May 2011 - Bible Study Fellowship

God has set the lonely in families — Psalm 68:6.
As we’ve studied Isaiah together, God has
uncovered many idols. One of today’s most
prevalent idols is connectivity.
Don’t get me wrong, I love having so much
information readily accessible and being
able to talk with so many friends so easily. The wealth of media options available
to us today is nothing short of amazing.
But it can also be a trap.
Connection can become compulsion. An
iPhone can become an idol. Connected to
everyone, we can suddenly find ourselves
very much alone.
Being connected, in other words, is good.
But pursuing connectivity at the expense
of everything else in your life is not. It is
idolatrous, sinful, and deeply damaging.
Christianity is about relationships—with God, foremost, but
also with each other. Yet Christian parents all over the world
find themselves struggling to
connect with their own children—and
often, truth be told, with their spouses.
Togetherness is one of God’s purposes for
the family, as Psalm 68:6 illustrates. Yet
the idol of connectivity isolates family members living under the same
roof. Breakfast and dinner conversations seldom occur. Parents in the
kitchen text their children in their
bedrooms—the boys gaming, the girls on
Facebook.
What can a parent do? One of the most
significant remedies is also the most
simple: Have dinner regularly with your
children, without their (and your) electronic devices. Simply eating and talking
together is an antidote not only to isolation, but also to damaging behaviors like
alcohol and drug abuse.
Here are more ways to counter the idol of
connectivity:
Be the Parent: Exercise your God-given
responsibility to train up your child.
(Deuteronomy 6:1–8)
Donʼt Rush In: Be slow to buy that first
cell phone or electronic game. When the
time comes, buy just one for all siblings to
share.
Unplug: Set aside times for book reading,
family games, and other activities.
Keep Technology Use Public: Require
accountability through visibility. Limit
electronic device use to common areas,
never bedrooms, especially at night. That
includes cell phones (texting) and other
hand-held devices.
Limit Time as Well as Content: Set rules
on the amount of time your child can spend
on a cell phone or the Internet each day.
Connect Where It Counts: Set aside a
daily quiet time for your child to connect
with God through reading His Word and
prayer.
Most importantly, model proper use of
technology in your own life. If you don’t
want your children doing it, don’t do it
yourself. Be open and transparent—no
pseudonyms, no accounts hidden from
family and friends. Hold yourself to the
same standards online as you would in
the real world. If you’re married, don’t
“friend” someone you’re attracted to on
Facebook. Connect with your spouse instead—in the real world.
As Psalm 68:6 says, God places the lonely
in families. It’s our job as parents to ensure that family plays the role God intended for it—healthy connectivity, based
on face-to-face conversation and interaction. May your family be the place where
relationships thrive and grow to the glory
of God!
Susie Rowan
Executive Director
Godʼs
People are deeply invested in
connecting with others. They blog,
text, tweet, and e-mail constantly.
Often, such interaction communicates information but does not
significantly contribute to building
relationships grounded in Christian fellowship. The word “fellowship” (Greek: koinonia) means
sharing one’s new life in Christ
with fellow believers through
prayer, love, admonition, encouragement, and unity. God builds
good connections for His people
through His Church, His Word,
and His Spirit.
At BSF Headquarters
At BSF headquarters we witness
an amazing work of God three
times each year when men and
women are trained to serve Him
as BSF teaching leaders and substitute teaching leaders. They
have varied backgrounds and life
experiences. They speak with distinct accents. They are in different
phases of life, from diverse global
cultures and various denominations. They usually arrive travelworn and a bit wary about living
for a week in an unfamiliar place
with unfamiliar people.
Within hours, they are amazed
with how much they have in common, despite their diversity. In
fact, their diversity endears them
to rather than divides them from
one another. Within days, lifetime
friendships develop.
In the Church
Hebrews 10:24–25 exhorts believers to be thoughtful, purposeful,
and committed in encouragement
and fellowship with one another.
This primarily takes place within
the church. BSF Seminars provide
training for you to contribute to
the spiritual life of your church.
What resources are you using to
help others in your church connect
with God and God’s people? The
Spirit connects those who are
filled with the Spirit. May you be
amazed and blessed as His Spirit
within you knits you together with
His Spirit in others!
Through BSF
Parents and children connect
through studying together in BSF.
One six-year-old boy, when studying Isaiah recently, absolutely
had to find his colored markers
before beginning the lesson. He
wanted to outline the “special”
words he read in the Bible. He
then gently asked his mother if he
could write something in the
Bible. As she watched, he wrote
“TRUE.” How wonderful to think
that in the future as he reads his
Chinese/English Bible (maybe as
a teenager), he will connect with
the passages in Isaiah that he
colored, highlighted, and outlined
in his six-year-old handwriting!
BSF is also connecting men in
Australia and New Zealand.
Four men have answered God’s
call to oversee nine men’s classes
there. This first men’s area team
for the South Pacific joyfully led
teaching leaders, substitute teaching leaders, class administrators,
and children’s supervisors at their
Area Workshop in Sydney. These
leaders would be isolated from
one another in their culture but
serving the Lord through BSF
brings them together. Imagine
the joy of meeting with likeminded leaders from Auckland,
Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne,
Perth, and Sydney!
South Pacific Menʼs Area Workshop
Book List
BIBLE/REFERENCE
Amy Carmichael: Can brown eyes be made
blue? By Catherine Mackenzie, Illustrated
by Rita Ammassari, CF4K, 2006.
ISBN: 978–1845501082.
The Message of Acts (The Bible Speaks
Today Series) by John Stott, InterVarsity
Press, 1994. ISBN: 978–0830812363.
Hero Tales, Volume I, by Dave & Neta Jackson, Bethany House Publishers, 2005.
ISBN: 978–0764200786.
CHRISTIAN LIVING
The Peacemaker by Ken Sande, Baker
Books, 2003. ISBN: 978–0801064852.
Hinds Feet on High Places: Illustrated and
Arranged for Children, by Hannah
Hurnard, Destiny Image Publishers, 1998.
ASIN: B0029PQCVA.
PARENTING THE NEXT GENERATION
Big Truths for Young Hearts: Teaching and
Learning the Greatness of God by Bruce A.
Ware, Crossway Books, 2009.
ISBN–13: 978–143350601–7.
Hymns for a Modern Reformation by
James Montgomery Boice and Paul Steven
Jones, Tenth Presbyterian Church, Distributed by the Alliance of Confessing
Evangelicals, 2000. (800) 956-2644
Leading Little Ones to God by Marian M.
Schoolland, Illustrations by Paul Stoub, Wm.
B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1995.
ISBN: 978–0802851208.
Passion Hymns for a Kid’s Heart by
Bobbie Wolgemuth and Joni Eareckson
Tada, Illustrations by Frank Ordaz, Crossway Books, 2005. ISBN: 1–581346654.
teach them diligently: How to Use the Scriptures in Child Training by Lou Priolo,
Timeless Texts, 2000. ISBN:1889032204.
SUGGESTED HOLIDAY SCRIPTURE
READINGS
You Never Stop Being a Parent: Thriving in
Relationship with Your Adult Children by
Jim Newheiser & Elyse Fitzpatrick, P&R
Publishing, 2010. ISBN: 978–1596381742.
Philippians; Job
Philippians: An Expositional Commentary by James Montgomery Boice, Baker
Books, 2006. ISBN: 978–080106640.
READING AND LISTENING
WITH THE NEXT GENERATION
Mining for Wisdom: 28 Daily Readings
from Job by Derek Thomas, Evangelical
Press, 2002. ISBN: 0852345313.
Adoniram Judson: A Grand Purpose by
Renee Taft Meloche, Illustrated by Bryan
Pollard, YWAM Publishing, 2004.
ISBN–10: 157658240X.
ISBN–13: 978–1576582404.
New Headquarters Staff
Jeff Luger
Jeff started BSF in 1995 during
the study of John in Alamo,
California. Moving to Idaho, he
attended the Boise evening men’s
class. In 2001, God called Jeff into
BSF leadership as a group leader,
then as a children’s leader and substitute teaching leader. After serving as teaching leader from 2007
until December 2010, he became
the Headquarters Plant Manager.
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Volunteering at Headquarters
To volunteer at BSF Headquarters, please contact our volunteer coordinator at 210–493–4151 or [email protected].
For all other inquiries, please call 210–492–4676 or visit www.bsfinternational.org.
INTERNATIONAL
The suggested books may be purchased from your local bookstore or directly from the publisher. BSF does not have books for sale.
If any of these books is out of print, we suggest that you look in a library or resale bookstore.
Published and copyrighted by BSF International, 2011 • International Headquarters: 19001 Huebner Road, San Antonio, Texas 78258-4019, U.S.A.