Children's and Family Ministry Forum: Session 1

In case you missed it here are the notes from our recent Children's Ministry Forum. We really enjoyed being able to present our vision for Children's, Youth and Family Ministry on Sunday morning and look forward to discussing the many issues that come from teaching our children the word of God in our homes.

INTRODUCTION
A Question for Discussion:
"How was the word of God taught to you as a child if at all?"

While there was a varied response, we found that generally, most families rely on the church to teach children about God and His Truth. The norm in many of our homes is NOT mom and dad, together, strategically, and intentionally teaching God's word to their children.

In response to this reality Pastor Chris has challenged us to break this cycle in our homes, saying, "We don’t want that to be our norm! We want to change this. We want to break the cycle and be intentional about teaching and instructing our children in God’s word, in our homes daily."

The Scriptural inspiration for this comes from Psalm 78 and Deuteronomy 6. A selection from Psalm 78 is worth citing,
"2 I will open my mouth in a parable;
I will utter dark sayings from of old,
3 things that we have heard and known,
that our fathers have told us.
4 We will not hide them from their children,
but tell to the coming generation
the glorious deeds of the Lord, and his might,
and the wonders that he has done."

With the Scriptural mandate for parents to disciple and teach their children in the ways of God daily, CVCC humbly presents the following vision for Family Ministry.

The Value of Children
We believe that mankind was created by God, in the image of God, that we might worship Him, as well as proclaim and enjoy His glory forever. We believe therefore, that man’s deepest fulfillment and joy is found in communion with God. Since man was created by God, for God, and in the image of God we value our children.
We stand against our culture’s devaluing of human life. This includes children, both born and unborn. We believe that the Bible teaches us to value children as much as any other age group; therefore we will treat all children with honor and love for the sake of Christ.

The Nature of Children
We believe children, although created in the image of God, are by nature born as children of wrath and by choice seek fulfillment and joy outside of communion with God. We believe children are born spiritually dead until born of God being redeemed and forgiven by Jesus Christ, through repentance and trust in Christ alone for their salvation. In their spiritual deadness they are without saving faith and therefore without the moral ability to submit to God or please God.
In addition to sharing the fallen, sinful nature that all humans have, children are also less developed in their physical, intellectual and emotional capacities than adults. They are in the process of growing up. We believe in the power of God to change children so they become vessels for His use even while they are still children.

The Role of Parents and the Church
We believe the Bible emphatically lays the primary responsibility for teaching and modeling God's truths to Children upon parents. We believe the members of CVCC should understand, embrace and encourage parents to fulfill the responsibility of teaching God's truths rather than laying the responsibility solely on the church.
We believe the Bible teaches us that only through a transformed heart and renewed mind will children and parents embrace the truths of God. We desire to see God change the hearts of parents, causing their words and lives to spill over into the passionate teaching of God's truths to their children.
Therefore, we want the Children's Ministry, Youth Ministry, and Sunday Morning Worship Services of CVCC to move us, as the body of Christ, to worship God and teach his truths in our homes.

The Role of Children's Ministry
We believe Children’s Ministry at CVCC should proclaim the “glorious deeds of the Lord, and His might, and the wonders He has done.” We believe all instruction, activities, and any direction of Children’s Ministry will focus on magnifying the worth of God.
We believe that by God’s grace the prayers and service of adults in Children’s Ministry will have great effects in the lives of children and in the church as a whole. We look forward to our children repenting of their sins, trusting in Christ alone, growing in their vision of God, and learning to joyfully spread a passion for the glory of God in all things through the means of clear biblical teaching, prayer, memorization, and accountability.

Sunday Morning Worship Service
We believe the bible teaches the importance of regular God centered, bible saturated worship in the life of the church. In Sunday morning worship, both our inward feelings and our outward actions should reflect the indescribable worth of God. Therefore, at CVCC we will strive to have every aspect (music, teaching, and prayer) of the Sunday morning service magnify the worth of God as he has revealed himself in his word.

Youth Ministry Vision
For the Youth Ministry Vision statement click here or see the post below.

We closed our time giving everyone time to write down any questions that this vision might raise. In addition, any questions pertaining to children's ministry and making disciples of our children were encouraged. Some examples will be posted in the comments section below and guests, attendants, and members of CVCC are encouraged to post more questions in the comments section.

Information on our next session will soon follow. Join us for the next session where there will be opportunities to ask more questions, discuss ways to teach our children, and encourage each other as parents and as people that want to see Children come to a saving knowledge of Christ.

To God be the Glory!

P.S.

Here are links to some of the books Chris mentioned in our session and come highly recommended by CVCC.  You'll find some of these titles available for free on our resource table in the entry way of the Church building. 

Age of Opportunity by Paul David Tripp

How and When to Tell Your Kids about Sex by Brenna and Stan Jones

Shepherding a Child's Heart by Tedd Tripp

This Momentary Marriage by John Piper 

John Piper's "This Momentary Marriage" is also available as a free download HERE

CVCC Youth Vision Statement

Here's a preview of some of the material that will be covered in our Children's and Family Ministry Forum on Sunday Morning, June 28th @ 9:15am. Come join us!



Youth Vision Statement
We believe Youth Ministry at CVCC must faithfully proclaim the death and resurrection of Christ for the forgiveness of sins and eternal joy in his presence, so that students repent of their sin and are reconciled to God through faith and trust in Jesus Christ. We want students to see “the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ” and “count all things in this world as loss” compared to the surpassing worth of knowing Him.
We believe that knowing and proclaiming Christ in this way will produce students that burn with a passion to magnify the worth of Jesus Christ, that it will prepare them to suffer for his name’s sake, and that, most importantly, God will be glorified.

Vision Statement Emphases:
1. The Role of God's Spirit and the Means He Uses to Change the Hearts of Youth
We believe that the Holy Spirit is not sitting idly by waiting to reach students through their iPods, Xboxes, or computers in order to win them to Christ. Rather, we believe the Holy Spirit loves God's word and wants to use that word to change hearts and lives for God's glory. This is why Paul calls God's word the "sword of the Spirit" in Ephesians 6:17. This is what is implied and meant by the statement, "faithfully proclaim the death and resurrection of Christ."

I Corinthians 15:1-4, "1 Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, 2 and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. 3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures..."

2. Treasuring Christ
We believe that Jesus Christ is of greater value and worth than anything. We believe, therefore, that the greatest joy and fulfillment comes from knowing, following and worshipping him.

Philippians 3:7-9 "But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. 8 Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith..."

3. Repentance
We believe that one of the marks of true faith and essential elements of the gospel is the Spirit enabled and inspired "turning" or repentance from sin against God.

Mark 1:14-15, "14 Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, 15 and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”

4. Suffering
We believe that followers of Jesus Christ are not promised absolute material or social comfort in this world and may in fact suffer dramatically as both a result of the fallen world in which we live and from persecution. This belief is drawn from verses like Philippians 3 (above) and the testimony of men like the Apostle Paul who learned to be content in suffering knowing he had a greater reward and an abiding one in the person and work of Jesus Christ.

Romans 8:16-17 "16 The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him."
Romans 8:31-32 "31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?"

New (Old) Music

A friend recently pointed me to a new music project from the folks at Mars Hill Church in Seattle. I've always been fond of doing old songs in new ways and the worship bands at Mars Hill seem to share that enthusiasm. I highly recommend it.

For a limited time you can download a sample of their forthcoming "Rain City Hymnal" here.

Here are some that are quickly working their way on to my iPod's "Most Played" list.

"The Glory of God" & "What Have We Done?" by The Northern Conspiracy
"What Wondrous Love is This?" by Ex Nihilo
"Oh The Deep Deep Love of Jesus" by the BCG

ALSO,


If you don't mind dropping about 10 bucks there is also the Page CXVI Hymns Project. There's a little less musical variety on this one, but it's still VERY GOOD. It doesn't hurt that they've arranged a version of one of my personal favorites, "Come Thou Fount". It's available for purchase in both CD and Download here.

God bless

Can Papa Save Anyone? Concluding Thoughts on False Teaching in The Shack

In William Young’s The Shack, God the Father appears to the main character, Mack, in the form of a jolly African American woman named, Papa. Some of the most explicitly theological, teachable moments are built around Mack’s conversations with Papa. You could say that Papa spends most of her/his time in the book preaching to Mack.
Mack has endured a significant and tragic loss in his life and it has made him feeling angry, bitter, doubtful and abandoned by God. Mack’s crisis is a crisis of faith in the face of profound suffering. He has lost someone dear to him and has turned away from God. God’s solution is to invite Mack to a remote weekend getaway so they can have a little chat.
What I’d like to do with one of these conversations is contrast Papa of The Shack with the great I AM of the Bible and draw some conclusions from the biblical texts. The question we’re asking is, "Can Papa actually save anyone, much less deal with suffering?"

Take a look at what Papa says to Mack about forgiveness of sin on page 225.

Papa: “Forgiveness does not establish relationship. In Jesus, I have forgiven all humans for their sins against me, but only some choose relationship. … When Jesus forgave those who nailed him to the cross they were no longer in his debt, nor mine. In my relationship with those men, I will never bring up what they did, or shame them, or embarrass them.”

What you have here is, unfortunately, a fairly common understanding of what Jesus accomplished at the cross. Unfortunately, it’s so wrong. Humanity, as William Young sees it, has been put in a neutral place because of what Jesus did on the cross. Because Jesus died on the cross, humanity is now in a place to act on their good nature and choose Christ, or act on their bad nature and not choose Christ. What’s wrong with this assumption? Where do I begin?
The Bible clearly teaches that humanity is not in a neutral state. Even reason teaches we are not in a neutral state. Just think about any relationship you’ve ever had! Not choosing to do someone good or love someone implies the opposite does it not? Take a look at what the Bible says about human nature.

Ephesians 2:1 & 3, “dead in trespasses and sins,” “sons of disobedience,” “by nature children of [God’s] wrath.”
Romans 3:10-12, “None is righteous, no not one,” “no one seeks for God,” “All have turned aside,” “become worthless,” “no one does good, not even one.”
Isaiah 64:6, “We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment.”

There’s more, but I think Scripture is clear. Paul is explicit in Ephesians that those who exist outside of a relationship with Christ exist under God’s wrath. Jonathan Edwards summarized it this way in compelling his people to repent and trust a merciful God who had not yet given them what they deserved for their sin.

“The bow of God's wrath is bent, and the arrow made ready on the string, and justice bends the arrow at your heart, and strains the bow, and it is nothing but the mere pleasure of God, and that of an angry God, without any promise or obligation at all, that keeps the arrow one moment from being made drunk with your blood. Thus are all you that never passed under a great change of heart by the mighty power of the Spirit of God upon your souls; all that were never born again, and made new creatures, and raised from being dead in sin to a state of new and before altogether unexperienced light and life…you are thus in the hands of an angry God; 'tis nothing but his mere pleasure that keeps you from being this moment swallowed up in everlasting destruction.”

Scripture and preachers of old agree. Man is lost and helpless in sin and no matter how flowery Papa’s language and philosophy is, there is no reasoning or coddling sinners like us into repentance and relationship with God. Papa won’t…can’t change Mack. Mack has to do that himself. What a hopeless message! What an impotent god!

Consider, in contrast, the Great LORD, in a passage like Ezekiel 16.
1 “Again the word of the Lord came to me: 2 “Son of man, make known to Jerusalem her abominations, 3 and say, Thus says the Lord God to Jerusalem: Your origin and your birth are of the land of the Canaanites; your father was an Amorite and your mother a Hittite. 4 And as for your birth, on the day you were born your cord was not cut, nor were you washed with water to cleanse you, nor rubbed with salt, nor wrapped in swaddling cloths. 5 No eye pitied you, to do any of these things to you out of compassion for you, but you were cast out on the open field, for you were abhorred, on the day that you were born.”

Consider the language here as a picture of sinful man. This is the picture that’s being painted. Humanity, in their natural, sinful, fallen state – humanity according to Ephesians 2, Romans 3, and Isaiah 64. Where is this child’s hope? Is this child going to do anything about her suffering? Is this child going to do anything about her own situation? No. She’s helpless, lost, and as good as dead.

So what is God’s solution? Papa’s would be to have a conversation with her about how God is love and how he has a wonderful plan for her life if she would only quit wallowing in her own blood. The picture of Papa treating sinful mankind in this passage the way she treated Mack would be comical if it wasn’t so absurd and sad. Here’s what the LORD does.

6 “And when I passed by you and saw you wallowing in your blood, I said to you in your blood, ‘Live!’ I said to you in your blood, ‘Live!’

Did you catch that? One word to change a life. One word to raise the dead in trespasses, object of wrath sinner, to new life. One word: ‘Live!”

Papa can’t do that. Papa waits for children wallowing in their own blood to save themselves. God, my God…the God of the Bible, the LORD of hosts, I AM, Yahweh, says one word and creates a whole new life.
Personally, I don’t trust a god like Papa to give me an answer or provide me an ounce of hope in the face of suffering, not mention save lost and dying sinners. I’ll take the God of the Bible. He’s the One worthy of our praise and affection. To Him be glory forever!

More False Teaching in The Shack

As promised, my contribution to the monthly newsletter (and blog) in the coming months will be a (hopefully) thoughtful and (hopefully) useful look into the massive sensation that is The Shack. Last month I wrote, and Chris said from the pulpit, it is essential that we know God and worship God as he has revealed himself. Just as a wife does not feel loved and honored when her husband is completely ignorant of what she loves most about herself so God is not honored and glorified when we proclaim him or, much more, actually put words in his mouth (as The Shack does) in a way that does not truly reflect his nature and character. Husbands don't get away with telling everyone their wives' eyes are blue when they're really green. Similarly, we don't have the right to go around telling people that God acts one way when, according to Scripture, he does not.
Let's take a look at and unpack one example straight from the book.
On page 96, the main character (Mack) and God the Father (or "Papa" portrayed as an African-American woman) have this conversation about the crucifixion.”
Papa: “We were there together."
Mack: “At the cross? Now, wait, I thought you
left him—you know—‘My God, my God, why
hast thou forsaken me?’”
Papa: “You misunderstand the mystery there.
Regardless of what he felt at that moment, I never left him.”
In this section of the book Mack also notices scars on Papa's wrists, indicating what Papa says above, "We were there [on the cross] together." Now this is tricky territory. What the author is doing first and foremost is challenging a widely held belief that when Jesus cried out on the cross, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" that the Father had, in fact, abandoned the Son to the circumstances of the cross. A common way of articulating this view is that God is unable to look upon sin and therefore "turned his face" from Christ as he took on our sin. What's tricky here is that this particular "common" belief is actually worth attacking. William Young is on the right track for two reasons here.
First, every time God "forsakes" or "turns his face from" someone in all of Scripture there is not so much a sense of abandonment on God's part but rather a pouring out of wrath or judgment. This fits with what the rest of Scripture says about Christ on the cross. II Corinthians 5:21, is a sufficient example, "For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God."
Second, if you read Psalm 22 it is evident that when Christ cries out "why have you forsaken me" he is directly quoting the Psalm. The striking thing about the fact that Jesus would quote this Psalm is that it's not about God abandoning "the afflicted" but rather decisively, intentionally, and radically saving a people for his very own possession for the display and proclamation of his glory. Psalm 22:24, illustrates the point well, “For he has not despised or abhorred the affliction of the afflicted, and he has not hidden his face from him, but has heard, when he cried to him.”
Read Psalm 22 today. You'll see that when Jesus quotes it, he's actually announcing his VICTORY at the peak of his suffering. Say it with me..."wow".
So, The Shack is right when it says that The Father never left the Son at the cross. But that's where the truth ends and the misdirection begins. The problem with The Shack's explanation is deeply flawed, not based on any interpretation of the Bible, and perverts the unique and glorious roles of the Trinity in that glorious event. Here's why.
Take a look at Ephesians 1:3-14. I won't cite it here for the sake of space so you'll have to look it up and follow along with me.
You'll notice that Ephesians 1 assigns quite specific roles to each member of the Trinity in the redemption of mankind. Notice verse 4. Who is doing the "predestination" or "the choosing?" The Father is choosing to love people and save people. What is the nature of this choosing? What are they chosen to? Verse 4 again, "in [Christ]" so that we would be "holy and blameless" in fellowship with God the Father. You'll notice also the emphasis regarding redemption in v. 7. Through whose blood do we have redemption? According to the Shack it's the blood of the Father, the Son and the Spirit. According to the Bible we have "redemption through [Christ's] blood." The Father chooses and sends the Son. The Son obeys and is sacrificed for our redemption. And how is this all sealed up and applied to us? Verse 13-14, "In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.”
I think we get a hint as to why God chose to do things this way in verse 5, (note the emphasis) "he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, 6 to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved."
There is delight on God's part in the way he has chosen to redeem mankind and there is delight in each member of the Trinity as they each play their distinct roles. Consequently, his children should be delighted in the revelation of the Father choosing, the Son dying and rising for our sins, and the Spirit's comforting seal and application of grace. Why does William Young try so explicitly to subvert what God has ordained to be for the praise of his glory? I think at least part of the answer to that question is that he stopped taking the Bible seriously a long time ago. Considering what he's missed - that's a tragedy.
Praise God for his glory in the redemption of our souls and our adoption as his children!

What's At Stake: More Thoughts on a Christian Pop Culture Phenomenon

One of the flaws in human nature is that we often equate sincerity with truth. If I sincerely feel something or sincerely do something it must be true and it must be right. One of the most prevalent examples would be homosexual sin. The sentiment tends to be, "who has the right to tell me this isn't good when I feel so passionate about it?" We are often people who feel our way towards the truth rather than consider objective evidence, asking God to conform our lives and hearts to take joy and passion from the truth. This is life under the sun. It's something we will struggle to overcome until Christ returns in glory to bring final justice and final redemption upon His creation. Until then, we labor together to joyfully proclaim God's Word and to correct the misrepresentation of it, asking God's Spirit to conform our hearts and lives to it.
What am I leading into with all this? You guessed it...The Shack - a book that has produced overwhelming sincere affection in its readers, but, in my estimation, very little truth. I've written about it before, and the very mention of it tends to send me into a nearly unending rant, so you could say that this might be unnecessary. However, this book, no...this phenomenon will just not die (in fact the author is coming to address a sold out crowd in Sioux Falls) and so it begs to be addressed and considered. The Shack addresses themes that run right to the core of human experience. The biggest of these being the very nature of God. The runner-up (and, incidentally, the one most people talk about) is the question of suffering. What I'd like to do is take a few of these moments in the coming months to systematically address where The Shack goes tragically wrong and call the members of CVCC to lead people away from material that would so tragically mischaracterize God.
Now, I realize that there are many of you who have read and loved The Shack. In fact, I've been able to talk to many of you about it in person and so you know how I feel and what I think. What I hope I've made clear in those conversations and what I hope to make clear in the proceeding articles is that my ire is not over "being right" and The Shack "being wrong". What has me bothered is that God is not being proclaimed and shown in a way that is consistent with the revelation he has given us in Christ and in His Word. If the highest and greatest good is knowing and worshiping God, I have to ask, "What good can a book like The Shack bring us if it fails to accurately show us this God?"
If the god of The Shack really is a misrepresentation of the God the Bible (which I intend to demonstrate as the summer months unfold) then this kind of makes the author like the not-so best friend who sets you up on a blind date with someone who is promised to be charasmatic, thoughtful, funny and interesting but actually turns out to be a bridge troll. Maybe that's a dramatic example. Here's another one.
After the Israelites were miraculously and dramatically freed from slavery in Egypt they gather at Mt. Sinai. While Moses is on the mountain, talking with God, the Israelites decided to throw all the treasure they plundered from Egypt into a fire so they could fasion an image of God to worship. What's interesting about this occurrence is the Israelites' intentions and their sincerity. If we haven't read the story in a while we might be inclined to think that the Israelites were tired of waiting for Moses to come down from the mountain and in their impatience decided to make up a god or fashion an idol of a false god to worship, since the one who delivered them from Egypt was so busy talking with Moses. But this isn't what the story exactly records. What it records is them demanding an image of the God who delivered them from Egypt. Notice Exodus 32:4, "And he received the gold from their hand and fashioned it with a graving tool and made a golden calf. And they said, 'These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!'”
You see...they sincerely wanted to worship the God who delivered them from Egypt. They just didn't do it based on truth. They didn't worship God as he had revealed himself. They were people much like Paul described in Romans 10, "For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge."
What The Shack succeeds in doing is stirring the reader's affection for "God." The problem is that it's not the God of the Bible and where there are "gods" lifted up as worthy of our affection that do not resemble the God of the Bible there exist golden calfs - there exists idolatry.
Have I been controversial enough yet? Hopefully I've provoked you enough to check back next month as we begin to unpack, step by step, where The Shack fails to honor and glorify God as he really is.

The Light to God the Father

John 8 may not seem like the most obvious place to start when assigned to preach on the topic, God the Father, but the more I looked at it, the more I became convinced that it was the perfect place to start.
It’s the perfect place to start, because, if we believe, as Hebrews 1 says, that Christ is the ultimate means by which God has revealed himself, it would make sense that when Jesus starts preaching on how he’s the “Light of the world” we’d see something that illuminates our understanding of God the Father. After all, Jesus himself says in John 14, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
The background for why Jesus begins speaking this way comes from Israel’s time wandering in the wilderness after their captivity in Egypt and the subsequent Feast of Booths that was established to commemorate and celebrate God’s provision of water and light while the Israelites, basically, camped in the wilderness for 40 years. So, when Jesus starts speaking, it’s actually part two of a sermon designed to point to the fact that he is the fulfillment, not only of all their messianic expectation but also the rest they were promised in a land of their own. Light was a significant need in the desert and God, in his love, provided it but in doing so demonstrates a significant spiritual reality that the rest of Scripture speaks of in many places. John’s Gospel is one of those places. John begins in 1:9 to address not only the Light of the world, but also the Fatherhood of God. Notice how one leads to the other.

“The true light (that’s Christ), which enlightens everyone was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.”


In speaking on this topic I made the point that Jesus speaks of himself as the light of the world primarily because first, as the Light of the world he reveals who the Father is. Note John 1:18, “No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known.”

This is staggering even IF you take away the many statements by Jesus concerning his unity with the Father. Jesus is the Light of the world because without him we would not know, could not see God. Plain and simple.

Secondly, I argue that not only does the Light of the world reveal the Father, it reveals whether we are his children. More specifically and frankly, he reveals whether or not we are children of God or of the Devil. Notice Jesus' words to the Pharisees beginning in 8:43, “Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot bear to hear my word. You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and has nothing to do with the truth because there is no truth in him.”

If you sit back and unpack what Jesus and the Pharisees are arguing about it is, at its most basic level, an argument about whether or not you need to know, love, serve and follow Christ in order to be a child of God. Jesus tells the Pharisees the confidence they have in their physical descent from Abraham counts for nothing in regard to their relationship with God. They are not God's children just because they can trace their lineage back to Abraham. Jesus says in Matthew's gospel that God could raise up children of Abraham from a pile of rocks if he wanted to, so physical descent does not have much weight.
He goes one step further and calls them children of the Devil, not because he's cruel, but because they act like the Devil. They lie to Jesus, about Jesus, and are trying to kill Jesus. Yeah. Jesus was pretty much the most courageous preacher ever.

What is encouraging about this passage in John 8 is not that Jesus tells the Pharisees to stick it. It's that God the Father, through Jesus Christ makes children of the Devil, children of darkness, children of sin his own. He adopts them and makes them his own. That is what's encouraging about this passage.

Galatians 4:4-5, "But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!”

I do not know if, among all Christian doctrine, there is a teaching so sweet as Adoption. That we, sinners, have been adopted by God and call him who lives in unapproachable light our Dad is overwhelming and nearly unimaginable. Yet, those who know, love, and follow Christ, those who see him for all he's worth, are known by God our Father.

“For God, who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.”
II Corinthians 4:6