Past presidents have hanged traitors high for seditious conspiracy. And this has happened throughout our U.S. history.

Want to know why God mandated capital punishment at certain times. Read on (see Genesis 9:6).

Like me have you seen some attempts on president's lives? Have you seen real Patriots (like Charlie Kirk) killed while young?

Lincoln was assassinated by a traitor.

This is not a popular topic in our day, but why not talk about what would be helpful for the USA?

Past U.S. presidents have executed traitors for seditious conspiracy. This is serious and has happened throughout history.

Do Liberals really know how serious sedition is? 

What does the Bible say about sedition?

What does the Bible say about anarchy?

Who is the man of lawlessness in 2 Thessalonians 2:1–12)?

What does the Bible say about rebellion?

Evil spirits that influence people to do evil are from where? You already know.

Here is the correct biblical worldview on Capital Punishment: Accorrding to the law.. not as a vigilante.. find the traitor, find the real murderer, assassin, then have a fair trial (non-telivized). Look at real evidence. Then comes the conviction, hear it all and give the guilty-perp an opportunity to respond to the basic gospel message, then swift execution! Just get it done. That's how to deal with traitors, assassins, rapists, pedophiles, murderers. Not all drawn out too long. Find all those behind the guilty perp, and repeat.

"A thief comes to steal, kill, and destroy. But I came to give life—life that is full and good." – Jesus Christ in John 10:10

"Former CIA official and current US Senator from Michigan Elizabeth Slotkin and a group of Democrat former military and intelligence community Congressmen and Senators released a video on Tuesday addressed to current military and intelligence community members. The seditious Democrats falsely told US military soldiers, sailors and Marines, and intelligence personnel that President Trump is “pitting” them against American citizens and that they have a duty to disobey his alleged “illegal” orders."

As Kristinn Taylor reported, the seditious conspirators featured in the video are: former CIA officer Slotkin, Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ), former Navy officer and NASA astronaut; Rep. Chris Deluzio (D-PA), former Navy officer; Rep. Maggie Goodlander (D-NH), former Navy Reserve intelligence officer and wife of Biden national security advisor Jake Sullivan; Rep. Chrissy Houlahan (D-PA), former Air Force officer and Rep. Jason Crow (D-CO), former Army Ranger.

"We shall have no real hope to survive the enemies arranged against us until we hang the traitors lurking among us." ~Thomas Paine

Lincoln was compassionate for the most part, yet he was decisive in protecting Americans.

What did Abraham Lincoln do?

He Hanged Traitors – He Would Not Have Messed Around with Many of Today’s Seditious Democrats Who Called on US Military to Rise Up Against the President who has been securing our future as a nation.

The great and wise Abraham Lincoln, who also witness to seditious behavior from the left and was eventually assassinated by a radical Democrat, hanged traitors.

Abraham Lincoln’s administration executed people convicted of treason or related wartime offenses during the Civil War.  

• Confederate sympathizers and guerrillas
  Several people convicted of treason, sabotage, or aiding the Confederacy were executed under Lincoln:
  • William Bruce Mumford was hanged in New Orleans in June 1862 for tearing down a U.S. flag (convicted of treason by a military commission under Gen. Benjamin Butler; Lincoln did not intervene).
  • At least four men in Missouri were executed in 1864 for treason after being caught crossing Union lines to join the Confederate army.
  • Numerous Confederate guerrillas, bridge-burners, and spies (e.g., Sam Davis in Tennessee, 1863) were hanged after military trials.
• Border-state and Northern civilians
  Executions of civilians for treason were rare in the loyal states, but they did happen. The most prominent case that Lincoln declined execution was the 1864–1865 trials of the “Sons of Liberty” (Northern Copperhead conspirators). Several were sentenced to death, but Lincoln commuted most sentences to life imprisonment, and none were ultimately executed.
• Lincoln was notably merciful by the standards of civil-war presidents. He routinely pardoned or commuted death sentences for sleeping sentries, deserters, and even some convicted spies and saboteurs. Of the roughly 267 Union soldiers formally sentenced to death and forwarded to him for review, he approved execution in fewer than 50 cases. (via Grok)

Lincoln also presided as president when 38 Lakota Indians were executed in Minnesota in the largest single-day mass execution in American history. If America is to survive as a country, the anti-American treasonous Democrats must not be allowed to destroy this great nation with their seditious acts.

George Washington hung traitors. He was very passionate about doing what was right for the citizens of this nation.

He was very serious, decisive and brutal for a good purpose. Yes, when there was real evidence, Washington was quick to act (placing no extended burden on the taxpayers for many years as traitors sat on death row). He even had a woman hung (You can see her dress hanging below).

It wasn't an everyday affair, but Washington indeed ordered executions for a few proven traitors under military law, but those cases were rare, heavily evidenced, and carried out because the Revolution’s survival was at stake. Gave them a bit of time to get right though consequences followed.

George Washington was wise and firm, but he wasn’t reckless—his overall record shows he tried to avoid the death penalty unless it was absolutely required.

Who Washington executed and why he did this:

• Thomas Hickey (1776) — Washington’s personal Guard member who joined a plot to assassinate him and help the British; convicted by court-martial and hanged for treason against a nation at war.

• Several captured spies (most famously Major John André, though he was executed by the Continental Army under Washington’s authority) — caught carrying Benedict Arnold’s plans for West Point; executed because spying in wartime was a capital offense everywhere in the 18th century.

What about righteous justice (it's real evidence, not any cruelty)?

• “Whoever rules over men must be just, ruling in the fear of God.” — 2 Samuel 23:3

• “Rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil… he does not bear the sword in vain.” — Romans 13:3–4

• “You shall purge the evil from among you.” — Deuteronomy 19:19

• “Execute true justice, show mercy and compassion everyone to his brother.” — Zechariah 7:9 (That's not for vigilantes)

• “Righteousness exalts a nation.” Not wickedness. — Proverbs 14:34

On justice and authority:

• Augustine: “Hope has two beautiful daughters: anger at the way things are, and courage to see that they do not remain as they are.”

• John Wesley: “The law of God is not cruelty; it is holiness, justice, and love.”

• Charles Spurgeon: “Justice is God’s sword, and He puts it into the hands of rulers for the good of nations.”

Q: Where did all the information go on those who attempted to kill President Trump? Why have they not been hanged, shot or fried yet? Remember that shooter in Vegas killing people at a concert, whatever happened to all the information on him?

What does it mean that God is just?

Justice required the death penalty for high treason, so something or someone had to die.

What does the Bible say about the death penalty aka capital punishment?

Have you learned how many sins in the Old Testament called for the death penalty? Today, there is generally only one crime that calls for the death penalty: murder. However, in the Old Testament, I can find 28 crimes/sins in which God called for death. These range from things which are obviously serious (i.e. murder or kidnapping) to things that seem shocking to most of us (i.e. a disobedient child or having sex before marriage). Sin is sin (all have sinned. All sin hurts God's heart). Some sins are more destructive than other sins (they hurt more than just God).

In the Bible, God had ordered death for the following sinners because of their choice to sin. Regarding what sins? (not a complete list here):

1. Murder (Ex 21:12,14)(Lev 24:17,21)(Num 35:16-21,30-31)

2. Kidnapping (Ex 21:16)(Deut 24:7)

3. Child sacrifice (Lev 20:2)

4. Both the man and woman who commit adultery (Lev 20:10)(Deut 22:22-24)

5. Rape (Deut 22:25)

6. Daughter of a priest who became a prostitute (Lev 21:9)

7. An idolater (Ex 22:20)(Deut 17:2-5)(Num 25:1-5)

8. Breaking the Sabbath (Ex 31:14)(Ex 35:2)(Num 15:32-36)

9. A woman having sex before marriage (Deut 22:21-22)

10. Homosexuality (Lev 20:13)

11. A man and his father’s wife who have sex (Lev 20:11)

12. A man and daughter-in-law who have sex (Lev 20:12)

13. A man who marries a woman and her mother (all 3 must die) (Lev 20:14)

14. Bestiality (Sex with an animal) (Ex 22:19)(Lev 20:15-16)

15. A false prophet (Deut 13:5)(Deut 18:20)

16. A false witness (Deut 19:16-21)

17. A disobedient son (Deut 21:18-21)

18. A child who strikes his father or mother (Ex 21:15)

19. A child who curses his father or mother (Ex 21:17)(Lev 20:9)

20. Men who are fighting and hit a pregnant woman, causing her lose her baby (Ex 21:22-25) ***Note: A good verse to use against those who are pro-abortion

21. A man whose ox kills someone after previously goring other people (Ex 21:28-29)

22. A sorceress (Ex 22:18)

23. A medium or spiritist (Lev 20:27)

24. A brother, son, daughter, wife, or friend who entices you to go after other gods (Deut 13:6-11)

25. Everyone in any town that entices people to go after other gods (Deut 13:12-15)

26. A blasphemer (Lev 24:10-16,23)

27. Anyone who failed to abide by a decision of the court (Deut 17:8-12)

28. Any non-Levite who tried to set up or take down the Tabernacle (Num 1:51)

Why wasn't Cain's punishment death (Genesis 4:14)?

What does the Bible say about stoning?

Why are Christians pro-life when it comes to abortion?

The stoning of Stephen - Why were the Jews allowed to stone people?

In the Bible, what is the punishment for adultery?

Does the Bible allow for the death penalty aka capital punishment?

Think about the people of Noah's time. The action there by rain was not vague. People had a choice to repent and believe or to live in their sin.

What if a sinner kills someone and it's not in self-defense or a just war? That's murder.

It has been carved into the very dignity of what it means to be human with great value. Scripture records it plainly: “Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed, for God made man in his own image” (Genesis 9:6).

Perhaps you've asked why Capital Punishment? Here's why:

Every human has ginormous value. We were made in God's image.

Back in the day, after those waters of judgment receded and Noah stepped onto a cleansed earth, God gave humanity a new moral boundary line. So many sinners had sadly just been wiped out.

God did not merely command justice—He explained it too. The life of a human being is sacred because every human bears His likeness (See Genesis 1:27).

To take a human life is not simply to harm a person; it is to strike hard at the shadow of the Creator Himself so to speak.

As Augustine said, “He who loves God must also love His image.” Murder, therefore, becomes the most direct assault a sinner can make on God’s glory.

There was also a practical wisdom woven into this command of God. Right after the flood God told Noah and his sons, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth” (Genesis 9:1).

With only eight souls alive on the planet, every life mattered in a heightened way. Murder would not just be a sin; it would threaten the survival of humanity itself. Capital punishment became a deterrent designed to preserve life at a moment when life was painfully scarce.

Before the flood, the story had been quite different. Cain murdered Abel, yet God did not demand Cain’s life (Genesis 4). His descendant Lamech boasted of killing a man (Genesis 4:23–24). Violence multiplied until, by Genesis 6, humanity was drowning in wickedness. But after the flood, God established a new moral order. Murder would no longer be tolerated. Later, the Ten Commandments sealed this prohibition—“You shall not murder” (Exodus 20). And the Law explicitly required the death penalty for premeditated killing (Numbers 35:30–34).

In the New Testament, Jesus widened the lens, showing that the roots of murder begin long before the act. “You have heard that it was said… ‘You shall not murder’… But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment” (Matthew 5:21–22). The Lord exposed what we often hide—anger, contempt, resentment—reminding us that God “looks on the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7).

Scripture remains consistent from beginning to end: murder is sin (Revelation 22:15), and the reason never changes—man still bears the image of God.

The Old Testament’s civil law also required the death penalty for several other destructive acts: murder (Exodus 21:12), kidnapping (Exodus 21:16), bestiality (Exodus 22:19), adultery (Leviticus 20:10), homosexual acts (Leviticus 20:13), false prophecy (Deuteronomy 13:5), and certain forms of sexual violence (Deuteronomy 22:24). Yet even within these severe laws, God’s mercy repeatedly broke through. David committed both adultery and murder—crimes that deserved death—yet God spared him (2 Samuel 11; 2 Samuel 12:13). As John Newton said, “Mercy is God’s favorite attribute.” And Paul reminds us that ultimately “the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23), which means all of us deserve judgment. But God “demonstrates His love for us” (Romans 5:8) by giving mercy we have not earned.

When the adulterous woman was brought to Jesus, His words pierced through the Pharisees’ hypocrisy: “If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone” (John 8:7). Jesus was not undermining the moral law; He was exposing hearts that loved condemnation more than righteousness. Their trap failed because His wisdom saw straight through them.

Capital punishment itself remains God’s institution, not man’s invention (Genesis 9:6). Jesus upheld rightful governmental authority (John 19:11). And Paul plainly affirmed that the magistrate “does not bear the sword in vain” (Romans 13:1–7). The sword was not a symbol of counseling—it was a symbol of lethal authority.

So how should Christians think about the death penalty?

1.) We must acknowledge that God instituted it and we are to agree with God's word. It is not our place to imagine we can craft a moral system more righteous, merciful, or balanced than God’s.

As A.W. Tozer wrote, “God’s justice is not the justice of a court—it is the justice of a throne.” His love is perfect. His justice is perfect. His wrath is perfect. His mercy is perfect. And none contradict each other.

2.) Scripture teaches that God delegated the administration of justice to human governments (Genesis 9:6; Romans 13:1–7). Christians should neither celebrate executions nor oppose the government’s God-given authority to enact justice for the most evil of crimes. We grieve at the necessity of capital punishment, but we do not resist its legitimacy.

C.S. Lewis once noted, “If the human mind can conceive of justice, it is because justice first existed in the mind of God.” The death penalty, rightly understood, is not a celebration of death—it is a sober recognition of the sacred worth of life.

And it reminds us of one more truth: every one of us deserved that penalty, yet Christ took it upon Himself.

“He Himself bore our sins in His body on the tree” (1 Peter 2:24).
I'm glad to be a saved sinner rather than an unforgiven sinner. Some sins are fun for a season, but it all get moldy so quickly.

In sin daily, that's how I used to live. It's better to live in Christ.. in a righteous relationship with God through Jesus. I like to remember that the One who had every right to condemn people like me.. instead chose to come and save us.

What do wives and children miss out on when a real Christian father doesn't regularly go to, and lead them to a healthy church?

Scripture calls believers not only to attend or be vitally involved in a healthy church, but to know you really belong to the head of the Church Body. Jesus alone saves people. He bought us, so you and I are to be vitally connected to a living, Christ-centered community. 

Yes, you've been redeemedbeliever. You belong to God. You belong in God the Father's family more than anywhere else. 

And there are countless reasons this matters so deeply. A healthy church..

• It helps you remember that your past doesn’t define your future (2 Corinthians 5:17).
• It opens Scripture in ways that deepen your understanding and steady your faith (Acts 2:42).
• It pulls you out of the echo chamber of your own thoughts and into the reality of God’s people (Proverbs 27:17).
• It surrounds you with brothers and sisters so you don’t drown in loneliness (Psalm 68:6).
• It’s a place where you are welcomed, loved, and genuinely missed when you’re absent (Romans 12:10).
• It builds your confidence by reminding you that you matter to God and to His people (Ephesians 2:19).
• It lets you invest in future generations of your own family (Psalm 78:4–7).
• It gives you opportunities to help others, and the humility to ask for help when you need it (Galatians 6:2).
• It shows you the tangible impact a local church can have on a community (Matthew 5:14–16).
• It gives you a place to pray for others, and ask others to pray for you (James 5:16).
• It lightens the burdens you carried through the week, and helps you carry the burdens of others (Galatians 6:2).
• It lets you model a Godward life for your children (Deuteronomy 6:6–7).
• It creates stability in your home and strengthens marriages (Ephesians 5:25–33).
• It encourages healthier dating habits rooted in holiness.
• It gives your family a life-giving rhythm on the weekend.
• It gives your children the chance to make Christian friends who shape their character (1 Corinthians 15:33).
• It teaches them who God is—and what it means to serve Him and others (Joshua 24:15).
• It surrounds your teens with other godly teens, giving them anchors in turbulent seasons.
• If you’re a single mom, it gives your kids godly men to watch and learn from (Titus 2:2–8).
• Studies even show that those faithfully connected to a church community tend to live longer, healthier lives.
• It gives you mentors who anchor you when storms hit (Proverbs 11:14).
• It brings you wise counsel in trials (Psalm 119:24).
• It broadens your heart through fellowship with believers from different cultures and backgrounds (Revelation 7:9).
• It lets you see the light of Jesus reflected in countless lives (John 13:35).
• It forms a steady rhythm of corporate worship that lifts your soul (Psalm 95:1–6).
• It fills your heart with new songs of praise (Psalm 96:1).
• It gives you a “musical companion” to carry into the week (Colossians 3:16).
• It grounds you in the truth that community isn’t optional—it’s part of being a Christian (Acts 2:46–47).
• It resets you after a long week and launches you into a new one with renewed strength (Isaiah 40:31).
• It lets you pool your resources to impact eternity (2 Corinthians 9:6–7).
• It builds a foundation for a happier, more fruitful life (Matthew 7:24–25).
• It stirs a spiritual appetite—the more you go, the more you want to go (Psalm 84:2).
• It honors God (Psalm 34:3).
• It is SO very much needed and the Authoritative Bible says you should (Hebrews 10:25).

The Spirit points us to Christ. Our eyes are fixed on Jesus -- we live for Him. 

Jesus encourages us to find a healthy church. One that doesn’t simply give you a place to sit and be entertained, but a place to grow spiritually. It gives you a spiritual family to grow with, serve with, laugh with, weep with, and walk with until the Lord returns. As Augustine said, “He cannot have God for his Father who refuses to have the Church for his mother.” And as Jesus taught, the church is His body—His visible witness in the world (1 Corinthians 12:27).

What is koinonia? Yeah, what does koinonia even mean?

What is fellowship with God?

What is the breaking of bread that the Bible talks about?

In the Bible, what is a 'love feast'?

Do you have some more questions about the Church?

There are so many cold dead churches out there -- what's the truth about the Church?

What is spiritual dryness, and how can I overcome it?

Why is the Church called the Body of Christ?

Why is real fellowship so important?

The Christian community – What is it really?

What is the right hand of fellowship (Galatians 2:9)? Why not left hand of.. fellowship (Galatians 2:9)?

What does it mean to have the fellowship of the Spirit?

What does it look like to have fellowship with one another?

Every time you gather with God’s people, you are building something eternal.

God the Father's Scriptures call us to His sinless Son Jesus, and then call us to gather with God’s people to acceptably praise and worship Jesus. Lots of sound teaching and learning from the Bible is to happen regularly at home and in the church. Not all pushy or after some stiff boring style. 

We are to pray and live it like Jesus did.. first at home. Then wherever we go, following Christ. People don't want a one day a week experience with Christ, they crave an honest 24/7/365 experience, letting Jesus lead as Lord of all. 

Have parents fallen short in this area? Yes, who hasn't? Have I needed to apologize before.. like for a sickly church I took my family to? Yes. 

God works through His Church. He delights to use people to build His Kingdom. 

It’s offering us a lifeline for our souls. The Bible repeatedly shows that believers grow best when they worship together, sit under God’s Word together, and walk side by side in a life shaped by Christ. The earliest disciples understood this instinctively. Luke describes how “they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer” (Acts 2:42). Their devotion wasn’t mechanical; it was the glad, wholehearted response of people whose hearts had been set on fire by grace.

They didn’t even have a church building, yet “every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts” (Acts 2:46). Their gathering places varied, but their hunger for God and for one another did not. Wherever they met, they flourished. That same pattern still stands: Christians thrive when they worship, learn, and live in fellowship with other believers.

Hebrews puts the matter plainly: we should be “not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching” (Hebrews 10:25). Even then, some believers were drifting from the gathering. Scripture lovingly warns us not to repeat their mistake. As the Day of Christ draws nearer, the church’s need for shared worship, shared courage, and shared perseverance becomes even more urgent. As Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote, “The physical presence of other Christians is a source of incomparable joy and strength.”

Church is the place where the “one another” commands of Scripture come alive. It is where we learn to love one another (1 John 4:12), encourage one another (Hebrews 3:13), “spur” one another toward love and good works (Hebrews 10:24), serve one another (Galatians 5:13), instruct one another (Romans 15:14), honor one another (Romans 12:10), and practice kindness and compassion toward one another (Ephesians 4:32). These commands are not solitary exercises. They are family responsibilities. As Charles Spurgeon said, “A church is not a select circle of the immaculate, but a home where the outcast may come.”

When someone trusts Christ, repents, is forgiven, (is regenerated inside), they are joined to His body (1 Corinthians 12:27). And a body only works when all the parts show up and work together (1 Corinthians 12:14–20). We aren’t spectators in the church. We are living members of it, intentionally placed there by God Himself. Scripture says that Christ gives His people gifts that equip the entire body (Ephesians 4:11–13). When we gather, those gifts strengthen others. When we isolate, those gifts go unused. None of us matures alone, and none of us can say, “I don’t need the rest of the body” (1 Corinthians 12:21–26). In community—serving, worshiping, forgiving, bearing with one another—the church becomes a visible picture of her Lord. Together, Jesus says, we are the light of the world (Matthew 5:14–16).

So yes, gathering with God’s people should become a regular rhythm in a believer’s life. Not because a rule demands it, but because love makes us long for it. A Christian belonging to Christ will naturally hunger to worship God, hear His Word, and share life with His people. Augustine captured it well: “He who has God for his Father must have the Church for his mother.”

Gobs! 

Jesus Himself is the Cornerstone of the Church (1 Peter 2:6). And we, by His grace, are “like living stones… being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 2:5). Living stones do not lie scattered. They are fitted together. They belong together. And something beautiful happens every time God’s spiritual house gathers: Christ is seen, faith is strengthened, and His people grow into the likeness of the One who called them by name.

After you gently lead them into a relationship with Jesus Christ.. or as you are leading them into this vertical relationship while at church.. teach them about faithfulness and truth-based fellowship. 

Can you enjoy fellowship elsewhere? Sure, but what will your family miss out on away from a healthy local church?

Children who grow up watching a lot of people. 

They watch genuine Christianity lived out at home. If they see Jesus in their parents and accept Him, they naturally begin searching for a church where that same life pulses through the people. 

We were meant to live it all alone, isolated. 

When they see Christ honored at home and believe on Him (via repentance and saving faith), they have a new nature inside and instinctively want to be a part of this. 

Many grow up looking for a kononia fellowship where Christ is honored among growing believers. It is not a mystery—it is spiritual gravity.

1. They saw Jesus' character in their parents. They saw faith in action that looked real, not rehearsed.

When a child watches a parent pray like God in heaven is listening (cuz He really does), obey Scripture when it costs something, and admit it and quit it.. repenting when they fail, they learn early that God is not an idea—He is the Ultimate answer. 

“The righteous who walks in integrity—blessed are his children after him” (Prov. 20:7).

George Barna reports that 87% of adults who stay committed to church long-term were raised by parents who modeled a vibrant personal faith, not just church attendance.

Authentic faith is contagious; hypocrisy is repellent.

2. They watched Scripture shape all decisions, not merely decorate shelves.

When families say, “Let’s see what God says,” the Bible becomes a living voice. That kind of home makes a healthy church feel like a natural extension of daily life.

“Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly… teaching and admonishing one another” (Col. 3:16).
Barna notes that children who see their parents study Scripture at least weekly are 35% more likely to pursue a Bible-teaching church as adults.

3. They long for fellowship that feels like what they saw happening at home. It's a family thing. 

When Christian love is practiced inside the four walls of a house—gentleness, forgiveness, warm encouragement—children learn to treasure the kind of fellowship Scripture celebrates.
Biblical fellowship is not shallow friendliness; it’s shared life:

• “They devoted themselves..to fellowship” (Acts 2:42).

• “Encourage one another and build one another up” (1 Thess. 5:11).

• “Stir up one another to love and good works… not neglecting our meeting together” (Heb. 10:24–25).

• Barna’s research shows that children involved in intergenerational fellowship (real relationships with adults at church) are twice as likely to remain connected to the local church into adulthood.

4. They hunger for spiritual food that actually nourishes.

A spiritually healthy home can detect the difference between a dead religious institution and a church where Christ’s presence is evident in the preaching, worship, and sacrificial love.

Jesus said, “Feed My lambs” (John 21:15). Are you feeding them while sitting on the couch watching TV. Depents what you are watching and hearing right? 

Tozer wrote, “Nothing less than God will satisfy the longing of the heart.”

Children who grow up around authentic faith will not be satisfied with shallow religion; they thirst for the Word.

5. They recognize the world is spiritually starving—and they don’t want to starve with it.
Barna reports that Gen Z is the most spiritually open generation in decades—but also the most lonely and the least connected to real Christian community.

A child who watches Christ heal wounds at home wants a church that offers the same.
“God sets the lonely in families” (Ps. 68:6).

A real church—a biblical one—feels like the family they need for the storms they face.

6. They experienced grace at home, not religious performance.

When parents confess sin, ask forgiveness, and demonstrate humility, the Gospel becomes believable.

Spurgeon said, “A parent’s life is a child’s first Bible.”

The child who sees grace lived out wants fellowship with believers who live the same way:
“Confess your sins to one another.. pray for one another” (James 5:16).

Barna research confirms that children who regularly see Christlike behavior at home are dramatically more likely to trust the church as a place of healing, not judgment.

7. They want a church that resembles the Jesus they fell in love with at home.

If the Jesus taught at home is radiant with grace and truth, children are drawn to churches where He is magnified.

“For where two or three gather in My name, there am I among them” (Matt. 18:20).

Healthy fellowship can feel like an extension of their earliest spiritual memories.

A high school senior once said, “I stayed with church because my parents’ lives at home matched what they sang on Sunday. I trusted their Jesus, so I trusted their church.”

That kind of consistency is a sermon children never forget.

8. They understand that life is too short to drift spiritually.

Barna shows that 74% of young adults who leave unhealthy or shallow churches return to fellowship once they find a church that teaches Scripture with conviction and love.

Kids raised in godly homes sense early that eternity matters more than trends.

“The world passes away.. but whoever does the will of God lives forever” (1 John 2:17).
They choose churches that prepare them for forever.

9. They’ve been planted—and they want to be rooted.

“Those who are planted in the house of the LORD shall flourish” (Ps. 92:13).

A godly home plants  seeds inside--that's from an obedience parent sensitive to the Holy Spirit. You want  them to have healthy church roots..that are first going deep into the living Word.

Children who experienced the life of Christ at home long to grow in the fellowship of believers who walk the same road.

---

What's the heart of the matter here?:

The heart of the matter is the matter of the heart. Will you obey direct Authority? Will you obey God's written authoritative word? 

Children choose strong, biblical churches because they’ve tasted of life in Jesus and real biblical Christianity—gracious, kind, respectful, alive, relational, scriptural, prayerful, humble, grace-filled, and Christ-centered.

A living home leads children to a living Lord and Savior.. and to a living church. Dead religious churches and living away from God and His people -- that's so overrated. 

They run toward Jesus and His churches because the Holy Spirit uses people do draw them. They run to a church where the fellowship is honest and mirrors the faith their parents who live it. 

How do we hear the voice of Jesus—and closely follow Him as our kind Shepherd?

Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, anyone who sneaks over the wall of a sheepfold, rather than going through the gate, must surely be a thief and a robber! 2 But the one who enters through the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. 3 The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep recognize his voice and come to him. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 After he has gathered his own flock, he walks ahead of them, and they follow him because they know his voice. 5 They won’t follow a stranger; they will run from him because they don’t know his voice.”

6 Those who heard Jesus use this illustration didn’t understand what he meant, 7 so he explained it to them: “I tell you the truth, I am the gate for the sheep. 8 All who came before me were thieves and robbers. But the true sheep did not listen to them. 9 Yes, I am the gate. Those who come in through me will be saved.They will come and go freely and will find good pastures. 10 The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life.

11 “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd sacrifices his life for the sheep. 12 A hired hand will run when he sees a wolf coming. He will abandon the sheep because they don’t belong to him and he isn’t their shepherd. And so the wolf attacks them and scatters the flock. 13 The hired hand runs away because he’s working only for the money and doesn’t really care about the sheep.

14 “I am the good shepherd; I know my own sheep, and they know me, 15 just as my Father knows me and I know the Father. So I sacrifice my life for the sheep. 16 I have other sheep, too, that are not in this sheepfold. I must bring them also. They will listen to my voice, and there will be one flock with one shepherd.

17 “The Father loves me because I sacrifice my life so I may take it back again. 18 No one can take my life from me. I sacrifice it voluntarily. For I have the authority to lay it down when I want to and also to take it up again. For this is what my Father has commanded.”

19 When he said these things, the people were again divided in their opinions about him. 20 Some said, “He’s demon possessed and out of his mind. Why listen to a man like that?” 21 Others said, “This doesn’t sound like a man possessed by a demon! Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?” Jn. 10:1–21 nlt

In Jesus’ time here, leaders were often compared to shepherds. Some of them deserved the title. Many actually did not cuz they would ditch, bail, bounce, or split. 

"But a hireling, he who is not the shepherd, one who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees; and the wolf catches the sheep and scatters them." Jn. 10:11

Right after Jesus healed a blind man on the Sabbath day, the religious authorities around there pressured that man and his parents to deny the miracle Jesus did (See John 9). 

The fools tried to silence the truth just to protect their reputation. These were shepherds in name only—with their snooty attitudes and "authority positions" -- they were empty of real compassion. Ezekiel 34 warns about leaders like those guys: men who “feed themselves” and neglect God's flock. Their pattern is so old and moldy.

Caring Jesus responds with a story everyone could see in their minds. A sheep pen. A shepherd. A gate. A voice.

A true shepherd enters through the proper gate. He doesn’t illegitimately climb over walls or slip in through shadows. He is not about the shadows and darkness, He walks in the light. He comes openly, honestly, with sincerity. 

His authority is not taken for self—it’s recognized. Jesus says the true Shepherd that “calls his own sheep by name” (John 10:3) cuz He well-knows them better than they know themselves. 

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That detail matters. Real shepherds don’t lead crowds per se; they lead individuals. Jesus saves us one by one, and He leads us one by one. It's One one-on-one evangelism from Him primarily (He uses believers to witness by life, attitudes and true words, but He alone saves). Then it's One-on-one biblical discipleship (He uses believers with Bibles to disciple us by example/life, by good attitudes and true words of testimony and Scripture, but He alone changes our minds, hearts, lives). 

The true Shepherd knows the shocked, hurting, or limping sheep, or the deeply wounded, or the frightened one, the stubborn one too. The Shepherd knows each story well and helps the spiritually sick become well. He knows each fear and doubt. He knows each name and each hair on the head.. or lack thereof.

False shepherds, Jesus says, come another way. Not God's way. Jesus is God's only way for you. 

Among the flock, they force their way in with faux-charm, or position, or manipulation. They want more money for self and lean on "credentials" and "titles" instead of character. Their concern is not the well-being of the sheep but the size of the flock for personal gain's sake. 

Dietrich Bonhoeffer once warned, “He who seeks the office of shepherd for his own sake will never truly care for the sheep.” 

Jesus says the same thing, only more sharply: Thieving impostors “come only to steal and kill and destroy” (John 10:10).

Sheep are not all that smart. A true shepherd leads from the front. He's not pushing the back like a rancher pushes goats or cattle. He never drives sheep like cattle. He walks ahead of them. They follow because they trust his kind heart and recognize his unique voice. 

Jesus says, “They follow him because they know his voice” (John 10:4). In the Middle East, even mixed flocks separate instantly when their shepherd calls out. Each sheep moves toward the familiar sound it has grown to love.

That is what it means to follow Christ—to be so familiar with His words, His voice, His timing and tone that counterfeit voices cannot deceive you. Augustine wrote, “Love the Shepherd, and the voice of a stranger will never charm you.” But how do we reach that point?

We learn His voice the same way sheep learn their Master's: daily nearness.

We read His Word until it shapes how we think and decide.

We memorize His teachings until they shape our worldview and how we choose.

We obey Him until His wisdom pretty much becomes instinct.

We pray until His presence becomes more and more familiar.

You know the living Word with all Authority never goes against the Authoritative written Word. You know how Jesus never contradicts Scripture. The Spirit never contradicts the Son or the Father. The Father never contradicts the Son, the Holy Spirit, or any words He's breathed out (2 Timothy 3:16). So any voice—whether popular, political, religious, or personal—that pressures us to ignore Scripture is not His. It's not of Him at all. 

Jesus culminates his picture with the clearest truth of all: “The good shepherd sacrifices his life for the sheep” (John 10:11). Shepherds in Israel sometimes laid across the gate at night, becoming the living barrier (a gate or door) between their flock and the different dangers. Jesus (never a laydown regarding spiritual compromise) did more than that gate duty. He did more than lie down—He laid His life down. The cross is the final proof that His leadership is worthy of our trust.

C.S. Lewis once said this, “There is no safe investment except love” meaning it always pays to love right.  

By love, Jesus didn't seek safety, though. He headed into danger to invest it all for you and me on the Cross. Jesus invested Himself fully, unreservedly, not because we were worthy or cuz He needed us, but because His love was real. We truly have everything to gain and nothing to lose by believing, repenting, confessing, going public with, and closely following Him all the way Home.

So how do we hear His voice and closely follow?

We draw near. Daily. 

We listen to Scripture. Daily. 

We weigh every voice by His. Daily. 

We trust the One who already gave His life for ours. Daily. 

It's our passion to! He is our first-love passion. And as Psalm 95 invites, “Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts.” His voice still calls out. His path still leads to life. His words and care still restore the soul.

I love to watch shepherds do their thing out in the meadows. 

The Good Shepherd's shadow stretches across the pages of Scripture so to speak. Yes, Jesus steps into that silhouette as the Father's perfect fulfillment. 

What does He call himself? He is the True Shepherd (John 10:1–5), the Good Shepherd (John 10:11), the Door of the Sheep (John 10:7), and the Psalm 23 Shepherd. He is the One our restless souls long for. 

“I need Thee every hour.” Sheep always do, every moment, day and year.

Need some context for John 10?

God’s people are indeed His flock (Ps. 100:3; Acts 20:28), and they must beware strangers (John 10:5), thieves (vv. 1, 10), and hirelings (v. 12). Jesus is the Good Shepherd who knows His sheep (vv. 14–15) and speaks to them (v. 27), so He is not like the strangers. He protects the sheep (vv. 28–29), so He is not like the thieves; and He gives His life for the sheep, so He is not like the hirelings who run away from danger (vv. 11–13).
When you trust the Good Shepherd, He leads you out of the wrong fold and into the right flock (vv. 3–4, 16). He goes before you and leads you by His Word (v. 4), and He leads you in and out to find spiritual nourishment (v. 9).
There are many fake (cults), spiritually-sickly, and healthy local Christian churches but only “one flock and one Shepherd” of the flock (v. 16). I pray that the Lord will be using you and me to bring the “other sheep” to Him.. into His fold where they can be properly cared for?

He is Good, and in His flock why does the Lord compare His people to sheep? They are so good. You and I are prone to wander (Isa. 53:6) and we need a true shepherd to guide us. Sheep are clean animals (1 Pet. 2:25; 2 Pet. 2:20–22) and were used for sacrifices (Rom. 8:36; 12:1)? Are you a living sacrifice yet? Sheep, they can bite sort of like goats do! Havd you been bit before? They flock together (Acts 4:32) and produce milk, lambs, and wool. The Good Shepherd knows His sheep intimately and calls them each by name. He protects them and provides for them (Ps. 23). How wonderful to be one of His sheep and in His fold! Not wandering off alone into danger.

If you had lived in ancient Israel, you would have known exactly what Jesus meant by talking about sheepfolds. 

Can you picture a weather-beaten shepherd on rocky hills, cradling a staff with a crook -- as his only weapon against hungry enemies? His days were long, his nights even longer. There were types of lions, and thieves out there. There were rocky cliffs that were also constant threats to the sheep. Yet he protects, feeds, and cares for the sheep and stays around close—never abandoning his flock. He said...

"I am the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd lays down His own life for the sheep." John 10:11

The Bible says...

"Serve the Lord with gladness; come into His presence with joyful songs. Know that the LORD is God. It is He who made us, and we are His; we are His people, and the sheep of His pasture. Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise; give thanks to Him and bless His name." Psalm 100:2-4

When Jesus calls Himself the True Shepherd (John 10:1–5), the Good Shepherd (John 10:11), and the Door of the Sheep (John 10:7), He isn’t reaching for abstract seminary-talk—He’s painting Himself as the One our souls were made to closely follow. Psalm 23 becomes flesh in Him alone. 

"The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake." Psalm 23:1-3

You know how Psalm 23 is often read at funerals, but its message applies to the days of your life right today.. even now (v. 6).  "The Savior who died for you also lives for you and cares for you, the way a shepherd cares for the sheep (John 10:1–18). If you can say, “The LORD is my Shepherd,” you can also say, “I shall not want.”

The Shepherd feeds us and leads us. Sheep must have grass and water to live, and the shepherd finds those essential elements for them. God meets the everyday needs of your life as you follow Him (Ps. 37:25; Phil. 4:18). Never worry!
If we wander, He seeks us and restores us, as He did with David, Jonah, and Peter. When we need to know which way to go, He shows us the right path and then goes before us to prepare the way. Even in the places of danger, we need not be afraid. (Note the change from “He” in vv. 1–3 to “You” in vv. 4–5.) He is with you!
At the end of the dark valley, He has a special blessing for you: you drink of the refreshing water of life, and you receive the Spirit’s anointing. The Shepherd is there to care for every hurt and heal every bruise." ~Wiersbe

Perhaps one day, you will look back on your whole life and see that it was only “goodness and mercy,” and that includes those dark and difficult valley experiences. If life is difficult today, just keep following the Shepherd closely; He will never lead you where He cannot care for you. He leads where He feeds. 

“Savior, like a shepherd lead us; much we need Thy tender care.”

Imagine if you can.. the ancient shepherd back in the day: all sunburned on his skin, with calloused hands, a simple staff against prowling wolves and silent ravines. His task was relentless, dirty, dangerous—but he stayed close. 

At twilight, he called each sheep by name, gathering them into a stone pen with one narrow opening. Then he lay down across that opening to protect. He became the door. Yes, His body was the shield, the final barrier between his flock and total fluffy ruin.

Jesus says our relationship with Him is just like that. “My sheep hear My voice.. and they follow Me” (John 10:27). Draw closer. 

Sheep panic easily, but they settle instantly at the sound of their shepherd nearby. Even if several flocks mingle, one familiar voice sends each sheep to its rightful place. A stranger can shout—but the sheep will ignore. They will not move. As A.W. Tozer wrote about, “The man who hears God’s voice is never at a loss.”

Jesus speaks with astonishing clarity, always has: “I am the Door; if anyone enters by Me, he will be saved” (John 10:9). This connects to His thunderous claim in John 14:6—He alone is the way home. Salvation is not a ladder to work your way up in climbing, but a doorway to walk through, and that Door is a Person to walk with.

There's no spiritual growth apart from the Living Word. In God's word, Jesus warns of counterfeit shepherds—religious frauds with their fake news in place of the Good News. God warns us of spiritual celebrities who love crowds but not people (nothing wrong with having a celebrity if you stay with and live by the Word). God warns us of those competitive leaders hungry for power and human applause rather than the applause of One -- from the Lord. False shepherds fleece the flock, and scatter the flock with man-made burdens and empty promises (See Ezekiel 34:1–10). 

Charles Spurgeon said, “When the gospel is forgotten, the sheep are starved.” 

George Barna’s research echoes this: a large portion of churchgoing Christians feel spiritually underfed, underwhelmed, or completely unfed, wandering in a wilderness without biblical nourishment.

The Chief Shepherd, Christ, however, never abandons His own. “The Lord is good; His mercy is everlasting” (Psalm 100:5). 

He leads with a wounded heart by a mighty hand. He disciplines as a gentle yet firm Father whose love refuses to let His children destroy themselves (See Hebrews 12:6). 

I heard a story of one traveler in the Judean hills who once asked a shepherd why he carried an injured sheep upon his shoulders. “She, ignoring my warning,s kept wandering off too close to the cliff,” he said. “So I broke her leg to save her life, and I will carry her until she can walk by my side again.” Love sometimes looks like rescue disguised as pain.

This is our Christ:

• the True Shepherd who calls your name,

• the Good Shepherd who lays down His life,

• the Door who leads into everlasting joy.

Sheila Walsh has been a member at our Plano local church, and she talks about the "bummer lambs."
Have you heard her?

"Having lived in rural Wales for a few years, I've learned quite a bit about sheep farming, but this particular term was new to me.

A bummer lamb, as it turns out, is a lamb that has been rejected by its mother. Sometimes, the ewe has twins and can only feed one. Sometimes, the mother dies during birth. And sometimes, for reasons only the sheep know, a mother simply refuses to accept her baby.

When this happens, the shepherd steps in. He takes the rejected lamb into his home and hand-feeds it. He keeps it warm by the fire, wraps it in blankets, and tends to its every need. The shepherd essentially becomes the lamb's parent, giving extraordinary care and attention to this tiny creature.

What struck me most was what happens when the shepherd eventually returns the lamb to the flock. These hand-raised lambs never forget the special care they received. While other sheep might scatter when the shepherd approaches, the bummer lambs run directly to him. They recognize his voice above all others and respond with immediate trust and joy. Isn't this exactly what our Good Shepherd does for us?"

There are times in life when we are or feel utterly rejected—cast aside by those we thought would love us, abandoned in our hour of need, or left isolated in our pain. But in those moments of rejection and isolation, our Shepherd draws us close."

He takes us into His care with prayer and share. "He feeds us with His Word, wraps us up in the warmth of His presence, and speaks words of comfort directly to our hearts. And in those intimate moments of being tended to by the Shepherd, something beautiful happens. We really come to know His voice well, so intimately that we can distinguish it from all others."

"My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me" (John 10:27)

Perhaps you've been a bummer lamb—rejected, wounded, cast aside. Maybe you're now feeling the sting of abandonment or isolation.

Take heart, Beloved. The Shepherd sees, understands and knows you. He hasn't left you to fend for yourself.

People reject, but your Lord won't What looks like His rejection in our lives might actually be God's invitation to experience His shepherding in brand ways we never would have otherwise. And once we've known that kind of personal care, we'll never be the same again.

Billy Graham said it well: “You will never be in a place where the grace of God cannot sustain you.” Under this Shepherd’s watch, we are seen, known, guarded, and guided.

So stay near to His voice.

Refuse the strange voices that don’t sound like Scripture.

Walk through God's Door that leads to life.

Follow the Shepherd whose hand scars prove His love.

For every weary heart, every wandering soul, every searching believer—there is no safer pasture than at the side of the One who still whispers, “Come, follow Me.”  Yup, now is good, so come now.