Hey Fellow Dads,

We want to continuously lead our families to think about Christ, to learn about Him, to love Him, to serve Him, and to share His gospel throughout the year. I think Christmas is a great time of year to recalibrate and refocus our attention on Him, especially as we prepare to step into a new year. Here are seven ways to help us do that.

—Nathan

📖 Genesis 3:15

📖 Genesis 49:8-12

📖 Micah 5:2

📖 Psalm 132:1-12

📖 Matthew 1-2

📖 Luke 1-2

📖 John 1

📖 Hebrews 10:25

📚 Jotham’s Journey, by Arnold Ytreeide

📚 Bartholomew’s Passage, by Arnold Ytreeide

📚 Ishtar’s Odyssey, by Arnold Ytreeide

“While we’re trying to keep the emphasis on Christ, it’s easy to get lost in the details and forget what we’re actually doing—remember and rejoice in Jesus Christ and the fact that God sent Him to be our Saviour.”—Nathan

“Pleased as man with men to dwell, Jesus our Emmanuel.”—from “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing,” originally by Charles Wesley, altered by others, including George Whitefield

“So many opportunities abound, but we want our children to know that we as dads depend on the Lord to open the doors, to help us open our mouths, and to open hearts to the gospel of Christ.”—Nathan

by Benjamin Russell Hanby (1866)

1 Who is He in yonder stall, At whose feet the shepherds fall? Who is He in deep distress, Fasting in the wilderness?

2 Who is He the people bless For His words of gentleness? Who is He to whom they bring All the sick and sorrowing?

3 Lo! at midnight, who is He Prays in dark Gethsemane? Who is He on yonder tree Dies in grief and agony?

4 Who is He that from the grave Comes to heal and help and save? Who is He that from His throne Rules through all the world alone?

Chorus: ’Tis the Lord, O wondrous story! ’Tis the Lord, the King of glory! At His feet we humbly fall, Crown Him, crown Him Lord of all!

1. Each morning, read a portion of Scripture relating to the Lord’s first coming with your family.
2. Encourage your children to make more gifts more than they buy.
3. At daily family times, read stories that focus on the Lord’s first coming.
4. Look for ways to show the love of Christ in acts of service to do together.
5. Sing songs of Jesus’ birth together.
6. Be sure to include regular church attendance together.
7. Pray that God will use your family during this season to help lead people to the Lord Jesus Christ.

🎙️Please subscribe to the podcast so you can listen again next week!

✍🏻 Leaving a review is the best way to say "thanks" so that others can find the podcast, too! In Apple Podcast app, scroll down to the bottom of the episode list (right above the "About" section) and click the tiny link to "Write a Review."

➡️ Take a screenshot or click the "Share" button in your podcast app to let your friends know.

🧑🏻‍💻 Join the Facebook group

https://uppbeat.io/t/aura-classica/angels-we-have-heard-on-high License code: V3ZSRIWSNPJPND4W

https://uppbeat.io/t/aaron-paul-low/pony-express License code: ZUCYKOROVB4PRHZC

https://uppbeat.io/t/holly-jones/o-come-all-ye-faithful License code: 8QZSITEB05HP4Y6L

Hey Fellow Dads,

Looking for a good Christian devotional book? Amazon has over 90,000 options to wade through! But here are five great choices for classic devotional books that have stood the test of time and will continue to encourage you for years to come.

--Nathan

📚 Daily Light on the Daily Path

https://www.wholesomewords.org/resources/bbagster.html

https://dailylightdevotional.org

📚 Morning and Evening, by Charles Haddon Spurgeon

📚 The Valley of Vision: A Collection of Puritan Prayers & Devotions, by Arthur Bennett

https://puritanboard.com/threads/is-valley-of-vision-the-greatest-misunderstanding-in-puritan-literature.114643/

📚 Days of Praise (quarterly devotional magazine)

https://www.icr.org/icr-magazines

📚 Any good hymnal

📖 Great Hymns of the Faith, published by Brentwood-Benson

https://brentwoodbenson.com/63-great-hymns-of-the-faith-blue.html

📖 Psalms and Hymns and Spiritual Songs, published by Melody Publications

https://melodypublications.com/collections/frontpage

📖 Rejoice, published by Majesty Music

https://www.majestymusic.com/hymnals/rejoice-hymnal.html

📖 Bible Truth Hymns, published by Bible Truth Music

https://bibletruthmusic.com/product-category/hymnals-hymnals/hymnals/

“’He that hath made his refuge God,’ might serve as the title of a true believer. A hypocrite, when afflicted by God, resents the infliction, and, like a slave, would run from the Master who has scourged him; but not so the true heir of heaven, he kisses the hand which smote him, and seeks shelter from the rod in the bosom of the God who frowned upon him.” —Charles Spurgeon, Morning and Evening, Nov. 19, Evening

“When I survey the wondrous cross, on which the Prince of glory died, My richest gain, I count but loss, and pour contempt on all my pride.” —“When I Survey the Wondrous Cross,” by Isaac Watts

“Jesus! the name that charms our fears, that bids our sorrows cease, 'Tis music in the sinner's ears, 'tis life and health and peace.

“He breaks the power of cancelled sin, he sets the prisoner free; His blood can make the foulest clean; his blood availed for me.” —“O For a Thousand Tongues to Sing,” by Charles Wesley

🎙️Please subscribe to the podcast so you can listen again next week!

✍🏻 Leaving a review is the best way to say "thanks" so that others can find the podcast, too! In Apple Podcast app, scroll down to the bottom of the episode list (right above the "About" section) and click the tiny link to "Write a Review."

➡️ Take a screenshot or click the "Share" button in your podcast app to let your friends know.

🧑🏻‍💻 Join the Facebook group

Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/aaron-paul-low/pony-express License code: ZUCYKOROVB4PRHZC

Hey Dads,

We’ve thought about several reasons why we ought to use devotional books to help us walk with God, but how do we actually put these tools to use in realistic ways? In this episode, I’ll give you six practical ways to make devotional books a genuine benefit to your fellowship with the Lord.

—Nathan

📖 Job 23:12 “Neither have I gone back from the commandment of his lips; I have esteemed the words of his mouth more than my necessary food.”

📖 Deuteronomy 33:25b “…and as thy days, so shall thy strength be.”

📖 Proverbs 27:17 “Iron sharpeneth iron; so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend.”

📚 Morning and Evening, by Charles Spurgeon

📚 Daily Light on the Daily Path, by Jonathan Bagster & Robert Bagster

“Make heaven crowded.” —Charlie Kirk

“I admit, I’m guilty of having far more books than I’ll ever have time enough to read—here on my desk, next to my desk on a bookshelf, and on my nightstand, I’ve got devotional books I’m slowly working through.

“If I could go back 15 years and give myself advice that I should listen to, concerning devotional books, I think it would be, get one or two books that godly men you respect recommend, and read them, systematically, day-by-day.” —Nathan

“[It’s] for you to figure out how God leads you—individually.

After all, the point is to use tools that aid you in your fellowship with God.” —Nathan

“Just like eating is necessary every day (unless we’re fasting), we must spend some time each day in God’s word. For a Christian who wants to walk with God—especially for a dad who is striving to lead his family in God’s way—spending time in God’s word every day is a non-negotiable.” —Nathan

“…if we don’t consciously make time every day to read, we probably won’t. And that’s true for everything we ought to be reading, whether it be the Bible itself, or devotional books, or biographies, or civics, or whatever. We’ve got to make time, and that probably includes writing down on a daily to-do list—and holding ourselves to it.” —Nathan

“We live in a time when we are used to scrolling through short posts, laughing at memes, watching short videos, and then forgetting about them.

“Reading devotional books can help us to train our brains in the lost art of meditation, and if they’re the right kind of devotional literature, they can give us nourishing material to feed our souls.” —Nathan

“Do not mistake feeling moved by a motivating truth for actual action in response to that truth.” —Nathan

1. Start by using only one or two devotional books.
2. Carve out some time, regularly, to read them.
3. Read the selection or amount you need to read for the season of life you’re currently in.
4. After you have read a selection, meditate on what you’ve read.
5. Look for a practical way to live out whatever truth God teaches you.
6. Share nuggets of truth with others.

🎙️Please subscribe to the podcast so you can listen again next week!

✍🏻 Leaving a review is the best way to say "thanks" so that others can find the podcast, too! In Apple Podcast app, scroll down to the bottom of the episode list (right above the "About" section) and click the tiny link to "Write a Review."

➡️ Take a screenshot or click the "Share" button in your podcast app to let your friends know.

🧑🏻‍💻 Join the Facebook group.

Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/brock-hewitt-stories-in-sound/holy-holy-holy License code: N48B3XBZ80MK0VQJ

Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/aaron-paul-low/pony-express License code: ZUCYKOROVB4PRHZC