Pastor Kevin Sanders

“God has a plan that will bring Him great glory and you great joy.” Excerpt From Knowing God’s Will: Discovering His Plan for Your Life #God #GodsWill #GodsPlan #GodIsGood #Jesus a.co/d/2SsaSOq

"God never closes a door without opening another one, and we often regret the one we lost." - Amy Carmichael

"If I told you there was one free thing you could do every Sunday that would make your kids happier, healthier, smarter, and closer to you, you'd think I was selling something." Take your kids to church regularly. I don't care if you believe. The data is so lopsided that skipping it is the parenting equivalent of refusing vegetables because you don't like the taste. Grades. Religious teens get As at almost twice the rate of nonreligious teens. In a class of 100, that's 24 A-students instead of 14. Church gives a kid the same academic boost as being born rich instead of poor. College. Working-class religious kids earn bachelor's degrees at double the rate of their nonreligious peers. Middle-class kids do it at 1.5x the rate. For families without a trust fund, this is one of the most powerful forms of upward mobility social scientists have measured. Character. Religious teens are far less likely to lie, cheat, or do things they hope their parents never find out about. They're more likely to care about racial equality, the elderly, and the poor. They reject the idea that morality is whatever works for you in the moment. That kind of kid doesn't happen by accident. It's built. Closeness. 60% of parents of religious teens say they feel "extremely close" to their kid, compared to 50% of nonreligious parents. The kids report the same thing back. They get along better with their parents, talk about hard stuff, and actually want to spend time with their family. Despair. Religious teens are dramatically less likely to be depressed, anxious, lonely, or feel that life is meaningless. 90% of devoted religious teens never binge drink, compared to 41% of the disengaged. Economists named the modern epidemic "deaths of despair." Regular church attendance is one of the strongest known buffers against it. Parents are spending fortunes trying to solve teen mental health. The most evidence-backed intervention is free. Purpose. Religious young adults report higher purpose, gratitude, life satisfaction, and resilience. These are the exact traits every parent says they want their kid to have. Here's why it works. Affluent families already surround their kids with networks of stable, accomplished adults through neighborhoods, schools, and parents' colleagues. Working and middle-class families usually don't. A congregation is often the last institution in American life that puts your kid in weekly contact with dozens of stable, employed, sober adults who know their name. It used to be called "a village." Now it barely exists outside of churches. "But I don't believe." Your kid doesn't need your theology. They need you to show up. "But church is boring." So is sitting through a kindergarten music recital. Parenting is the deliberate choice to be bored on purpose for someone you love. There's a church within 15 minutes of nearly every American home. You don't need money, connections, or credentials to walk in. Nothing else in this country will surround your kid with engaged adults, teach them moral seriousness, and give them a stable weekly rhythm at zero cost. You already drive them to practices that produce far less. The free thing on Sunday produces more, on more dimensions, than almost anything else you do as a parent. You don't have to believe anything. You just have to take them.

Behold,  God is my helper; the Lord is the upholder of my life. -Psalm 54:4

1 Samuel 24 was part of my Bible reading plan this morning. kevinsanders.org/2023/02/the-da…

@jaredhmoore One of the greatest compliments a preacher can receive is that ordinary people understand him.

This means the young man is unteachable and a fool according to Proverbs. A godly man can learn from anyone who faithfully teaches the Bible, regardless his IQ. The apostles were mostly fishermen, but we learn from them. PhD pastors should learn from their Sunday school teachers.

"When God looks at an atoned sinner, He does not see the same moral situation that He saw when He looked at that sinner who still love his sin." -AW Tozer

An 18-year-old Japanese classical guitarist, Haruna Miyagawa, performs Niccolò Paganini’s Caprice No. 24, a technically demanding violin piece arranged for guitar, highlighting its sequence of variations and arpeggios in a contemporary concert hall setting.

“God will never ask you to do something that is contrary to what is written in the Scriptures.” Excerpt From Knowing God’s Will: Discovering His Plan for Your Life a.co/d/2SsaSOq

@MichelleDLesley Took me a bit under two years.

NO CURRENT OR PAST PASTORS/ELDERS. LAITY ONLY PLEASE😊 *As a church member/listener* what is your *opinion/preference* about a pastor taking 9-10 years to preach through the book of John? (Doctrinally sound exposition year round, minus pastor's vacations, out sick, etc.)

@cuatronelson This is much ado about nothing. Nothing wrong with using a simple prop for an illustration (especially considering that Paul used athletics for illustrations). If he were riding a roller coaster on stage it would be a different story.

The SBC has a much deeper problem than just women pastors. It doesn’t even understand preaching (as a whole, not every SBC pastor. I know several GREAT preachers). By and large it’s traded models like Spurgeon, DMLJ, Broadus, for plagiarism and props.

"Nothing below heaven is worth setting our hearts upon." --Richard Baxter

When there’s something in the Word of God that I don’t like, the problem is not with the Word of God, it’s with me. —R.C. Sproul

"We must not forget that the issues of eternity are settled in time." -A.W. Pink

"To long for total spiritual well-being is right and natural, but to believe that one is anywhere near it its to be utterly self-deceived." -JI Packer

"God, being perfect, is incapable of loss or gain, of getting larger or smaller. He is incapable of knowing more or knowing less. God is just God, and God acts from within, not in obedience to some outside law. His is the author of all and acts like Himself all the time." -Tozer

@allie__voss Interesting observation. I married later in life (39). Wasn't really my plan, but my wife was the first woman I was 100% sure I wanted to marry with no doubt and no hesitation.

Women are very partner-independent with their desire for marriage, men are very partner-dependent Men will marry way earlier (or later) than they anticipated based on when they find "the one," whereas women often decide they want marriage and begin dating accordingly

"As long as we think we own anything, that thing owns us. As soon as we know that we own nothing, then God owns us." AW Tozer

“Sexual laxity does not make you more of a man, but less so; it brutalizes you, and tears your soul to pieces” -JI Packer

@GiffLasta It sounds like he's upset because he didn't bed multiple women before getting married at 23. I'm not sure what he thinks he missed out on.

I have a soft spot in my heart for Brad. I am NOT ready to throw the Christian sexual ethic under the bus. But I do think the church needs to teach men how to better navigate the modern sexual landscape.

"What you do with those who God brings your way reveals what you believe about God." -Henry Blackaby