read to them and with them, one that can be treasured and secreted away all by themselves. One that has readable clear language, not diluted, one that can be memorized and reread as they discover favourite verses and stories.

And they need to see yours in use too, out, open, but also just lying on the coffee table, and beside your bed, and well-loved and crinkled and underlined and highlighted and coming with you to Church.

There's no magic in this use, it's not a formula for saving your children, it's not a prescription for getting it right, but it is deeply formational. It lets them know that the Bible carries the words of life, that it must be taken in and consumed and integrated into life, that it is relevant, and personal and sacred and anchoring.

I fondly remember my Dad's big brown Bible, worn and sellotaped, with swirling gold writing on the cover and wrinkled crinkly pages. It was good for hut building - to hold down blankets, or to create towers. It was often left open in his room, read with audible murmurs of agreement and exclamations of 'brilliant'. It was too big to go to Church with him every Sunday morning, but stuffed with papers when he preached, and often carried with his guitar case to a mystical night service.

We have never talked about it. There has never been a conversation about reading it or a lecture on the dangers of not. I even had to text him to ask him what version it was, (the New American Bible version as it turns out, the one that came out in the 70s). But I remember what it all meant. It meant that it was real, that it mattered, that it was somewhat ordinary and everyday, that it was routine, that it was treasured, that it was important, considered, referenced, dug into, personal, part of him and his life.

A great teaching strategy for our children is to 'show, not tell' .

What they can observe, notice, and experience around them carries more weight and becomes more connected for them than what we just tell them.

Let them find the story from Sunday mornings teaching in the Bible with you.

Let them see how far through the Bible that part of the story was, compared with Jesus' time in the Gospels.

Show them your highlighted go-to verses, the verses that revive and refresh you, the Psalms that allow you to find words to praise God on bad days and encourage others on good ones.

Let them find their memory verse in your Bible and circle it, showing where it fits in the chapter and verse layout.

Talk about your favorite Bible story, reminding them that all stories fit within the big God Story of Rescue and Redemption.

Psalm 84 verse 3 says this about living in the presence of God, and dwelling in His house, that 'Even the sparrow finds a home, and the swallow builds her nest and raises her young at a place near your altar, O Lord of Heaven’s Armies, my King and my God!'

It's a beautiful picture of the safety and nourishing peace that is available in the presence of God, in His words of Life - even to a little bird raising her young in the coziness of the altar, even just being near it.

Let's build nests for our young in the presence of our King and our God.

Let's make room for them to be near Him, to find safety and refuge in His words and the beginning of a relationship that spans their whole life and let's be willing to create homes where ordinary Bible moments sit amidst weetbix and spilled milk and morning coffees and washing piles on our tables.

Let's 'Hold firmly to the word of life' as families.

Arohanui,

Charlotte