Abraham, Isaac, and The Sword and the Wolf

Captain's Log: Table Time ~ The Lord's Day, September 7th, 2025 ~ Vespers

We enjoyed a sermon this morning on the sacrifice of Isaac. We discussed the big ideas at dinner. God demands everything from Abraham (us too), Abraham offers everything to God (as we ought to as well), and God provides everything for Abraham (and us, in Christ). It was rich. We also discussed the idea that the big shock of the story should not be the demand God makes, but the provision He makes. 

It reminded me of the response to criticisms of election: “The question should not be ‘why are only some chosen?’ but rather, ‘why are any chosen?’” It has the same healthy, disorienting angle. The sort of disorientation we need, living in a world that assumes outrageous things about God, all whilst living in rebellion against Him. 

My 7 and 8-year-old children can read and write, and take notes during a sermon! I didn’t learn to do any of that until I was about twenty-five.

During the sermon today, one of the older ones was very focused, imitating my note-taking, asking me questions. The other was distracted, struggling to stay with the sermon. I realized a couple of things. One is that this little season of sermon note-taking mimicry is training wheels. It’s good for the children to learn to take notes by copying me (I use an app on an iPad so I can write in big font with different colours to help the kids follow and copy me). But this is to train them to write things down as they hear them, not as they see me writing. I thought I knew that, but it struck me with clarity today. This is an exciting phase. My 7 and 8-year-old children can read and write, and take notes during a sermon! I didn’t learn to do any of that until I was about twenty-five. But I have more work to do to prepare the children to listen well to a sermon. It’s a journey.

A second thing is that I caught myself being a little bit ridiculous. I was tempted to chase the child who wasn’t staying focused on the sermon, copying my notes as I was writing them. And I remembered… all three of my children are sitting perfectly quietly with me under the word of God, every Sunday, for the entire sermon. Praise the Lord. What a work He has been doing in our family over the last several years, building Lord’s Day culture in us. So they're not transcribing the sermon yet. So they’re not still fully engaged when the sermon lands on Jesus. But they’re doing very, very well. I need to relax a little bit and remember how young they are. I also need to praise and encourage them.

I would bet that the average child would delight in what their own parents make for them to enjoy and learn from - even if it’s rough around the edges.

After we discussed the sermon for a bit, I pulled up a ‘very short story’ I wrote while we were camping last month. The first of The Chronicles of Max and Minimus. The kids were very excited to read through the story again with the brand new AI illustrations. It has really struck me how much my children love what I create for them. I think they recognise my love for them in this. I would bet that the average child would respond in a similar way, and delight in what their own parents make for them to enjoy and learn from - even if it’s rough around the edges. They know that whatever this is, and whatever the quality of it is, it’s ours. 

You can read about Max and Minimus here.