Building Faith Families with Steve Demme

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 earthl...

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 t...

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...

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 hel...

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...

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 a...

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 ma...

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 emoti...

God is good and God is our Redeemer. He works all things together for good, even our “light afflictions” as Paul calls them in 2 Corinthians 4:17. For our light affliction, which is for the moment, works for us. In 1987, I was praying for God to fix Johnny, but God had other designs, and through John, He was fixing me. Or as Laura Story, in her song “Blessings” says: 'Cause what if your bless...

The best part of being in a valley is that God loves there. He is comfortable in the valley. Jesus is described as a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. The Psalmist says the LORD is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit. But sometimes God needs us to invite Him to be with us as we try to endure hard times. Steve talks about how God was “there all the time” as He promised...

I used to skip through the Beatitudes to more comforting verses in Matthew, but scripture teaches that valleys, or difficult experiences, are not abnormal for God’s people. They are the norm. Matthew 5:3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 4 Blessed are thy that mourn, for they shall be comforted. God is faithful and He promises to never leave us or forsake us. He...

Life can be hard. Personal struggles and difficulties often come with a significant grief component. This painful experience changed my view of the Christian life. I had become a Christian for the perks, heaven, forgiveness of sin, joy, peace, but I didn’t understand suffering. Suffering is accompanied by grief and I didn’t know how to process the pain nor fix the situation, which led to burnout.

Steve shares their family's journey of having a special needs child. Every child will change the chemistry of the home. When you have a child with a disability, life becomes harder. Not only to the family unit, but each member of the family as well. This is our journey and I hope it will encourage you in the difficult experiences you are facing.

The final episode in this series is a compilation of testimonies from parents who have been having times of regular family worship. I hope that as you listen you will be edified and encouraged.

In the podcast 35 we examined the first five possible obstacles in beginning having regular times of family worship in our homes. We will conclude with the final five today. •  I am not qualified to lead my family. •  I won’t be able to be successful. •  What is my husband will not participate? •  Like Moses, I am not a gifted speaker and wish someone else could do it. •  It’s too late to get star...

In the previous 5 episodes we examined ingredients for a successful family worship experience. In this podcast we tackle potential obstacles that I had to face and that may resonate with other families. • For example, the first one is that we may not have grown up in a home where your parents conducted conducted family devotions so we never saw it modeled. • Or perhaps we have been told that we ar...

The next four ingredients for a successful family devotions experience are: talk about what you read, keep a record of how God has worked for your family, close in prayer, and just do it. Scripture says that each member of the body of Christ, including all members of your family, have something to contribute to other believers. After we have read the scripture, we now give each member n opportunit...

The word remember, or some form of this word, occurs over 200 times in scripture. The Psalmist encourages us to praise the works of God from one generation to another. Psalm 145:4 Have you told your children how you came to Christ, or how you met your spouse, or other answers to prayer that you have experienced? Not only are the older folks to recount the mighty acts of God in their own life, it i...

While we seek to diligently teach our children the word of God, ultimately it is God’s responsibility to reach their hearts. “For a shepherd enters through the gate. The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep hear his voice and come to him. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. After he has gathered his own flock, he walks ahead of them, and they follow him because they reco...

One of the questions I am frequently asked is “At what ages do we begin having worship times as a family?” Based on these scriptures with Jesus’ instructions to Peter and Paul’s advice to Timothy, I think the sooner the better. “Feed my lambs” John 21:15 “For I am mindful of the sincere faith within you, which first dwelt in your grandmother Lois, and your mother Eunice, and I am sure that it is i...

God’s divine blueprint for family worship begins with the husband and wife each loving God with everything in them, and then having God’s inspired word foremost in their heart, before they commence teaching their children. We find this plan revealed in Deuteronomy 6:5-7.