Quality Enemies

As Oscar Wilde observed, and many others have similarly noted, “You can judge a man by the quality of his enemies.” You heard that right, enemies. And the Bible, far from guaranteeing that everyone will love and admire us as we follow Jesus, actually assures us of just the opposite; it declares that we will have haters and persecutors, and that they will, well…hate and persecute us.

David begged for divine deliverance from the lion-like men who would tear him to pieces.

         
Paul described one particularly hurtful persecutor as a “thorn in the flesh.”

         
And even Jesus assured his disciples (including us modern disciples) that following him leads surely to the painful betrayal of some of those close to us.

May God grant us grace to be considered dangerous enough by the Enemy of our souls to warrant a few quality enemies to hound and harass us.  

Guard Your Heart (Travis Koch)

TRA Graduation 2014, Faculty Address

Thank you Peter, and thank you again graduates for inviting me to give your commencement address today.  I’m especially honored that you asked me to do this after only one year teaching at the River Academy.  I’m sure future classes won’t make the same mistake.

We come now to that part of the ceremony where I, on behalf of the school, am expected to impart to you some final, sage advice that will guide and inspire you as you leave this place and commence the next chapter of your life.

And you, seniors, may be wondering: After all the topics we’ve already covered in class; after all the books we’ve read and discussed; after all our over-caffeinated conversations at Café Mela; after all the pearls of wisdom and knowledge our teachers have showered upon us over the years … what could Mr. Koch possibly say that we haven’t already heard?

Let’s face it: you’re right.  In our Humane Letters class alone we spent nearly 250 hours this year sitting around tables wrestling with the ultimate questions of life, the universe, and everything.  Those hours of instruction have been multiplied time and again in all the classes you’ve taken during your years at the River.

And I can’t help but think that if we teachers have taken advantage of all our time together, then certainly we must have already given you all the tools and advice we can think of.  We’ve already said all we can say to prepare you as you go from this place.  And now, sadly, the clock has run out.  And our time together is over.  So it goes.

But perhaps there’s something more to say.  One last bit of instruction.  A final exhortation.  And so, I’ve chosen to send you off with these words of ancient wisdom: This above all else, guard your heart.

Above all else, guard your heart, because your heart, says Solomon in Proverbs 4, is the wellspring of your life.  Whatever is in your heart – your desires, your goals, your fears, your affections – the orientation of your heart will determine the course of your life.

Seasons of the Family Audio Files (with notes)

Click here for a link to the audio files from KXC's recent "Seasons of the Family" conference. You should find four audio files and a PDF and/or Word file containing all five talks. Enjoy!

SEASONS OF THE FAMILY, March 7-8

SEASONS OF THE FAMILY 
Biblical Wisdom for the Christian Home
Speaker: Douglas Wilson
March 7-8

As pastor and author Voddie Baucham Jr. has observed, "God has not left us to wander aimlessly in the wilderness as we raise our children. He has given us a blueprint for multigenerational faithfulness. That blueprint is expressed throughout the Bible…”

Come join us as pastor and author Douglas Wilson opens God's Word and helps us to understand God's "blueprint for multigenerational faithfulness" in the different seasons of life.

Location

On  Friday evening and Saturday morning we will meet at the Wenatchee Brethren Baptist Church located at 535 Okanogan Ave, Wenatchee, WA.

To pique your interest, here are a few quotes from one of Doug's many books on marriage and family:

“As Christians, our central concern should be to have our worship of God pervade everything we do. But if worship applied relates to how we live, then it must also relate to where we live...”

 “The constitution of a biblical home consists of faith, hope and love. Love is not to be understood as mere sentiment, but rather self-sacrificing obedience to the Word of God—with a whole heart. This can be quite an elevating and inspiring concept until there are dishes to be done...”

“The task confronting parents is not to get children to conform to the standard the parents believe to be biblical. The task is to bring the children to love that biblical standard. At the very center of childrearing, therefore, is the question of inculcating loyalty. A covenant family cannot stay together without loyalty. But loyalty is a function of deep gratitude, and gratitude is a function of grace. Many parents, therefore, need to learn what it means to lighten up to the glory of God.”

Douglas Wilson in, My Life For Yours: A Walk Through the Christian Home.

Here's the schedule for Friday and Saturday (March 7-8)

Friday Evening
6:45—Welcome
7:00—Godly Marriage
8:15—Q&A with Doug and Nancy 

Saturday Morning
8:00—Coffee and muffins (served downstairs in fellowship hall)
8:30—Loving Little Ones
10:00— Raising Godly Teenagers
11:30— Parenting Married Children

And, if you would like to hear Doug’s sermon on “Godly Grandparenting” you are most welcome to join us for worship on Sunday morning, March 9. King’s Cross Church meets in the sanctuary of the Wenatchee Seventh Day Adventist Church on the corner of 5th Street and Western Ave at 10:00am. 

Our Speaker:

Douglas Wilson is the pastor of Christ Church in Moscow, Idaho. He is a founding board member of Logos School, a Senior Fellow of theology at New Saint Andrews College, and he serves as an instructor at Greyfriars Hall, a ministerial training program at Christ Church. He helped to establish the Communion of Reformed Evangelical Churches (CREC), is the editor of Credenda Agenda, and the author of numerous books on classical Christian education, the family, the church, and the reformed faith. After serving in the U.S. Navy in the submarine service, he completed a B.A. and M.A. in philosophy and a B.A. in classical studies from the University of Idaho. Douglas and his wife Nancy have three children and a bunch of grandkids.

There is no charge for the seminar, but we will be taking up an offering if you would like to help cover the expenses.