A Hate Song

Some hate is holy. Of course, a lot of hate, most hate, is not holy, and therefore should be repented of. But hate can be holy, and can even be part of our praise to God. The idea of holy hate may be a strange concept to you, but I hope to persuade you not only of its validity, but of its value.

If we’re honest, we all feel hate at times, we all feel guilty about it at times, and, at times, we know it’s harming us. So, how should we hate in a healthy way? How can we process hate in a way that both helps us rip out hateful hate but also helps us ripen healthy hate.

Sermon Notes.


How to Encourage our Children (2)

“Fatherlessness is the most harmful demographic trend of this generation,” “It is the leading cause of declining child well-being in our society. It is also the engine driving our most urgent social problems, from crime to adolescent pregnancy to child sexual abuse to domestic violence against women. Yet, despite its scale and social consequences, fatherlessness is a problem that is frequently ignored or denied. Especially within our elite discourse, it remains largely a problem with no name.” DAVID BLANKENTHORN (Author of Fatherless America).

Listen here.


How to Encourage our Children (1)

Many Christians, and even secular analysts, have said that the biggest crisis our culture is facing is the failure of fatherhood. As Christians, we would say it is the failure of men to become what God has created them to be, that is, models of God’s fatherhood to their children.

Blake Wilson calls this crisis, “Daddy Deprivation,” a crisis that Eric Mason says, “crosses cultural and socio-economic grounds; it’s a crisis prevalent in all areas of society, for the absence of a father leaves a lasting void in a man’s identity and development.”

Some of the stats that demonstrate this crisis are:

  • Tonight, about 40 percent of American children will go to sleep in homes in which their fathers do not live.
  • Before they reach the age of eighteen, more than half of our nation’s children are likely to spend at least a significant portion of their childhoods living apart from their fathers.

This is why Jordan Peterson is a father figure for so many young men. He’s telling them things their fathers should have.

This is why the Bible places such a heavy responsibility upon fathers. Yes, as we’ve seen in our last few episodes, men are given the privilege of leading their wives and children; but with that enormous privilege comes tremendous responsibility.

Colossians 3:21 is a warning to fathers. Fathers, do not provoke your children, lest they become discouraged. But as with every warning in the Bible, it implies an encouragement. On the flip side of every coin of biblical warning is a biblical encouragement. How do we encourage rather than discourage our children?

Listen here.