I feel like i was just walking along and all of the sudden i stepped on a merry-go-round and then i got smacked by the bar and fell to the wood chipped ground.  But before i really understood what was going on i was standing back up and my face hurt… I have a feeling that this is going to leave a mark.  So here is an update on what is going on now in the first month of the year of our Lord 2010.

Let’s go back to Tuesday, January 12th.  Tuesday was going to be just like any other day except that Ej and i had to get up extra early before the sun and go to Round Rock for her to have a few simple procedures done.  The procedures were in regards to her issues with UTI’s that she has dealt with since she was a wee little lass.  The first one was nothing but smooth sailing and then it was time for the second which was going to be a little more intense.  I was waiting in the room designated for such an activity and succumbing to my boredom i had just published a ‘Random Mobile Post’.  Although i was bored i was really relaxed because it is always easy to be relaxed at the doctor when you aren’t the patient and the one just waiting to leave.  Well much to my surprise a nurse comes out to the quick filling waiting room and calls, “Mr. Ripple?”.  I was engrossed in reading headlines from my phone but i immediately looked around to see who else shared the Surname Ripple.  Well no one got up and at that point it was quite obvious that i was the only possible Mr. Ripple that she was looking for.

“Yes thats me?” I said as i sheepishly walked toward the door to “the back.”

“Come on back with me, your wife wants to see you.”

“Ok”

At this point i have no clue what is going on because the nurse doesn’t seem to be acting weird or anything (like i would know what normal for her was).  She opens the door to where Ej is sitting in a hospital robe balling her eyes out.  Quite honestly she looks devastated (coincidently what she looked like on our wedding day), i walk in and the door shut behind me, i’m waiting for her to say anything and mentally trying to prepare for her to say she has cancer or something.

I get settled in to the chair next to her and finally she says,

“We’re pregnant!”

I was speechless and quite frankly didn’t really believe it.  We just sat there for a moment and talked about how bizarre and unexpected this was.  We are excited and thankful for the gift that God has given us.  I can’t wait to make their acquaintance.

That was Tuesday morning, now on to evening.   Our camper aka current home, has apparently been the intense breeding ground for a cute little black mold family.  And apparently they enjoyed our bed more than we did.  Although i have always been one for diversity, i could no longer tolerate these sneaky unwanted and uninvited guests.  I trashed our “mattress” and we slept on a big pile of blankets, which turns out isn’t as fun and comfortable as i so vividly remember.  This immediately turned out to be a blessing because upon a brief investigation the next day, i found a perfectly sized mattress up in my brother’s room and this one was leaps and bounds more comfortable than the one we slept on for over a year.

Thursday morning we woke up to the sobering news that the loyal family dog, Skeeter, had finally kicked the bucket after a fairly long life.  It made me trust in God’s strength and goodness all the more.  You may think that i am over-reacting a little but God cares and knows when the sparrow falls to the ground and dies, so of course i am going to believe that He knows and care and is sovereign even over Skeeter’s death.  The Lord gave us a member of the family, and the Lord took one, blessed be His glorious name.

Saturday night i got a call right before i was getting into bed that my friend had a blow out on the side of the highway and needed my help, i rounded up Spencer and we were off to her rescue.  We finally got the tire unstuck from the rotor and an hour and a half later i was back in bed warming up.

The next morning while siting in Bible study i went to play with my wedding ring and realized that it was gone.  I must have lost it while changing the tire.  My hands were really cold and i must not have felt it come off my hand.  Ej handled it much better than i expected.  We will see how it goes with her being prego and me not having a wedding band.

On top of all of that, these last two weeks have been some of the most fast paced and visibly productive in the whole homestead project that by God’s grace we are undertaking.

I am thankful for His grace and faithfulness… To say the least, “I’m so freakin’ excited!”

Ephesians 6:1-4

by Scott Brown, July 1, 2004

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 the text. First, the setting: the meeting of the Church. Second, there are two simple commands for children: obey and honor (Eph. 6:1-2). Third, there are two understandable results for children: good life and long life (Eph. 6:3). Fourth, there are two dangerous pitfalls for fathers: provoking and neglecting (Eph. 6:4).

This article is focused on the first point — the setting of the meeting of the Church.

In the first two verses, Paul is clearly speaking to children. These are the children who are in the meeting of the Ephesian church and are hearing the letter read. Paul uses a Greek grammatical form called the vocative case, called the “vocative of direct address.” He is directly addressing the children in the meeting of the church. This makes it an obvious fact that children were present in the meetings of the early churches.

In his commentary on Ephesians, William Hendricksen explains it this way:

The apostle assumes that among those who will be listening when this letter is read to the various congregations the children will not be lacking. They are included in God’s Covenant…, and Jesus loves them…. Were Paul to be present with us today he would be shocked at the spectacle of children attending the Sunday School and then going home just before the regular worship service. He has a word addressed directly and specifically to the children. (William Hendricksen, Galatians and Ephesians (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1979) pg. 258)

The meetings included young boys like Eutychus (probably between 7 and 14 years old) who left the meeting after midnight by falling out a window. He was overcome with sleepiness during a long Pauline preaching session, nodded out and rolled off the window’s ledge (Acts 20:7-12).

We need to understand that the meetings in the early church included babies who were cutting teeth, eight-year-old boys who were wired for movement, and budding teenagers being tempted by the worldliness of the world. The children were not in age-graded Sunday schools, but were in the midst of the meeting, and were taught side by side with everyone else. The meetings of the early church were conducted with a full complement of relationships.

There is no indication from Scripture that children were ever removed from the meetings designed for preaching, Scripture reading, prayer, and worship. But, in our culture, it is automatic and comprehensive. Contrast the normal meetings of our churches with the normal practices of the meetings recorded in the Bible:

• The Time of Moses: Deuteronomy 31:12-13;
• The Time of Nehemiah: Nehemiah 8:1-3, Ezra 10:1;
• The Time of Jesus: Matthew 18:1-5, 19:13-15; and
• The Time of Paul: Ephesians 6:1-4, Col 3:20.

Jeremy Walker sums it up:

The constant presumption of Scripture is that children were present in the worship of the people of God. In Nehemiah’s time, men and women and all those who could hear with understanding gathered to hear Ezra the scribe read the Law (Neh 8.1-3; Ezr 10.1). Moses certainly anticipated the literal “children” of Israel to be present when the Law was read (Dt 31.12-13). Paul’s letters, intended to be read to the churches, assume the intelligent presence of children (Eph 6.1-4; Col 3.20), and children were present when the Lord Jesus taught (Mt 18.1-5; 19.13-15). (Quoted in Banner of Truth magazine, November 7, 2002, “Attendance of Children in Public Worship”)

For further study, see the following passages where it is mentioned that children were present in meetings of God’s people.

In Joshua 8:35, Joshua built an altar to the Lord in Mount Ebal of whole stones over which no man had ever laid an iron tool. He read “all the words of the law.”

There was not a word of all that Moses had commanded which Joshua did not read before all the assembly of Israel, with the women, the little ones, and the strangers who were living among them. (Joshua 8:35)

Joel 2:15-16 describes a time of repentance of the people where all were to gather—even the bride and bridegroom on their wedding day.

Blow the trumpet in Zion, Consecrate a fast, Call a sacred assembly; Gather the people, Sanctify the congregation, Assemble the elders, Gather the children and nursing babes; Let the bridegroom go out from his chamber, and the bride from her dressing room. (Joel 2:15-16)

I would like to pose four questions to help us to reflect more deeply on this subject and, hopefully, help us understand how important it is that we experience the worship of God and the fellowship of the saints alongside our children.

I. Which way is more Biblical?

Should children be in the meeting of the church, alongside their parents? If you only had the Bible, what would you conclude about what to do about childcare? Is there any evidence of childcare services to support the worship and instruction of God’s people? Do the apostles ever allude to a nursery or Sunday school? Are there any commands relating to the subject? Are there any examples to follow in Scripture for this area?

II. What effect does worship singing have on a child?

This question gets to the point of the power of music on all human beings. We may say, “Our children don’t get anything out of the services,” but we can’t really believe it. We get goose bumps when we sing to children while they are in the womb. We believe that the sounds and even the attitudes surrounding them are affecting their development process. Some people play classical music to their children in the womb, while others contend that just hearing it makes their kids smarter outside the womb.

Let me suggest that it is truly wonderful to immerse children in the rich songs of the faith from the time they are babies in arms. So what is the optimal time for bringing your children into the meeting of the church? I counsel families to bring their babies on the first Sunday after their birth, and continue weekly throughout their lives.

Children get something out of everything they experience
First of all, it must be said that children get something out of everything they experience. So we should abandon the idea that “my child gets nothing out of ‘big’ church.” This is subterfuge and misinformation. Plus, nobody gets everything out of anything, particularly a sermon. We take them to the library and they do not get everything out of what is there. They listen to all of our conversation, but don’t think for a minute that everything goes over their heads.

There is great value for a very young child experiencing the deep and authentic worship of the church. Something is being transferred as they watch their fathers give of the family resources during the offering. As they grow up, their understanding will increase. Something is being transferred as they watch the adults “worship in spirit and in truth” (John 4:23).

They don’t get everything, but they can get something from observing the fervency and genuineness of the church’s expression of love for God, dependence upon Him, and joy in Him. This is the value of having children in church.

Children progressively understand what a parent and the wider church members love and appreciate. Year after year, their understanding builds. Year after year, the well is filling up. The cumulative effect of deep and significant thinking and activities is what we are looking for.

III. What effect does the teaching of the Word have on a child?

By joining in the main services, children will be experiencing the teaching of God’s Word and beginning to understand the importance of preaching. This is a perfect opportunity for a father to share with his children how the preaching of the Word is affecting him and how he plans to bring his family in line with it.

• Only God knows what a child gets from hearing father pray.
• Only God knows what a child gets out of hearing God’s people worship.
• Only God knows what a child gets out of seeing men standing up and speaking of the things of God.
• Only God knows what a child gets out of experiencing Christian community.

It is really much simpler than you might think. The attitude should be: the church is family time. Our family, and the family of God.

We enjoy eating out together as a family. We enjoy going to the beach together as a family. Then, why do we not enjoy worship and instruction and fellowship as a family with our spiritual family of brothers and sisters?

IV. Which way is more wonderful?

This question helps us to think clearly about what is truly superior. All options are not created equal. Recently, after our worship service, I passed by a mother who was carrying her baby girl. She took a deep breath through her nostrils as if to take in the aroma of her baby. She said:

I can always tell who held my daughter during worship because of the perfume. For instance, I can tell that your wife Deborah was holding my daughter during worship.

Where would you rather have your child? In the arms of one of our mothers or fathers or teenagers, or in a soundproof room, playing with saliva-encrusted toys? Is it better for a child to be held by his mother while she sings the words of precious hymns, or to be in the back room with a childcare worker and who knows how many children?

Would it be more wonderful if we rose up and involved our children in the meetings of the church? And if we used these meetings as opportunities to serve as their personal coaches to grow their love for the Body of Christ; to increase their appreciation (and appetite) for prayer; and to cultivate their affection for the preaching of the Bible? In doing so, we would be resisting the child-neglecting, child-rejecting, and child-depreciating practices that are at work in our churches. It is more wonderful!

Why have children in the meetings of the church?

The question would be a strange one for people in the year 1800 since they always had their children with them during worship. It was normal. The question would not have come up because people were used to keeping their children with them.

The question would also have been an unusual one for people in the early church. The early church met in homes with all present and Jesus made it clear to His disciples that children were always welcome.

The question would be a strange one for people in Israel. We have many Old Testament references that record children present during major events where God’s Word was being communicated to groups of people. The Old Testament writers make mention of this without interpretation.

It is obvious that the normative practice for Israel and the early church was to integrate children into the normal practices of the gatherings of the people. Nowhere do we find a trace of teaching or example of our modern age-graded approach to the church.

Let’s bring our children back into the meetings of the church. I sincerely believe that if the Lord Jesus Christ were here in the twenty-first century, He would be the first to invite them back.

Q: How do you teach immature children the truth of the Gospel and a Christian life?
A: The same way you taught them how to use a fork.

I recently inherited my brand new baby sheep. With the start of every school year i get all the new 6th graders. It is always culture shock for them as well as for myself. They are used to children’s church and now they are being forced out of their proverbial nest into a whole new world of “mature” youth group. I know as adults looking back it is much harder to see the difference in maturity levels from children to youth but for those stuck in the middle, it is night and day. Last night was youth group and i remembered quickly that i am now entrusted with these special treasures, full of energy and short of attention spans. The initial split second re-action to the constant wiggling and whispering is first to pause and wonder what that noise is, then silently question why they can’t act like all the older kids (well not all the older kids) but that thought quickly dissolves in the wonderful memory of the elation when i was in 6th grade and getting to graduate up to the youth group. I love my 6th graders and honestly it isn’t at all hard for me to be patient with them. When it comes to teaching the immature, let’s face it, there is a right way and a wrong way, just like everything else, there is life and death. At times, this task may be overwhelming, difficult and/or frustrating, however, i like to think of it in these terms…

When your child didn’t at all know how to use a fork or use it very well, did you lower your standards for your own fork use? Did you make a mess on purpose and use your utensils poorly to teach them the proper ways or to make them feel better about where they were in their forking abilities or lack there of? No!

We, as shepherds, and as parents both biological and spiritual, are to walk uprightly and teach a true, whole gospel to our children; the generation that is following in our footsteps. Not water it down for the immature thereby prolonging the ignorance and adolescence. We are to meet people where they are just like Jesus did for us; becoming all things to all men. Now think for a moment what exactly that means, what shape that takes, when it comes to teaching a child how to use a fork.

There are the tricks, we had the mutations of the fork into wonderfully imaginative representations, we did the songs, and the games etc. It is made fun at times but the fun is always kept in a well balanced perspective to what was really important – teaching them how to feed themselves and greater yet, them eating! Eventually they were able to hold it on their own for a little while even if it was just to spread their mush around on their tray, and eventually in the course of the meal revert back to using their pudgy little fingers all the while making a wonderfully cute, yet inconvenient mess of the food provided them. More time goes on, and what do ya know, they are getting better and better at this whole fork business! All the while as parents and adults we never stopped eating properly how we know to eat, mostly mess free and yes we drop our forks at times, but in retrospect we have come a long way from where we started, making a mess now is the exception not the rule…

Let us eat well, and teach well! Amen.