Reformation

10 years ago if you asked me what the five solas were I know I would have been floundering for an answer, digging deep into the archives of my mind for possible clues to the answer and probably would have ended up thinking the answer was somehow connected to solar energy and that there had been a spelling mistake.

However over the years I heard people talk about the five solas in connection with the reformation and more recently they are everywhere I turn. The five solas can be summarized as follows:

Sola Scriptura: Scripture alone
Solus Christus: Christ alone
Sola Fide: faith alone
Sola Gratia: grace alone
Soli Deo Gloria: glory to God alone

The five solas are five latin phrases that emerged from the reformation to summarize the reformer's theological convictions. One particular reformer that keeps creeping into our home and studies is Martin Luther. My husband set my eldest son the task recently of reading Luther and the 9.5 Theses by Kenneth Brownell. My son is 8 but also an excellent reader and having covered some of Martin Luther's life in our history studies this book would be a good read as it summarizes what Luther stood for 500 years ago and how his ideas are still relevant today. He is making good progress through it and I recommend the book to anyone who wants to learn a little more about this area of history and theology.

The year 2017 will see us marking the 500 year anniversary of Martin Luther nailing his 95 theses to the door of a church in Wittenberg, Germany. So it's not surprising that I've heard quite a bit about solas and reformation in recent years. A wonderful song has been written that I wanted to share with you. It's called the Reformation Hymn and was written by Bob Kauflin and Chris Anderson. Here are the words:

We will trust God’s Word alone, where His perfect will is known;
Our traditions shift like sand while His Truth forever stands.
We will live by faith alone, clothed in merit not our own;
All we claim is Jesus Christ and His finished sacrifice.

Glory be, glory be to God alone
Through the church He redeemed and made His own.
He has freed us, He will keep us till we’re safely home
Glory be, glory be to God alone!

We are saved by grace alone—undeserved, yet freely shown;
No accomplishment on earth can achieve the second birth.
We will stand on Christ alone, the unyielding Cornerstone;
Nations rage and devils roar, still he reigns forevermore!

It's a lovely song, filled with truth and not complicated. Play it in your home or maybe even suggest to your church that it can be sung in the worship service. Raise the roof with a cheerful noise that gives God the glory.

As I sing this song, and that has been quite a lot recently, I find myself wondering whether we are still in need of the reformation today. As I look at the world and the constant stream of news reports and the ungodly society we live in there is a resounding yes. I read recently about the first baby in Canada to be registered and issued a health card with no gender marker. The parent who identifies themselves as a non-binary transgender person wanted to allow her child to choose their own gender. The parent went as far as to say this:

"When I was born, doctors looked at my genitals and made assumptions about who I would be, and those assignments followed me and followed my identification throughout my life. Those assumptions were incorrect, and I ended up having to do a lot of adjustments since then."

Only days later it was announced that the Transport for London Underground were going to dispose of the "ladies and gentleman" announcement in favour of "everyone" in order to make some people feel more comfortable. This change came from months of petitioning from LGBTQ activists. They spoke out and their voices were heard. These two news reports didn't actually surprise me although it did sadden me. What did surprise me was the opinion I then went on to hear from a professing Christian...."Why should it matter? What harm is it doing?". In my head was Genesis 1:27 "So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them." The voice in my head was screaming out...because God created us with a gender! He made us male and female! But what came out of my mouth was nothing. We are afraid of hurting people, afraid of proclaiming truth, afraid that people will see us as holding to archaic views and not being inclusive. We are afraid because of the consequences it could have on us. But if the LGBTQ activists can speak out then why can't we, professing Christians who want to proclaim the truth of God's word speak out. Why can't we get scripture and nail it to the doors of our churches, schools, Number 10, tfl offices and houses of parliament? Why couldn't I say something, was this the right battle to fight? It certainly has made me think.

We should treasure God's word, hold it close and breathe it in. It is truth and filled with Christ. Christ is revealed in scripture and the sacrifice He made. We shouldn't skip over the difficult bits, the parts that make us squirm, or the parts that make others squirm. If we deny part of scripture in favour of what makes other people more comfortable then why would anyone then believe the truth about Christ. Proclaiming the truth of scripture starts at home. It starts in my own heart and in my own quiet times. It then overflows into the lives of my children as we go about our day, taking every teachable opportunity to say a word in season and share with them the treasures of God's word, encouraging them to read it themselves and to commit to daily family bible time and scripture memory. And by God's grace may it overflow into the lives of those who we meet, family, friends, neighbours. Pour the truth of scripture into your homes until it overflows, let the floodgates open and let God use you to reach the lost with the truth that in Christ alone, through faith alone, by grace alone Christ has come to save. Glory be to God alone.

Hug Them A Little Tighter

It's late and a little person is hovering by my door, desperately seeking some attention but unsure whether he will get in trouble. He knows he should be in bed and there's been many times before where I haven't given him a chance to form words before sending him back upstairs to bed. On those days I'm tired and worn out, patience wearing thin and in desperate need for some peace. Today has been a long day too. 2 of my 4 children are sleeping. The eldest is reading his books but Mr Cheeky is hovering, peeking in with hopeful eyes. I notice he has collected some games and clutches them tightly swaying from foot to foot, he's hopeful tonight. I'm thinking of the long list of chores that are waiting for me. I think of the bed that I want to crawl into. Why does this child struggle going to sleep, I ask myself again and again. This mother and son dance is a frequent occurrence. When he knows the house is quiet, Daddy is out, then Mummy is on her own and...available! No baby crying for his needs to be met, no toddler using Mummy as a climbing frame, no stories being read to the older book fan, just Mummy. He doesn't care that it's late, he doesn't bother him that he will be tired the next day, he doesn't appreciate that Mummy needs some quiet time. I try to spend time with each of my children on an individual basis daily, a real juggling act let me tell you. I heard of a great idea recently where each month the child gets to stay up after his siblings have gone to bed on his birth date. So if you were born on the 8th, every 8th of the Month you get to stay up and have some special time with the parents (although try telling that to a teething baby, apparently every night is a special night!) Maybe this will be nice when my children are a little bit older. But right now a child is standing by my door, waiting. I pause...

wait a little more...

and decide...

my child needs me tonight.

30 minutes later and I am back writing. 3 boys are now tucked up in bed but the baby woke and is feeding in my arms. No rest for me yet, but I will hug my children a little closer tonight. 2 weeks ago a man decided to cause catastrophic horror in Manchester and take the lives of parents and children at Manchester Arena. Reports flood the news of the devastation that the man left behind as he selfishly chose to explode a bomb with the aim to create the most havoc he could. Children lost their lives, parents lost their lives. 22 families were plunged into despair as their loved ones were ripped from their treasured positions within their families, hearts were broken and grief overwhelms them. For us who look on, we look at our children and thank God for their safety. Our hearts break for the families affected in the atrocities. At these times we find ourselves thankful for the children following at our heels, for the piles of laundry, for the mucky handprints over the windows. There is life in our homes that we need to cherish. Not even a week ago more men decided to take even more lives, this time in the capital, London. Sadly I think there will be more senseless attacks from those supporting ISIS. A terror organisation that cares little for the value of life, for peace or freedom. An organisation that seeks to eradicate whole people groups and destroy families. How can you explain the world events to our children who hear of these attacks and come looking to us for answers and comfort?

Mr Social had the unfortunate experience only the other night of standing on some broken glass (where it came from still baffles me), the cut was not deep, it was barely a scratch but he caused such a commotion that Mr Cheeky became so upset and had thought for a moment that one of these "bad men" had tried to attack his brother. Yes, he has a vivid imagination, but these thoughts start somewhere. I want to protect my family, my children, and us Momma Bears will all nod our heads in agreement as we know what it feels like to gather our children a little closer knowing that we will do all we can to shield them from the pain and suffering.

So I sit and feed my baby, I hold him a little longer, I will linger in the bedrooms of my children later as I look in and check my sleeping brood. There will be extra kisses and stroking of hair. This Momma Bear is feeling protective but I also feel vulnerable. I can't protect my children forever and I'm not invincible. I can only pray and trust. I turn to a Father who knows what it is to see a child die. I turn to a Father who knows what it is to see the one you love suffer. I turn to a Father who sees the tears, fears and pain and offers peace and strength to those who trust in Him. I turn to a Father who will guide my way and steer me back when I get lost. I turn to a Father who strengthens those who are weary. I turn to a Father who loves abundantly and will be with me wherever I go. No, I'm not invincible but I know that I am loved and no terrorist can take away the hope I have or the peace I have because I turned to a Father who saves.

Keeping your Child in the Worship Service

Every Sunday starts out the same for us. Sleepy, tousled heads arousing for the day. The kettle goes on to brew that first cup of coffee, little feet padding around trying to find matching socks, and Sunday best trousers and tops. The children settle at the table for breakfast and start filling grumbling bellies. Me and the hubby take it in turns using the bathroom to grab showers and brush teeth as we oversee the children. There's normally a 5 minute scramble to fill bags with bibles, notebooks and pens, not to mention a changing bag filled with essentials and changes of clothes for the youngest two. I always tell myself next week will be different and bags will be packed the night before and each Sunday happens the same again...a habit I wish to change. A final check to make sure I have set the oven timer properly and by 9:40 we are out of the door heading for church.

We arrive and lend a hand setting up the main hall (we meet in a drama studio in a school) with chairs, tables, flowers, literature, whilst other more technically minded people set up the sound and recording system and musicians start practicing. The faithful tea makers set up urns and cups for refreshments after the service. Sunday school teachers prepare their teaching spaces with crafts and bible stories. People start filtering in and offer warm greetings. The elders and deacons depart from the main hall to have a time of prayer and on their return we all take our seats ready for the worship service to begin. There's prayer and singing, children's talk and bible readings and then the children are asked to leave for their own classes and the sermon begins. I never questioned the routine of the service, I used to teach in Sunday school myself before I had children but when we had Mr Social, through reading vast amounts of literature we started to question the routine of life and church and started to ask questions of why we do things, what value do our traditions have, and how could our children benefit from our decisions amongst other questions. One such area we felt we were being challenged in was Sunday school.

We were first challenged in this area when we read a book by Voddie Baucham called Family Driven Faith and our brain cogs started turning and we asked ourselves many questions on why we should send our children into the Sunday school and why we should keep the children in the worship service. We came to a personal family decision that it would benefit our family greatly if our children remained in the worship service so when the children are asked to leave the main hall for their own classes our children swim against the tide and remain seated next to us as we open God's Word together and listen as one to the Word being preached. We sometimes get raised eyebrows, and yes we do sometimes need to take toddlers out so as not to be a distraction, we've had to answer our children's questions of why they don't go out to the children's classes and we have stood against criticism that we are causing our children to miss out. However most people don't ask us why, and we in turn don't try and convince families to change their minds for every family is different and should be left to make their own minds up on the issue. But if someone did ask us why we have the children remain with us I think I now would direct them to these articles I recently found, they are more articulately written than I think I could explain and also it's a strange thing but reading about issues that concern family decisions from a separate third party causes less tension and stimulates a more productive discussion.

The first article is titled "Should Children Sit Through "Big Church"?" and can either be read or press play and listen to it over a cuppa.

The second article is titled "The Family: Together in God's Prescence" can only be read but has the added benefit of some helpful practical advice from the wife of John Piper.

Take some time out and have a read. The articles aren't too long and are thought provoking. If you feel challenged show them to your spouse and prayerfully consider what you think is best for your family.