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God wants us to do the right thing, and if we are doing the right thing then people will see that we are good people… right? how could that be wrong?
Bible verses: Matthew 23, Matthew 7, Ephesians 2:10
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An Update from the PA Prolife Movement
A prolife leader in Pennsylvania says abortions happen 34,000 times annually in Pennsylvania, but that the number is decreasing.
Maria Gallagher of PA Prolife Federation says that has abortion providers seeking more funding from government coffers, to make up for lost revenue. Governor Josh Shapiro’s administration has reclassified a longtime budget item which supported agencies which offer alternatives to abortion, but that money now goes to businesses that provide abortions and abortion pills.
Gallagher says the general public can speak up to their leaders in the executive and legislative branches about whether citizens support the use of tax money to end these pregnancies.
In this interview, she also speaks about ways that care centers provide encouragement, perspectives and resources to women — during a pregnancy and after a baby is born.
We began and ended the month with interviews with Maria Gallagher. Click the link below for our earlier conversation with her about a state Supreme Court ruling that had just happened. A lower court chose not to hear a Planned Parenthood lawsuit seeking to open more Pennsylvania Medicaid funding for more abortions. The high court narrowly determined the suit had enough merit to be decided by the Commonwealth Court.
“Faith Under Fire” is the Thursday Family Life News Feature which explores governmental, judicial and social controversies which impact the lives of New Yorkers, Pennsylvanians and others. Previous editions — on a full range of topics — are always available from FamilyLife.org and on most podcast hosting services … look for “Family Life News”.
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Parenting: Taking the Long View
We want to raise our children well. Because of that, we look for instructions. That was true for parent and educational consultant Laura Spaulding.
“It seemed to be that there was always just a right way presented to you, and some of it came from the Christian culture, and some of it came from the neighborhood, and some of it came from TV,” she says.
Spaulding is the author of a January 2024 Gospel Coalition article titled Taking the Long View Revolutionized My Parenting.
Christian parents hold on to Proverbs 22:6, where we’re instructed to “train up a child in the way he should go,” so that, “when he is old, he will not depart from it. Taking that verse apart and recognizing what it really is saying: it is saying, ‘Start them this way, and it finishes this way.’ Like all the middle is so unique to each person,” she says.
Two decades into her parenting journey, Spaulding believes she’s developed some perspective.
“The chief end of parenting is not getting kids into perfect colleges so that they can find the perfect job and marry the perfect spouse, so that they could turn around and have perfect kids of their own,” she says. “The chief end of parenting, just like the chief end of life, is perfection for all eternity.”
That’s the kind of perfection that doesn’t come from formulas. It comes from Christ. “The ‘perfection for all eternity’ comes at the end of the race. At the end of the journey. And so our job as parents is to prepare our kids for a journey. It is to get them started.”
Get to know your children well, she says, and parent them accordingly. “Put the parenting books away and instead study the child in your arms,” she says, “really paying attention to what are their unique gifts and limitations. What motivates them. What stresses them out. What lights them up.”
Proverbs 22:6, Spaulding says, is a gracious invitation for taking a long view on the development of our children. “Use what you learn about them to help them know themselves, to help them know and relate to their Creator, to help prepare them for the good works that God has prepared in advance for them to do.
Join us for our 18-minute conversation by listening to the podcast.
Read the article that inspired this conversation here.
Read Laura Spaulding’s other writing here.
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Family Life’s “Hometown Heroes” Feature
COPE is “Children of Opioid Parents and Empowerment”.
The program in Chautauqua County, New York, offers of full year of services to children and teens who lost a parent to an opioid overdose.
Bill Matteson is the executive director of the COPE Foundation 19. He knows this tragedy personally. One of his sons died at age 29 due to heroin laced with fentanyl, leaving three children without their father. Matteson offers his family’s story as an encouragement — and a caution — to other families.
In this conversation, he also tells us about how the COPE program became a positive step his pastor promised could come from the disaster, as well as the ways COPE reaches out to guide other children who have faced something similar. It is open as well to children who This effort also includes counseling sessions with a Christian agency.
“Hometown Heroes” is hosted by Family Life’s Mark Webster. He talks with individuals throughout Pennsylvania and New York who are transforming lives and answering real human needs in their local communities.
This feature airs during the Family Life Noon Report on Tuesdays, and is available on our News Podcasts website and through most podcast sources. You are invited to subscribe to this feature — and to share this interview with anyone who may find it helpful for their circumstance, or for a congregation looking to create a similar outreach.
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Missions Pulse : Community Bible Study
An international movement, with local and online options, brings diverse people together to study Christian Scriptures.
Community Bible Study offers short-term groups for all age groups and stages of life. Its mission statement: Transform lives through the Word of God.
The local coordinator of New York State groups says CBS brings together people from a variety of Christian backgrounds, people who might not otherwise get together, become friends, and learn from each other. Regional director Pat Bailey tells our Abigail Hofland that a northern New York prayer effort has now brought together 40 children and they recently registered their 100th adult.
Listen to our podcast here, and consider sharing it with other friends and church members.
More information about Community Bible Study:
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Sometimes it feels like we are entitled to more than what we have been given, but how do we know how much we really deserve, and does the bible tell us?
Bible Verses: Deuteronomy 24:14-15, Leviticus 19:13, Malachi 3:5, Deuteronomy 25:4, Isaiah 1:17, Psalm 33:5, Isaiah 30:18, Deuteronomy 32:4, 2nd Chronicles 19:7, Romans 6:23, John 3:16, Romans 5:1, Mark 12:30, Galatians 2:16,
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Christian outreach and support for today’s young adults has transformed — yet again.
The unique needs and perspectives of this generation of college students has shaped how campus ministries are doing their work. Today on Family Life, we hear from Mike Andrews, Impact Ministry’s campus pastor at Penn State Altoona.
Andrews tells us about how the most significant impact which meets students where their lives are is primarily in small groups and Bible studies. Even for young people who have never had experiences in a church — or who have wandered away from an earlier faith — he says a hallmark of this generation is an openness to talk about deep core values and to explore spiritual issues.
Greg Gillispie also asks Andrews to give guidance to local church leaders on effective ways to shape youth ministries and to encourage the children of the church to plug into campus ministries if they go away to school.
For more information:
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Real Answers – How to Fight, Right – 2/21/24
New research discusses factors that lead to divorce. How people fight is an important dynamic.
Christian counselor Christopher Anderson joins Family Life’s Sarah Harnish to talk about how to fight in our relationships. He is not (obviously) encouraging spouses to seek out arguments, but to be able to handle disagreements well.
Attentive listening matters, he says. So does awareness on when to take a timeout to allow emotions to settle, so that the people involved can avoid increasing the tensions when differences arise. Anderson also suggests another good practice: writing out questions and responses ahead of time, when a problem needs solved.
“Real Answers” is a Wednesday Family Life news feature which helps Christians tackle the tough topics in our everyday lives. Check out our archives for more advice and encouragement — on relationships, parenting, work place issues, faith dilemmas and more, seeking a Biblical perspective on how to cope with and thrive in life.
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It’s Family Life’s “Hometown Heroes”
Celebrate the congregations and volunteers in our listening area who created a magical, memorable evening for hundreds of special guests
The Night to Shine has become a global movement across the past decade, and numerous local churches are plugged in — many of them since the early days when the Tim Tebow Foundation launched a prom-styled festival for special-needs individuals.
In this edition of “Hometown Heroes”, we hear about the local area’s Night to Shine events held February 9, 2024. Representatives of three of these congregations tell us what happens, who is served, the significant responses of the families and the local community, and how this one night spurs churches to be attentive to special needs ministries throughout the year.
Our radio news feature offers highlights and stories. For each of these three congregations, we also will be posting expanded interviews with web-only bonus content.
Other congregations whose leaders and volunteers also deserve “Hero” status are other churches in the Family Life listening area. These also sponsored a Night to Shine this month:
The Night to Shine movement began ten years ago (2014) as an outreach of the Tim Tebow Foundation. The Heisman trophy winner for the Florida Gators, former NFL quarterback and sports broadcaster started his foundation to fight for what they call the “MVP” — the Most Vulnerable People.
Tebow (himself growing up as a missionary kid) has been at the forefront of multiple forms of international Christian ministry.
Find out about the Foundation and watch the national/international Night to Shine video.
“Hometown Heroes” is one of our Tuesday news features on our Noon Report and 5 O’Clock Report.
A fun P.S…. Tim Tebow (who became famous for waiting for a uniquely Christian marriage partner, despite his famous “eligible bachelor” status) met his future wife at his 2018 NTS, where Demi-Lynn was attending with her special-needs sister.)
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Preston Atkinson is pastor of the Sunbury Bible Church in Northumberland, Pennsylvania.
Hear more about the Night to Shine events in New York and Pennsylvania on the Family Life “Hometown Heroes” news feature.
