Servants & Saints (Philippians Series) - July 29, 2007

Click here to download the sermon file.
First in the Philippians Series, which continues through January 20, 2008.

Recap of July 29, 2007:
1. The church at Philippi was established by Paul on his Second Missionary Journey
(Acts 16:6-40) in about 51 A.D.
2. Some major themes of the book are:
-the possibility of living with joy in spite of difficult circumstances, people, things, the past, or worry.
-the necessity of thinking spiritually, Christianly: the way we live reflects what it is that occupies our thinking. Paul could have joy in the midst of trials because his thinking was consumed by Jesus Christ.
-the necessity of humility in our attitudes and actions towards others, deferring to others, not demanding our way-we are primarily citizens of Heaven and should live as such.

God's Design For Marriage, Part 13

Click here to download the sermon file.

The final sermon in the series, God's Design For Marriage (this is part 13).

Recap of July 22, 2007:
1. The Biblical role of men in marriage
-Exercise loving, servant leadership (Ephesians 5:25-33).
-Build-up your wife, don’t tear her down by a surly, irritable attitude or by sharp, unfeeling words (Colossians 3:19)
-Treat you wife with consideration and respect (1 Peter 3:7)
-Be faithful in mind and body (Proverbs 5)
2. The Biblical role of women in marriage
-Respect and respond to your husband’s leadership (Ephesians 5:22,24; Colossians 3:18; 1 Peter 3:1-6)
-Express appreciation/admiration to your husband (Ephesians 5:33)
-Provide a good home atmosphere (Proverbs 14:1; 12:4)
-Be positive and supportive, not argumentative (Proverbs 21:9; 25:24; 21:19; 27:15,16; 19:13)

God's Design For Marriage, Part 12

Click here to download the sermon file.

12th in the sermon series, God's Design for Marriage

Recap of July 15, 2007:
1. The Biblical role of men in marriage
-Exercise loving, servant leadership (Ephesians 5:25-33).
-Build-up your wife, don’t tear her down by a surly, irritable attitude or by sharp, unfeeling words (Colossians 3:19)
-Treat you wife with consideration and respect (1 Peter 3:7)
-Be faithful in mind and body (Proverbs 5)
2. The Biblical role of women in marriage
-Respect and respond to your husband’s leadership (Ephesians 5:22,24; Colossians 3:18; 1 Peter 3:1-6)
-Express appreciation/admiration to your husband (Ephesians 5:33)

God's Design For Marriage, Part 11

Click here to download the sermon file.

Recap of July 8, 2007:
1. The Biblical role of men in marriage
-Exercise loving, servant leadership (Ephesians 5:25-33).
-Build-up your wife, don’t tear her down by a surly, irritable attitude or by sharp, unfeeling words (Colossians 3:19)
-Treat you wife with consideration and respect (1 Peter 3:7)
-Be faithful in mind and body (Proverbs 5)
2. The Biblical role of women in marriage-Respond to your husband’s leadership (Ephesians 5:22,24; Colossians 3:18)

God's Design For Marriage, Part 10

Click here to download the sermon file.

Recap of July 1, 2007:
The Biblical role of men in marriage
-Exercise loving, servant leadership (Ephesians 5:25-33). Leadership that is:
-sacrificial (not selfish)
-nurturing (seeking for our wife’s full development spiritual and as a person)
-caring (providing for and protecting)
-committed
-Build-up your wife, don’t tear her down by a surly, irritable attitude or by sharp, unfeeling words (Colossians 3:19)

God's Design For Marriage, Part 9

Click here to download the sermon file.

Recap of June 24, 2007:
Basic assumptions to fulfilling God’s goal for marriage:
-our mate is God’s provision for our aloneness needs (Genesis 2:22-24), weaknesses and all. The Fall brought about blame instead of acceptance.
-God’s only agent for change is unconditional love, not pressuring or haranguing them to change. Marriage is not a “makeover project.”
-God uses our mate to perfect our character. Our mate’s weaknesses are an opportunity for us to grow.
-Our mate’s weaknesses are an opportunity for us to be needed. “Perfect” people are lonely people.
(Source: Meredith, Don. "Becoming One.")

God's Design For Marriage, Part 8

Click here to download the sermon file.

Recap of June 17, 2007:
1. Marriage Killer #11: Not recognizing or progressing through the stages of a relationship.
-Stage #1, Infatuation – tendency to see only the good in another person, to hide flaws, to please the other person without thought of return.
-Stage #2, Reality – beginning to see the other person’s faults, personality weaknesses and to let ours be seen. Should occur during courtship. Married couples have an obligation to get through this phase if they have not previously.
-Stage #3, Adjustment – Forgiveness, reconciliation, sacrifice, and conflict resolution are common.
2. Marriage Killer #12 – Confusion and changes in society regarding marriage and roles of men and women in marriage. Lack of familial and cultural support for marriage.
3. Marriage Killer #13 (a catch-all!) Finances, interfering in-laws, substance abuse, addictive behavior, career success at the expense of the marriage and family.
(Sources for the above: Roger & Becky Tirabassi, How to Live with Them Since You Can’t Live Without Them; Don Meredith, Becoming One; James Dobson)

God's Design For Marriage, Part 7

Click here to download the sermon file.

Recap of June 10, 2007:
Staying pure in a sexually charged society:
1. Determine beforehand what your limits are and remind yourself often.
2. Don’t toy with immorality – be especially careful about your thought life and about what you look at.
3. Build God’s standard into your life through Bible reading and study, prayer, scripture meditation and memorization. Determine to have nothing but God’s best for your life.
4. If necessary, flee the situation. 1 Corinthians 6:12-18; 1 Thessalonians 4:3-8; Genesis 39:6-12 5. Make a list of the consequences if you fail.
6. If you have already failed morally confess your sin to God, receive His forgiveness, recommit your life to His way, ask for His power to stop, and remember that there are consequences even for forgiven sin.

God's Design For Marriage, Part 6

Click here to download the sermon file.

Recap of June 3, 2007:
1. Marriage killer number ten: Conflict over the sexual relationship
2. God designed the physical relationship in marriage to build intimacy, instead it often builds distance.
3. In 1 Corinthians 7:1-5 Paul (under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit) warns married couples to not withhold their bodies from each other except in rare instances and then only for prayer. To violate this instruction is to invite Satan’s destructive work into a marriage.
4. A couple’s response to each other and growth in this area can be hindered by such things as not understanding the differences between men and women in this area, exhaustion, addictions (especially to pornography), and mental adultery (see Matthew 5:27,28).
5. For more in this area see Williard Harley, His Needs, Her Needs; Linda Dillow and Lorraine Pintus, Intimate Issues; Clifford and Joyce Penner, The Gift of Sex; Dr. Ed Wheat, Intended for Pleasure.

God's Design For Marriage, Part 5

Click here to download the sermon file.

Recap of 5/27/07
Threats to God's design for marriage ("Why Marriages Fail" by Kerby Anderson, Probe Ministries):
-Escalation ("Negative Interaction Spiral")-negative exchanges that become increasingly hostile, often begun over minor things. 1 Peter 3:9; Proverbs 12:18; James 1:26; 3:1ff
-Invalidation - subtly or overtly putting down your mate's thoughts, feelings, character, personality. Matthew 5:22; Proverbs 25:20
-Negative Interpretations - Consistently making negative assumptions about your mate's actions, words, motives (discounting positive things, magnifying negative things). 1 Corinthians 4:1-5
-Withdrawl & Avoidance - unwillingness to openly and honestly deal with uncomfortable issues. Ephesians 4:25-27

God's Design For Marriage, Part 4

Click here to download the sermon file.


Recap of 5/20/07
Threats to God’s design for marriage (partial sources: Becoming One by Don Meredith, Marriage Builder by Larry Crabb)
-selfishness/self-centeredness – capacity for inflicting hurt, destructive practices, failure to reign in the sin nature (Matthew 15:10-20; James 3)
-a fantasy view of love – viewing love as primarily a feeling rather that a commitment to the highest good of another person. God does give intense emotional feelings but they are the result of love, not the basis for love.
-emphasis on becoming happy and fulfilled rather than on a holy, obedient walk with God, abandoning God’s will when the going gets tough
-faithfulness to Scripture is made optional, needs and emotions trump Biblical injunctions, puts us in the spotlight and Christ on the sidelines of our lives

God's Design For Marriage, Part 3

Click here to download the sermon file.


Recap of Genesis 2:24-3:19
1. 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.
2. In Genesis 3:15 God promises a Redeemer, through the line of the woman, who would defeat Satan. This is called the "proto-evangelium" or "protevangelium." "The first announcement of the Gospel in the Scriptures..." (Moody Handbook of Theology"
3. Genesis 3 also contains the first act of man-made religion when Adam and Eve sought to cover their sin by using fig leaves. They thought they could cover their sin by their own works. In an act of grace God provided animal skins for their covering thus demonstration their inability to cover their own sin by human effort. It is the consistent teaching of Scripture that humans cannot atone for their own sin (Isaiah 64:6), but must accept God's provision for them by faith (Ephesians 2:8-10).
4. The Fall brought feat into relationships. Gary Smalley in The DNA of Relationships lists the following core fears: For women the fear of disconnection (not being valued), for men it is the fear of helplessness or being controlled. (See http://www.thednaofrelationships.com/)

God's Design For Marriage, Part 2

Click here to download the sermon file.

Recap of Genesis 2:24-3:19
1. Marriage is a covenant before God in which a man and woman leave one relationship (“father and mother”) and establish a new exclusive and permanent primary relationship.
2. This is described as a ‘one flesh” relationship, consisting of not just sexual union but of spiritual and emotional union as well. The man and woman literally become related to one another as blood relatives. Commenting on this passage, Jesus adds in Mark 10:7-9 that they are no longer two but one, and that God has joined them and no human should separate them.
3. Genesis 2:25 is symbolic of the beauty and innocence of this one-flesh relationship. Their 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.
4. All this was lost in the Fall in Genesis three when Adam and Eve deliberately disobey God and become sinners (Romans 5:12). Genesis 3 illustrates the change that came into the creation and especially into the relationship of Adam and Eve, and their relationship with God. Their oneness was now interrupted by sin. They knew shame, lost innocence, lost companionship. They now were uncomfortable with God and with each other. Fear and distrust and a sense of the potential for evil and exploitation now enter their world. Guilt and fear and an unwillingness to take responsibility for their actions now mar their relationship with God and with each other.

God's Design For Marriage (a sermon series)

Click here to download the sermon file.
Today's sermon is first in the Marriage Series, God's Design for Marriage. There are 13 parts in the series.

Recap of 4-29-2007 (Genesis 2:18-24)
1. Before the creation of Eve, Adam enjoyed the privileges of a relationship with God and provisions for all his needs, yet he was alone. God determines that without companionship
Adam’s situation is “not good.”
2. God determines to make a “helper suitable” for Adam. The idea is “one corresponding to Adam,” his counterpart, one who share the same nature.
3. In the naming of all the animals, none is found which shares Adam’s nature. None, but Adam is made in the image and likeness of God.4. “Helper” is not a demeaning identification for woman. God Himself is called “help” or “helper” (same Hebrew word used in 2:18) in Psalms 33:20; 70:5; 115:9.

Tragedy & Triumph

Click here to download the sermon file.

Recap of April 22, 2007 (Luke 13:1-17)
1. In the midst of tragedy we should not live in fear, but in fruitfulness.
2. The view of the of the religious leaders of Jesus’ day was that tragedy or calamity in a person’s life was due to some unusual sin in their lives.
3. Jesus, following up on His teaching of Luke 12 about the need to be rightly related to God, answers that all are under the sentence of death (Romans 8:12); some deaths are tragic and unexpected, but all should be prepared for death, all should be reconciled to God.
4. Since all die all are in need of salvation and Jesus has the power to save as illustrated in His healing the woman who was crippled for 18 years. Jesus has the power to make straight that which is crooked, to save people from sin and make their lives fruitful and useful to Him.
5. In tragedy we learn: to value the things which are truly valuable (“Life does not consist in the abundance of things”) our relationships with our loved ones; the brevity of life (James 4); the priority of the gospel, and the need to pray for those around us and to preach the gospel.