Parenting By The Book

Godly Parenting Works!

Now this is the commandment—the statutes and the rules^[a]—that the Lord your God commanded me to teach you, that you may do them in the land to which you are going over, to possess it, ² that you may fear the Lord your God, you and your son and your son's son, by keeping all his statutes and his commandments, which I command you, all the days of your life, and that your days may be long.³ Hear therefore, O Israel, and be careful to do them, that it may go well with you, and that you may multiply greatly, as the Lord, the God of your fathers, has promised you, in a land flowing with milk and honey.

⁴ “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.^[b] 5 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. ⁶ And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. ⁷ You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.⁸ You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. ⁹ You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. Deuteronomy 6:1-9 (ESV)

This morning as I sit in my office writing this blog, different emotions surround this pastor. Last Friday I lost a beloved friend and fellow brother in Christ. This person attended the congregation that mentored me into the pastor that I am today, he was a mentor, friend and confidant. 
Last week my parents visited us and I truly saw how aging is truly beginning to slow them down. With these visions in my head I began to draw on the memories of older mentors and my parents, while embracing the wonderful things that they have taught me.
Is Godly parenting a thing of the past? Is there room for it in today's society? Thankfully the answer is yes! Instead of this weekend being spent in mourning and melancholy, it was spent with God showing me new and miraculous forms of Godly parenting.

• It was shown through a young man showing me his new Bible, and proudly showing his pastor all that he had studied already.
• It was shown through the young mother holding her child on top of the pew so the young lady could sing God's music with the entire church.
• It was shown through the high school youth engaging me in conversation as we discussed the Book of Revelation.
• It was shown through the loving donations of a community to the local free clinic that benefits the working uninsured. 

Brothers and Sisters, as you go about your week, know that Godly parenting works! While it is not often seen, it is alive and well. As you encounter one another this week, embrace the past, embrace the present, and look to the future that God is making, and embracing and loving. 

God shines in the past, present, and in the future.

Pastor Tim

Dancing in the rain

Psalms 147:7-8 Sing unto the LORD with thanksgiving; sing praise upon the harp unto our God: Who covers the heaven with clouds, who prepares rain for the earth, who makes grass to grow upon the mountains.

As I sit in my office this afternoon, this is the view that I am seeing. As it rains heavily outside, part of me sits inside thinking how nice it is to hear the rain on the roof while being dry and protected by the building. But part of me wants to go outside and run and dance in the rain, like I did as a child. As an adult I understand that running outside in the rain would not be the prudent thing or the adult thing to do. I think this is because people may see me and question my actions, the same goes for people that don't go out preaching Jesus Christ, because some may question their actions.

How often do we that profess to be Christians gather inside our warm and safe buildings instead of running outside like children, professing Jesus Christ to all that will listen. Like the rain that nurtures the soil, so is the Christian that goes out nurturing those with the word of God.

My prayer for us all this week is that we never be afraid to dance in the rain, because of embarrassment. The same goes in my prayer that we are never to embarrassed or afraid to go out sing to others about the Lord with thanksgiving.

Come and dance in the rain with me and lets watch God work.

Pastor Tim.

The Happy Tie Guy

While in seminary, I was required to perform a semester of Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE), which involves spending a semester internship in a hospital or health care setting. One of my favorite memories of this time was watching and learning from our Catholic Priest (Father Tim). My fond memories of Father Tim revolved around his appearance in the hospital, in the fact that his patient care and ministry exuded happiness and love.

When visiting with patients, he (Father Tim) would not wear the traditional black priests shirt with his collar. Instead Father Tim would wear the brightest colored, pink, blue, and yellow shirts with his priests collar. My belief was that Father Tim wanted bright colors to show happiness and joy, rather than the traditional black color that might bring fear to some patients.

Father Tim taught me that brightness and joy have a true place in settings that sometimes can be dark and scary to people. I learned that my happy attitude not only revolved around my demeanor, but also revolved around how I appeared to my flock in the hospital.  

The book of Ecclesiastes Chapter three, verse twelve tells us: I perceived that there is nothing better for them than to be joyful and to do good as long as they live. As a now graduated seminarian and an ordained minister, I take this text to heart when visiting with those that are in dark situations, those that are in fear, those that need to see brightness instead of darkness.

I may not wear a priests shirt, but after watching Father Tim, I wear bright ties that express happiness and brightness to those that may be in fear, those that see nothing but darkness and fear on the horizon.

Brothers and Sisters, those of us the share and profess the "Good News" of Jesus Christ are called to carry ourselves in the same joy and happiness, in the fact that our eternity has been been sealed for us in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

My prayer for you does not involve wearing bright, loud ties, but resides in the fact that people will truly see God's happiness and joy in you, and that your Christ filled personality will turn someones darkness into a bright light.

Be Happy My Friends.

Pastor Tim

God's Wisdom and Voice

As I began my morning today, it seemed as my emphasis was going to be all about communication. Like most of us my day began with checking my e-mail, my phone, my Facebook page, the morning television news and the local paper. Yes, a pastor like many others needs to be informed and knowledgeable about the events of the world as well as the community that he or she lives in.

This day of communication goes on for me as I do some home visits, and end up at my office to write devotionals for two different gatherings this week. I believe that I'm on this communication kick because our 3rd sermon in the Home Improvement series will be about building and remodeling family communications.

As I went to God's Word this morning and asked for his insight on communication, the Holy Spirit provided by having me turn to the following text in Isaiah 62: 1-2. "For Zion's sake I will not keep silent, and for Jerusalem's sake I will not rest, until her vindication shines out like a dawn, and her salvation like a burning torch. The nations shall see your vindication, and all the kings your glory; and you shall be called by a new name that the mouth of the Lord will give."

Beloved, my prayer for you this week is that all your communications be blessed and that they all be positive. May our conversations of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, not be kept silent, for God supplies us with strength and courage. Go forth in communication this week knowing that through Christ we are Vindicated and that our Salvation  is by his Death and Resurrection. Communicate in the knowledge that we are glorified through God and that we are a new creation with a new mouth and a new voice that cannot be silenced, because through Jesus Christ our voice is Eternal.

Thanks Be To God That We Have A Voice

Pastor Tim.

Home Improvement of the Family Foundation

Brothers and Sisters as we continue with our home improvement series, we will be dealing with the foundations of our homes. When we work with the foundations of our homes, we must understand that the foundation must be built on solid and firm ground. We all understand that homes built on unstable foundations will eventually sink and cave in. 

Likewise our families must be established on a solid foundation, so they will not sink or cave in. Our sermon series this week will speak to building family foundations that are strong in the Lord. Psalm 127: 1 tells us: "Unless the Lord builds the house, the builders labor in vain. Unless the Lord watches over the city, the guards stand watch in vain." 

My prayer for you this week is that we establish our home foundations on Jesus Christ. Jesus is building our home for the future, building a place for our faith, and building a home for our families. 

Until we meet again, check your family foundations and ask yourselves: "Is it on solid ground?"

We hope to see you on Sunday for part two of this series (A Firm Family Foundation). We meet every Sunday at First Christian Church: 2515 South Main Street in Benton Ky. Our worship begins at 10:45 AM.

Home Improvement

Over the next Seven weeks I will be preaching a sermon series on home improvement, the kind of home improvement that deals with remodeling our families and our roles as parents, spouses, and children. Brothers and Sisters, before followers of God can improve the world, we must start inside our own homes. Over the next seven weeks we will learn how to place God in the forefront of our marriages and our relationships with our children.


Beloved, Jesus Christ is the Great Home Builder and the Great Home Improvement Expert and placing him in charge of our home renovations is the only way to start on a solid and firm foundation. Many families today are at risk and their homes are at risk of crumbling to the ground under the weight of:

• Divorce
• Substance Abuse
• Pornography 
• Materialism
• Infidelity 
• And most importantly, turning away from God in reference to the construction of our families

We hope to see you attend as we learn what God has to say about the construction of our family units. We meet at First Christian Church in Benton Kentucky, 2515 South Main Street. Church School at 9:45 AM and Worship at 10:45 AM

Let God be the contractor in your home renovation!

Tim (The Tool-Man Polley)

Being Still/Listening/Memory Building and Cherishing.

Brothers and Sisters I write this blog entry from vacation.

As I sit on the patio next to our travel trailer and watch the sun come up over the pond behind us, my emphasis is on listening to God's creation around me. Psalm 46:10 tells us to be still and know that he is God, and as I relax and enjoy quality time with Lynne and Ben, I feel God's call to just soak this time in.

Vacation time will come and go as fast as the blink of an eye, but the memories that we build and cherish will last a lifetime. My prayer for you this week is that you will take time to just stop and listen to the sounds that God has created for you, build memories and cherish them for a lifetime.

Back to Memory Building
Pastor Tim