Click here to download the sermon file.
Recap of December 26, 2010 (Ephesians 5:26-33)
1. If a man is to love his wife sacrificially and self-givingly as Paul suggests in Ephesians 5:25, he sill have to clarify and live for what’s important (not just urgent) and what’s priority (not just his passion). In the article, “Tyranny of the Urgent” by Charles E. Hummel, he writes the following: “We live in constant tension between the urgent and the important. The problem is that the important task rarely must be done today or even this week. But the urgent tasks call for instant action—endless demands pressure every hour and day. The momentary appeal of these tasks seems irresistible and important, and they devour our energy. But in the light of time’s perspective their deceptive prominence fades; with a sense of loss we recall the important task pushed aside. We realize we’ve become slaves to the tyranny of the urgent.”
2. A husband is also called to a nurturing love which seeks the full development of his wife spiritually and emotionally (5:26,27). Richard J. Ericksen writes: “Similarly a husband sacrificies his own interests for his wife’s sake, not if she will start to make some self-improvements, but so she may grown to maturity.”
3. A husband’s love must also be a caring love (5:28-30). He provides for his wife, gives her security, and takes care of her.
4. Paul also describes a husband’s love as a committed/exclusive love. (5:31,32).
Friday, December 31, 2010
Sunday, December 19, 2010
God With Us
Click here to download the sermon file.
Recap of December 19 sermon from Matthew 1:18-25:
1. The events of Matthew 1:18-25 are designed to explain verse 16:
-how Jesus could be born of Mary only?
-how could Jesus be conceived without a human father?
2. Upon learning of Mary’s pregnancy, Joseph was faced with a dilemma. How would he handle this unwelcome news? Understandably his hopes are dashed and he struggles with a decision.
3. After God had allowed him to struggle with this situation, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and explained that God was using he and Mary to fulfill ancient promises of the coming of the Savior.
4. Joseph risked misunderstanding and gossip to be obedient to God. He (along with Mary) is an example of faith and obedience.
5. The question for us, as expressed in the December 25th Daily Bread article is this: “How is it with us this Christmas? Will we trust God and follow His leading even when we face uncertainty and overwhelming circumstances?”
Recap of December 19 sermon from Matthew 1:18-25:
1. The events of Matthew 1:18-25 are designed to explain verse 16:
-how Jesus could be born of Mary only?
-how could Jesus be conceived without a human father?
2. Upon learning of Mary’s pregnancy, Joseph was faced with a dilemma. How would he handle this unwelcome news? Understandably his hopes are dashed and he struggles with a decision.
3. After God had allowed him to struggle with this situation, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and explained that God was using he and Mary to fulfill ancient promises of the coming of the Savior.
4. Joseph risked misunderstanding and gossip to be obedient to God. He (along with Mary) is an example of faith and obedience.
5. The question for us, as expressed in the December 25th Daily Bread article is this: “How is it with us this Christmas? Will we trust God and follow His leading even when we face uncertainty and overwhelming circumstances?”
Sunday, December 12, 2010
The Christian Home, Pt 4
Click here to download the sermon file.
Recap of 12/12/10 (Ephesians 5:25):
1. “The husband is head of the wife—true, Paul said that; but he also said that a husband must love the wife as Christ loved the church, with a love which never exercises a tyranny of control but which is ready to make any sacrifice for her good.” (Wm. Barclay)
2. Men are directed to love their wife with an agape type love. A love that is deliberate, of the will, concerning itself with the well-being of the one loved (passion and affection will follow this kind of love). It is not selfish or self-serving. It is patient and protecting.
3. The model for a man’s love for his wife is Jesus Christ and His sacrificial love for the church.
4. Jesus is both the example for love and for the exercise of authority. In Matthew 20:20-28 Jesus set the standard for leadership when he called for servant style leadership. Tony Dungy in his book The Mentor Leader illustrates this kind of leadership: “The principal focus of service-directed leadership must be on a point beyond ourselves. Such leadership must be other directed and other inspired. Mentor leadership must be grounded in and springing from an emphasis on service as its primary focus. Mentor leaders desire to help those they are privileged to lead to be better in whatever roles and responsibilities they have. Truly serving others requires putting ourselves and our desires aside while looking for ways and opportunities to do what is best for others.”
Recap of 12/12/10 (Ephesians 5:25):
1. “The husband is head of the wife—true, Paul said that; but he also said that a husband must love the wife as Christ loved the church, with a love which never exercises a tyranny of control but which is ready to make any sacrifice for her good.” (Wm. Barclay)
2. Men are directed to love their wife with an agape type love. A love that is deliberate, of the will, concerning itself with the well-being of the one loved (passion and affection will follow this kind of love). It is not selfish or self-serving. It is patient and protecting.
3. The model for a man’s love for his wife is Jesus Christ and His sacrificial love for the church.
4. Jesus is both the example for love and for the exercise of authority. In Matthew 20:20-28 Jesus set the standard for leadership when he called for servant style leadership. Tony Dungy in his book The Mentor Leader illustrates this kind of leadership: “The principal focus of service-directed leadership must be on a point beyond ourselves. Such leadership must be other directed and other inspired. Mentor leadership must be grounded in and springing from an emphasis on service as its primary focus. Mentor leaders desire to help those they are privileged to lead to be better in whatever roles and responsibilities they have. Truly serving others requires putting ourselves and our desires aside while looking for ways and opportunities to do what is best for others.”
Monday, December 06, 2010
The Christian Home, Pt 3
Click here to download the sermon file.
Sermon re-cap from December 5, 2010:
1. After addressing wives about their biblical responsibilities in marriage in Ephesians 5:22-24, Paul turns his attention to husbands' responsibilities in 5:25-32. “Paul turns to the reciprocal duties of the husband. In Greco-Roman society it was recognized that wives had obligations to their husbands, but not vice versa. In this, as in other respects, Christianity introduced a revolutionary approach to marriage that equalized the rights of wives and husbands and established the institution on a much firmer foundation than ever before.” (Expositor’s Bible Commentary)
2. Paul’s call to Christian husbands is to exercise “loving, servant leadership.” This leadership is sacrificial (vs. 25), nurturing (vv. 26-27), caring (vv. 28-30), and committed/exclusive (vv. 31-32).
3. A man is instructed to love his wife, not command her. This love is not based upon her submission/respect (vv. 22-24) but is independent of it.
4. Of the four Greek words for love, Paul does not use “storge,” which C.S. Lewis defines as “love, affection, especially of parent for children; of the love of dogs for their master.” He does not use “eros,” which Lewis defines as “love, mostly of sexual passion.” Nor does Paul use “philia,” defined as “affectionate regard, friendship.” Rather Paul calls upon men to love with “agape” love. Don Meredith, in his book Becoming One defines agape love as “commitment-love.” He writes: “This agape ..is described in Scripture primarily as the kind of love that God gave to His Son and then to man. This kind of love is the opposite of eros in that it is totally sacrificial. This love can only be measured by the sacrificial action of the giver. It is not primarily emotional or sexual because it is drawn out not by the attractiveness of the object loved but by the commitment of the giver. The lover is acting in obedience to God's commandment; therefore the love is God-directed. It is first an issue between God and man, not between two people, and it does not always run with the natural inclinations of feelings. This love is responsible and does not change as feelings change. It is commitment-love.”
Sermon re-cap from December 5, 2010:
1. After addressing wives about their biblical responsibilities in marriage in Ephesians 5:22-24, Paul turns his attention to husbands' responsibilities in 5:25-32. “Paul turns to the reciprocal duties of the husband. In Greco-Roman society it was recognized that wives had obligations to their husbands, but not vice versa. In this, as in other respects, Christianity introduced a revolutionary approach to marriage that equalized the rights of wives and husbands and established the institution on a much firmer foundation than ever before.” (Expositor’s Bible Commentary)
2. Paul’s call to Christian husbands is to exercise “loving, servant leadership.” This leadership is sacrificial (vs. 25), nurturing (vv. 26-27), caring (vv. 28-30), and committed/exclusive (vv. 31-32).
3. A man is instructed to love his wife, not command her. This love is not based upon her submission/respect (vv. 22-24) but is independent of it.
4. Of the four Greek words for love, Paul does not use “storge,” which C.S. Lewis defines as “love, affection, especially of parent for children; of the love of dogs for their master.” He does not use “eros,” which Lewis defines as “love, mostly of sexual passion.” Nor does Paul use “philia,” defined as “affectionate regard, friendship.” Rather Paul calls upon men to love with “agape” love. Don Meredith, in his book Becoming One defines agape love as “commitment-love.” He writes: “This agape ..is described in Scripture primarily as the kind of love that God gave to His Son and then to man. This kind of love is the opposite of eros in that it is totally sacrificial. This love can only be measured by the sacrificial action of the giver. It is not primarily emotional or sexual because it is drawn out not by the attractiveness of the object loved but by the commitment of the giver. The lover is acting in obedience to God's commandment; therefore the love is God-directed. It is first an issue between God and man, not between two people, and it does not always run with the natural inclinations of feelings. This love is responsible and does not change as feelings change. It is commitment-love.”
Thursday, December 02, 2010
The Christian Home, Pt 2
Due to technical difficulties there is no audio sermon file for 11/28/2010.
Recap of the sermon from November 28th (Ephesians 5:22-24):
1. God’s desire for the marriage relationship is expressed in the word “oneness.” 3. Genesis 2:25 is symbolic of the beauty and innocence of this one-flesh relationship. Adam and Eve’s nakedness without shame is symbolic of their total transparency and total ease with each other. There is no distrust, no fear, no potential for evil or exploitation. There is no defensiveness, no need to win at all costs.
2. The essence of the Fall in Genesis 3 was separation. That is what death is, and the Fall brought death into the world. There is now separation and alienation where there was once harmony. Mankind is separated from God and from each other. The Fall brought about estrangement in our relationships especially that of marriage.
3. The goal of Ephesians 5 is to reestablish the creation order, to restore proper Biblical roles, enabled by the power of the Spirit, as Christians yield to the control of the Spirit in their lives..
4. Roles are not demeaning as illustrated by 1 Corinthians 11:3 where God the Son is under the headship of God the Father.
5. The model for the leadership a man is to exercise in marriage is Jesus Christ Himself. Jesus exercise of headship is loving, self-giving, gentle and caring. It is not “harsh, tyrannical, or selfish.” “The chief threat in submitting to another person is the fear of being manipulated or mistreated by that person” (Richard J. Ericksen). Factors that make submission difficult: a woman who has difficulty trusting other people (perhaps based on issues from the past such as a distant or absent father); or when a husband’s leadership is selfish.
Recap of the sermon from November 28th (Ephesians 5:22-24):
1. God’s desire for the marriage relationship is expressed in the word “oneness.” 3. Genesis 2:25 is symbolic of the beauty and innocence of this one-flesh relationship. Adam and Eve’s nakedness without shame is symbolic of their total transparency and total ease with each other. There is no distrust, no fear, no potential for evil or exploitation. There is no defensiveness, no need to win at all costs.
2. The essence of the Fall in Genesis 3 was separation. That is what death is, and the Fall brought death into the world. There is now separation and alienation where there was once harmony. Mankind is separated from God and from each other. The Fall brought about estrangement in our relationships especially that of marriage.
3. The goal of Ephesians 5 is to reestablish the creation order, to restore proper Biblical roles, enabled by the power of the Spirit, as Christians yield to the control of the Spirit in their lives..
4. Roles are not demeaning as illustrated by 1 Corinthians 11:3 where God the Son is under the headship of God the Father.
5. The model for the leadership a man is to exercise in marriage is Jesus Christ Himself. Jesus exercise of headship is loving, self-giving, gentle and caring. It is not “harsh, tyrannical, or selfish.” “The chief threat in submitting to another person is the fear of being manipulated or mistreated by that person” (Richard J. Ericksen). Factors that make submission difficult: a woman who has difficulty trusting other people (perhaps based on issues from the past such as a distant or absent father); or when a husband’s leadership is selfish.
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