Book Club: Chapter 2 - Part 1

A God Place

God Lives in Your Home.

What does this mean?

I broke this discussion down in to two parts because this chapter is kind of in depth. Wolgemuth begins this chapter saying that Christian Homes should have a certain smell. That you should smell God when you enter a Christian home. And when you leave that smell should follow. Similar to the incense burnt as a part of a Roman Catholic worship service.

He states that filling a house with a simple aromatic God-sense happens by following simple steps.

1. Going to church is not an option.

Hebrews 10: 24-25 (NLT) states : Think of ways to encourage one another to outbursts of love and good deeds. And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage and warn each other."

- Is going to church an option in your home?

In another section Wolgemuth writes about how important it is to get a bible in your childs hand at an early age. He says that it is imperative that you give them the word - one of their very own and then read to them from it. How else can you teach them that "Thy word is a lamp unto my path and and a light unto my feet"

- Have you made it a priority to teach your children to rely on the Word of God as their guidebook?

- Have you given them their own Bible?

- Is Scripture Memory a priority in your home? - How else are they going to be able to "Hide his Word in their heart that they may not sin against it?"

Next week we'll discuss the remainded of Chapter 2

We'd love to hear about what you thought about the ABC Bible Verses. I know my children will start making our own ABC Book soon!

Book Club: Chapter 1

Why A Christian Home?

Chapter 1 talks about why the Christian Home is the most important place on Earth. Wolgemuth states that our homes should be the place where dreams come true. Why can't that be the case? He writes about an afternoon thunderstorm that came in fast and quickly flooded the home where his mom lived. His father was out of town on a business trip and the waters were rapidly rising. He tell that his mom raised her hands and cried out... "Precious Heavenly Father, I love you very much. Please stop this rain! " and it stopped. What an amazing act of faith! Wolgemuth says that the next morning when he arrived to check on her, there was the house he was raised in standing in the middle of a pond. Incredible.

Do we pray with that kind of Faith?

Wolgemuth states that his home was the "different" home. That his friends would wait on the lawn waiting for him to get finished with dinner in order for him to be able to play outside. In their family dinner time was for catching up with each other, prayer, Bible study, and family worship.

He says his friends knew there was something different about his home.

Is there something different about your home?

Wolgemuth offers a statistic about a talk that is given to prisoners. Bill Glass a former Defensive end for the Cleveland Browns speaks to those who are currently in prison. He says when he speaks he always asks "How many of your parents told you you'd end up here someday? "

He states the amount of those that raise their hand is staggering.

This point proves the amount of power we as parents have to influence our children. How powerful our words can be in building up or breaking down.

You only get one chance at the home making deal, and time is not on your side - but the message is not shame and blame. It is instead urgency, focus, purposefulness, intentionality, and care. Why is it easy to lose this sense of urgency and a sharp focus on the importance of our home-building efforts? What can we do to prevent that shift away from the essential?

The ingredient that makes a Christian home special and different in a good way is grace, and grace means salvation, forgiveness, hope, genuine happiness, purpose, and power. What evidence of grace do you see in your home? Ask everyone who lives there for specific answers.

New Book Club Starts Today!

The Most Important Place on Earth

Our new book "The Most Important Place on Earth" by Robert Wolgemuth is now available! You can order it from Amazon or pick one up at Gardendale-Mt. Vernon UMC children's department. We are excited to introduce to you and your family this new book! Robert is author of many books including "She calls me daddy" and "Pray with me, Daddy" along with many other books. He has been an author and publisher for over 30 years.

I cannot wait to go through this book with you! It is truly a wonderful experience. Today we are discussing the Introduction. The book's introduction begins with a comparison of this book to a cafeteria line. He says that there is all kinds for "appetizing things you can pick and choose from." In no way are you expected to take everything from the book but you can pick and choose what would work for your family and use that. He also lays out that fromt the title of this book, you can tell it is told froma distinctly Christian perspective. He states that from research for the book, he found studies that say that very little of what we believe is reflected in our lifestyle. That is an alarming statistic!

Our Homes Should Be Like FlyPaper

Wolgemuth says that as a child he remembers visiting his grandparents home in Pennsylvania. He remembers flypaper everywhere in the house. He says our homes should be like the flypaper of the neighborhood. That we should be the home people are drawn to. Children shoudl be drawn to our yard, our neighbors should feel comfortable coming to ask for a cup of sugar, or borrow a couple of eggs. People basically should be able to look at our Christian homes and think "wow, there is something different about that home."

Do our homes represent that in our neighborhoods?

Are we willing to put the time and effort into making our homes reflect Christ?

Join me as we journey through this book to see what exactly a Christian home looks like and why it truly should be "The Most Important Place on Earth."