10 Practical Qualities I Desire for My Children (from a Christian Father)

Posted on June 2, 2018 by Kerrigan Skelly

Maker:0x4c,Date:2017-12-8,Ver:4,Lens:Kan03,Act:Lar01,E-Y

As a father of 8 children, ranging from 15 years old down to 3 years old, my children are constantly on my mind. I pray for them often, disciple them constantly and spend a lot of time with them (corporately and individually). With all of this in mind, their future is on my mind quite a bit. They are growing up so quickly and I must be mindful of their future and not get “stuck in the moment.”

Of course, my greatest joy would be that they all walk in the truth of God’s Word. I preach the gospel to them consistently and my hope is that they all will become born again at some point in time and walk with God the rest of their lives. Three are currently saved. I appreciate your prayers for them all.

YET, there are practical things that I want for each of them as well. They’re growing up before my eyes and will be adults who are out on their own, quicker than I’d like to imagine. Since I’ve been thinking about this, I thought that I would share this with others. It might help someone else out there! Below is a list of 10 Practical Qualities that I want all of my children to learn from me. Of course, as I said above, first and foremost, I want them all to be successful Christians (in God’s eyes). Yet, I believe that all of these things are important as well.

They’re not in any particular order of importance. They’re all important if you ask me. I’ve been around for over 40 years now and have been a Christian for about 21 of those years. I pray that this list helps you to be a better parent in preparing your children to live in this world! Remember, parents, we aren’t always going to be around. We are raising future adults, not perpetual children!

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Edifying Christian Biographies That Will Bless Every True Christian!

Posted on February 12, 2016 by Kerrigan Skelly

When it comes to reading, I definitely read the Bible more than anything else. I do read other books, though! However, my favorite type of book is not a book on apologetics, systematic theology, comparative religions or Church history. My favorite kind of book to read besides the Bible is a good Christian biography.

I don’t know exactly how many I have read at this point, but it has to be somewhere around 75-100 over the last 18 years or so. They are so edifying to me. When I read about other Saints of God and what God did in them and through them, it stirs up hope, faith and zeal in me. It makes me believe God for more than I currently am and pushes me further in the faith.

Often times I will get deeply challenged by the faith of some of these past Saints. The things that they trusted God for and the different miraculous things that God did on their behalf, amazes me. I thank God for these precious Saints and look forward to hearing more of their stories in the Kingdom of God.

Many people ask me about books I would recommend for them to read. Below is a list of biographies that I would recommend every and any Christian read. They are in no particular order. These are my favorite biographies. I do believe that God will bless you through them. In my mind, short of being “inspired by God” as Scripture, these books are like an extension on the Book of Acts.

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Divorce, Remarriage and Adultery, According to the Bible – Is Matthew 19 Talking About Marriage or Betrothal? – Kerrigan Skelly

Posted on January 5, 2016 by Kerrigan Skelly

Divorce and remarriage is a very sensitive subject, for many different reasons. It effects adults, it effects children, it could effect where you will spend eternity, it could effect what Church you are able to be a part of and it could effect friendships you have. When it comes to different viewpoints on this subject from the Bible, there is one that seems to be “on the rise.”

The view that I am referring to, is the one that states the following: If you have been divorced from your first spouse, you cannot remarry at all unless the first spouse has died. And if you have already remarried someone else (with your first spouse still alive), then you must now divorce them or you are in perpetual adultery and on your way to Hell. It doesn’t matter how long you were married to the first spouse or what reasons you had for divorcing him/her. It doesn’t matter how many children you have or how long you have been married to the current spouse. It doesn’t matter if your first spouse has remarried someone else or not.

It also doesn’t matter, according to this view, if you were a non-believer when you got divorced and have since become a believer who is now married to another believer. It doesn’t even matter if your first spouse is still a non-Christian, according to this view. You should still seek to be reconciled to them or remain single (after you get divorced from current spouse).

This view basically says that any other marriages while the first spouse is still alive are not legitimate marriages in God’s eyes. This view has been responsible for breaking up lots of Godly marriages through false doctrine and false guilt. Many people are now single and either waiting to be rejoined to their first spouse or waiting for that spouse to die. Some of them are lonely and burning, but are told they would be in sin if the were to marry someone else.

Is this really the way God planned things to be? Is this position really the Biblical position on divorce and remarriage? I came really close to believing in it and close to “putting my stake down” on the position. Fortunately, I continued to study things out and came to different conclusions. Here’s the first video, where I was basically teaching the view that I have been describing above:

And here’s the second video, where I had changed my mind after studying it out much more thoroughly:

If you want to know what I believe and how it is backed up with Scriptures, the second video is the one you should watch. My intention in writing this blog post is not to bring up all of the Scriptures in that video and try to prove my current position. Such is already done in the second video from above. The point of this blog post is to address one of the many objections I have received, from the “no remarriage allowed unless the first spouse has died” group.

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12 Signs That You May Have Left Your “First Love”

Posted on October 21, 2015 by Kerrigan Skelly

I have been teaching through Revelation at the Church I am one of the Pastors of – Refining Fire Fellowship http://www.refiningfirefellowship.com We have now come to the beginning of Revelation Chapter 3. You can follow along with the teachings at this YouTube video play list: Revelation Series

In having come this far, I have obviously already taught on Jesus’ letter to the Church at Ephesus. The title of this blogpost is referring to one verse of Scripture that Jesus spoke to them – Revelation 2:4. It says, “Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love.” WELL Christian, have you left your first love?

Here are 12 signs I gave during that teaching, that may help to show you that you have left your first love. Please examine yourself thoroughly, to make sure that this hasn’t happened to you. Self-delusion is a very dangerous thing. Let the Lord search your heart and reveal things to you:

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The Consecrated Communication of the Open Air Preacher (& ALL Christians)

Posted on May 12, 2015 by Kerrigan Skelly

As a Christian and as an open air preacher, I’m constantly trying to memorize and meditate upon more Bible verses/passages. Besides personal purity (Joshua 1:8, Psalm 119:9-11, Philippians 4:8), I do this because I want to be able to address the things that I see and hear in the open air, directly with the Scriptures. One thing that comes up quite often is the filthy speech of the sinner. Often times, they say a lot of gross sexually explicit things, that reveal the depravity of their hearts and that their minds are probably filled with porn. Their mouths are constantly pouring out cuss/curse words and taking God’s name in vain, as well.

So, I’ve been attempting to memorize more Scriptures concerning such things. Some of the passages that I have been working on are Matthew 12:33-37, Ephesians 4:29 and Ephesians 5:3-4 and Colossians 3:8. As I studied these passages and went to the Greek to get a deeper understanding of some of the words being used, I saw some things that are definitely applicable to those who preach in the open air. I want to share what I have found with you.

In recent years, it seems like the standards of speech for some open air preachers has “gone down the drain”…literally. All manner of things are said by some open air preachers and even if such things aren’t said by most individual open air preachers, many of the ones who aren’t saying such things justify those who are saying them. Or maybe the ones who don’t say such things just remain silent in correcting those who do, thinking that it’s not that big of a deal. Telling filthy, sexually explicit stories is supposedly ok for an open air preacher. Using curse/cuss words is supposedly ok for the open air preacher. What’s next? Will taking God’s name in vain be ok, as well?

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10 Reasons Christians Should Homeschool Their Children

Posted on February 16, 2015 by Kerrigan Skelly

My wife and I have been homeschooling our children, since our oldest child was 5 years old (about 7 years, at this point). We think that homeschooling is a necessity for Christian families, not optional. Below are 10 of the most important reasons (in my eyes) for Christians to homeschool their children. These aren’t necessarily in any kind of order.

1) The Bible puts a child’s learning at the responsibility of the parents, not someone else (whether private or public schools) – Deuteronomy 6:4-6 says, “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one!You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.”

Regardless of your “qualifications”, YOU are responsible for the education of your children. I understand that homeschooling seems intimidating to some people. It really isn’t that hard! It is a lot of fun and there are plenty of people, programs, groups and curriculum out there, to help you homeschool your children. You may have to learn some things all over again, but that’s a good thing! Besides, if you start early, you will only be teaching them things like ABC’s, 123’s, shapes, colors, etc.

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Good Bible Colleges & Seminaries – Kerrigan Skelly

Posted on August 8, 2014 by Kerrigan Skelly

A person recently asked me this on a YouTube video of mine:

“Kerrigan, what’re your thoughts on college, particularly Bible colleges? Should one attend such places?”

Here was my response to him:

“I don’t know of one that will help you to stay in prayer, interpret the Bible properly, lead you to the streets to evangelize or that won’t leave you worse off spiritually, then you were when you got there. There may be one out there, but I’m not aware of one. The most Biblical way to study God’s Word is to be in a Godly Church with Godly leadership that will teach you sound doctrine, disciple you and model the Christian life for you. There’s no replacement for this, including “Bible colleges”.”

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