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What should you do when tyrants are in control? In this encouraging message, Scott Brown examines Jeremiah 29:1-14, encouraging those living in exile to “Build, Dwell, Plant.” In other words, don’t waste your exile pining away. Don’t waste your exile getting caught up in distractions, move forward, be productive, do the powerful things, and don’t be frustrated. Don’t let the bad guys get you down. Get your wife at the table and design your home. Settle down. Stay put. Plant crops. Be self-sufficient. Plan weddings. Have babies. Make your house a house of prayer. Be a force of peace in your community.

Human life is immeasurably valuable. This great worth of a human being is a result of the fact that humans are made in the image of God. God despises the needless slaughter of his image-bearers, and has commanded: "You shall not murder." God hates murder so much that he calls for the death penalty for any who unjustly take a human life (Gen 9:6). And yet in our country, and around the world, there is unrestrained and government-sanctioned murder perpetrated every day against the most innocent and helpless. A silent holocaust against the unborn. Every Christian must stand against this great evil and cry out in defense of those who have no voice of their own.

The rage of Satan and his hellish army of demons and men are against Christ's church. He seeks to weaken, cripple, and ultimately destroy any witness for the gospel in the world. Yet God has His warrior for the hour. The calling and the raising of a weak and fearful Gideon is a wonderful testimony to God's sovereign work of calling, building and using an army of seemingly small and weak warriors from among His people. If you are fearful and ready to halt, as you feel the pressures and are discouraged, then look again to God's past dealings in raising up the nothings of this world and making them effective instruments in His hand.

"But My servant Caleb, because he has a different spirit in him and has followed Me fully, I will bring into the land where he went, and his descendants shall inherit it" (Numbers 14:24). Caleb is one of the few people of scripture where nothing negative is said about him. He, with Joshua, gave the minority report of the 12 spies (Num 13) and urged the people to take the land, trusting in the promises of God. He is said to have followed the Lord fully. So often we follow God partially, half-heartedly, or inconsistently, and as a result we often fail to grow spiritually and dishonor the Lord who has brought us out of slavery to sin.

Is family worship a new idea? Carlton McLeod explains in this video that family worship is something that is mentioned in the Old Testament. Fathers are instructed to teach their children diligently. While some may see it as a new idea, fathers studying and reading the Word of God together with their families is something that we can see in Scripture. It is something that cause the hearts of fathers to turn back to their children because they gather around the Word of God. It is something that is absolutely necessary to continue doing today. We must keep Christ and His Word as central in our life. Reading Scripture shouldn't be something that is only limited to Sunday mornings. There is great joy that can be gained from spending time studying Scripture together. Proverbs 22:6 (NKJV) - "Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it."

Some claim that any and every instance of sickness and suffering in the world is the direct consequence of sin and that if we have enough faith then God will remove all sickness from us. We see this theology at work in Job's friends and even the disciples of Jesus. However, this perspective is not what scripture teaches and Jesus himself corrected his followers about this false perspective. While yes suffering sometimes is a specific chastisement from God, it is usually the consequence of living in a fallen world. Yet in the midst of all this pain, we can have hope that none of it is meaningless - God is at work even in the midst of our suffering, both for our good and his own glory.

God's people are often a people who suffer and endure many trials and tribulations. Of course our first response is to try and get out of the trial and escape the pain of suffering. However, God often intends these trials and sufferings as a means of building up his people and causing them to trust him wholly instead of relying on their own strength. God enables his people to go through the fire of trials so that they may be a purified and holy people, to the glory of God.

For many years, our family read the Bible out loud together. We did it for about a decade. It gave our children a love for the Word of God, and it provided them with an understanding of the sweeping history of redemption from Genesis to Revelation. It showed them where they fit in the world. Why do this? David gives the most powerful argument in Psalm 19:7-11, “The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul; The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple; The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes; The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever; The judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, Yea, than much fine gold; Sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb. Moreover by them Your servant is warned, And in keeping them there is great reward.” What is the value of a deep understanding of the Gospel? What is the value of seeing the sweep of history? What is the value of knowing the whole counsel of God? What is the value of getting prepared to meet the trials and heartbreaks that are ahead? I believe that there is no better way to capture this value than to simply read the Bible as a family. Here is my challenge: read the Bible with your whole family in 2018. Here are Ten Tips for Reading the Bible as a Family in 2018: 1. Resolve this issue right away: Can your children handle it? Can they? Yes! Don’t be intimidated by the fact that your children are young. They may not get everything out of everything, but they will get something out of everything. You will find that they will understand more than you anticipate. Remember that Timothy’s mother taught him the scriptures from the time he was a child, “from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures” (2 Tim:315). Remember that God’s people have gathered for many hours to hear the reading of the Word of God (Nehemiah 8:1). Also, remember that most of the Bible is narrative – stories that children can love. Children are fully able to sit down and watch a video for an hour. Certainly, that is proof positive that they can sit and listen to reading for 20-40 minutes. 2. Prepare a heart of gladness</

When the Queen of Sheba visited Solomon she was amazed at his wisdom and wealth. So great was her astonishment that she said, "indeed the half was not told me" (1 Kings 10:7). This is a picture of Christ and our response to him, a Jesus himself points out in Matthew 12:42. It was far too difficult a task to accurately describe what Solomon was like. What the Queen had heard about him was great, yet it still didn’t do him justice, because he was too great to be able to be explained fully. In the same way, what we know of Christ is incredible, and yet it still doesn't do him justice as he truly is incomprehensibly great!

Parents who possess a misguided vision of kindness and mercy may find that they and their children fall victim to great tragedy. The Scriptures provide a clear example of this in the fate of Eli and his family (1 Sam. 1-4). Perhaps from a misguided understanding of love Eli failed to restrain his sons and in the end his sin brought destruction on all his family. We must look to Eli as an example, an example of how to not raise our children, an example of what may come if we fail to restrain our children and properly raise them in the fear and instruction of God.

Malachi - Fathers Hearts Turning Towards Home by Jason Young. Have you felt like you didn't fit in growing up? Have you wondered how to grow deep, meaningful relationships? Do you not understand where you stand or where you fit? 1. What does the book of Malachi teach us? There was a people that forgot God's love. What way has God loved me? 2. Do you think we have a problem with leadership in this day? Leaders are devaluing Christ and His authority. Are we offering defective sacrifices? Worship that is "good enough" is not good enough for God. 3. We are losing our children because we have offered the refuse of the sacrifices. God brings judgment. (2:7) You picked and chose what you would teach your family and you are judged for this with the cutting off of the seed. 4. Are we robbing God of tithes and offerings? Do we sit in the pews every Sunday and worship stuff over the things of God?