Hello and welcome to the Dr. Nurse Mama show prescribing Hope for Healthy Families here on American Family Radio. Here's your host, professor, pediatric nurse practitioner, and mom of four, Dr. Jessica Peck.

Dr. Jessica Peck: Well, hey there, friends. Merry Christmas. Happy New Year.

Hope for Healthy Families will host a healthy habits journey Friday

I hope you are all doing well in this week that we have. The day before New Year's Eve, it is so exciting to think about the prospect of a new year. I know many of you probably look back at this last year and you can be grateful for the blessings that God has provided. I know I can look back at the challenges that we have faced, and in some ways I'm ready to turn the page. But it is always a beautiful possibility that God gives us to have new beginnings. And 2026 can be a new beginning for you and for your family. We talked yesterday on the show, actually with my daughter about NewSong Year's resolutions versus rhythms and just spiritual disciplines and healthy habits. And we invite you to join us Friday for a healthy habits journey for healthy habits that will help your family relationally, spiritually, emotionally, physically. All of the things we're talking about prescribing Hope for Healthy Families.

Only about 1 in 3 US 4th graders reads at a proficient level

And one of the things I want to encourage you about today is reading. Now, if you are a regular listener, by the way, thank you so much. If you are, if you listen in every day or most days, I thank you so much for taking the time to tune in. And it's listeners like you who really encourage me because it just is so encouraging to know that there are families out there who have a heart for God's best for their family. And if you're investing time into that, that tells me that you are amazing and I want you to keep on doing what you are doing. God blesses that effort. I am absolutely convinced of it. And on the show this year, we have been talking a lot about reading. Now, if you listen yesterday, you know that every Friday in 2026, I'm going to be talking in the last segment of, every Friday show about the impacts on kids. Because it is evolving so rapidly. We need to make sure that we're keeping our finger on the pulse of that. No matter what your age or life stage, we need to be an encouragement for kids and younger generations and make sure that we are modeling good digital discipleship. And one of the ways that we are doing that is by reading and reading God's word. Now, today, we are living through a very quiet but consequential shift in childhood development. I see this as a pediatric healthcare provider. Children today are really surrounded by text more than they are, more than they have been ever before. They see words written through text messages, through closed captioning on programming, through notifications that are coming through smartphones or screens all around them. But the irony is that fewer are becoming stronger readers. Now I know I already hear all of the teachers listening who are cheering, saying, yes, yes, say it, preach it. And it is true. According to national assessments, only about 1 in 3 US 4th graders reads at a proficient level. That's just absolutely shocking for a country like the United States of America. But teachers are increasingly seeing and reporting declines in comprehension, in vocabulary and sustained attention. What social media and screen time is doing is really rewiring our brains for short form content. And at the same time, though kids are spending hours a day on a screen. They can only spend five minutes learning, but they can somehow spend five hours scrolling. And they are consuming fast paced, very fragmented content that conditions their brain to be stimulated rather than to be reflective and thoughtful. And it's not just an educational crisis, although it is happening in classes across the country. It is a worldview formation crisis. It is really a social crisis, because children who can't read on grade level are disadvantaged in pretty much every way you can imagine. Reading in the past has historically been how children learn to think very deeply about things. They learn to imagine because there are no bright graphics that are given to them. They have to create those graphics in their mind. And reading also helps kids to engage meaningfully with ideas that are just bigger than their world, bigger than their thoughts. But as family reading is declining, individual reading is declining. We're losing a powerful opportunity for connection and conversation, and most importantly, character development and discipleship. And when parents stop reading with their children, we are losing something foundational. This is my personal conviction. It's not just academic, it is also relational and it's spiritual. And so the question before us is this, what happens to kids when reading disappears from the home? And what role do parents in the church play in restoring it? Of course, one of the things we're most concerned about is reading God's Word. And it's important because you have to think about things like even when they're reading God's word, or maybe even what they think think is God's Word that is found online. You don't know that translation could have been altered. It could have been a, changing of the wording in scripture. Sometimes it's not even a scripture, but it's just attributed as scripture. Kids need to know the veracity, the, the truth, the, the, the inerrant inerrancy of God's Word, and that is really important to do so. Today I am talking to Pastor Joseph Parker. He hosts the Hour of Intercession here at American Family Radio. He is a longtime pastor and just a great source of encouragement, and he is here to talk with us about that today and to talk about the role of reading God's Word in your home. And I hope this is something that you will take on as a personal challenge for 2026. So, Pastor Joseph, thank you so much for joining us today. We're so glad that you're here.

Pastor Joseph Parker: An honor to be with you today, Jessica.

Dr. Jessica Peck: Well, Pastor Joseph, you're a pastor working with families every single day. What are you seeing in changes in children's attention and their literacy in reading the Bible and just engagement with reading overall?

Pastor Joseph Parker: Well, you know, again, appreciate very much the opportunity to come on the broadcast and share about this topic, because, as you've alluded to in a number of ways, it's so important to everything in their Christian life and their life as a whole. over the last decade or so, I've observed that in communities where I've served, pastorally, lots of children, I've noticed they're very poor readers, and often they're very intelligent children, but for whatever reason, often finding that many of them are just poor readers. I work significantly with children and young people, both in the community and in the church, and notice that simple things that should be easy to read sometimes can be very challenging for some kids. And it's not just a few, it's lots and lots of them. So this is. The situation is a serious one to be addressed by families and the church as well.

Dr. Jessica Peck: Why do you think that this is, that we're seeing a decrease, especially in family reading. When you think back to generations past, and I've spoken with many guests and. And just many people who have shared their testimony of gathering together as a family and either taking turns reading scripture. Maybe the father would read scripture every night. Maybe it was a morning devotional at breakfast, something at night. But families used to read together a lot. And now what we see families watching screens together. In my generation, we saw that more. And now in this generation, we see a lot of silo screen use. We see, maybe everybody's on the couch, but everybody's engaging with their own individual screen. What do you think is the importance of reading God's Word aloud together as a family?

Pastor Joseph Parker: Well, you know, Jessica, it is one of those things that, as you just mentioned like that was something that you recall in your own background and for many families that that was a tradition. But sadly to be honest, it's not uncommon to find families that, that was never a part of their family tradition growing up and now more so as you've mentioned in a number of ways that we live in a world filled with the weapons, of mass distraction, social media, tv, cell phones, things that will grab people's attention and that will occupy them apart from the word of God. And you know, like, and I would just mention something that I like to try to address pastorally too, that like, for example, I encourage people not that they can't use their cell phones to read scripture. Obviously they can, but I, think it's wise for people always have a Bible as much as you can at home and in church as well because there's so many distractions that come up on your phone, pop ups and all sorts of things. Whereas your Bible is your Bible and you open it up and you can read it without any pop ups or distractions try to jump in there too. But there the distractions come from everywhere. And so it's important that we learn to be very disciplined about being sure that we're consuming the word of God and teaching our children, our kids to as well.

Dr. Jessica Peck: That is something that my husband and I have had long discussions about and he is, he's an engineer, he's a rocket scientist actually. He loves technology and we were talking about this about him using a Bible app on his phone, which is great because it is making the Bible more power portable. We're translating, we're seeing it translated faster than we've ever seen before. It's giving access to people who didn't have access to God's word. So I agree with you, it's not necessarily a bad thing. But I worried Pastor Joseph about the visual that children have in church because one day I was sitting in church and I looked around and I just see everyone on their phone. And I wonder as a child what kind of visual imprint that has because you don't know, you could say, oh yes, I'm reading my Bible, but maybe they did get distracted. I love the weapons of mass distraction by the way. That's such a convicting phrase and a convicting way to think about it. But maybe you get a social media notification or you get a notification of a sale or an email or a text message. The distractions are endless. And I think there is nothing that can replace opening the well worn pages of a book that has been opened, thumbed through, cried over, you know, carried around with you. And there is something really powerful about the visual of that for children. Would you agree with?

Pastor Joseph Parker: Very much so. Very much so. And of course, again, helping our kids to get used to using by the Bible specifically is so important though, because they're so used to handling their phone, using their phone. And I think of this too that, like, I think often parents don't even realize how much they allow electronic devices be in their child's possession in it. Because you can go to any grocery store and find children riding in the basket on their cell phone, oblivious to the world around them. And the mom shopping. Well, again, it's almost like they feel like they have to have something electronic grabbing their attention, keeping their attention. And that's tragic in many, many ways.

Dr. Jessica Peck: It really is. And I see this as, as I said, as a pediatric care provider. And it is difficult. It's challenging for parents. Every generation of parents has their own challenges. And in some ways I'm so grateful and that the screens, the, the, the. Even the iPad launch happened right after my children were born. And so we were a little bit before that on the curve. But I see that so many opportunities for lost connection, even from the time a mother is feeding a baby and you know, and scrolling on a phone, because that's the time that you have to, to scroll. And I'm not trying to shame anyone or make anyone feel really bad about themselves, but at the same time, I think we need to look at, honestly at what these kinds of rewired connections are doing for children. There's so many opportunities for relational connection that happen through reading. And I've shared this before, Pastor Joseph, but I remember, when I would wait in the car line to pick up my kids from school, my younger kids who were there, I would read scripture aloud to them while we were waiting. And I was reading one time from Revelation and just a powerful, beautiful picture of Jesus return on the clouds. And my son's eyes got so big and so wide and, and he said, listened to it. And I said, do you, do you have a question about this? And he said, yes. Did you just say that Jesus has a tattoo? That was what he got from it. But it was a lovely opportunity for connection, for conversation to have. And I think families need to have fun together. But we need to make sure that we are reading together and we are going to talk, Pastor Joseph, about a challenge that you have. You are really creative in having challenges for families. But when we come back, we'll share about that challenge. But just in the minute that we have left.

Prayer is an underused weapon for our family

Pastor Joseph, would you pray for families who are navigating all of these technological challenges just for God to give them wisdom?

Pastor Joseph Parker: Yes, Father. Thank you Lord for every parent listening and thank you for parents in the body of Christ as a whole. Father, anoint us all afresh with the spirit of grace. That would encourage us to become passionate about being disciples and making disciples and starting in our own homes with our own children. Help us to have just a longing to help our children come to know Christ and to be fall in love with him and the word of God. Give us wisdom, grace and ingenuity to do that with excellence and just show us your glory in this regard. In Jesus name we do pray. Amen.

Dr. Jessica Peck: Thank you so much, Pastor Joseph. And if you are listening in on Friday, you will see that our first next Friday, our first habit that we introduce as we start that in the new year will be prayer. Everything is so foundational for prayer. We cannot do anything on our own power. And we're going to encourage you to go. You have access to the throne room of the creator of heaven and earth, which is amazing. And one of the things that really encourages me is hearing Pastor Joseph pray just as natural as it is breathing. And we can all have that spiritual discipline as well. Such an encouragement, such a powerful underused weapon for our family. When we come back, Pastor Joseph and I, will continue our conversation about reading and how it forms the worldview and how reading scripture aloud has a lot of impacts for literacy, but it also impacts worldview. More with Pastor Joseph Parker when we come back after this break. Candice talks about finding out she was pregnant. Thankfully, an ultrasound provided by PreBorn allowed her to hear her baby's heartbeat. The sonogram sealed the deal for me My baby was like this tiny little spectrum of hope and I saw his heart beating on the screen and knowing that there's life growing inside, I mean that sonogram changed my life. I went from just Candace to mom. Thank you to everybody that has given these gifts. You guys are giving more than money. You guys are giving love. Preborn currently has clinics that do not have ultrasound machines. Would you consider a leadership gift and sponsor a machine today? These life Saving machines cost $15,000 more than most centers can afford. Your donation will save countless lives for years to come. Dial pound250 and say the keyword baby or go to preborn.com/AFR.

Hold Me Jesus by Rich Mullins: Well sometimes my life just don't make sense at all. When the mountains look so big and my faith Just seems so small? So hold me Jesus? Cause I'm shaking like a leaf? You have been king of my glory? Won't you be my, prince of peace?

Dr. Jessica Peck: Welcome back friends. That is Hold Me Jesus by Rich Mullins. And something I found myself saying a lot this year and the last many years as we live in a world that seems increasingly turbulent. And I see an undercurrent of fear and families just fear and anxiety, wondering, how am I going to navigate this? How are my children going to keep their faith in the midst of all of these trying times? And we need to choose faith over fear. And one of the best ways to do that is reading God's word together as a family.

Reading is critical to a child's intellectual and emotional development

All this year I've had many guests, many children's authors, many authors on who are talking about rising concerns about decreasing literacy levels and how that reading decline, decline in reading books really mirrors rising screen dependence. And we see brains literally being rewired for short form content. And literacy affects every subject. This is not just about English or grammar or reading. This is about every, every ability at every thing that they're doing in school, everything that they're doing in life. And when you read together as a family, that really builds connection and trust. And reading is critical to a child's intellectual and emotional development. And I will tell you, this is a habit I had with my children from the time they were in the womb. Even, even up until now we still read aloud together as a family. And especially in their school age years there were chapter books that we would read and I can't tell you how many nights I would hear one more chapter, one more chapter. Reading books of adventure for my boys and reading all kinds of books, just navigating growing up that ah, generated such great conversation about how to navigate things. Reading aloud is one of the most powerful but underutilized tools in child development. And we know that scientific research consistently shows when adults read to children, it activates multiple regions of their brain that are responsible for a lot of different skills, including understanding things, processing emotions and even memory. Children who are read to regularly hear millions more words by kindergarten. And it expands their vocabulary and their ability to think. But it does more than literacy. It builds meaning. Stories help children to make sense of the world. They teach cause and effect, they teach right and wrong, they teach courage and consequence. And it helps children to develop empathy and sympathy by presenting different perspectives. And this is why the stories that children hear most often become the stories that they believe about life. It shapes their Worldview. And Scripture is so important in all of this. It's a story, the greatest story ever told of God's redemptive work. And it's meant to be spoken and read aloud and to be heard and to be remembered and to be shared from generation to generation. And I think one of the greatest things grandparents can do, aunts and uncles can do, if you see little kids around the holiday gatherings or you have kids in your house, offer to read to them, a lot of times it's, a curiosity. And you can really use stories to powerfully shape their worldview and help strengthen their character. Today I'm talking Pastor Joseph Parker, who hosts Hour of Intercession here on American Family Radio. Always such a voice of encouragement. We're having a conversation. He feels, he's a very passionate advocate about reading God's word aloud. And Pastor Joseph, you have a unique creative challenge that you would like to share with our listeners that can be a way to kickstart reading aloud God's word. And I'd love for you to share it.

Pastor Joseph Parker: Okay. Yes, thank you for the opportunity to share. I explained it in an article that we put on the AFA Stand And the title of the article is simply a Youth Discipleship Tutoring Challenge. And basically it's a way to accomplish two very important tasks, kingdom tasks at once. the project could be carried out by a parent or an adult, a volunteer tutor in the community that by phone can work with the child as well. Basically, this is the way it works. They would do it over two weeks period increments, in other words, not too much time, but just a set two week period would be an initial goal. And, and of course, obviously people can tweak this the way they feel like they need to, but the child would read each evening three chapters aloud to their parent and, or a tutor by phone. Then of course that would be set up by, with the permission, and under the direction of the parent by telephone. But there are lots of elderly people who could easily plug in to do this for children, maybe in their church or their community, who otherwise may not be doing a whole lot with kids at all. But, the goal is the child and the tutor, or the child and the parent would use the very same Bible translation again, three chapters allowed each, each of the five nights over a two week period, approximately shoot for the same time. And the parent or the tutor would keep a notebook and record what the child reads. And something I would say, Jessica too is it's really okay to have the Child read certain passages over and over again if they choose to. Or it can be different passages. Because one of the beautiful and powerful things we need to remember about God's written word is the Bible is a supernatural book. It's pregnant with anointing and grace on it. So when a child is reading the word of God, you don't know what the Holy Spirit is necessarily doing with him. He's doing something good in the child's heart and mind and life. But it's always productive. So having the child read, whether they're reading some of the same passages over and over again or different ones can be very, very productive. And so the child will read the selected chapters again, as I said, for a two week period. And while the child is reading, the parent or the tutor will correct any mispronounced words or assist with any problems, or if the child wants to stop and ask a question, always encouraging them, feel free to stop and ask questions. Because typically children have questions and at the end of the two weeks the child would receive a designated monetary gift decided beforehand by the parent or the tutor, possibly $10, $20, whatever. Now the fact is, Jessica, I'm really a big advocate on the idea of giving incentives because you know, of course people do that for good grades. But helping a child, especially children who may not necessarily be motivated to read themselves anyway, but many times, money has a funny way of motivating that child to decide. They are passionate about wanting to get this done during this two week period. But also they associate with reward with reading scripture, which is something obviously there's great reward apart from the incentive. And I'm aware of the fact that, that there's some people that would argue, say, well, you shouldn't give a child incentives for reading scripture. Well, I disagree. I think incentives are just one more way because they're definitely going to be blessed, and encouraged by the reading by itself. But one more incentive that motivates them doesn't hurt. And so that's the essence of the project. And it can be tweaked by parents or community tutors however they wish they need to. But it's a good way to help parents become much more passionate about both discipling their child because discipleship will happen as they simply read scripture as well as they will sharpen their reading skills. Anytime a child consistently is reading with the help of an adult to guide and correct them, it will sharpen their reading skills.

Dr. Jessica Peck: One of the reasons I appreciate an incentive, a monetary incentive from parents is that it also communicates to the child. This is important to me because, children intuitively know about mom and dad's money, and they know from a very early age about the value of money and budgeting and those kinds of things. And to say that this is something important enough to me that I want to invest in your journey, I think that also sends a powerful message. And it, just like you said, it may be an option for families who are looking for a way to get started. And Pastor Joseph, when we look at scripture, you know, I think about the scripture in Deuteronomy 6, which is. Tells us to talk about these things when you sit at home, when you walk along the road. Psalm 78 says, Tell the next generation the works of the Lord. Romans 10 says, Faith comes by hearing the word of God, of course. And when we talk about these things and we look at these scriptures, these are all speaking scriptures out loud. Why do you think that it's so important to speak God's word in our families, to speak it out loud, to have our children speak it out loud, rather than just to read it by ourselves quietly?

Pastor Joseph Parker: Well, there's power in the spoken word. And of, course, reading quietly can be productive, but I think it's even more productive to speak it out loud because there's power in the spoken word. And going back briefly to the Christmas story when Mary came to visit Elizabeth, Mary came and just called out Elizabeth's name. Apparently the anointing was on her spoken word when she simply called out Elizabeth's, name. And all of a sudden the Holy Spirit filled her. John the Baptist in her womb was filled, all as a result of the anointing on Mary's voice. So speaking the word, there's great power. And that power, of course, is the Holy Spirit at work.

Dr. Jessica Peck: I feel that way too. Like, even when my kids are reading God's Word out loud, there is just a different kind of, there's a. There's a different kind of interaction with the Holy Spirit in my experience, where you just, you feel that. And God's word is spok. And it's there. There's a lot of times where I'll even leave praise music playing in my house even when I'm not home, because I want God's word to rest in the atmosphere even when I'm not there. There's just something really powerful about that. And equally powerful is our stories, especially biblical stories, and shaping a child's moral framework and more importantly, their worldview. And reading these stories out loud, I mean, Pastor Joseph, the Stories in the Bible, you know, sometimes we like to present them as very clean and easy to understand, and we, you know, kind of, sanitize them a little bit, you know, in some ways for younger children. But wrestling with those stories, you're talking about very complex characters who are flawed, who make sinful decisions, who are good and who are not good, sometimes in the same story. Why is it so important to read these stories out loud and to talk about them as a family?

Pastor Joseph Parker: Well, you know, Jessica, one. One reason that. So I think it's simple and profound at the same time, is when we're reading the Word of God, whether we're reading a passage that we have a basic understanding of or reading a passage that seems to be very difficult to understand, either way, we're interacting with Jesus. We're interacting with the Holy Spirit. See, the Holy Spirit permeates the Word of God. And so when you're reading the Word of God, Jesus is speaking to you, the Holy Spirit is speaking to you as well. And our understanding is growing. Whether we understand that or not, we're being ministered to.

There's nothing better for our children than the Word of God

And, you know, something I like to share, and sometimes people may or may not fully grasp this, but in my, about 50 years as a pastor, I found this to be true, that individuals that I've known over the years who consistently read the Bible, and I've learned that there were consistent students, often look younger for their age than people that don't. And I think that's not rocket science. The reality is there's power in the Word of God. God's word is medicine. It's grace, it's light, it's blessing. And so it blesses our mind, body and spirit. And so it does that for our children as well. There's nothing better for our children than the Word of God and consuming it.

Dr. Jessica Peck: I agree with you. I think in my experience, it has been the same. Because when you're walking in obedience to the Lord, God's word is designed to promote your health, to make you more healthy relationally, spiritually, mentally. If you are walking with the Lord, Lord, there are natural protections. I talk about this all the time. Even one of my favorite verses from Philippians about giving thanks in all circumstances and. And the peace of God will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. I don't think that's just a proverbial, oh, just your heart, like your feelings, that is, your literal blood vessels and your blood pressure. And God gives us a map for that in His Word. And there's some practical ways that we can do this, Pastor Joseph. And in my experience in my family, sometimes that's just reading a Bible story and asking, what would you have done in that situation? Or what do you think about what this character did? And how is that consistent with the character of God? Or just connecting scripture to daily life, saying, okay, you know, we're reading a scripture about being faithful. What does faithfulness look like at school tomorrow when you go to school? What is it going to look like to you to be faithful? Or whatever character trait that we're learning about? Those things are important.

Do you have any other practical advice for parents who are looking for ways to connect scripture to daily life?

Do you have any other practical advice for parents who are looking for ways to connect scripture to daily life?

Pastor Joseph Parker: Well, you know, something that, I guess it's a little different for some parents. Is it like. And you've touched on this a number of times. You know, it's good. It can be great for parents to read to children, but I really like to encourage parents. Have the children read to you and do it consistently. Because the fact is, the reality is sometimes children listen diligently when parents are reading, and sometimes they fall asleep or daydream. When the child is reading, he or she has to engage. And so I think the effectiveness sometimes can be good. And I recall once talking to a parent who the idea of having his children read to him instead of him reading was just something had never crossed his mind. But the beauty is, again, they're engaging with Jesus when they read the scripture, and just the parent just simply listens and allows the child to read and correct them. They can correct them when they make a mistake or mispronounce or something. But the beauty is it's gonna minister to their m. Mind, body and spirit, because that's the word of God.

Dr. Jessica Peck: It is a beautiful thing. And there is something really beautiful about hearing children read scripture. And this is something that you have actually done a lot of. Pastor Joseph, you have engaged children of all ages to read scripture. Can you tell us a little bit about your experience with that?

Pastor Joseph Parker: Well, yeah, you know, that's one of the. One of the many fun things I get to do on air through the broadcast. just like over the Christmas holidays, we had two different groups, on broadcast, children from different schools that read through portions or all of the Christmas narratives. Well, something beautiful about a child reading the Bible in a public setting is just very unique in it because there's something about where the Holy Spirit uses the voice of a child speaking God's word publicly to bless people and to encourage them. And many times when a child hears another child reading scripture or doing something in a public setting, it'll grab their attention a little bit more uniquely than if it's an adult. So I'll hold up there.

Dr. Jessica Peck: Okay. All right. We have a lot more to talk about. And I couldn't agree with you more, Pastor Joseph. And I think a lot of times people, unless underestimate the ability of children to memorize scripture. Their brains are actually sharper and fresher than older brains in some way, and they can retain remarkable amounts of information. And I know my children were memorizing large passages of scripture. God's word does not return void. And it is absolutely beautiful to hear a child speak a scripture over you. And I know, you know, if I was in a moment of frustration, in a moment where my Christian character was less than stellar, to have my child speak a verse of scripture over me was incredibly powerful. Listen, we'll be back with more from Pastor Joseph Parker when we come back after this break.

Buddy Smith Jeff Chamblee: We live in a day when America's families are under attack like never before. Buddy Smith, senior vice president of the American Family Association. The war against biblical principles rages on numerous fronts. The Internet, Hollywood, Washington, D.C. america's corporate boardrooms, and the list goes on. At American Family association, we're committed to standing against the enemies of God, the enemies of your family. And we recognize it's an impossible task without God's favor and your partnership. Thank you for being faithful to pray for this ministry, to give financially, and to respond to our calls for activism. What you do on the home front is crucial to what we do on the battlefront. We praise God for your faithfulness, and may he give us many victories in the battles ahead as we work together to restore our nation's biblical foundations.

Come Jesus Come by CeCe Winans : Sometimes I fall to my knees and pray Come, Jesus, come Let today be the day Sometimes I feel like I'm gonna break But I'm holding on. To a Hope that won't fade Come, Jesus, come We've been waiting so long for the day you return to heal every hurt and right every wrong Come, Jesus.

Dr. Jessica Peck: Come welcome back, friends. That is Come, Jesus, come by Cece Winans. And that is often the cry of my heart. We are in an Advent. We are in a season of waiting for Jesus to return. And even though the holidays are fast moving behind us, that season of Advent continues as we long for the day that Jesus will come back and will make all things right, will renew, redeem, restore, make whole all of the wrongs in this world. And as we are looking to 2026 and to see what God will do. I am absolutely certain that there will be trials, there will be tragedies in store, just like there always are every year. But 2026 is a great opportunity for you to prepare yourself to respond to those. And God has given us such a measure of grace, such a measure of hope through his Word, through the Holy Spirit, who is a comforter and a counselor. And we are talking today to Pastor Joseph Parker about the importance of reading God's Word aloud with your families. And Pastor Joseph, as we start, we'll be starting a new journey and, pursuing 52 habits for healthy families starting in the new year. And as we do that, our first habit is prayer. Our second habit is reading God's Word. Those go together.

Would you just please take a moment to pray for families to read God's Word aloud

Would you just please take a moment to pray for families to be convicted and equipped and encouraged to read God's Word aloud in their families in this upcoming year?

Pastor Joseph Parker: Be glad to, Father. Thank you again for every family listening, every individual, every dad, every mom, every husband, every wife, every child listening. Father, anoint us all afresh and just set us on fire with a new passion to read and study your Word daily and to learn to speak the word of God and To put it to work in our lives each and every day and help us as parents and grandparents to become much, to become very diligent about teaching and training our children to read the Word aloud each and every day. And thus they too would receive the blessing and great benefit of getting into the Word every day. And Lord, just set every home represented to our listening audience now on fire with a passion to more and more fill their home with your Word. We thank you and praise in Jesus Name, name. Amen.

Dr. Jessica Peck: Amen. And if you listen to Pastor Joseph's program, the Hour of Intercession, this is a hallmark of his program. It's just praying throughout the program and making prayer as natural as conversation. And what we're encouraging you to today is making reading God's Word just a natural rhythm in your home. Just something that is normal, something that your children expect. And we are living in a world in a culture where children are constantly being shaped by digital narratives. But families have a really extraordinary opportunity to reclaim that spiritual formation, to be the primary disciplers of our children. And we are not strong enough, wise enough, powerful enough. I'm thinking of another Rich Mullen song. We are not as strong as we think we are. We can do nothing apart from God. And having God's Word reading the Bible with children, it doesn't require you to do it perfectly or Every single day. It doesn't require you to have a seminary degree or to have a very long, drawn out formal devotion. It just requires consistency and intentionality. When you read scripture regularly in your home, it becomes familiar, becomes your children's go to. They go to it for encouragement, for guidance, for for anything, for wisdom that they may need to face what they are facing in the world. And children can learn that the Bible is not just church. It's not just something that sits on the shelf all during the week and you grab it on Sunday morning. It's not just something that you turn to in times of crisis. It's just a part of your everyday life. And over time, this spiritual rhythm, it helps your children's literacy, it strengthens their faith. But most of all, most importantly, it forms a worldview that's grounded in truth and not, dependent on trends which are here today and gone tomorrow. We are talking about something that's not just checking a spiritual box. This is cultivating an environment where God's word shapes how children think, how they discern and interpret the world around them and respond to those things that are happening in the world.

Pastor Joseph believes consistent exposure to Scripture can impact a child's worldview

And Pastor Joseph, I would love for you to share how you believe that consistent exposure to Scripture can really impact a child's worldview. How has that been true in your personal journey as a father and as a spiritual father to so many?

Pastor Joseph Parker: Well, you know, one of the truths that I think is again, simple but profound at the same time is that when you're reading the Word of God, that's one of the key ways whereby Jesus touches our lives. And the more you read, the more you allow Jesus to touch your life. And we're spending time in the presence of God while reading scripture. So we're wise to keep in mind that anytime we spend time in the presence of God, we'll always be different for the good on the other side of that time. And I think of this that the Word of God has transforming power that flows into our hearts, our minds, our lives as we read. So whether it's a child reading or an adult reading, it's transforming us as we take the time. And I like to share this, but the center, researchers at the center for Bible Engagement found some interesting insights about the importance of, and the place of reading scripture in the life of a believer. According to their research, the life of someone who engages and spends time in scripture four or more times a week looks radically different from the life of someone who does not. They also discovered that the lives of Believers who do not engage the Bible most days of the week, that is three days or less, are statistically the same as the lives of unbelievers. So, amongst other things, one of the simple truths there is that the transforming power of God's Word does have great effect on our lives as we consistently read. But when we're inconsistent, we miss out. And often the witness of our lives is not nearly as effective as.

Dr. Jessica Peck: Well, that is encouraging to know. And again, this is such a simple truth, Pastor Joseph. We are not talking about anything that is overly complicated. We're just talking about consistent faithfulness, consistent obedience, modeling, reading God's Word in your home. And we are seeing an increase, a dramatic increase in Bible sales. We are seeing a dramatic increase in religious curiosity. People are spiritually hungry, people are curious, and they really need discipleship. And there is no greater discipleship than being discipled by God's Word. You need to be in a church with sound doctrine. You need to be surrounded by people who are walking with you, by a pastor who's giving you sound theological teaching and helping you to work out your faith with fear and trembling, as we're told in the scripture. But we're talking about just the simple act of reading your Bible. And, you know, I. One of the really encouraging things to me, Pastor Joseph, is seeing as my children have grown, seeing them take that from something that just started as at lunchtime. You know, when my children were really young, when I had toddlers, we would all say, sit around the table together for lunch, and we would open up a children's Bible storybook, and I would read to them those stories. And now in the morning, before I see them leave for work, I see their Bible open on the table, they're having a cup of coffee, they're reading and engaging on their own. And what could any parent want more than that? And, and believe me, Pastor Joseph, I have made a lot of mistakes in parenting. My kids would line up at the microphone to tell you about them and, and. And lovingly refer to my mom fails. But that is one thing that my husband and I have invested in, that I'm m so grateful that we did. And I would love for you just to give some more encouragement for parents who maybe think I would love to do that, but where do we even start?

Pastor Joseph Parker: Well, you know, I think a great, perspective for us as parents and grandparents to start with is recognize this. Discipling children is very fun. There's a lot of fun and joy surrounding it, helping children to come to fall in love with the Word of God and become students. And I think of this that I have the privilege of overseeing the Ten Commandments project here at afa. And through this we get a chance to go to daycares, after school programs and work with kids and have been doing this over a period of years. Well, I laid out the challenge probably about maybe three, three and a half years ago for any young person that memorized Psalm 91, I'd give them $10. Well, for years nobody did it, but just this year I had one young lady, she did it, then another, and then I think I ended up with six students. And you know, I cut it off because I was, so much money was flowing out of my pocket. But that was a good thing because the, the reality is there's so many creative things to plant the Word in the lives of children. And I think of this that, like when we do some of the different exercises we do, centered around discipleship and helping kids to learn the Word and doing Bible quizzes, we have a lot of fun doing it. But at the same time it's life changing because when you're planting the Word of God, the Word of God in the lives of children, it's changing their lives. And those kids that have memorized Psalm 91, that may very well be the tool God uses to save their life many times in the future. So we should just decide that we're going to put lots of time and energy in doing discipleship activities that are fun but at the same time life changing, because they are.

Dr. Jessica Peck: You know, one of the things I love about Psalm 91, it's that, what I. One thing I taught my children was that, you know, who do you call in case of emergency? They know to call 911 in case of emergency. And I said the Bible emergency 911 is found in Psalm 91:1. He who dwells in the shelter of the most high will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. And I tell them, whenever you feel like you're having a spiritual emergency, a relationship emergency, you feel like there is something that you need help in your life, run to the scripture and you can start with Psalm 91:1. And it's just a great way to remember that God is our. God is our refuge and strength. He is a very present help in time of trouble. There are so many times where I have faced situations in my life, Pastor Joseph, that just seems absolutely insurmountable. They seem impossible, they just seem soul crushing. And yet God's Word rises from, from the ashes in my heart, and it gives me hope and it gives me a strength that I absolutely cannot explain. And reading and memorizing God's word is, hands down, the most transformational parenting tool that I have ever had. And you know, I really tried in the early years and you and I have talked about this and, and I've talked about this on your program. Pastor Joseph. My early years of parenting really were, were marked by a lot of self help by trying to use a lot of tools that, you know, were, weren't necessarily bad, but that were really powerless in the absence of God's word and starting to memorize scripture, read scripture with my children, speak scripture over my children. It absolutely fundamentally transformed our home, and I want that for others. And Pastor Joseph, I know that there are faithful families who are listening right now who are trying their best, who are being as consistent as they can, and they're, they're in that stage of wondering, hoping that those seeds that they are planted will bring forth fruit in the future. And I would love for you just to pray a special prayer of blessing over those families who are working to do that, that God would bless their efforts.

Pastor Joseph Parker: Okay. And, before I pray, let me just say this to every single listener. If you don't already have the habit of reading at least three chapters in your Bible every day, I would encourage you start today and pray. Ask God to bless your prayer life, but start that habit of reading three chapters a day. Start. Parents with young children, start the habit of having them read three chapters aloud to you each day as well. And keep in mind, the reason it's good for them to read to you is because without that many times you send them, go, Johnny, go to your room, read your Bible. Johnny might and he might not, but when they read to you, you know they've done it. Lord, thank you for the opportunity for us to read your home, read your word daily. Lord, we ask that you'd anoint every home with a fresh anointing that would cause a growing desire for everyone in the home to get into your word, to dig into your word more faithfully each and every day and help us to be faithful, to follow through as you'd have us to. In Jesus name, amen.

Dr. Jessica Peck: Amen. Thank you so much for that, Pastor Joseph. Yes, there is so much time in the day that we don't even realize. One thing that worked really well for me is having my kids read while I was driving. I just say, okay, okay, turn to a psalm and just start reading. Turn. If you're. And if you're wondering, where in the world do we start? There are so many resources, but starting in the Psalms or the Proverbs or the Gospel of John, those are always really great places to start. I know for my boys, it was really fun to read through 1st and 2nd Kings, 1st and 2nd Chronicles, 1st and 2nd Samuel, all of the history and the stories that were there. But you can. You can just start reading the Psalms or the Proverbs and I'll have them read as they're driving. There are other things that you can do. Just create a reading environment. Have your Bible on a specific table next to a chair. Keep it in a consistent place. That's out. That's a visual reminder to you to pick it up. That makes it very accessible that you can just open it up and read at any time or anchor it to a daily rhythm, whether it's reading at breakfast time or bedtime. Not just a random moment, but pick a, daily rhythm. You can pick it up. Age appropriate Bible for your kids, but let them read it aloud. If you didn't hear anything else, the pastor Joseph said, start to have your children read scripture to you consistently, or you can have them join in the challenge. Contact us. We'd be glad to put you in contact with him. When families read the Bible together, you are literally shaping worldview. And I pray that as you do that, that the Lord would bless you and keep you and make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you and give you peace as you speak God's word to others. Happy New Year.

Jeff Chamblee: The views and opinions expressed in this broadcast may not necessarily reflect those of the American Family association or American Family Radio.

Pastor Joseph Parker talks with Jessica about AFA's Youth Discipleship/Tutoring Challenge 

Rx for Hope: Read God's Word Together

https://www.afa.net/the-stand/family/2025/11/a-youth-discipleshiptutoring-challenge/