Sow Generously into People

“The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.” 1 Corinthians 9:6

Beloved,

We reap what we sow. It is a simple and yet profound principle. When Paul writes to the Corinthians he is speaking specifically about financial giving. If we give bountifully, then we will reap bountifully. Although Paul applies the “reap and sow” principle to giving, the same principle can be extended to relationships. We should sow generously into others so we can reap generously from others. You get out what you put in.

The church is a family; a family full of diverse and rich relationships. God calls people from all different sectors of life to join this family. We have to be zealous for the family to which God has called us. If we are going to be a healthy and loving family then we must sow generously in our relationships. See how this principle works in our own families. If we sow time and attention to our relationship with our spouse, we reap a healthy and happy marriage. If we sow energy and love into our children, we reap a healthy and loving relationship with our kids. Now imagine how different our church would feel, if we made it a priority to sow into our brothers and sisters with time and encouragement. If we sow bountifully, we will reap bountifully.

The principle is simple to understand, but often hard to implement. It is hard to implement because we are sinners. Paul writes to the church at Philippi, “Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others (Phil. 2:4).” This attitude is clearly seen in our Lord Jesus who did not look to his own interests but the interest of a lost and dying world. His sowed generously in his life, therefore he reaped generously in that God, “has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name (Phil.2:9).”

So how can you sow generously into others’ lives in the church? Here are a few ways:

· Sunday School – a great place to grow closer to each other and in the Lord. It does require a little additional time on Sunday morning, but will reap a stronger connection to others in the church. Just think how well you will know someone after spending 48-52 hours with them over the course of the year.

· Serving – a great way to build friendships is through serving. Whether it is through the volunteering in the nursery, writing a letter to a shut-in or taking someone dinner, sow into others in service.

· Presence- a simple way to build relationships with people is just to be available. Get to church early and don’t be in a rush to leave after the service. Take an extra 10 minutes to have a conversation with someone you may not know.

Beloved, there are many ways to sow relationally within the church. How we invest in others may look different from one another, but we must implement the “reap what you sow” principle in our relationships. If we want to continue to grow as a church family then we must remember that the church that sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.

In Christ,


Pastor Dave

“Let Jesus Be Supreme in our Home”

Parenting is a joy. My son and I were driving down the street the other day and he says to me, “Daddy, what if under the road was a land of dinosaurs? What if we were driving then dinosaurs came out the ground and tried to eat us? That would be pretty cool.” Well, that would be pretty cool buddy. Parenting is a joy. You never know what children are going to say.


Although parenting is a joy, parenting is also extremely hard. I desperately want to be a good father. One of the greatest joys and passions in my life is my children. I love my children. I love their laughter. I love their personalities. I love to watch them grow. I love to pick them up when they cry. I love that God made me a father. It is one of the greatest joys in my life. But it also is one of the greatest responsibilities that I imagine. God has entrusted me with Elizabeth, John David and Olivia. It is my responsibility to steward and shepherd their lives. It is a great and awesome task. The more that I read the Bible and study fatherhood, the more awestruck I am on how great this task of parenting truly is; it is huge. I pray today that I will give a sense of how great the task of parenting truly is and encourage you to trust God and his Word in how you raise your children.

We are continuing our series in how we can make Jesus supreme in our lives by focusing today on the family. Paul writes in Colossians 1:18 that Jesus, “is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy.” Jesus should be supreme in our home, and more specifically Jesus should be supreme in the relationship between parents and their children. This morning we are going to look at how we can let Jesus be supreme in our Home. First, we let Jesus be Supreme in our Home when Children Obey their parents.


We let Jesus be Supreme in our Home when Children Obey Their Parents


Look at the verse 3:20, “Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord.” Sometimes the Bible makes things so clear, doesn’t it? Children must obey their parents in everything. First, it is important to note that children were being addressed directly. Children were hearing this letter being read in the gathering of the church. The children were present. But also note that having children told to obey their parents implies that children were able to obey their parents. God gives children a very high standard. We must call our children to a high standard as well.


Remember this commands are given to Christian households. Look back to Colossians 2:5-6, “6 So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, 7 rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.” Paul is addressing Christians, those who have received Jesus Christ as Lords. This implies that children can be saved. This is crucial for parents. In are parenting, we must teach our children the good news of Jesus Christ. As we teach our children to obey, we are well aware of their propensity to disobey. The reason kids disobey is because they are sinners. And when they disobey our children are learning their inability to keep the law. Their disobedience should expose their sin and feel the weight of that sin. But when they sin, we must then explain them that sin separates them from God, but God knew we were not able to keep the law so he sent his Son, Jesus Christ. Jesus perfectly obeyed His Father. He even obeyed his Father to death. Then God raised Jesus from the dead. So if anyone puts their trust in Jesus as their Savior, then they will be saved. Jesus died to bring us back to God. God gives our kids the ability to obey when he saves them by the Holy Spirit. So we need to teach our kids the gospel and pray that they will receive Christ Jesus as Lord.


The reason that God requires obedience from children is that obedience brings blessing. In the parallel passage in Ephesians 6, Paul fleshes this out a little more. Ephesians 6:1-4:


Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. 2 “Honor your father and mother” (this is the first commandment with a promise), 3 “that it may go well with you and that you may live long in the land.” 4 Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.


In Ephesians Paul quotes the Ten Commandments, “Honor your father and mother” (this is the first commandment with a promise) and what is that promise: that it may go well with you and that you may live long in the land.


Obedience Brings Blessing

Obedience brings blessing to the child.



Children are blessed when they obey their parents. God loves us and his commands are for our good. Children obey your parents in the Lord for this is right and it is for your good. I tell my kids to obey because I want them to be happy.


Not only does obedience brings blessing to the child, but obedience brings blessings to the parents. Listen to these Proverbs:


10:1 A wise son makes a glad father, but a foolish son is a sorrow to his mother.


15:20 A wise son makes a glad father, but a foolish man despises his mother

23:15-1615 My son, if your heart is wise, my heart too will be glad.16 My inmost being[d] will exult when your lips speak what is right.


This is only a sampling. There are many other verses in Proverbs that show how parents are blessed by their child’s obedience. When my children are struggling with obedience, I bring them aside and I ask, “Do you want to make your Daddy happy? The Bible says, “A wise son makes a happy Daddy.” Obedience brings blessings to parents.


Obedience also brings blessings to society.

We did not live lives of isolation. Our actions or inactions always affect other people. We live in community. We all know this, but as a culture we largely forget that how we raise our children affects the larger world. Listen to 2 Timothy 3:1-5:



But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. 2 For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3 heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good,4 treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 5 having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people.


One of the reasons that times of difficult will come is children are disobedient to their parents. Child disobedience is grouped with some awful things which should give us awareness to how God views disobedience to parents. Romans 1 has a similar list of those who are full of evil saying, “They are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless.” It should jar us that those who are disobedient to parents are grouped in the same sentence with haters of God. God takes disobedience serious. So when children obey their parents our world and community will be blessed.


Obedience also brings blessing to God.
Look at end of verse 20, “Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord.” Obedience pleases the Lord. We should teach our kids to obey because it brings joy to the one who made them. Obedience blesses our God.

Obedience is important. It brings blessing to the child, to parents, to society and to God. So how do we bring about obedience? Obedience requires discipline and instruction. Ephesians 6:4, “ Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.” We must
bring our children up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord. So we cannot allow disobedience, but we must discipline our children. Proverbs 22:15, “Folly is bound up in the heart of a child, but the rod of discipline drives it far from him.” Discipline is not about changing our children’s behavior; discipline is about driving foolishness from their heart that they may know God. Proverbs 23:13-14, “Do not withhold discipline from a child; if you strike him with a rod, he will not die. 14 If you strike him with the rod, you will save his soul from Sheol.” Some parents worry that if they discipline their child, they will ruin them, but God says the exact opposite. If you withhold discipline you are setting them up for death. If you discipline your child, he will not die. We discipline our children so that they may be saved. But we do not only discipline our children, but we also instruct our children in the Lord. The instruction of the Lord takes places primarily at two places:


In the Home and in the Church.

Parenting is a community project. If we are a healthy church, then we understand that all help in teaching our children about God and his gospel. That is why during a child dedication, like Wesley’s, I ask you to stand to commit to help raise him in the discipline and instruction of the Lord. Now although the church is supposed to help, the primary work of instruction is to be done in the home.


Deuteronomy 6:4-9:


“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.[b] 5 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. 6 And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. 7 You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. 8 You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes.9 You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.



The teaching that Moses is talking about only can be done by parents. The church is to supplement and enhance what is happening in the home, but never to replace it. There is plenty more I can say, but we must move on.


#2 We Let Jesus be Supreme in Our Home when Fathers Give Hope to their children


Verse 3:21, “Fathers, do not embitter your children, or they will become discouraged.” One would think that after Paul addresses children he then would address parents, but notice he doesn’t address parents, but fathers. Fathers do not embitter your children. Paul addresses fathers because they were responsible to ensure the faithful discipline and instruction of the Lord. So fathers you have a high calling in your home. Fathers we must give hope to our children. There are several ways, we can give hope, but we must know what it looks like to be discouraged. A discouraged child is one that feels like he cannot please his father, feels it is impossible to do right, broken, despondent, hopeless. So we want to avoid making our child discouraged. Let me offer one negative way and two positive ways how we can work to this end.


First, we give hope to our children by not embittering or provoking. The word for embitter is a Greek word used for arouse, provoke, stir up or make resentful. What are ways a father can provoke his children? There are many, but let me provide you with a few:

Overcritical or constantly criticizing - A child with an overcritical father leads to discouragement. I experiences this as a college football player. I played fullback and tight end in college and was very rarely complemented by my coach. I even remember making a one hand catch on a badly thrown ball in practice. I came back to the huddle and my coach says, “Try to catch it softer next time.” What? Did you see that catch? What ends up happening with constant criticism is that you get so discouraged you want to stop trying. If I am never going to please him then why bother. Fathers, we cannot be overcritical.

Having Unrealistic expectations- With a child’s command to obey their parents in everything, parents have to be very wise what when they ask for their children’s obedience. Parents need to teach their children to obey, but we should enforce obedience in areas that is not essential. Unruly demands discourage and exasperate children to the point of despair. Make sure commands are age specific.


Withholding love and affection or neglect – Children need our attention and affirmation. I know several people, both men and women, who barely can remember their fathers expressing love and affection to them. The lack of a father’s love can discourage a child greatly.


There are other ways we can provoke our children. One of the best people we can ask is our wives. Maybe later today, fathers ask your wives in what ways you provoke your children.


Let me challenge you in two positive ways in which you can give hope to your children. Now remember we are not talking about the hope of the world. We are talking about giving our children hope in God. The only true hope in this world is a hope that rest on the person and work of Jesus Christ. We do not want to discourage our children and have them move away from God, but we want to give them hope so they will believe in God and be saved. Listen the way one pastor says it:


Here is what I mean. Paul's teaching makes it clear that when he says we should be fathers who give hope instead of discouragement, he means hope in GOD, not hope in money or hope in popularity or hope in education or hope in a spouse or hope in professional success. If you had asked Paul, or Jesus, "What kind of freedom from discouragement do you want our children to have?" he would not have said, "I want your children to be freed from discouragement by being filled with hope that they will become wealthy . . . or well-known, or intellectual, or married, or successful." We know that is not what he means. He means, be the kind of fathers who do not discourage your children but rather fill them with hope in God.[1]



So let me suggest two ways you can give hope to your children.


First, you give hope in God, by having hope in God. If you want your children to believe in God, then you must show them what it looks like to have hope in God. Fathers, the best thing you can do for your children is to be filled with hope in God. Love His Word. Rejoice in the Salvation that we have in Christ. If our children see that we love God and are happy in Him, they will not be discouraged, but will want what we have. So the best way to not provoke your child is to be a new man in Jesus Christ. Do not be one who only professes Jesus, but denies him with his works. Be transformed by the gospel. Trust in Jesus Christ and in Jesus Christ alone. If anyone is in Jesus Christ, he is a new creation. The best thing you can do for your children is to be reconciled to God through Christ. If you are here visiting today and are not a Christian, can I ask you if you have hope? And if you have hope, on what grounds do you have it?


Secondly, we give hope to our children by showing the Heavenly Father’s generous love. Fathers, it is essential for us to commend fatherhood to our children. Our children should see our love for them as a picture of how God, the Father, has loved them. Listen to Psalm 103:13, “As a father shows compassion to his children, so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him.” The love and compassion a father shows his children models the love and compassion that God shows to those who fear him. So fathers, is your love commending the Father to your children? We have an awesome and wonderful task to give our children the sweet taste of fatherhood so they will one day taste and see that the Lord is good. We must never underestimate the powerful influence a father can have on his children. So how do we commend fatherhood to our children? We commend God the Father when we act in generous love towards our children. For that is exactly how God has acted towards us. While we were dead in our trespasses and sins, God the Father so loved the World that he gave his one and only Son that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have everlasting life. Even today, we can see the generous love of God as we celebrate communion. The Lord provided a picture for us in the Lord Supper in just how generous He has been with us.


God gave us his Son. 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? What could be more generous than that? You model God’s love when you are generous with your life for the sake of your children. Lay your life down for your children that they may not be discouraged, but have hope in God through Jesus Christ.


Life is fallen. We sin. We fall short. Fathers do not always commend fatherhood to their children. But we have hope!! If we did not have a good earthly father, God has given us himself as the ultimate example as a Father. Listen the first interaction we see of the Father and the Son:



9 At that time Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. 10 As Jesus was coming up out of the water, he saw heaven being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. 11 And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.”



Listen to what pastor Doug Wilson says we can see in God the Father from this scene. First, The Father was there. Second, The Father made his presence felt in the spending of the dove. Thirdly, He made his presence known by speaking. Fourth, he identified with his son saying, “You are my Son.” Fifth, he expressed love for His Son. And Sixth, he expressed his pleasure in the Son.” We can see what fathers should be in the God the Father and His relationship with His Son. But even if you never had a good father, you still have God the Father. The Bible says that we have been adopted as sons and daughters.


Romans 8:15-17, “15 For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship.[g] And by him we cry, “Abba,[h] Father.”16 The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. 17 Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.


















[1] Piper, John. Fathers who Gives Hope. Accesed on 9/27/12. http://www.desiringgod.org/resource-library/sermons/fathers-who-give-hope

“Let Jesus Be Supreme in Our Marriage” - Colosssians 3:18-19

Marriage is one of the most hotly debated topics in our day. It is hard to go through a day without reading an article or watching a news piece debating marriage. The issue of the day has become “who should be allowed to be married.” The same-sex marriage debate has taken over our culture. Now the Bible is clear that marriage is between one man and one woman. But I think that one of the reasons that this issue has

become so debated is the lack of godly marriages throughout out land and throughout our churches.

Marriage is the foundation of society. After God created the world and man in his own image, he said, “It is not good for man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.” So God caused Adam to go into a deep sleep, took one of his ribs and made a woman and brought her to Adam. Adam responded with poetry, “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called ‘woman,’ for she was taken out of man.” God built society around marriage and the family. But we have become so ingrained in debating who should be married that we have lost how we should be in marriage. I believe that we would not be having our current marriage debate, if men and woman, trusted and obeyed God’s Word about marriage. The world’s argument would have no weight because of the powerful example of godly marriages within our churches.

I know that when the topic of marriage arises it can create many deep and emotional responses. Some of you were very happily married, but have lost your spouse to death. Let me encourage you to think and reflect about the good gift God gave you in your spouse. Hear my words today and rejoice in marriage and share that joy with others. Others of you may have been very hurt in a marriage. My words today may open up old wounds. But let me encourage you to think and reflect about your own marriage and use your experience to help others in theirs. I am committed to teaching the whole counsel of God. And I know that this approach, may at times, address certain topics that seem controversial or create feelings of uneasiness, but God has a word to say about marriage. We cannot avoid God’s truth because we may not like how it makes us feel. We must let Jesus be Supreme in our marriages.

So this morning, we are continuing to work through this letter to the church at Colossae. This letter is known for having a very high view of Jesus Christ. Paul wants Jesus Christ to be supreme in everything. So we read in Colossians 1:17-18 that Jesus, “is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church, he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have supremacy.” We have finally arrived at the point in the letter, where the Apostle Paul fleshes out the practical instruction for the Christian household. Today’s message will be very clear, but not necessarily easy. I have 2 Truths this morning on how we let Jesus be Supreme in our marriage. We let Jesus be Supreme in our Marriage when: Wives submit to their husbands and when husbands love their wives. Sometimes it is just that simple and yet profoundly difficult. Let us look at our first truth this morning.

Wives Submit to Your Husbands

Look at verse 18, “Wives submit to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord.” It is very straight forward. The idea that wives should submit to their husbands is not found only in this first, but found throughout the New Testament. Listen to a sample of verses that discuss a wife’s submission:

Ephesians 5:22 22 Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord.

1 Peter 3:1-6 3 Wives, in the same way be submissive to your husbands so that, if any of them do not believe the word, they may be won over without words by the behavior of their wives, 2 when they see the purity and reverence of your lives. 3 Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes. 4 Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight. 5 For this is the way the holy women of the past who put their hope in God used to make themselves beautiful. They were submissive to their own husbands, 6 like Sarah, who obeyed Abraham and called him her master. You are her daughters if you do what is right and do not give way to fear.

Titus 2:3 3 Likewise, teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live, not to be slanderers or addicted to much wine, but to teach what is good. 4 Then they can train the younger women to love their husbands and children, 5 to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God

Submission, for wives is very common biblical theme. So we cannot attempt to excuse it or explain it away. We have to trust that God’s design for marriage and the roles within the marriage relationship are best. Now before we talk more about what submission is and what it looks like in a marriage, let’s first look at what it is not:

Submission does not mean inferiority. Men and women are equal in worth but different in role. We see this most clearly this in Jesus. Jesus was completely God. Col 2:9, “For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form.” Jesus was fully God and yet he chose to submit to God the Father. John 5:30 Jesus said, “By myself I can do nothing; I judge only as I hear and my judgment is just, for I seek not to please myself but him who sent me.” Jesus submitted to God and Jesus is equal with God. Submission does not mean someone is inferior. Without submission, we cannot understand the Godhead as Trinity. So wives when God calls you to submit, he understands for Jesus, the Divine Son, submitted to the Father. Do not allow yourself to think that submission is a bad thing and it causes someone to be inferior.

Submission is not only a concept for women, but for all believers: Eph 5:21, “Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. 1 Peter 5:5, “Young men, in the same way be submissive to those who are older. All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.

Submission does not mean the wife becomes a slave, a doormat or a wallflower: A close study of the ideal wife in Proverbs 31 shows a woman that speaks with wisdom and faithful instruction. She is a woman that works diligently with her hands and is clothed with strength and dignity. The godly wife is not a slave, a doormat or a wallflower, but is intelligent, diligent, expressive and uses her gifts for the glory of God.

So what is submission? Submission is voluntarily yielding in love.[1] It is voluntary. For submission comes from the wife, never from the husband to the wife. A husband never subjugates his wife; he never makes his wife submit. The Bible does not allow for any abuse of a woman by her husband. Rather the wife freely submits to her husband out of reverence to the Lord Jesus Christ.

A wife is called to submit to her own husband and not to men in general. As one scholar says, “Paul does not ask every woman to submit to every man, but rather asks wives to submit to their own husbands. Paul is not insisting that every relationship between a woman and a man is one of submission and headship, but that where leadership is an ingredient of the situation, as in marriage, the woman should submit to that leadership (headship) of the man.”[2]

It says in Ephesians 5:24, “Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything.” The Bible says you should submit in everything. Your husband’s flawed character is not a reason for you not to obey God. Marriage is between two sinners. It will not be perfect. Wives, let me tell you something you already know, your husband is not perfect. But the Bible still requires you to submit to him. For the command does not come from your imperfect sinner of a husband, but for the Supreme Wise Creator of the Universe.

There is much that can be said about the submission of the wife to the husband, but ultimately it is a spiritual matter. The Lord commands wives to submit to their husbands, because that is how he has ordered the marriage relationship. We see this in the second half of the verse 18, “as is fitting in the Lord.” This phrase is referring to what is proper in the Christian marriage. This is the outworking or the implication of having Jesus Christ as Lord. Wives, if you to walk with as Jesus Christ as your Lord; then you should submit to your husbands, for this is proper for those that are in the Lord. This does not mean that you follow your husband into sin for as said in Acts 5:29, “We must obey God rather than men.” But God is calling you to submit. So what does submission look like?

The wife must respect and honor her husband with her words and character. A wife should never speak against her husband, but build him up in the eyes of others. A wife must bring concerns, advice and corrections in a loving and gracious manner with gentleness. A wife should regularly pray for her husband that he may have wisdom in the leadership of the home. Wives remember the verses we looked at last week. If you are going to be able to honor the Lord in your submission to your husbands, you must let the peace of Christ rule your hearts and his word dwell in you richly. We can only fulfill the Lord’s commands with his help.

So ladies examine your relationship with your husband. Are you honoring God in your submission to your husband? If you are not, confess to God and to your husband. Trust in the cleansing of the blood of Christ. Ask God for help to obey his word through the power of the Holy Spirit to live differently. We need to have Jesus be supreme in our marriage. Our world desperately needs to see wives who chose to honor God and His Word by submitting to their husbands. We let Jesus be supreme in our marriage when wives submit to their husbands.

Secondly, we let Jesus be Supreme in Our Marriages when Husbands Love their Wives.

Husbands you must love your wives. Love is not primarily an emotion. It is an action. Men must act in love towards their wives. The most famous chapter on love in the Bible is 1 Corinthians 13. Listen to 1 Corinthians 13:4-7:

4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

In the original language all of those adjectives of love were written as verbs. So love is not about a feeling it is about doing. Husbands must be patient, be kind, not be envious, or boastful or proud. A husband must not be rude or self-seeking or easily angered. A husband must not keep a record of wrongs. He must always protect, always trust and always persevere with his wife. God defined love as action. So husbands, we must love our wives.

Love Like Christ

The greatest challenge for husbands is the example that God gives us in how we are to love. Ephesians 5:25-26, “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word.” Husbands we are to love our wives as Christ has loved the church. Jesus gave up his life for the church and therefore we must do the same. We have to be willing to love our wives more than our own desires. We have to joyfully sacrifice our lives for the sake of our wives. Simply put, you cannot love your wife too much. Because you have never loved your wife as much as Christ loved the church, you can always grow in your love for your wife.

Just like wives are called to submit to their own husband, husbands are commanded to love their own wives. This is very important. In order to love our wives well, we must know our wives. We must know how to love her therefore we must study and listen to her so we can learn how to most effectively love her. The love we give to our wives is not just a general love, although it is that, it is much more than that. For example, my wife tends to struggle more emotionally during rainy days. Knowing this, I can uniquely love her by making more a point to do something sweet for her on days when I know she has the tendency to be naturally down. So I may bring her home ice cream or take the kids out of the house or do extra chores during rainy days like this past Monday and Tuesday. God has uniquely made my wife. I need to know her strengths and her weaknesses, her temperament, what brings her joy and sadness so that I can better love her. God did not just give me any woman, he gave my beloved so I want love her uniquely and specifically as my wife. He who finds a wife finds what it is good.

Love without Expectation

It is also interesting to note that the husband must love his wife regardless of the treatment of his wife. Jesus Christ gave his life for the benefit of sinners. Romans 5:8, “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” We love our wives like Christ loved the church, when we must chose to continue to lay down our life even when our wife is acting sinful. She may be rude and disrespectful, but you are still called to love her. We should remind ourselves of the Paul’s word in the passage above, “Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.” Those words are given to the church in helping us live and love in unity. If that is what we must do to those in the church, how much more should we be called to do in the home? Bear with your spouse. Forgive your spouse whatever grievances you may have against her. Forgive her as God has forgiven you.

Love in Gentleness

After Paul tells husbands to love their wives, he tells them that they must not be harsh with them. Why is it easy to be harsh with our wives? It is easy not to be harsh with friends and coworkers, but in our own homes sometimes it is easy to be harsh with our wives. One of the reason why we are harsh with our wives when we are not with others, is we do not give our wives the rightful place they deserve. We have to look at our wives as the most precious gift that we have. Imagine you had 1967 Chevy Corvette Convertible. One of the most prized car for all collectors, valued up to $300,000. You would make sure it had a safe place in your garage. You would have it covered. You would keep clean. You would shine and buff and wax it to make it shine. You would never take out a key and scratch the exterior. You would never take a hammer and break the tail lights. You would take care of the car and protect it because it is precious to you. When we are harsh with our wives, it is like we are taking our keys out and scratching our 1967 Chevy Corvette Convertible. Our wives are worth much more than car. Proverbs 31:10 “A wife of noble character who can find? She is worth far more than rubies.”

Do you love your wife as Christ loved the church? Do you look at your wife as precious, more precious than rubies? Husbands love your wives and do not be harsh with them. When let Jesus be Supreme in our marriages when husbands love their wives. 

Marriage as a Display of the Gospel

In God’s Sovereign wisdom, he has chosen to make marriage a picture of the gospel of Jesus Christ. When wives submit to their husbands and when husbands love their wives, the gospel is displayed to the world. When Jesus is supreme in our marriage it is not only for the sake of our marriage, but for the sake of God’s own name. Let me read two scriptures to you then make some closing comments.

Ephesians 5:22-33

22 Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord.23 For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. 24 Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything.

25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her 26 to make her holy, cleansing[a] her by the washing with water through the word, 27 and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. 28 In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. 29 After all, no one ever hated his own body, but he feeds and cares for it, just as Christ does the church— 30 for we are members of his body. 31 “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.”[b] 32 This is a profound mystery—but I am talking about Christ and the church. 33 However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.

Titus 2:5

Likewise, teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live, not to be slanderers or addicted to much wine, but to teach what is good. 4 Then they can train the younger women to love their husbands and children, 5 to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God.

God gives pictures, illustrations throughout our world to display Himself and His own character and His love for His people. Marriage is not only the foundation of every society, but it is a picture of God. When husbands love their wives well we are proclaiming to the world that Jesus is real. Husbands offer a picture of how God loves His bride. When wives submit to their husbands the word of God is not be maligned, but the Word that is able to make one wise for salvation is trusted. Wives offer a picture of how the church responds the love offer of the Bridegroom, the Lord Jesus.

German Theologian Dietrich Bonheoffer was imprisoned in Germany in World War II after an assassination attempt on Adolph Hitler. He was eventually executed, but two years before his death he wrote, “A Wedding Sermon from a Prison Cell,” where he wrote this:

Marriage is more than your love for each other. . . . In your love you see only the heaven of your own happiness, but in marriage you are placed at a post of responsibility towards the world and mankind. Your love is your own private possession, but marriage is more than something personal—it is a status, and office. Just as it is the crown, and not merely the will to rule, that makes the king, so it is marriage, and not merely your love for each other, that joins you together in the sight of God and man.[3]

Marriage is much more than your love for each other and your happiness in marriage. Marriage is a picture of what God has done in sending his own Son to redeem a lost and rebellion people. Marriage is picture of how God gracious loves sinners and how sinners respond to the amazing love with submission. We want Jesus to be supreme in our marriage because we want Jesus to be Supreme in all the world.

Beloved, marriage is a wonderful gift from God. This church is full of wonderful examples of godly men who sacrificially love and lead their wives and are full of many strong godly women who gracious, voluntarily yield to their husbands in love. I pray that we look to those examples and we see Christ and the Church. Marriage is not only about us it is about the gospel. Let us display the glory of God as Jesus reigns supreme in our marriage as wives submit to their husbands and husbands love their wives.

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[1] Recovering Biblical Manhood and Womanhood. Pg 168

[2] Recovering Biblical Manhood and Womanhood. Pg 169

[3] Quoted from Momentary Marriage by John Piper originally in Dietrich Bonhoeffer,  Letters and Papers from Prison, ed. Eberhard Bethge (New York: Macmillan, 1967), 27. All the quotes from Bonhoeffer on the facing pages of each chapter of this book were taken from Letters and Papers from Prison; Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Life Together (London: SCM Press, 1954); Dietrich Bonhoeffer, The Cost of Discipleship (New York: Macmillan, 1967).

Most Improved Player

And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, 14 by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. (Colossians 2:13-14)

Beloved,

At the end of every athletic season, one of the team members receives the most improved player award.

They receive the award because they demonstrate the greatest athletic improvement on their team. It is healthy to look back at the end of a season to reflect on how far one has come in their sport. Even more so, it is healthy for the believer to consistently reflect on how far one has come in being united with Christ.

Paul writes that we, Christians, who were dead in our trespasses and the uncircumcision of our flesh. Beloved, we were dead in our trespasses and sin. We were without hope and under the condemnation of God. Let that sink it. We were dead. But God!!! “God made us alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses.” We were made alive because we were united with Christ. We were united with his life, his death, and his resurrection. Our union with Christ allows God to forgive ALL of our trespasses because ALL of our trespasses have been paid for in the death of Jesus Christ.

We had a record of debt that stood against us. Our debt cried out for justice and punishment. God would have been right and good to answer that cry with our destruction. But in His Mercy, God answered that cry by canceling our debt through His own Son. We no longer stand condemned because our debt has been canceled by Jesus Christ. He set it aside, nailing it to the cross.

My sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious thought! / My sin, not in part but the whole, / Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more, / Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!

Beloved, we by far have received the most improved player award. We were dead, but are now alive in Christ. We are the most improved, not because of our works done in righteousness, but because we have been identified with the One who is righteous. We have traded all our dirty rags and have been clothed with the righteous robes of Christ. Beloved, rejoice that you are in Christ.

In Christ,

Pastor Dave

"In Christ"

And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. (Colossians 2:13-14, ESV)

“In Christ”

All my sin has been set aside,

Nailed forever when my Christ died.

No longer am I dead,

But made alive with Christ my head.

All my wretchedness from me to He

No longer for my God to see.

No longer marked by filthy sin,

For with Christ I’m grafted in.

180 (Another Ray Comfort Film)

Evolution vs. God

CHOSEN

For we know, brothers loved by God, that he has chosen you, because our gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction. (1 Thessalonians 1:4-5)

Dear Beloved,

Almost every elementary school student has gone through the horrific and exhilarating experience on the playground of “Captain’s Choice.” Young people stand around in a group while two of their peers decide whether or not they will be “chosen”. Sheer joy comes when you are one of the first selected while fear and rejection accompanies those near the end or not chosen at all. This playground experience often trickles over to the rest of life in which we are always trying to prove ourselves to others so that we may be “chosen.” Have you ever felt the rejected?

Beloved, hear the good news from God’s Word. Paul writes, “For we know, brothers loved by God, that he has chosen you.” Do not live for the approval of others, but know that you have already been chosen by God. You know you are chosen when you believe in the good news of Jesus Christ with the conviction of the Holy Spirit. Take a moment to breathe in the sweet aroma of acceptance by the Holy, God of the Universe. We are not accepted because we were one of the best on playground, but rather because of the gracious love of God the Father in the face of Jesus Christ. We have been chosen in Jesus Christ. Beloved, rejoice in God’s gracious and merciful choice in sending His Son to rescue you.

In Christ,

Pastor Dave

The Word of the Cross

“For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” (1 Corinthians 1:18, ESV)

Beloved,

When I was 20 years old I was driving across the country from California to Philadelphia. My friends and I stopped in Arches National Park in Moab, UT. It is a popular tourist destination filled with beautiful rock structures. One highlight of the park is this giant rock arch which has a path that wraps around the back. The path enables people to walk to the middle of the arch for a great photo to remember the park. My friends and I walked up the path to get into the middle of this giant rock arch for a photo. After the photo, instead of walking back down the path, we thought it would be better to climb down the front of the cliff. After starting down the cliff, we realized that we could not make it down, but rather had to turn back. As people looked on, we appeared foolish. Our decision made no sense to those people who watched at the park that day; it appeared as pure folly.

Similarly, when we choose to follow the word of the cross it appears as folly to those around us. It makes no sense to the world why someone would chose to humble themselves in the way of the cross. Although people may not understand the word of the cross, it is the power of God for those who are being saved.

“Being saved” is an interesting phrase used by the Apostle Paul. We usually refer to ourselves as saved in the past tense, but our salvation does not end in our conversion. Our salvation must be complete finally in our glorification at the end of life. Salvation has three stages: justification, sanctification, and glorification. The Baptist Faith and Message defines them this way:

Justification is God's gracious and full acquittal upon principles of His righteousness of all sinners who repent and believe in Christ. Justification brings the believer unto a relationship of peace and favor with God. Sanctification is the experience, beginning in regeneration, by which the believer is set apart to God's purposes, and is enabled to progress toward moral and spiritual maturity through the presence and power of the Holy Spirit dwelling in him. Growth in grace should continue throughout the regenerate person's life. Glorification is the culmination of salvation and is the final blessed and abiding state of the redeemed.

So our full salvation is brought to us by the word of the cross. The word of victory over sin and death in the cross is the power of God for our salvation. The fuel for our salvation is the word of the cross of Christ. Paul

writes in Romans 1:16, “I am not ashamed of the gospel for it is the power of God for all who believe.” Our power for holiness and change rests in the cross. Beloved never tire of the word of the cross. Our decision to choose the word of the cross may appear as foolishness to our perishing world, but for us, it is the power of God. Rejoice in the power of God that we are being saved as we wait “for our blessed hope, the appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself for a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works (Titus 2:13-14).” Through the power of cross, we know that He who began a good work in us will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ (Phil. 1:6).

In Christ,



Pastor Dave

Contentment in Christ

Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. 12 I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. 13 I can do all things through him (Christ) who strengthens me. (Philippians 4:11-13, ESV)

Beloved,

As you look around our nation, there appears to be a sense of discontentment among the people. Discontentment is defined as the state of feeling dissatisfied with what one is or what one has. The world seems to be discontent in their craving after more and more trying to fill the void of their happiness. Unfortunately, discontentment often does not end with the world, but can also be seen in believers in Jesus Christ. Now there should be certain degree of discontentment among every believer. All believers should strive to want more knowledge and wisdom from God. All believers should strive to grow in the love for

God and His people. All believers should strive to see more and more people come to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. But should believers feel dissatisfied with what one is or what one has? No, we should be satisfied, for we have Christ!!

The Apostle Paul writes that he has learned to be content or satisfied in every situation. He has learned, from times of plenty and times of want, the secret of being content. The secret Paul learned that is in Christ he has everything that he needs for life. He can do all things through Christ who strengthens him. The secret for Paul and us is that we can do all things through Christ. If we have Christ, we have all that we need. Listen to how the writer of Hebrews explains this idea in chapter 13:5, “Keep your life free from the love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” We should be content with what we have because God will never leave or forsake those who are in Christ. We are not our own, but have been bought through the blood of Christ.

Beloved, do not feel dissatisfied with what you are or what you have. You are a child of God wrapped in the righteous robes of Christ. In Christ you are: forgiven, blameless, righteous, pure, holy, cleansed, and justified. Christian, when you feel that you do not measure up and are dissatisfied with what you are remember who you are in Christ. We do not boast in ourselves, but in our weakness for God’s grace is sufficient and His power is made perfect in my weakness. So together with the Apostle Paul we can say, “I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me” (2 Cor 12:9).

Learn the secret of contentment. You can do all things through Christ who strengthen you for Christ can do all things. If you have Christ, you have all that you need!!! Read the words below from a song, “All I have is Christ.” Take time this week to meditate on what we have in Christ. (Click link below to hear song)

All I Have is Christ

I once was lost in darkest night / Yet thought I knew the way. / The sin that promised joy and life / Had led me to the grave. / I had no hope that You would own / A rebel to Your will. / And if You had not loved me first / I would refuse You still.

But as I ran my hell-bound race / Indifferent to the cost / You looked upon my helpless state /And led me to the cross. /And I beheld God’s love displayed /You suffered in my place / You bore the wrath reserved for me / Now all I know is grace. 

Hallelujah! All I have is Christ /Hallelujah! Jesus is my life

Now, Lord, I would be Yours alone / And live so all might see / The strength to follow Your commands /Could never come from me. / Oh Father, use my ransomed life / In any way You choose. / And let my song forever be /My only boast is You

Hallelujah! All I have is Christ /Hallelujah! Jesus is my life

In Christ,



Pastor Dave