Nurturing a Christian Home by Celebrating the Sabbath Meal Together. “Remember to keep holy the Sabbath day. Six days you may labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God.” (Exodus 20:8-10) 1. The Liturgy for the Family Table. (the night before the chosen Sabbath day, which officially starts …
Nurturing a Christian Home by Celebrating Jesus as the Passover Lamb. THE PASSOVER HAGGADAH: “I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you…” (Luke 22:15) Candle Lighting and Blessing. The mother of the house lights the candles and recites this Hebrew blessing: Blessed art thou, O Lord God, King of the Universe, who has sanctified us by …
Nurturing a Christian Home with the Tashlich Experience, A “Casting Off” Experience for Families during New Year’s Night. “Who is a God like you, who pardons sin and forgives the transgressions of the remnant of his inheritance? You do not stay angry forever, but delight to show mercy. You will again have compassion on us; …
Nurturing a Christian Home: Bild Yourselves a Sukkah! “So the people went out and brought back branches and built themselves booths, sukkah, on their own roofs, in their courtyards, in the courts of the house of God… The whole company that had returned from exile built booths and lived in them. And their joy was …
Nurturing Our Children to become ‘Little Christs.’ “Every Christian is to become a little Christ. The whole purpose of becoming a Christian is simply nothing else.” (C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity). What does it mean to become a “little Christ,” a human version of the divine Messiah? How do we go about becoming little Christs? And how is …
Home Unsweetened: How a Man Can Make a Hell of a Home. C. S. Lewis’ book “The Screwtape Letters” is a series of conversations between two fallen angels in Hades, and strategies they can use to make a person truly fit for hell. It’s a classic, and I recommend it. I would like to take …
Nurturing a Christian Home by Actively Waiting. “In my mind I keep returning to something, something that gives me hope – the mercies of the Lord are not exhausted, His tender compassions have not ended. On the contrary, they are new every morning! How great is your faithfulness! The Lord is all I have, I …
Nurturing a Christ-Centered Home in the Style of Joseph and Mary. “Jesus is our childhood pattern; Day by day, like us he grew.” (C.F. Alexander, 1874). Many of us believers are doing our best to follow Jesus, to love and to trust in him. But we actually don’t know much about his life. His first …
Nurturing a Christian Home by Practicing the Social Graces of Common Courtesy. “There are no ‘ordinary’ people… You have never talked to a mere mortal… It is immortals whom we joke with, marry, snub, and exploit…” (C. S. Lewis). Christian homes are not ‘charm schools.’ Families don’t always about proper etiquette. Who cares, really, if you …
Nurturing a Christian Home: The Hospitality of Father Abraham. “May the All-Merciful One bless this table at which we have eaten. May it be like the table of Abraham our father; All who are hungry may eat from it, and all who are thirsty may drink from it.” (from a traditional Sephardic Jewish Passover liturgy). Father …
Nurturing the Whole Mind in a Christ-Centered Home. “Jesus answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with everything you got: all your heart, all your soul, all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” (Luke 10:27). Jesus Christ co-designed the human mind, the mysterious seat of consciousness of each person, and …
Nurturing the Christian Home, The Sacrament of Marriage. “Haven’t you read the Scriptures about creation? The Creator made us male and female from the very beginning, and for this reason a man will leave his father and mother and cling to his wife, sticking to her like glue. He will be literally joined with his …