Building Faith Families With Steve Demme

David was a man after God’s own heart. In this episode we explore what it means to love God with all our heart and have God search our hearts and turn them to himself.

David was not only a warrior, protecting his sheep from lions and bears, and the nation of Israel from Philistines and giants, he was also a worshiper. Where did he develop his skill with the lyre? When did he have time to write the hymns, aka psalms that we love today? Was he really alone in the desolate pastures of Israel, or was he deepening his relationship with his God?

David is described as a man after God’s heart. What made David special? Why did he spend so much time in the wilderness, as a shepherd and fleeing from Saul? What did he learn while caring for the sheep, alone? In this episode we will consider what we know from the record in scripture and see why God recorded this account of the formative years of David.

“Bear One Another’s Burden and so Fulfill the law of Christ.” Galatians 6:2Having carried a burden has made my able to empathize with other’s pain. I am able to tune in to what people are feeling more than ever. My own issues have helped me to understand what my brothers and sisters are experiencing in a new way. I observe pain everywhere. When I see people in some form of addiction I don’t see the outward behavior as much as I am cognizant of internal pain and suffering. People do not hurt and abuse themselves for pleasure, there are reasons behind their actions. I am convinced that I may engage in the same behaviors if I had walked in their shoes and grown up in their circumstances. Addiction has many forms, society condemns some (drugs, alcohol, pornography) and rewards others (greed, power, success). But heartache and pain are often the reason why we do what we do. No one likes to hurt.I find myself connecting with people in a deeper way because the one thing we all have in common is suffering. Whether we

The reality of pain, while not on the same level as the gospel, has been a life changer for me. When I was in the throes of my personal crisis in 2012 I wanted the pain to cease and life to resume a semblance of normalcy. I wanted peace, which we all desire. No one likes to suffer, but we all will eventually in some form or another. If we are sinners only, then we will have a hard life. Proverbs 13:15 The way of transgressors is hard. (KJV)If we have chosen to follow Jesus, we will still suffer, but with a purpose, with hope, and accompanied by the presence of God. I am not going to address the broad topic of suffering here, but I am going to focus on our personal struggle. I have rarely heard much teaching on this topic, but pain is all around us. It must be examined and addressed with God’s help.Here is another red letter statement. The source of much of my hurt and distress in 2012 was seeing that because of my own baggage, my internal wounds, I was hurting the most important people in my life, my wife and

My role as a husband and father is shaped by how I experience and perceive the love of God for me. The more love I receive, the more I am equipped to give.As Jesus loves me, I am called and empowered to love my wife and children. As a husband, my role is not to be the king of my castle. My wife and children were not created to serve me, but I have been designed to serve them. By meditating on how Jesus loved me by serving me, I follow His example and do not treat my wife and children as second class citizens, but as fellow children of God, who were created in the image of God.

I am writing a book chronicling my journey of the past two years. These were the hardest years of my life and the best ones as well. They were hard because I experienced more personal sorrow and loss, but they were the best because I found God in a new and deeper way. Throughout this process I am continually boring down through layers of life lessons I have learned to discover fundamental foundational truths.For example, I am convinced that the family is the basic unit of society. God created the institution of the family before Israel, before Abraham, before the flood, and way before the church. In fact, the primary qualification for elders and deacons is their ability to govern their own homes. Healthy God-fearing families are the foundation for healthy churches and communities.Good marriages begin with two individuals who each love God, and have each been loved by God. Let me amplify on that last phrase. Each man and each woman must first have a vertical loving relationship with God themselves. But to love

Etymologists speculate that the expression “Good bye” derives from the longer phrase, “May God be with ye.” Similarly, “Good morning” may come from “May God give you a good morning" or a “Good day.”I find that how I begin each morning sets the tone for the rest of the day. When I want to have a “God” day or a “Good” day, then I begin the day by meeting God and investing time in His presence.I still battle with believing the gospel. Even though I know that when I draw near to God, He draws near to me, I still have to remind myself almost every day that God really likes me. As I draw near to God, I recall scriptures that inform my mind of the veracity of His love and the unchangeableness of His nature.For several weeks, my prayer when I awake has been Psalm 90:14, “Satisfy me in the morning with your steadfast love, that I may rejoice and be glad all my days.” I love this scripture. The writer of this prayer may have been tempted to doubt God’s love, but asked God to help him.

How did God prepare Jesus for His early ministry? What transpired during His formative years in the home of Joseph and Mary? We only have a few clues into those important years of preparation and training.Join us as we engage in some edifying speculation on how Jesus became rooted and grounded in the love of God and developed a relationship with “The Father” before He embarked on his brief earthly mission.

God doesn’t have any baggage, He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. He is the Lord who changes not. His love doesn’t change either, for God is love. And God is light, with no darkness or shadows.But we do have baggage, lots of it. Baggage is common to man. We each have our share of wounds, scars, and issues from past relationships. If we could see each other’s past, and have the ability to understand and discern what we have each experienced, we would have so much more compassion for one another.Embracing our own issues, and acknowledging our specific weaknesses, failures, hurts, and dashed dreams, helps us to accept and love others. Sadly we have become experts at hiding our pain, and putting on a smiling face, but behind the masks we all are needy and messy. We have good days, and we have bad days.God alone understands us fully. He shares in our joys and our sorrows. When we rejoice, He shares in our joy. When we weep He weeps. He gets us like no one else. And still He loves us completely, consisten

God instructs us to be patient in scripture. He is uniquely qualified to offer this exhortation because He practices patience. In fact He is patience. God is the principal and He is the principle.In the book of James, we are told to be patient and steadfast. Then as an example of patience, Job is held up as an example of patience and steadfastness. Then as a clincher, we learn that God is patient. In fact throughout scripture we see God described as stedfast, slow to anger, gracious, and merciful.In the purpose and plan of God, we are not simply to acquire positive character qualities, we are to become like our Dad. We are being transformed into His image. May God help us to not only see the godly character qualities but God himself.

I awoke one morning wishing I had more psalms memorized. Hymns help me to worship. Psalms are hymns that David and others wrote to aid in expressing our hearts to God.One hymn that has been particularly meaningful to me of late is Be Still My Soul. The phrase comes from Psalms 46:10 “Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!”God is helping me to learn to be still and know that He is God. Singing this song with understanding helps to quiet my spirit and meditate on the truths found in the lyrics.

This past spring I was quietly sitting alone in an historical church. On the front wall of the plain sanctuary were the words, “The Lord is in His Holy Temple”. As I thought on these words I had a sense that God saw me.These three words, “He sees me” filled my mind and seemed to cover me. I marveled and reveled in the truth of this concept. God almighty, sees me.I tried to expand on the concept and thought of other truths like, He knows me, He hears me, but I kept coming back to He sees me.

God has given us his word for our good. God’s word is good, because God is good. Moses said, “Show me your ways, that I may know you.” The ultimate quest of our heart is not to know merely the scriptures, but the character and person of God that the scriptures reveal?

Before we can teach our children diligently, we as parents are called and designed to love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength. When I asked God to help me love Him, I was surprised how he answered that prayer. He began to reveal to my heart how much He loved me. This is exactly what the word says in 1 John, “We love because He first loved us.” God always takes the initiative. As we ask Him to reveal His love, meditate on His love, and spend time with the person of God, we will love Him more and more.

Deuteronomy is the last sermon, or podcast, of the man who spoke with God face to face. This book is the distilled wisdom of Moses. These words were inspired by the Holy Spirit and given to us, for … our …. good. May God help us to hear His heart of love embed in the words of Deuteronomy.

We begin this episode by exploring how God’s message of grace, mercy, and forgiveness covers our sin and shame that began in the garden of Eden. We complete our discussion by examining how the best thing we can do for ourself and our family is let God love you.God knows us completely and God loves us perfectly.

Co-Host Scott Moore begins by asking Steve a question about his family and how to make wise decisions about how to spend their time and which activities to pursue and which to let go of. This leads to a whole episode where we discuss making a family mission statement.As parents, we want to make thoughtful decisions based on what we are for and what we value. Join us in this practical discussion.

I couldn’t end this series on special children without noting that there is a big difference between enduring by looking for a silver lining and celebrating. A silver lining implies a cloud. Cerebrating implies and includes God.John is not someone I endure with patience, He is created in the image of God and exemplifies characteristics of God’s nature that are to be emulated and admired. In so many ways he is gifted and therefore not handicapped, but exceptional.In the conclusion of this series, we try to see each of God’s children from His perspective. For in accepting and appreciating “special” children we may even learn to accept and appreciate ourselves!

In this episode, Steve will reflect on the new friends he and his family have made in the world of disability. They have learned that every human being is created in God’s image and bears God’s divine imprint. And each believer has something unique to supply to the body of Christ. We all reflect some aspect of our Creator.As a result of the fall, we are all disabled in some capacity, either emotionally, mentally, physically, or spiritually. Some are disabled on the outside, and others on the inside, but we all are needy. We each reflect God’s image liked cracked mirrors.We hope you will enjoy meeting Reuben, Mike, David, Jane, and Chris and how they reflect God’s glory.