I believe that we are involved in the greatest evangelistic opportunity before the church today: the salvation of millions of children under the evangelistic and discipleship ministry of fathers and mothers in the home. This is not the only...

Section I. God, the Creator of man, established the family constitution. “God setteth the solitary in families,” Ps. 68:6. As to the design of this constitution, we are expressly...

Section I. The head of a family should act the part of a prophet towards the rest of his household, and impart to them such instruction as is calculated to answer the purpose for which he is...

Section I. We come now to consider the remaining office devolving on the head of a family. In addition to that of governor and instructor, he is required to act the part of a priest to his family. I, of course, use the word...

Warminghurst, 4 August 1682 My dear Wife and Children. My love, that sea, nor land, nor death itself can extinguish or lessen toward you, most endearedly visits you with eternal embraces and will abide with you forever. And may...

He that will expect duty or comfort from his wife, must be faithful in doing the duty of a husband. The failing of yourselves in your own duty, may cause the failing of another to you, or at least in some other way as much afflict you, and will...

The message of Scripture is clear: Children are a blessing, and the fruit of the womb is the reward of God. But we live in a time in history in which too many who profess to be Christians agree with the World: Children are a burden, and...

Being the fruits of true Christianity: Teaching husbands, wives, parents, children, masters, servants, etc., how to walk so as to please God. With a word of direction to all backsliders. Written in 1663, while imprisoned in Bedford...

Remember the Sabbath-day to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God; in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor...

Hast thou a wife? Thou must consider how thou oughtest to behave thyself under that relation: and to do this aright, thou must consider the condition of thy wife, whether she be one that indeed believeth or not. First, If she believeth,...

But passing the master of the family, I shall speak a word or two to those that are under him.And, first, to the wife: The wife is bound by the law to her husband, so long as her husband liveth (Rom 7:2). Wherefore she also hath her work...

A Sermon (No. 581) Delivered at the Metropolitan Tabernacle, Newington “And they brought young children to him, that he should touch them: and his disciples rebuked those that brought them. But when Jesus saw it, he...

If thou have under thee a family, then thou art to consider the several relations thou standest under; and art to know, that thou in each of them hast a work to do for God, and that he expecteth thy faithful deportment under every one of them....

There lieth also a duty upon children to their parents, which they are bound both by the law of God and nature conscientiously to observe: ‘Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right.’ And again, ‘Children,...

If thou are a parent, a father, or a mother, then thou art to consider thy calling under this relation. Thy children have souls, and they must be begotten of God as well as of thee, or they perish. And know also, that unless thou be...

“And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.” — Revelation 22:17 LONDON, Printed for N. Ponder, at the Peacock in the Poultry, over against the Stocks market. First published seven years after...

‘Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.’ Exod 20:12. The commandments may be likened to Jacob’s ladder: the first table respects God, and...

What’s in a name? Maybe more than you realize. Your parents give you many things, but one of the most important is your name. You begin and end your life with it. It is the one moniker that you carry with you all the time,...

Ephesians 6:1-4 is the flagship New Testament passage on child rearing and fatherhood. It is an extremely simple and steadying message in light of the dizzying array of advice the world gives to parents. We find four major ideas arising from...

Act for observing the Directions of the general assembly for secret and private Worship, and mutual Edification; and censuring such as neglect Family-worship. The General Assembly, after mature deliberation, doth approve the following...

“As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”-Joshua, 24, 15. “Let me die the death of the righteous, and let my last end be like his!” We have said, my brethren, on a former occasion, that if we...

First, If possibly they can, to get them that fear God: ‘He that worketh deceit,’ saith David, ‘shall not dwell within my house; he that telleth lies, shall not tarry in my sight’ (Psa 101:7).Second, But if none...

Col. 3:18-21: “Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as it is fit in the Lord. Husbands, love your wives, and be not bitter against them. Children, obey your parents in all things, for this is well pleasing unto the Lord....

Only women can be mothers. Have we forgotten this fundamental?Only a woman can carry in her body an eternal being which bears the very image of God. Only she is the recipient of the miracle of life. Only a woman can conceive and...

John Calvin (1509-1564) is best known as a distinguished theologian and leading Protestant Reformer. However, it must be remembered that he functioned first and foremost as a pastor to the congregation of believers at Geneva for twenty-five...

All the chastity they [Nuns] pretend is nothing before God, in comparison of that that he hath appointed, that is to say, that albeit it seem but a vile thing, and a matter of none account, for a woman to take pains about housewifery, to make...

We ask of the generations.We look to the years of the past. We stand on our fathers’ shoulders. We walk down their faithful path.Tugging at his beard, pondering several...

Feminism is a radical movement. As such, it goes to the very root of the relationship between men and women and seeks to alter the societal and institutional structures that are perceived to be in conflict with the ideas and goals of feminism....

How should a family pray together? Matthew Henry explains by showing us five things to do. Five things especially you should have upon your heart in your family prayer, and should endeavor to bring something of each into every prayer...

The Bible tells us to “be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear” (1 Pet. 3:15b). The message of the Gospel is an inherently life-affirming message of...

The Pew Forum finds that only 51% of Americans call themselves Christians, down from 70+ percent in the 1970s. Following on the heels of Europe, America participates in the most pronounced apostasy in world history. Never mind the weak...

“Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God” – John 3:3 This is one of life’s most important questions. Jesus Christ said, “Except a man be born again, he cannot see...

The Church of the Lord Jesus Christ was instituted in this sinful world to seek its conversion. It was said to her eighteen hundred years ago, “preach the Gospel...

There are some very important outward ordinances and means of grace which are plainly implied in the Word of God, but for the exercise of which we have few, if any, plain and positive precept; rather are we left to gather them from the example...

 As we survey the Scriptures, we find that the protection of daughters reached a low point in Lot’s household in Sodom. There are times in history that are better or worse for daughters, and this slice of history was one of the low...

Lot is an example of a father who did not protect his daughters. His lifestyle in Sodom worked to open the door to their vulnerability. He gives us some insight into behavior patterns that make their daughters vulnerable. The results of his...

Even though the feminist agenda cheerily shouts, “You can have it all,” and “You’ve come a long way, baby,” daughters have a natural bent toward hopelessness. Everywhere they turn, they are confronted with their...

"It is often forgotten that the Christianity which conquered the Roman Empire was essentially a home centered movement." - Robert and Julia Banks While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew’s house, many tax...

Reason 1: Because we receive every day family-mercies from the hand of God. Reason 2: You should pray to God daily in your families, because there are sins committed every day in your families. Reason...

I live in deer country. When deer season opens, the camo army appears. Work schedules change. Pickup trucks are found in the most unusual places. The gunfire in the morning and evening can sound like an approaching army. Grease paint and...

For quite some time, I have had a sinister thought about how to change the face of the traditional Sunday school. My view is that big changes are necessary because the modern Sunday school has had an unplanned effect: it has lulled fathers into...

“Children, obey your parents in all things, for this is well pleasing to the LORD. Fathers, do not provoke your children, lest they become discouraged” - Colossians 3:20-21 This is a topic where we all need...

“Nevertheless let each one of you in particular so love his own wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband”—Ephesians 5:33.   Marriage Marriage is the...

“Train up a child in the way he should go; and when he is old,he will not depart from it.”—Proverbs 22:6 Introduction I suppose that most professing Christians are acquainted with the text at the...

And not many days after the younger son gathered all together, and took his journey into a far country, and there wasted his substance with riotous living…And when he came to himself, he said…I will arise and...

If you’ve walked into a church service lately with a baby in your arms, chances are you are well aware of the new anti-child atmosphere that dominates much of the modern American church. There are smiling men and women stationed at every...

I recently received four weeks of leadership training through my employer and as a part of that training the topic of "generational differences" was spoken of quite often. There seems to be a lot of research out there to study and...

The critics of the family-integrated church movement often forget that what we advocate was practiced by some of our most treasured pastors and theologians of the past.  The puritans, for example, enjoyed a rich life of family-integrated...

Here is the bottom line: You cannot minister to the weak families unless you have strong families. Strong families are dependent upon obedient men and holy women. If we never have healthy families, then we will never have healthy churches....

A History In 2001, when Charles Swindoll wrote the foreword to Dennis Rainey’s book, Ministering to Twenty-First Century Families he said the church is “a family of families.” He was...

The principle of paying church leaders is so widely accepted that in most circles an article on the topic would elicit a chorus of yawns. In family-integrated circles, however, there are many new churches being formed with an intense (and...

Over the years, many people have written both positively and negatively about the NCFIC. Here are the six most common mischaracterizations and one true characterization. The NCFIC redefines the nature of the church as...

Introduction In a day when marriage and the family are under such withering attack by the forces of evil in the land and by the social and cultural climate of modern society, we rejoice...

Having considered Dr. Kostenberger’s discussion of the theological and ecclesiastical questions concerning the relationship of church and family (see part 1), we now turn to his second question: “How can churches...

How thankful I am to be part of the reforming influence of the NCFIC in calling the church back home to foundational biblical practices. In the following months, I will be writing articles that are a call for reformation of practices in the...

“Then they brought little children to Him, that He might touch them, but the disciples rebuked those who brought them. But when Jesus saw it, He was greatly displeased and said to them, ‘Let the little children...

“It is often forgotten that the Christianity which conquered the Roman Empire was essentially a home centered movement.” -Robert and Julia Banks “While Jesus was having dinner at...