Dr. Jessica Peck prescribes Hope for Healthy Families on American Family Radio

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, and welcome to my favorite part of the afternoon. It truly, truly is getting to spend time with you prescribing Hope for Healthy Families. We are right in the middle of back to school school. So wherever you are, if you we're airing mid afternoon, so I know that we have what I like to call an army of grannies who does school pickup, who loves to listen to the show and to just get wisdom and inspiration for leading your grandchildren, whether that's you or it's your children, if you're at work, if you're at home, if you're on the road, if you are doing whatever. I thank you so much for joining today.

Dr.Jessica Peck welcomes back Dr. Josh Mulvihill for Worldview Wednesday

We are here for Wednesday, and it is a great Wednesday because we're having a Worldview Wednesday. If you've been listening in since January, I've been very, very grateful to have Dr. Josh Mulvihill author of the book Biblical Worldview, have it right here in my hands, what it is, why it matters, and how to shape the worldview of the next generation. And Dr. Mulvihill has been so gracious to walk through with us on many Wednesdays now, one chapter at a time, really talking about why this m matters. And it matters because it's as if you didn't already know. There is a battle raging every single day for the hearts and minds of our children. But it is not a battle that's fought with swords, with shields, with armies of people. It's fought with ideas, with beliefs, with values. And the world is diligently at work 24 7. It does not take any breaks, any time off. There is no rest time, no vacation time, no sleeping at night. It is working diligently to shape how our kids think, how they act and how they believe. But as parents, as grandparents, other faith leaders, anybody who is invested in the life of the next generation, I know we have a lot of teachers who are going back to the classroom, anybody who is working with kids, we are called to fight for a different outcome, one anchored in truth. So again today, we're welcoming back Dr. Josh Mulvihill pastor, authority leader in equipping families for biblical discipleship. And in this book, Biblical Worldview, which if you haven't got a copy and you have kids at home, you should get one because Josh lays out a very simple but a profound framework for instilling lifelong Faith in the next generation. So we're talking about why it matters more than ever, what's at stake if we continue to be complacent, and how we can give our children an unshakable foundation of truth, even when the foundation of culture is constantly shifting. So, Josh, welcome back. So glad to have you back here for Worldview Wednesday.

>> Dr. Josh Mulvihill: Well, thanks for having me, Jessica. This has become, a very, favorite part of my monthly routine to get to spend this time with you and with others. So honored to be here again.

>> Dr. Jessica Peck: It is, it's so encouraging just to work together to leverage your expertise and all of the work that you've done with, you know, just what I know to be the hearts of parents wanting so much to make a difference and just needing some encouragement and some practical tools. And that, that's what brings us here today. We're going to be talking about the Bible, specifically six ways to help children live according to God's word. If you're following along, if you have the book at home, we're in chapter seven. That's what we're unpacking today.

Developing a biblical worldview is the most urgent issues for Christian families today

But before we start in those specific. Josh, you know, really, our children's worldview determines their eternity. And we're so sometimes thinking about the long term being college and who are they going to marry and are they going to keep their faith as adults. But why do you believe? Just give us a reminder of why. Developing a biblical worldview is the most urgent issues for Christian families today.

>> Dr. Josh Mulvihill: Everything rests on it. you mentioned from eternity to all life choices, everything that we do is, and every decision we make is based on our beliefs. And so literally there it's the dominoes that fall. So, you know, biblical worldview, simple definition, what we believe and how we live and our behaviors are, you know, how we live, our actual behaviors are our worldview. And so, everything you mentioned, the kids, the person our children will marry, where they will end up at college, what they believe about Christ, and all the daily decisions that they will be confronted with are all, you know, all of those choices that they will have and the outcomes that will occur are based on what they believe is true and good. And, so we want to arm them, of course, with God's truth to help them make those choices in a good, wise, godly way that, that not only honor the Lord, but, you know, we want to set them up to live a life that's, that's joy filled and is a blessing and that doesn't break our hearts and lead to all kinds of consequences and problems, both in this life and in eternity. So a biblical worldview kind of is the umbrella that encompasses all of that.

Study finds children who read Bible have greatest impact on faith as a child

>> Dr. Jessica Peck: And in Talking about Chapter 7 about the importance of reading the Bible, the importance of helping kids live according to God's Word. They can' live according to God's word if they don't read God's word, if they don't know God's word. And you shared a really compelling lifeway study of 2,000 Protestant parents. And that study, as you reported in your book, found that the greatest impact on their faith as a child are children who regularly read their Bible while growing up. Those who regularly spend time in chair, in prayer, regularly serve in church, listened primarily to Christian music, participated in church mission trips and projects, that their best friend was an influence to follow Christ while growing up, that the child is connected with several adults who intentionally invested in them. The parents point out biblical principles in everyday life, and here's maybe one of the hardest ones. Ask forgiveness when they mess up. And then each additional sibling and, and then those children frequently attending church services. And so I think all of these things we Talk about in 52 Habits for Healthy Families. I, talk about that every Friday here on the show and have been for the last two years now, talking about many of those things because we know that they're research supported. And as you said in, in your book, many parents and grandparents wonder, am I doing the right thing? Am I having the right conversation? But here I'm going to read straight from your book, Josh. What we need are not new and novel methods, but a commitment to implement what the Bible calls us to do in the evangelism and discipleship of our children. And I love this because I feel like so often our heads are turned as parents, as grandparents, and we hear, you know, this isn't working, like, we can't do some of this old school stuff anymore. And while some of our strategies may change those underlying principles and remain the same. How do you help grandparents? Parents really just cultivate that habit of reading God's word, of knowing God's word.

>> Dr. Josh Mulvihill: Yeah, that's a great study, isn't it? It just, it kind of centers us in, what matters most. And there's so many voices that we hear trying to convince us to do certain things. And it's just, you know, it's kind of like sports. Just get back to the basic fundamentals and that tends to serve you really well.

Only 17% of Christians have a biblical worldview, study finds

and so you asked me a question, Jessica, and I totally forgot what the question was.

>> Dr. Jessica Peck: That's okay. I thought you were going to turn it around to me. How do we help parents and grandparents just to start. Because another statistic that you share is that only one out of every five Christians who walk into church are reading the Bible. And, and then of course, the study by Barna, only 17% of Christians have a biblical worldview. Those are the same. How do we, how do we get back to the basics to say we need to prioritize this? How do you make it practical to do it? Because I think every Christian family would say, yeah, we, we want to be better about that. I don't think I've ever met a family who said, oh, yeah, we've got that down. Like, our Bible reading is completely satisfactory. We are excelling at that. I don't ever feel like I find that. So where do you start? Start just with the practical, the ways to get in the word of God.

>> Dr. Josh Mulvihill: Well, for us as parents and grandparents, I think it starts with us that we're cultivating that time and that habit in our own life. And, scripturally, we read in Deuteronomy 6, about having God's words on our heart as parents, as grandparents. And then, we transfer that to our kids. Impress them, then impress them on our children. And so, you know, there's a progression there that I do think matters. If we're not doing that in our own time with the Lord, then I'm going to guess, you know, we're not going to be encouraging our kids to be doing that. or if we do, we kind of become an unintentional Pharisee in the sense that we're asking them to do something we're not. None of us want to do that, of course, and I'm not trying. You know, anytime we start talking about these kind of spiritual habit kinds of things, it could feel like throwing stones and guilt inducing, you know, all that really quick. And, you know, we could feel really bad about ourselves. so, you know, does your listening kind of don't hear it through that lens, you know, but the reality is time in God's Word is a, is a means to a different end. You know what? The most important thing isn't necessarily that we're cultivating a habit. The most important thing is the fact that who we come into contact with, that we get to know Christ, that we get to love the Lord, that God gets to communicate to us through His Word, through the Bible. And those words go onto our heart and they shape our mind, they shape our heart. And so that end goal becomes what's most valuable. And, you know, I don't know about you, Jessica, but when I, you know, I notice a correlation when I'm not in God's Word, I tend to be more impatient, more easily angered, more harsh. I tend to just. It's like God's word has this, this trend, not only just in my emotions and my relationships, you know, there's that side of it, but it just has a transforming effect in our life. And I can see when I, you know, when I rationalize in my head, hey, I'm not going to read the Bible today. Because, you know, whatever, you overslept or you got a busy stretch or you travel in or, you know, you're. I usually, for me, I start my Bible reading in the morning. I'm a pretty early riser. Just, I just wake up and get up and that, you know, I usually have a couple hours before anybody else is up in our house. And, so that, you know, just creating that, that regular habit, during that season has been good. but there's, you know, there's times when you feel the temptation. I'm reading a different book and it's really good. And, or you open up your phone in the morning, which is, you know, habit number one to break. Don't look at email right away in the morning. But you get, you know, you look at email and, oh, man, this sucks you in with some things that need to be dealt with quickly that day. and so I think, you know, that's just a good piece. if you're somebody that struggles with developing the habit of reading God's Word regularly in your heart. I just literally, two days ago finished reading the book called Atomic Habits. Have you heard of this, Jessica?

>> Dr. Jessica Peck: I have actually. Yeah.

>> Dr. Josh Mulvihill: Yeah, I hadn't read it and like, everybody under the world, I guess, had read it except for me. So I read it. Super helpful book. If you are somebody that needs help developing habits, they. The, James, the individual who wrote this book, lays out a really helpful process of habit development. And I think reading the Bible is one of those that could fall into, you know, it's just like, I can't. For whatever, you know, whatever reason, I just can't get this habit to stick. I think James has a real helpful process in this book to help individuals that are trying to develop habits, like by reading the Bible daily. so if you've, if you've like, gotten stuck, in this area, and it's like, man willpower hasn't gotten me over the hump. a book like this, I think, with some really practical ways to develop habits, could be a real helpful piece for. For somebody who's listening, and I commend that to you.

Jessica, how old were you when you started reading the Bible regularly

But I do have a question for you, Jessica. You were right. I was. you know, we're talking about reading the Bible. How old were you and. And who taught you? How old were you when you developed kind of the regular habit of reading the Bible? And who helped you do that? Was that parents? Grant, I think you mentioned your. Your grandparents had a pretty significant role. Was that somebody else? Like, what did that look like for you in your life?

>> Dr. Jessica Peck: See, I knew this was coming. I know you love to. And look, I'm saved by the music here. I can have a minute to think about my answer. No, but I do have an answer for you. I will definitely tell you about this because this has been a really important part of my journey. And I'm glad you mentioned, too, Josh, about not, you know, feeling like this is a, bully pulpit. This is, you know, a guilt trip here, but it is. We're sitting here in this world and we're saying, I'm so thirsty. I'm thirsty. And there's a glass of water right in front of us. Instead of drinking the water, we're googling, like, what kind of vitamin water should I have? Should I have alkaline water? Or what should I not? What should I do about this thirst that I have? And God has given us living water to help. Right there. It's actually much simpler than we think it is. I'll be right back with the answer to Josh's question on the other side of this break. Don't go away. I want you to picture this. Her name is Kayla. She is 17, alone, terrified and pregnant, sitting in a clinic, tears blurring, thinking abortion is her only option until she was offered a free ultrasound, paid for by a hero just like you. The moment Kayla heard her baby's heartbeat, the decision was made. And today, her little baby boy, Gabrielle, is thriving because preborn walked with Kayla every step of the way. Now multiply that by 38,000. That's how many babies preborn has helped save just this year. How many mothers preborn has come alongside with practical and spiritual resources to make motherhood possible. But here's the most important thing you will hear today. Their goal is to save 70,000 by the end of the year. And they can't do it without us. Every $28 provides that ultrasound. The moment everything changes. Will you be the reason the next Kayla chooses life? The reason Gabrielle fulfills his destiny? To donate, dial pound 250 and say the keyword baby. That's pound 250, baby. Or donate [email protected]/AFR, that's preborn.com/AFR.

>> This Is My Song by Heath Balltzglier, Mac Powell and NORTH POINT: And I sang in Christ alone My solid ground oh, amazing grace Just how sweet the sound on that rugged cross Jesus paid it all because he lives this is my song.

>> Dr. Jessica Peck: Welcome back, friends. That is this Is My Song by North Point Worship featuring Mac Powell. I actually saw something funny on social media the other day about Mac Powell and a, father had taken their. His child to go and see Mac Powell sing. And the father's point of view was my child is listening to the, the artist that shaped my faith. And they have no idea who this is. And I'm feeling so old. But here we are. Regardless. That is our song today. We Because God, because Jesus lives, this is the song that we can sing. And we're talking about having that song be the story of our lives and helping our kids to build a biblical worldview. Now, every child, everywhere is right now, in this very moment, I promise you, building a worldview. Piece by piece, belief by belief, encounter by encounter, choice by choice. All of these things, whether they realize it or not, are helping them to build a worldview. But the question is, are we building that worldview on the firm foundation of God's word or on the shifting sands of culture? And I'm here today with Dr. Josh Mulvihill, and he's talking about his book Biblical Worldview, what it is, why it matters, and how to shape the worldview of the next generation. We're in chapter seven, if you're following along on this worldview Wednesday. And he gives four biblical pillars every child needs to understand. Creation, rebellion, salvation, and restoration. Miss one, really? That entire structure wobbles. We've been talking about that on the past shows. I would encourage you to check that out. And we're talking today specifically about God's Word, about helping our kids to read the Bible and to live according to God's word. Now, they can't live according to God's word if they don't know it. So, Josh, before the break, you asked me, how old was I when I started reading the Bible regularly, and who was it that made an impact on my life? And as I've shared before, Josh, I grew up in a Christian home. I grew up in a church where I was at church every time the doors were open. Sunday morning Sunday night, Wednesday night, if there was a revival that week, I was going to be there. Wherever, whenever the doors were open, they were there. So I feel like, especially around those Sunday school teachers that I had those life group leaders, there were a lot of them who were really instrumental and, and when I was in eighth grade Sunday school, we had one teacher in particular who said, we are going to work together to memorize the entire book of James. And I had never memorized that much, much scripture before. But really I can see God's grace in that. Looking at, you know, not knowing then all of the trials that I would go through and all of the things because I, I've, I've faced a lot of, a lot of tough things in my life. but looking at now, my brothers, rejoice in every trial for the testing of your faith produces patience. I can still quote that whole ch. And then I did attend a Christian school where I was poured into and we. And God's Word was just a part of our lives. And so then seeing my grandmother live that out, it was really something that started when I was in high school and that I have just never, never left. So what about you, Josh? Now I'll turn the tables on you. What's, what's your story? What's your answer?

>> Dr. Josh Mulvihill: Yeah, this is so great. Just hearing that's such an encouragement and wow, that's impressive. The whole book of James is. That's that's incredible. mine was my parents. They instilled that in us. When we were young, we had family devotions at home. We mostly did them at breakfast. And I remember waking up many, many, many mornings walking into the living room and one or the other of my parents would be sitting there with their Bible open reading it. And what I walked away with from my parents was just the incredible value they placed on God's Word. How important it was in their life that they would, they would read it regularly, that they wanted us as a family to be reading it and that, that kind of passion and love of God's Word just translated into my life and my siblings lives as well. you know, I struggled on and off in the teen years to have consistency in God's Word. I think I really, for the really on a day, almost daily, not, you know, every day. I would say now I'm probably a six out of seven. Most of the time, seven out of seven days a week, I'm reading God's Word. That clicked probably in my college young adult years when that kind of frequency Developed. And I find, you know, we could talk about the how to's of. I find it really interesting just to ask people how they study God's word. Like, what do you use? What do you do? And everybody is so different. we did this with our small group, last year. We went around all the 20 plus men shared and it was just incredible. Nobody read and studied the Bible the same way. And I think that's maybe an encouragement for listeners like you can customize it to fit your strengths, the time of day, what you do. I used to journal through books of the Bible, for many years. I've got stacks of them that I would almost like write my own little study as I kind of thinking and writing helps me, clarify. And I did that for a long time. Now I'm just reading straight through the New Testament. That's I'm about halfway through. I'm just kind of reading slowly. It doesn't. If you just wanted to read through the New Testament, you know, beginning to end, you could do it pretty quickly. It's not that thick, but I'm doing it slow and kind of you having some study materials on the side as I read through it, just to kind of dig into certain portions deeper. And just in Timothy, I'm in the Tim. Yeah, ah, first Timothy right now. And just. It's such a blessing to be reading through. And it's interesting as, I don't know, as you've gotten older, you know, you, you kind of get pretty familiar with certain books and places as you've read and reread and reread and, and you know, just the depth and the breadth and the beauty of God's word. It never, you can't. It's like, it's like this bottomless well that continues to give as you read it. And it's so amazing and wonderful and you know, I think that one of the pieces, one of my encouragements, for everybody is, you know, there. I don't want it to feel like a duty that we read God's word. It truly is a delight and you know, it truly is a blessing. And sometimes it's kind of the feeling is a bit of a duty in the sense. So when you're trying to develop the habit for the first time, but you kind of move past that and it gets to the point of, you know, it just becomes automatic and it's enjoyable and when you don't do it, you really recognize, wow, I, you know, I'm missing this. And I can and I see the void that it's having in my life. And so, yes, what that is, it was a great blessing from my, my parents and, continued to this day decades.

>> Dr. Jessica Peck: Well, I love that you give that encouragement because there are so many different ways that you can study the Bible. And I know throughout my life I've done a lot of different things. Like sometimes there's something for a season that I'll do. I've been a part of Bible study fellowship or a precepts Bible study or something like that. Or maybe I'm just doing it on my own and I'm reading a commentary or I'm going through a guided thing that's online. I mean, there's just been all kinds of things that fit my needs for that season. So right now I'll tell you, Josh, I'm in First Kings and I'm. I've just re read first and Second Samuel and gone through the life of David. And really, just like you said, I mean, I'm very familiar with that story. And most people would know about David and Goliath and David and Bathsheba, but there is a lot more to David's life for sure. And I've really been looking at, you know, the conflict that he had with his son Absalom and, and just so many things that I have learned that I thought I've read this story so many times, but now seeing I'm seeing it through a different lens. Part of that is because I'm a parent now with adult children and I see things differently than I read it when I was young and I wanted to read about, oh, David and Goliath. I can overcome the giant. You know, there, there's a different, different lens. I think that you read it with just your life circumstances, your life experience. And it is just so beautiful to see that I can always learn something new. And I think that that's just a beautiful thing. And as that continues, I want to know more and more. Like, I find my desire to read God's word increasing dramatically as I get older. Maybe it's just because my kids remind me a lot about how much older I'm getting. And I think I'm closer to seeing Jesus than I was before. So I better make sure I read. No, I'm just kidding. But, but really there is a problem with biblical illiteracy. And you and I have talked about this, before. But just even hearing like, misattribution or misapplication of scripture, like, oh, you know what the Bible says God helps those who help themselves, or God will never give you anything more than you can handle or those kinds of things. And I think that that's one of the reasons why it's so important to know the word of God so that you don't misapply it and you miss, you might miss a blessing, you might unintentionally cause somebody else some confusion. You know, it's.

Why biblical literacy is so important for parenting

So what, what do you see as the problem of biblical illiteracy and why biblical literacy is so important?

>> Dr. Josh Mulvihill: Well, you mentioned it. If we don't know God's Word, we can't live according to it. We can't utilize God's Word to test all of the things we're hearing to know what's true and not true. And we, you know, become kind of like the individual who's trying to walk around in the dark. You can kind of fumble around and maybe you can find your way. But if you turn the light switch on and the light comes on and it's just so much easier, you know, God's word is a light to our path. So, it is, a wonderful blessing in that way. And if our kids aren't in the Bible, then of course they can't develop a biblical worldview or it's highly unlikely. So you know, you talked about the four pillars, Creation, rebellion, salvation, restoration. The Bible is the foundation upon which all of that rests. And so if this one is not developed, then we can't build the Christian faith on top of that. And so, anybody that's ever built a house and you know, the importance of a foundation, this is it. God's word is that in our kids, lives in their hearts. And so, getting them at the earliest possible age into God's Word to develop that habit, this is like top of the list. What would you think of as successful parenting? One of them would be, my kids have developed the habit of being in God's Word, when they leave the house as an adult. I think that should be a goal for all of us with our kids when they leave. And we can start that as early as possible. You know, when our kids, when they're little, of course we are feeding them God's Word. We're reading the Bible to them, we're discussing. But you know, at some point in that kind of that preteen early teen years kind of that 10 to 12 year old range, I think is pretty typical. Good, good time to try to shift the emphasis that our kids begin to develop the practice of reading God's Word on their own. And we, you know, with our kids, we've put some Bible study tools in their hands. We've purchased them a full text Bible and given them commentaries. They like. Our kids like study Bibles, try to put some of those things in their hands and then create the space. Kids, you know, all of us need time to read God's word, whether that's morning or night, and just, you know, just asking them, have you been reading the Bible? What have you been learning? What are you reading? What are you doing? And putting those tools in their hands in order to make that happen. And then you know, our kids, that's kind of been a natural, a natural progression for them. As they kind of get into the teen years, they begin to develop that habit more and more. And we had my. So we do a father, son, mother, daughter, ah, discipleship group on Wednesday nights every year. And one of the ways we teach our kids to study the Bible is we introduce them to Bible study reference materials in this father son group to answer some of the Bible study questions. So it trains them to use things like a Bible dictionary and a concordance and a commentary. And it's funny, my 12 year old just said, he goes, dad, you taught that to this was John literally, like a couple months ago. He said, you, you taught Jay and Asher that. But we, I haven't, you haven't taught me that yet. And it was funny. You know, all of us that have a lot of kids, you know, you do some things with the older ones and then you are like, did I do that with the younger one? No, I didn't. So this year with with our group Man Code womenco, we're going to be doing, doing that where we kind of build in those Bible study tools into the times when we study God's Word as a group. And then they learn how to use those in their own quiet times and introduce those kind of reference materials. They're really great way to help your kids get in God's word. Kind of build them a reference library, give them these tools, spend the money on these things. You know, build them into gifts for birthdays and Christmases just over the years. And then they've this nice little section on their bookshelf where they've got all these wonderful reference materials that they can use for probably the rest of their life as they are studying God's word and have these great, great, wonderful tools in their own personal library.

>> Dr. Jessica Peck: I love that. And we give our kids similar tools as well. And one of the tools that we can use is just a devotional vetting a devotional, making sure that, you know, it's a trusted source. That can be important because not all devotionals are alike. But we have a rhythm in our family, Josh. At bedtime, we always tell each other, you know, as our, as the parents, we always tell our kids good night. And it's really easy just to walk in the room and see that devotional on the nightstand and see if it's moved or if it hasn't and just to nod to it and just say, hey, how's that going? What are you learning from that? What inspired insights do you have? And that's just one way a little simple rhythm can be. And I know for me, you know, you talked about reading your Bible in the morning. I am a night owl, Josh. I have always liked the evening hours. I just feel like I always function better. I'm not really a morning person. I'm ashamed to admit that it's very true. But what I discovered was that I needed to be a morning person and reading my Bible, I needed to make that commitment to the Lord and I needed to start my day that way. Because by the time I was reading something at night, I thought, well, that would have been helpful if I'd read that for this morning before I went through the day. And I find that God just really is faithful to meet me in the morning. Well, when we come back, we'll talk more about some of the habits, how you can make a habit with your family of reading the Bible. And I'm going to ask Josh about some of the core doctors doctrines of Christianity and how they learn this through reading the Bible. We'll continue to talk about developing a biblical worldview for your children. Talking with Dr. Josh Mulvihill. We'll see you on the other side of this break. Don't go away. I'll be right back.

Everything that you teach in the church has to be rooted in Scripture

>> Pastor Erwin Lutzer: Pastor Erwin Lutzer from the American Family Studios documentary the God who Speaks. When Paul said to Timothy, preach the word, what Paul was saying is, everything that you teach in the church has to be rooted in Scripture. Now, I believe very strongly that it has to be rooted in Scripture. It has to be applied to each generation. So the applications may change. But the basic doctrines, the teachings have to be the foundation of everything that we preach. So it's not a matter of human ideas. It is actually a matter of being committed to the integrity of Scripture, studying it in context so that we can say with authority that what we are teaching is based on God's word, not our ideas, nor our word. Visit thegodwhospeaks.org.

>> Promises by Maverick City Music and Naomi Raine: God of Abraham, you're the God of covenant. Faithful promises. time and time again you have proven you do just what you say. Though the storms may come and the winds may blow? I'll remain steadfast. And let my heart learn? When you speak a word, it will come to pass? Great is your faithfulness to me. Great. Is your faithfulness to me from the rising sun to the setting same I will praise your name? Great is your faithfulness to me.

>> Dr. Jessica Peck: Oh, welcome back, friends. That is Promises by Maverick City Music and Naomi Raine And we are talking about the promises that God has made in His Word that he has left for us. We have a Bible that is so full of God's promises. And we're talking today on this WorldView Wednesday with Dr. Josh Mulvihill about his book and his ministry. His book is Biblical Worldview, what it is, why it matters, and how to shape the worldview of the next generation. If you're following along, we're in chapter seven, and we're talking about how do we as families be equipped to lead the way in this? Because as parents, as grandparents, we often feel pressure. We want to disciple our kids, but how do we do it? And the good news is, as Josh has said, you don't need a seminary degree. You don't need hours of spare time each day. You just need a clear plan. You need consistent investment. You need the confidence that God Word is enough, and the comfort of Christian community around you that will walk with you, that will guide you, that will hold you accountable. And Josh Mulvihill has spent decades helping families integrate faith into everyday life. And so we're talking about what are the practical ways to make Bible reading important, to turn it into a daily rhythm of your home. Not something that you have to do, not an obligation, not a burden. But as Josh said earlier, a, delight. And so, Jo. Josh, we were talking before the break just about some of those practical ways, giving our kids some tools for. How do we even start to study the Bible? There are a lot of different methods, a lot of different resources out there. And so building a library, investing in that. One of the reasons this is so important is because of doctrine. And I feel like in the church today, we are seeing a real divergence. We are seeing denominations that have conflict over theology, over doctrine, over interpretation of God's Word. And again, you know, as I said before, I see so many, so many people talking about faith. But misapplying or mis, you, know, attribution of scripture, saying something that's a scripture when it's not, or misapplication of Scripture. What is your view on the importance of reading the Bible to develop sound doctrine? I feel like even that word can be intimidating for some families who think I didn't go to seminary. We're talking about doctrine like that's where you lost me.

>> Dr. Josh Mulvihill: Yeah, well, just what is doctrine? It's just simply what the Bible teaches and ah, if you, we can categorize them, systematize it. You know, systematic theology is taking what the Bible teaches on specific topics and you know, categorizing it kind of under a single subject. And doctrine is just kind of the umbrella word for all of that. But doctrine is really critical. those would be kind of your, your most important topics that we want to make sure our kids believe, biblically that they're not, it's not off in their heart and life because of course if it is, then it brings them down a path where they make life choices, that are based on things that are askew from Scripture. As you think about the why to this, I just want to read you two passages about why it's critical to teach children core doctrines. So this is from second Timothy 3:15. notice the first two words I say. From childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Jesus Christ. And so core doctrines, you know, taught from childhood and it makes you wise for salvation in Christ. That's pretty critical. Second One is Psalm 71:17, which says, since my youth, O God, you have taught me, and to this day I declare your marvelous deeds. And so we have this idea of from childhood and since my youth. In other words, this is the expectation of Scriptures that this is happening in these years with our children. so kind of what core doctrines we could list a lot. I'll just simplify for our time today, simplified with the Word of God and the Son of God. And if those two, are strong, what our kids believe about the Bible, that you know, it is without error, it is from God, it is sufficient. It's enough, you know, those kinds of core doctrines about the Bible are critical so that as they, you know, they, when they get into God's Word, they actually believe what it says and they will put it into practice and correctly interpret it as you have mentioned so many times, Jessica, and then the Son Of God, of course, what they believe about Jesus Christ, that he, in his deity, in his lordship, in his supremacy. So much, of course, rests on those two things. And of course the world is going to try to, attack those areas, those doctrines. We know the Bible is going to get attacked, and we know Christ is going to get attacked. So we can be anticipating that. Our kids are going to hear arguments about why the Bible is full of errors, why the Bible is not true, why the Bible is just man's word, not God's word. people are going to try to poke holes in what we believe about, Christ, that he's fine, if he's a good moral person. But when you get to the resurrection, that's the doctrine that everything rests on. And if that one is not believed by our children, then everything else is. I mean, you know, everything else is out the window after that. so those two are biggies, like, prioritize the word of God, the son of God. We, could talk. There's plenty more that are really, really important and critical. But that simplifies, like, what would be some, some key ones as a starting point. And then, you know, as those get discussed and, you know, foundation laid, you can go on to some other critical doctrines. You know, we've been having conversations with our kids right now about, their, you know, they're in their teens, so we're talking a lot about dating and marriage and what's a man's and a woman's role in the home. And we've been talking a lot about, in our family, Calvinism and Arminianism, your process of salvation. those aren't starting places, but they're, you know, as far as doctrines go. But they become pretty critical when you get certain places in life and they start to impact a lot of certain, doctrines, other areas. And so, you know, we've just gotten to, those points with our kids that we're having some really, fun and fruitful theological discussions in those areas.

Jessica: What would be at the top of your list for your own kids

I'm curious, Jessica. What you would prioritize is like, these are really critical doctrines to teach your kids. What have been. What would be at the top of your list for your own kids?

>> Dr. Jessica Peck: I'm really glad you asked me this, Josh, because first of all, I want to be a fly on the wall and listen to your family talk about Calvinism or Armenia. see, I don't even know how to say it because I think it's wonderful to see the different perspectives. Like, my kids are growing up in a house where their dad is a rocket scientist and their mom is a nurse. And so it's usually going to. Talking about something that, you know, the medical talk, they're like, don't talk about that at the dinner table. We don't want to know about that. And so, but I, thankfully I, I have, I do have some nurse friends I can talk about that with. But, but we do talk about doctrine in our home still, Josh, even though I, I'm not theologically trained, but it is important I know that I retain the primary responsibility, my husband and I do for discipling our children. And so we've had to learn, we make sure that we are in a theologically sound chur. Kids are under theologically sound teaching that they're going to hear that from their Sunday morning group, from their small group leader, from the pulpit, all of those things. And they ask a lot of questions we don't know. I think I've shared this before. My son had all of these really deep theological questions that were way over my head. So my husband had them write them all down. And we called a friend of ours who was a seminary professor and said, hey, can we buy you lunch? And he took him. My husband took my son out, the three of them went out and he just went down the list and just started asking him these questions and just saying, hey, how do we know what if this is true or if this is not true? And it was really helpful to know that we don't have all the answers. I say this all the time, Josh. If we worship a God who was small enough to be understood, he wouldn't be big enough to be worshiped. So I think we just have that posture with our kids that it's okay to wonder about some things now. Some things that it's, it's not okay to wonder about are, you know, basically the, the tenets of scripture that we have, you know, is that God created the world. God's son is Jesus. He died on the cross for your sins. He rose again and to conquer hell and the grave forever and we can be with him forever. And I'm really simplifying it, but those are the things that are like non negotiable. Like those things will, will not change. But I remember, you know, my father in law came to, to know Christ later in life. And my daughter has always just been very, she's going to seminary now, so she's always been very, biblically minded and very much reading her Bible. And I remember her telling her grandfather One day, you know, you know all of the basic Bible stories that kids know, but you need to get some meat, because we talk milk. You know, there's milk and there's meat in the scripture. And he said, well, what do you suggest? And this is what she said. she gave him a passage of scripture and she said, let's just say Noah gets drunk and I'm going to leave it at that. And I think that, you know, there are, there are some parts of scripture that can be really hard to read. There are some really hard subjects in the Bible. There are things that I wouldn't want my younger kids reading. There are things that are really difficult to understand. What advice would you give to families who are navigating that saying, okay, we want to read the Bible. I don't understand this application at all. What, what would you encourage them to do?

>> Dr. Josh Mulvihill: Well, I'll say this first. Know that your kids faith is not being attacked by Sunday school Bible stories. It's being attacked, on deeper doctrine. And so it's really critical. Just things like marriage, homosexuality, creation, evolution. We could, you know, long list, we could just list a ton. that's where it's being attacked. So God's word is sufficient. There's nothing new under the sun. pick passages of the Bible that teach on topics you want your kids to learn. So if it's creation, evolution, jump into Genesis. If it's, sexual purity and marriage, proverbs, a tenth of that book is written about that subject. or Ephesians, there's, some great stuff. Just pick your passages that will speak to those subjects. And of course, what you did, Jessica, if you don't know the answer, either tell your kids that and you can explore together or find somebody like you did and sit down and have, a conversation with them. The nice thing is, you know, we can always be learning with our kids or just one step ahead of them. And you know, I would. My encouragement is thinking about what our kids are hearing in culture today. And we don't want our kids. My goal is no surprises, for my kids that they go into the world and they hear something and it rocks their faith. So we want to have all of those conversations in our home. So just be listening to, like, what are the key conversations in our culture? What are the big buzzwords? And just bring those, convert those topics into your home. You know, for a while it was transgenderism, homosexuality. Of course that's still present. Immigration was a big one within the last six months. race and justice is still a big one. You hear injustice, kinds of things talked about all over the place. so these are just love is love. You hear phrases, you could hear all those kinds of phrases. And those aren't innocuous. Those are hardcore biblical worldview claims. And when our kids know what the Bible teaches doctrinally about what is love, what is marriage, what is justice, what is race, what, you know, all of these things they can start with, they're not going to get, taken captive, as Colossians 2 says, by the ideas of the world because they're going to know, all right, this is what the Bible says. Here's what justice is according to the Bible. When I hear that in culture, I'm not going to be confused by that and guaranteed our kids will there. It's like we homeschool our kids, but our kids, they just need to walk out into public today and you see it everywhere, in any store, pretty much in any mall. And of course, if you are on a screen ever doing anything, you're hit and inundated with these messages. and so our kids, it's not a matter of if, it's a matter of, when our kids. And of course they're going to have questions. So we want them, we want to be the person that our kids ask questions, not that they go to Google and Google their question. And so this just provides that foundation to have all those wonderful conversations on those topics.

>> Dr. Jessica Peck: Love and appreciate that. And one of the other points that you make in your book that's so important is not cherry picking scriptures, not just taking one scripture out of context, but looking at the big, big picture of the Bible. That's one of the things I think that I've really been learning in the last five years or so is just understanding those Old Testament applications and looking at it, you know, as my pastor says, Eastern narrative with Western eyes. It can be hard for me to understand that, but seeing God's big picture is amazing. Well, thank you again, Josh, for joining us. Dr. Josh Mulvihill. Listen wherever you are. May the Lord bless you and, and keep you and make his face to shine upon you. That's from the Bible. I'll see you here tomorrow.

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

Worldview Wednesday. Dr. Josh Mulvihill, the Executive Director of Church and Family Ministry for RenewaNation, talks with Jessica about six ways to help our children and grandchildren live according to God's Word. 

Rx for Hope: Train Children to Read and Study God's Word

https://www.renewanation.org/