VMA Hangover. . . Thoughts The Morning After. . .
We drill it home all the time here at CPYU. . . Culture is a map and a mirror. As a map, it guides us through life. . . telling us what to believe and how to live in the world. As…
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The VMAs. . . Why And How To Watch. . .
Thirty-one years. . . hard to believe. MTV’s Video Music Awards (VMAs) debuted in 1984. I watched then, and I’ve watched every VMA show ever since (sometimes a day or two later). I’ll be watching again at 9pm (Eastern) this…
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Are We Nurturing Kids Into Idolatry? . . .
“Start your day with the Bible in one hand and the newspaper in the other.” It’s good advice and it’s been my practice for several years. John Stott called it “dual listening” . . . listening to the world to…
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Can You See It? . . .
Busyness distracts us from the things we should be seeing. I’m living proof of this reality. Everything that should be foreground becomes background, and it isn’t noticed, pondered, or enjoyed. Yesterday I stopped for a moment to correct that error.…
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Life Is Short. . . Have An Affair: Duggar, Fogle, And The Rest Of Us. . .
“Everything is broken” sang Bob Dylan back in 1989. Has there ever been a song title that tells the honest-to-goodness truth in a more direct way than that? I don’t know. What I do know is that the older I…
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What Does Porn Do To Us? . . . An Infographic. . . .
Ever since we launched our Digital Kids Initiative here at CPYU, we’ve been paying special attention to the issue of pornography and its influence on children, teens, and adults. Pornography is powerful, life-shaping, and extremely addictive. Our friends at Fight…
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A Little Letter To Parents On Youth Sports. . . .
The kids are heading back to school. Athletic fields are filled with kids gearing up for participation in a variety of fall sports. Sadly, when the games begin, some of the most discouraging activity will be taking place in the…
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What Voice Are You Listening To? . . .
Last week I handed over a copy of Scotty Smith’s Everyday Prayers to a young man after having a conversation about facing the difficulties of life, particularly at the level of relationships. . . especially those family relationships where we realize…
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Teens and E-Cigarettes: A Helpful Infographic. . .
After years and years of efforts to stem the use of tobacco and reduce nicotine addiction in our culture, health experts are sounding the alarm about electronic cigarettes. As parents and youth workers, we need to be familiarizing ourselves with…
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Heaven, Hell, and Balancing Our Message and Lives. . .
For the last 24 hours I’ve been pondering some of what Jesus said about heaven and hell. Yesterday morning I was reading the parables Jesus taught in Matthew 13. . . the sower, the weeds, the mustard seed, the hidden…
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Teens And The Internet. . . An Infographic. . .
What are kids doing online? That’s a question every one of us should be asking. And with American teens continuing to live out the “secret-life-hidden-from-adults” existence that modern American adolescents have been living at least since the 1950s, the Internet…
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Could This Be What We And Our Kids Really Need? . . . Bring On The Pain. . .
It’s been said that “true wisdom consists in two things: knowledge of God and knowledge of self.” I think John Calvin was right when he penned these words. I’m also learning that God in His grace blesses and gifts us…
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