Neil M. Phelan Jr.

Family Devotions: with Helpful Hints for Parents Neil M. Phelan Jr.

Devotional material has always been of immeasurable value to God?s people. Spurgeon?s ?Morning and Evening? has encouraged many a pilgrim as they prepared for their day and sought comfort on their pillow at night. We do not aspire to this caliber of thought or experience, yet we feel a burden for the same work. One reason is because there is always a need for contemporary authors, people who live and breathe in this present world, who may be identified as a living ?brother, and companion in tribulation?. Another reason has given equal force to vent our hearts in written form. There was once a day when families gathered together to discuss religious topics. It was by those discussions, however brief and unstructured they may have been, that children became aware of their parents? faith and ultimately, their God. Today, we live in a busy world. With computers, television, VCR''s, CD''s and a world of entertainment at our fingertips, this opportunity of teaching has become all but extinct. Gadgets, noise and electronics stifle familial communication. Granted, children may know that their parents believe in God because they go to church, yet, the dynamics of personal interactions between parent and child is all but lost. Thus, we come to this final reason for this collection of articles. To give the parent some short meditations to enjoy personally and ultimately share with their family and children. Our homilies are, for the most part, a condensed version of messages delivered to our congregation. Surely, if they were given us by the Chief Shepherd for the feeding of the gathered flock, they will be beneficial to other sheep which are not of our immediate fold. For your benefit, we have included some helpful hints for parents at the conclusion of each devotion.