As all good seadogs know, September 19 is International Talk Like a Pirate Day. This is the day each year we set aside to great each other with a growl and give directions in nautical nonsense. You don’t actually have to know much about pirates to talk like one.

Start phrases with a full growl (Arrrr!) and end with, “me hearties!” (my peeps!). That’s a good start. Now throw in some sailing directions, and you’re on your way. Try:

• Ahoy! (Hey you!)
• Aye, Aye! (Okeedokee!)
• Avast heaving there! (Stop pulling on that rope!)
• Lash that scurvy dog to the yardarm! (You’re in trouble!)
• Walk to the plank with ye! (You’re in big trouble!)
• Blimey! (Wow!)
• Sail ho! (Check it out! Another ship!)
• Shiver me timbers! (Not really sure what that one means.)
• Yo, ho, ho! (Yo, ho, ho!)
• Remember that “starboard” equals right and “larboard” (or “port”) equals left.
• If someone won’t talk like a pirate with you, you can call them a lubber.

You also need a good pirate name. It takes a couple of descriptive words to make a good pirate name. Start with something rugged (Iron, Mad, Dread, etc.). Add a color (Red or Black work best), or a description (One-Eyed, Eight-Fingered, Bearded), or a title (Captain, Pirate, Lord, if you’re particularly piratical), and then your name. You can throw in a nautical last name if you like, too.

Today, I am The Dread Pirate Rusty Scupper Steve.

How about you: got a good pirate name?

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Vince gave us the second installment of the eachonereachone series yesterday. He helped us see how Matthew 28:18-20 can help “each one who has received grace reach one who needs grace.” He gave us four specific steps:

1. Develop Friendships With Unbelievers
2. Ask Them Good Questions
3. Share the Gospel Humbly
4. Stay Commited

I thought Vince’s explanation of the Two Ways To Live chart was very helpful. Simple enough to draw on a napkin, this little chart is a great tool for sharing the gospel with someone. It can really help to clarify the issues with someone by asking them which of these points they disagree with.

1. God is the loving ruler of the world. He made the world. He made us rulers of the world under him.

2. We all reject the ruler–God–by trying to run life our own way without him.

3. God won’t let us rebel forever. God’s punishment for rebellion is death and judgment.

4. Because of his love, God sent his Son into the world: the man Jesus Christ. Jesus always lived under God’s rule. Yet by dying in our place he took our punishment and brought forgiveness.

5. God raised Jesus to life again as the ruler of the world. Jesus has conquered death, now given life, and will return to judge.

6. So, there are two ways to live: our way (reject the ruler, God and try to run life our way) or God’s new way (submit to Jesus as our ruler and rely on Jesus’ death and resurrection).

Categories: Monday Matters, five15 blog
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By now, it’s probably obvious that I’m crazy about Moleskine journals. I own four. I’m using three of them; the fourth is a backup just in case. Why Moleskines are so great:

• They aren’t really moles’ skins. That would be worse somehow.
• A nice stiff cover makes for a firm writing surface.
• Quality paper. The ink flows!
• It’s snappy: It snaps when you close it, the elastic band snaps.
• A super-secret pocket.
• Two convenient sizes. Lots of lining options. Huge catalog of choices.
• (Special note to the Moleskine detractors in Leadership Development: having a pocket does not make a Moleskine a purse!)

I think of a Moleskine as a tool: it helps me grow in my relationship with the Savior. There appear to be an immense number of uses for your Moleskine:

• Obviously, use it as a journal. How has God been meeting you lately?
• Write down your meditations.
• Keep a catalog of favorite quotations.
• Write down prayer requests for family and friends. Revisit each morning.
• List ways you’ve seen God’s grace in others. Be sure to follow up with encouragement.
• Track answered prayers. Don’t forget to give thanks to God.
• Start a list of words with all five vowels.

Personally, I’m looking forward to my fifth Moleskine in the spring of 2007: a Washington DC City Notebook.

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That Proverbs is for youths, no one would deny. The opening verses of the book make this abundantly clear:

“To know wisdom and instruction,
to understand words of insight,
to receive instruction in wise dealing,
in righteousness, justice, and equity;
to give prudence to the simple,
knowledge and discretion to the youth…” (1:2-4)

That Proverbs is for parents to use to train their kids is not as immediately obvious. But a close reading of Proverbs will show that one of the original purposes was for fathers to use as a training manual for their sons. Consider these verses:

• Hear, my son, your father’s instruction, and forsake not your mother’s teaching… (1:8)
• My son, if you receive my words and treasure up my commandments with you… (2:1)
• My son, do not forget my teaching, but let your heart keep my commandments… (3:1)
• My son, do not despise the LORD’s discipline or be weary of his reproof… (3:11)
• My son, do not lose sight of these—keep sound wisdom and discretion… (3:21)

And that’s just the first three chapters! John MacArthur explains how Proverbs can serve parents in the training of their children:

“But beyond the basic truths of the gospel are also many vital biblical lessons about character, integrity, justice, prudence, discernment, and all the practical issues of life. Parents are charged with the duty of carefully training their children with godly wisdom in all such matters.

“Proverbs is therefore a fitting textbook for parents, and fathers, in particular, to teach their children the kind of practical wisdom necessary for prosperity in this life. It is an inspired book of wisdom from the wisest father who ever lived, a vital compendium of the sort of practical widsom all parents need to pass on to their children.” MacArthur, What The Bible Says About Parenting, 69-70.

How to use Proverbs to train teens? It could come in a variety of forms. One suggestion from CJ: have your teens read a chapter of Proverbs each day. At dinner, have them pick one proverb from that chapter to discuss. Read together Charles Bridges’ entry on that proverb from his commentary. Talk together about how that proverb is relevant and helpful. I think you’ll find Bridges to be a wonderful resource, full of insight. Enjoy.

Next week: how to do a topical study in Proverbs with your teens.

Categories: Thursday Thoughts For Parents, five15 blog
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Reading and understanding Proverbs can be difficult. Any given Proverb is simple enough, but when you step back, how does Proverbs really fit into the wider storyline of the Bible? Are there any principles we should keep in mind whie reading Proverbs?

Mark Dever has a great answer. In The Message of The Old Testament, he provides seven simple clues to “help you get ahold of the wonderful wisdom this book has for you.” Here they are:

1. Common sense is required… The mere fact that you are opening the Bible does not mean that you have to throw common sense out the window. You can look at 16:3, 5, 18, 20, and 22 for proverbs that common sense tell us are generally true.
2. Individual proverbs are always ultimately true… We must realize that individual proverbs will not always appear to be immediately true, but they will always be ultimately true.
3. Individual proverbs are normally true now… The purpose of a proverb is not to exhaust a topic but to teach a lesson in a way that is memorable.
4. Individual proverbs employ poetic imagery.
5. Individual proverbs are partial in themselves… Too often, people imagine they can clip individual proverbs out like spiritual coupons to apply however they please. Having read one, they don’t read the others. Yet proverbs alone are typically partial. Each one typically attempts to capture one basic idea.
6. Individual proverbs are sometimes obscure… Some proverbs will seem obscure because you do not have the cultural background to understand everything that was written three thousand years ago.
7. As a whole, the proverbs are religious… Indeed, it tells us that the good life can be found only in wisdom about God and about ourselves.

Do you have a proverb that you’ve always thought was hard to understand? A favorite proverb?

Categories: Drivers Ed, five15 blog
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Alpha and ESL begin tonight with the Celebration Dinner. Please pray for all the guests who are in our building tonight, rubbing shoulders with members of our church and hearing the gospel preached. When I left the office a little after 6:30, people were pouring in.

For those of you who are serving Alpha and ESL tonight, I’m curious about two things: How did Alpha and ESL go tonight? What do you enjoy about serving there?

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Now you’ve heard all about it. “Drivers Ed: Lessons For The Road Of Life” is a series of messages we are beginning in the book of Proverbs.

Why the book of Proverbs? Glad you asked! Simple: Proverbs is particularly useful for young people. Remember the verses we looked at Saturday night? Proverbs are intended “to give prudence to the simple, knowledge and discretion to the youth.” It’s for parents, too: “Let the wise hear and increase in learning, and the one who understands obtain guidance…”

Here’s the wonderful truth we’re going to discover together: if we are willing to listen to Proverbs, we will find that the book provides street signs for the road of life - signs that direct us and protect us from the many hazards out there. Here’s what’s in store:

1. On Ramp: Proverbs on The Fear of the Lord
2. One Way: Proverbs on Wisdom & Folly
3. HOV: Proverbs on Family
4. Yield: Proverbs on Friendship
5. Speed Limit: Proverbs on Money
6. Road Work Ahead: Proverbs on Diligence
7. No U-Turn: Proverbs on Words
8. Steep Grade: Proverbs on Sex
9. This Lane Ends: Proverbs on Life and Death

Want to learn more? Our next installment of Drivers Ed will be at the October 7 BIG MEETING.

Drive on.

Categories: Drivers Ed, five15 blog
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For those of you who like to read the Bible verses that are preached on before you get to the meeting, we’re going to begin a series tomorrow night entitled “Drivers Ed: Lessons For The Road Of Life” from the book of Proverbs.

Tomorrow night: ON RAMP: Proverbs on the Fear of the Lord.

Proverbs 1:1-7

Categories: Drivers Ed, five15 blog
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I recently learned that one of my favorite theologians–Andreas Köstenberger–has a blog. Dr. K is the author of many fine books, including an excellent commentary on the gospel of John and one of the best books I know of on the theology of the family: God, Marriage, and Family.

So learning that Dr. Köstenberger is writing on the blogosphere is like finding money in a coat pocket at the beginning of fall. Happy day! The blog, called Biblical Foundations, is part of “a ministry established to help rebuilding the biblical foundations for the home, the church, and society…” A vital ministry, to be sure.

In mid-July, Dr. Köstenberger helped his readers move “Toward a Christian Parenting Philosophy.” Here’s an example from this post of why I like Köstenberger so much:

“Ultimately, we should be careful not to rely on any one human method that, no matter how biblical it may claim to be, is always one step removed from the Bible. Our supreme trust should be in God and in his Word, and we must humbly acknowledge that our understanding of Scripture is not to be equated with the teaching of Scripture itself.”

Dr. K goes on to explain an important concept that must be mastered for parenting to be effective:

“Biblical parenting requires that parents understand [children] are not merely disobedient, they are also sinful, and they are disobedient because they are sinful. Hence, children ultimately need salvation, not merely parental discipline. Moreover, as mentioned, children are also “simple” in the scriptural meaning of that term (see Prov. 1:22), which requires parental instruction, training, and constant cultivation, much like a garden needs to be tended continually and consistently.”

The post goes on to describe ways the sinful motives of parents may interfere with parenting. The implication, I think, (though not explicitly stated) is that parents need the same Savior they are holding out to their children. Kids need the gospel; parents can show them how to use it! Are you aware of sinful actions, words, or motives towards your children or in your parenting? Great news. As our friend Richard Sibbes put it, “There is more mercy in Christ than sin in us.” Sounds a lot like a certain apostle: “…where sin increased, grace abounded all the more…”

Is sin abounding in your parenting? In your kid? Either way, the first step in the solution is the same: fly to Christ, and find forgiveness in his blood shed for sinners.

Categories: Thursday Thoughts For Parents, five15 blog
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Great news.  It’s September, and our new year of five15 has begun.  Our first BIG MEETING of the new school year is THIS Saturday.  As always:

• Join us for Pizza & Ping-Pong at 5:15pm.
• The meeting starts at 6:30pm.
• Don’t forget your Bible and your Moleskine.

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