Did you know that during that first winter in America, half of the Pilgrims died and half of those who died were children? Also, fourteen out the eighteen wives who came to these shores died as well.

The story of the first Thanksgiving is the story of a people of the Book. Listen to the message to hear how their commitment to the Word of God affected their faith and their lives in the worst conditions possible.

Why do we study and teach history?  Why do we tell the stories of the Bible and stories of faith from history?

Romans 15:4 gives us the biblical purpose of history, “For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, so that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.”

This is the first message Pastor Bill’s expository preaching series: “The Power of Stories of Faith.”

Many polls show that the vast majority of young adults who are reared in Christian homes are now turning their backs on Christianity. Recent surveys indicate that seven out of every ten Christian kids are leaving their faith after high school.

According to the research from the PEW Research Center, each successive generations of American includes fewer Christians. Older generations of Americans are not passing along the Christian faith as effectively as their forebears. It’s not as if young people today are being reared in a way completely different from Christianity, but as adults they are simply dropping that part of their identity.

This message from Luke chapter 10 shows how to keep our children from being a statistic by helping them to develop a love for Jesus with their heads and their hands.

Rearing our children is not rocket science, because rearing our children is much more complex than rocket science. With rocket science the drawings and calculations are done by dozens of scientists for each component of the rocket. Then over a period of months or years, each component is tested separately over and over again and necessary changes are made to the design.

The child come pre-assembled at birth with God-given bents, personality, and gifts already built in. Plus, the baby is already in motion. With children, there is no set science. Each child is different with millions of different variables. So how do we target the development of our children as they growing? This message focuses on helping our children learn to love Jesus with all their heart. If they learn to love Jesus with all their heart and soul, they will pretty much stay on track.

What is the promise of Proverbs 22:6? That our children will drift or go away from their Christian faith for a time, but if they have been reared correctly they will find their way back? Or is it a promise that they will not depart?

Proverbs 22:6 can be translated this way:

Adapt the training of your child

so that in keeping with his or her

God-given tendencies

--when he or she comes to maturity--

they will not depart from the training

they have received.