Steve Bateman

A simple criterion for a follower of Christ on social media: Would I post this if I knew it would be shown on the screen at my church this Sunday morning?

Whatever exalts the grace of God humbles the pride of man.

Wise parents routinely withhold from children what they desire and cancel appointments their children make for themselves. They intuitively know it’s in their job description to strategically disappoint their children and God is surely wiser than the wisest parents. My Thursday Newsletter: "The Discipline and Design of Disappointment" Link in replies:

Wish I had seen this quote before I delivered yesterday's sermon, "Why Motherhood is Both Glorious and Laborious"

The Annual "Trips Around the Sun" Ride.

Mothers and The Book-Trained Mind I don’t know exactly how I came to love reading. I don’t remember a time when I didn’t. When I was in the 4th grade, there were 48 Hardy Boys mystery novels in The Hardy Boys original canon and that year I read all of them. One of my greatest fears is being somewhere waiting (a doctor’s office or a car repair shop) and not having anything to read. Today, there is always a smart phone, with its bottomless pit of verbal and visual slop, but I still prefer a real paper book with a head, and a tail, connected by a spine. Even now, as I did in the 4th grade, I read myself to sleep every night. When the book hits my chest, it’s time to turn out the light. I suspect my initial love of reading was caught like a cold from my mom. She always had books laying around, with dog-eared pages and underlined sentences denoting an important point. She would even argue with the author, writing her objections in the margin. As she aged and I moved her through a series of progressively downsized locations, I had to find new homes for all of her books. Many of them ended up in my own library, underlining and all. However I achieved my bibliophile status, it has served me well. As one of my seminary profs reminded us, “Readers are leaders and leaders are readers.” I was delighted that I married a woman who liked to read to our children, and years later, I’m delighted our grandchildren’s mothers are readers as well. We are now entering a whole new world as our grandchildren learn to read. When Kids Start Reading Three Sundays ago, I left the church parking lot after worship services with two of our grandkids in the back seat. Two hundred yards down the road, I saw a book in the middle of my lane. Of course, I had to stop and rescue said book, to the delight of the little humans strapped in their booster seats behind me. The book was actually a journal that someone was using to keep excellent notes on my sermon series in Numbers, so I knew it belonged to someone from our church. My 1st grade grandson asked to see it while I was driving, so I handed it to him and asked him to tell me if a name was written in it. After a few minutes of quiet, he said, “I can’t find a name but it was made in Vietnam.” Yes! A couple of weeks ago, Lori and I travelled to see our granddaughter receive the first-place award for reading the most books in her school’s entire first grade. She read 355 books! Of course, this whole thing started with her mother reading books to her. Now she’s reading books to her father. My son FaceTimed me a few weeks ago so I could join in their bedtime ritual of our granddaughter reading a book in bed to her dad. This is supposed to put her to sleep, but I watched on FaceTime as it put him to sleep instead. Mothers and the The Transfer of Knowledge It’s hard to overemphasize the strategic opportunity that moms have with their children when it comes to books. Here are some key takeaways from the Child Mind Institute: • Reading to children builds language skills, vocabulary, and general knowledge that helps them learn more effectively in school. • Books help children develop empathy and emotional regulation by providing opportunities to discuss feelings and coping strategies. • Reading together creates connection between parent and child, and the physical contact actually boosts the brain’s receptivity to learning. Moms and the Transfer of Sound Doctrine But moms, please don’t waste this opportunity by just reading about God’s world! Use these precious years to read about God’s Word. I learned a lot about reading, writing, spelling, grammar, logic, virtue, courage, and vocabulary by entering Frank and Joe Hardy’s fictitious world of fighting crime and solving mysteries. But I never learned the most important things I needed to know from the Hardy Boys. Augustine, the great theologian of the fourth century, had a mother named Monica who taught him the gospel at a young age, but he rejected Christianity. Yet she persisted in prayer for him, that God, “the hound of heaven,” would pursue and save him. Finally, as Augustine tells it, in 386 AD he heard a child’s voice in a garden saying, “Tolle lege” (Take and read). That led him to Romans 13:13–14 and his conversion. God used a mom to plant gospel seeds and move a son to read the truth that turned him to Christ. What Can Moms Read To Children? I asked our Campus Pastors, Matt Dubach and Alexander Roberts what they are reading to their own young children these days. They reminded me that most of their recommendations can be found at our church’s website by clicking the site in replies below. Go there to find 25 recommended books that moms can use to transfer sound doctrine to the next generation. Also, when we update the website, we’ll be adding: • The Beginner’s Gospel Story Bible, by Jared Kennedy. • God Made Boys and Girls: Helping Children Understand the Gift of Gender, by Marty Machowski. • God Made Me Unique: Helping Children See Value in Every Person, by Joni and Friends. Men, you might have time to get one or a few of these as a Mother’s Day gift, but even if you don’t, remember my motto: It’s never too late to buy a good book! Happy reading!

A boy about 12 is riding his bike around our neighborhood in the pouring rain and I have more hope for the next generation .

The sound of the bat on the ball on the radio when the Braves are 25-10 is music to my ears.

@darmstadiym Hence "...in my lifetime..."

@SteveBatemanFBC Saint Peter?

I have never known of a Christian in my lifetime who has faced death so publicly with greater grace, wisdom, thoughtfulness, and humor than Ben Sasse. See link in reply...

“If It Wasn’t for Us, You’d Be Speaking French” King Charles Toasts 250 Years of Side-Eye 🇺🇸🇬🇧

Masterful

Because of God’s great love for us, real Christians are forgiven for Christ’s sake and will want to please him and follow his example. This means that over time, there should be a qualitative difference between believers and unbelievers in terms of morality and ethics. Link in replies 👇

Is this a catch?😂

Political ads in Alabama: I have a gun. See my gun? I have a Bible. See my Bible?

Willful gullibility.