Pastor's Message

THROUGH THE EYES OF MARY AND MARTHA

THE DISILLUSIONED

Sermon Audio

 

Vs. 1-3

They didn't ask Jesus to come. But they assumed that based on the relationship, He would come, and quickly!

 

There are just certain things we expect of friends, and when those we love don't meet our expectations we run into conflict.

 

How many of us have those kinds of expectations of God?

We are serving God with the expectation that if we give, then He should be at our beck and call.

If I give this, what should I expect from you?

 

Vs. 4

So often we get a word from God and we latch on to one part of it because we don't understand the full context of it, and when things don't happen the way we thought they would, we get angry at God.

 

Vs. 5 - 6

 

God's timing stinks from our perspective, doesn't it?

 

He loves us, so He makes us wait to the point of utter despair? How can that be love?

 

Jesus was committed to fulfilling His mission. He would not give in to the pressure of men but marched to the drumbeat of heaven.

Why?

So that God may be glorified and that the people's faith would be built up. That is the bottom line of God's dealings with us.

 

Sometimes, in our limited understanding, the work of the Lord can seem cruel. Especially if our expectations of what He should do are different than His.

 

 

Vs. 7-16

We misunderstand God's actions or lack of it because we think He thinks the way we do.

 

There will always be someone trying to convince you not the respond to the voice of God because your actions seem illogical and suicidal.

 

The safest place to be is right in the middle of the will of God.

 

Vs. 25-27

"I am the resurrection and the life"

In the midst of the sorrow and pain Jesus directs Martha's attention to the eternal first.

 

Vs. 28-37

Jesus responds to each person differently…according to their need.

 

With Martha, He assured her and challenged her faith. She was the aggressive, task-oriented one.

 

With Mary, He acknowledged her emotion, as she was the more melancholy, contemplative one.

 

 

Vs. 33-35

He wept. Why?

 

The force of emotion was for a people who just did not get it. They were so caught up in the human condition that they failed to hold on to Jesus.

 

Jesus' miracles always had moral and eternal purpose. They were not ever simply random acts of power.

 

Jesus uses the physical, or temporal, to illustrate the deeper need - the spiritual.

 

Vs. 38-42

"Lord, he's gonna smell by now!"

 

The stench is always the result when we allow the bitterness and hurt to sit in our souls.

 

Jesus is about to remove two stones:

One from the tomb.

The stone that blocked their faith – any hindrance to belief.

 

 

Lessons we can learn:

 

1. Just because Jesus does not answer right away, does not mean that He does not love us, or hear us, or care.

 

While the waiting may be painful, God's timing is always perfect.

 

1. Sometimes the Lord will wait in order to accomplish His bigger purposes in us and for His kingdom.

    

   We tend to blame God. "If you had been there, this wouldn't have happened."

    

   But He is saying, "Didn't I ask you to believe?"

 

1. The most difficult time to believe in Jesus is in a crisis of lost hope.

 

Sometimes we have to get to the end of ourselves, and our expectations in order to be able to see God's purposes accomplished.

 

1. Jesus is able to bring new life to that which has died.

 

Through the Eyes of the Condemned

Sermon Audio

 

Adultery, according to the law of God given to Moses, was punishable by death. What is Jesus to do?

 

If He said that she ought to be stoned, then…

1. He would lose his reputation of love and mercy. He was known as "friend to the sinners."
2. The Jews had no authority to carry out the death sentence on anyone, and for Jesus to say kill her, would mean that He would be breaking the law of the Romans who ruled the Jews at the time.

 

However, if He told them to let her go then He was faced with some other problems…

1. He could be accused of teaching people to break the law of Moses, a law that He Himself had instituted.
2. He would be condoning adultery.

 

Jesus seemed to be in a no win situation. So what does He do?

 

In that moment, the Son crouched down and dialogued with the Father. Remember, His will was to do the will of the Father, so before acting or saying anything, He wanted to know and confirm what the Father's will was in that situation.

 

He who is without sin, go ahead and throw the first stone.

He does not deny the sin of the woman nor does He deny that she should be stoned.

Now what is this woman thinking at this point?

• She has been caught dead to rights, and she knows it.
• Death is at her doorstep because it is the law.
• She is humiliated, guilty and filled with shame.
• She knows what she deserves, and she is just waiting for the hammer to drop.

 

God gives grace freely.

Grace – unmerited favor

He had her dead to rights, she had broken His holy law, yet He covers her, forgives her and sends her on her way with the admonishment to do it no more.

 

That kind of grace God gives freely to all.

 

Don't use grace as a licence to sin.

How many of us sin knowing that we will ask for forgiveness, and God will shower His grace on us.

He does not extend grace to us so that we can promote disobedience.

 

• Titus 2:11 through Titus 2:12 (NIV) ¹¹For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. ¹²It teaches us to say "No" to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age…

 

We who have experienced grace have been exposed to a higher standard, and it should cause us to never go back to the old ways.

 

Don't be stingy with grace.

Matthew 10:8 Freely you have received; now freely give. This is Jesus' instructions to His disciples.

 

"I do not condemn you."

God does not just forgive, He forgets.

 

Condemnation rains down on us and paralyzes us.

The One who can condemn us says, "I do not condemn you." It is time to take Him at His word.

 

"Go and sin no more."

You have been clothed in righteousness; your sins have been covered in grace, and you have been exposed to a higher standard; now go and sin no more.

 

Don't hide from Him. Guilt and self-condemnation make us want to do that; instead, come voluntarily to Him. Don't have to be dragged in; come to Him and let Him give you grace, freedom and rest.

 

• 1 John 1:9 (NIV) ⁹If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

 

• Romans 8:1 through Romans 8:2 (NLT) ¹So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. ²For the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you through Christ Jesus from the power of sin that leads to death.

 

• Romans 8:33 through Romans 8:39 (GWT) ³³Who will accuse those whom God has chosen? God has approved of them. ³⁴Who will condemn them? Christ has died, and more importantly, he was brought back to life. Christ has the highest position in heaven. Christ also intercedes for us. ³⁵What will separate us from the love Christ has for us? Can trouble, distress, persecution, hunger, nakedness, danger, or violent death separate us from his love? ³⁶As Scripture says:

      "We are being killed all day long because of you.

      We are thought of as sheep to be slaughtered."

  ³⁷The one who loves us gives us an overwhelming victory in all these difficulties. ³⁸I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God's love which Christ Jesus our Lord shows us. We can't be separated by death or life, by angels or rulers, by anything in the present or anything in the future, by forces ³⁹or powers in the world above or in the world below, or by anything else in creation.

   

 

The only thing that can separate us from the love of Christ is our choice to separate ourselves. Why not come to Him and let Him clothe you in grace.

Through the Eyes of the Outcasts

Sermon Audio

 

Based on the way we as Christians treat the outcasts, what would be their impression of Jesus?

   

John 4:1-6

Jesus "needed" to go through Samaria.

Jesus had to go because it was His mission.

He was responding to the voice of the Holy Spirit who prompted Him to suspend normal operating procedures and follow a different path instead.

   

John 4:7-9

We must be ready at any time to be used by God, and we must have our eyes and ears open for the opportunities that present themselves to us.

   

This woman came at a strange time. Noon – in the heat of the day. Why?

She probably was avoiding the other women, or worse – the other women were avoiding and shunning her.

God led her there.

 John 6:44 (GWT) ⁴⁴People cannot come to me unless the Father who sent me brings them to me.

It was for her that Jesus had been detoured to Samaria. That is how much God cares.

   

Surprised By God

A couple of reasons why this woman was surprised that Jesus talked to her:

She was a woman - no respectable Jewish man would have a public conversation with a woman.

She was a Samaritan. No Jew would drink from a Samaritan cup.

   

Jesus has a way of throwing us off balance. Just when we think He is going to respond one way, He goes another. He will do whatever it takes to get our attention.

   

John 4:10-15

He makes a leading statement that produces misunderstanding and curiosity, and then He launches into an explanation.

   

So often what God offers us transcends what we think we need at the moment, but we do not accept it because we don't understand.

   

John 4:16-18

"Go, call your husband!"

This request was for the purpose of quickening her conscience and forcing her to face her own sin.

   

God sees beyond our facades and fronts; He sees us as we are; nothing is hidden from Him, and if we are to get anywhere with Him, then we are always forced to face the things that keep us from Him. Maybe that's why so many of us never get far with Him because we don't want to deal with the sin in our lives

   

Look at her response…

John 4:19-26

She tries to divert the conversation from her to a debate on religion.

He turns her back from religious debate to relationship.

   

He relentlessly pounds her about her sin, her desire for satisfaction and acceptance and the emptiness of her own religious faith.

   

He informs her that worship is not about…

 Geography…it can be done anywhere.

 Race

 Or about worshipping any old god.

   

He tells her that who you worship and how you worship is very important.

   

"I know what's right and someday I'll listen, someday I will respond."

 2 Corinthians 6:2 (NIV) "In the time of my favor I heard you, and in the day of salvation I helped you." I tell you, now is the time of God's favor, now is the day of salvation.

   

   

There comes a point where knowledge has to give way to faith. She is faced with making one of two choices – accept Him or reject Him.

   

John 4:39-42

When Christ changes us – it points people to Him. This is exactly what had happened with this woman.

   

Final Observations:

 There are no racial or cultural boundaries to the Gospel – it is for the whole world.

 The simplest experience can be God's opportunity for us to present Christ to someone who needs Him. Jesus used a drink of water, wind, fields of grain, etc.

 Jesus loves and cares about all people – even those that popular culture or, sadly, the church, has avoided. We need to repent of our biases and be willing to meet all people right where they are.

 When we have a life changing encounter with God it transforms our lives and that transformation should be evident to those around us so much so that it points people to Christ.

 Our greatest need is spiritual, and the greatest barrier is our sin. Jesus wants us to acknowledge our sin and embrace the eternal over the earthly.

 The woman came for water but left without it because she now had something much more satisfying.

 We can try to satisfy our life with all kinds of earthly things that will satisfy us for a short time – but we will never truly be fulfilled until we accept the forgiveness and the abundant life Jesus has to offer.

Through the Eyes of the Lame Man

Sermon Audio

• John 5:1-5(NIV) ¹Some time later, Jesus went up to Jerusalem for a feast of the Jews. ²Now there is in Jerusalem near the Sheep Gate a pool, which in Aramaic is called Bethesda^ and which is surrounded by five covered colonnades. ³Here a great number of disabled people used to lie—the blind, the lame, the paralyzed. ⁵One who was there had been an invalid for thirty–eight years.

The pool had become a place of desperate hope.

When we are desperate we will grasp at anything.

• John 5:6-7(NIV) ⁶When Jesus saw him lying there and learned that he had been in this condition for a long time, he asked him, "Do you want to get well?" ⁷"Sir," the invalid replied, "I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred. While I am trying to get in, someone else goes down ahead of me."

…so often God is right there next to us but we are so busy looking in another direction for our answer that we miss the fact that He is standing next to us.

"Do you want to be made well?"

Jesus asked the question to challenge the man to consider what he really wanted.

Do I really want to be made well?

If I do it would mean a whole different lifestyle, a whole different way of approaching life and is that what I really want?

"No one helps me!" ("Yeah, but…")

We seem to think that our destiny lies in the hands of other people when the truth is our destiny lies in the hands of God Almighty.

• John 5:8-9(NIV) ⁸Then Jesus said to him, "Get up! Pick up your mat and walk." ⁹At once the man was cured; he picked up his mat and walked. The day on which this took place was a Sabbath,

Without faith or initiative on the man's part – Jesus heals him.

What about those He didn't touch?

How do we view God when we are dealing with long-term sickness or a hopeless situation that seems never-ending?

• It will always come down to "Do you trust God?"

• We need to make a choice to trust and be glad that God is at work in us even if we don't see it working out the way we want it to.

Final Thoughts

• Jesus is interested in healing the spiritual and physical man.
  
  John 5:14(NIV) ¹⁴Later Jesus found him at the temple and said to him, "See, you are well again. Stop sinning or something worse may happen to you."
  
• We will not find our true healing from any source other than Jesus Christ.
• If we keep looking to other sources we will continue in our frustration year after year.
• A lengthy condition often paralyzes our will.
• Whether that is physical or spiritual – if we have remained in this condition, sometimes we begin to feel hopeless or helpless.
• Jesus wants you to consider the question: Do you want to be made well?
  • Are you ready for your life to dramatically change? Or are you too settled in your present condition.
  • Jesus wants to touch you, but it will mean a changed life. It will mean picking up and then putting away what you have been laying on a long time. That may be anger, it may be bitterness, it may be pity or selfishness, it may be sin.

The Countercultural

Sermon Audio

 

• ^·           Luke 23:32-34(NIV) ³²Two other men, both criminals, were also led out with him to be executed. ³³When they came to the place called the Skull, there they crucified him, along with the criminals—one on his right, the other on his left. ³⁴Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”

 

Jesus was a countercultural.  His message was against the run of the current way of thinking. 

 

• Matthew 5:38-42(NIV) ³⁸“You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’^{£ 39}But I tell you, Do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. ⁴⁰And if someone wants to sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. ⁴¹If someone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. ⁴²Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.

 

 

“Father, forgive these people, for they don’t even know what they’re doing.”

This prayer of Jesus is significant because…

Through this prayer Jesus fulfilled prophecy

• Isaiah 53:12(NIV) ¹²…and he will divide the spoils with the strong, because he poured out his life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors. For he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.

 

Jesus modeled the importance of prayer 

Jesus revealed man’s greatest need 

Forgiveness of sin. 

• Matthew 26:28(NIV) ²⁸This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.

 

 

What do you do when you’ve been hurt? 

What do you do when you’ve been wronged? 

What do you do when there’s one of the most important relationships that’s not where it’s supposed to do? 

 

You do what Jesus did. 

“Father, forgive them for they don’t know what they’re doing,”

 

How does Jesus want us to live this in our life. ?

 

Pray for those who hurt you

• Luke 6:28(NIV) ²⁸bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.

 

 

When I pray for others, my prayer for others may or may not change them, but it always changes me. 

 

• Matthew 5:43-44(NIV) ⁴³“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor^£ and hate your enemy.’ ⁴⁴But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,

 

 

Pray for restoration. 

 

“Father, forgive them.  I want them to be right with You.” 

 

• Romans 12:17-19(NIV) ¹⁷Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. ¹⁸If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. ¹⁹Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord.

 

How in the world do I forgive?

• Colossians 3:13(NIV) ¹³Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.

 

Why is forgiving others so important? 

 

• Matthew 6:14-15(NIV) ¹⁴For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. ¹⁵But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.

 

 

NEXT STEPS

Pray for those that have hurt you.

Forgive and let go of the bitterness in your heart. 

Recognize that you need to ask God for forgiveness from sin.

DEEPENING OUR FELLOWSHIP

Sermon Audio 

God wants you to care for other people.

Enjoying God's family is called fellowship, and that's one of the primary purposes for your life.

 Ephesians 1:5 - "His unchanging plan has always been to adopt us into His own family."

You are not just 'believers;' you're 'belongers.'" You belong in the family of God.

Fellowship is something we must work hard at.

 Acts 2:42-47 (NIV) ⁴²They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. ⁴³Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. ⁴⁴All the believers were together and had everything in common. ⁴⁵Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. ⁴⁶Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, ⁴⁷praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

 Hebrews 10:22-25 (NIV) ²²let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. ²³Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. ²⁴And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. ²⁵Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

We deepen fellowship by…

 Meeting together regularly

 Worshipping together

 Spurring each other on to love and good deeds

 Drawing near to God

 Encouraging each other and

Eating in each other's homes.

5 of the 6 require human interaction.

Meet together regularly

Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts.

Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing,

How can we develop communion and intimacy when we meet sporadically?

Maybe you don't deem it important because you don't realize the value of meeting together.

One of the most basic emotional needs of a person is the need to feel wanted and accepted, another is to make significant contribution.

In meeting together regularly you can meet both of those needs.

Worship Together

We come to together and worship by honoring God in our praises.

This praise includes…

Our making music – zamar

Praising in a strong and loud voice – oz Psalm 8:2

Confessing and giving thanks – yadah Psalm 9:1

Kneeling and blessing – barak

Praising in an insane and boastful way – halal

Raising our hands, being silent before the Lord.

There is another understanding of worship…the understanding of abad. Serving as slaves of one master. In divine service.

Spur Each other On Towards Love and Good Deeds

The word for spur means to incite or irritate.

The word we use for it today is accountability.

Draw Near To God

You cannot serve God and not be in relationship and fellowship with His people.

If you are isolating yourself, not getting involved, not being transparent and intimate with other believer then you are being disobedient to God.

Encourage Each Other

Imagine what could happen if people in this church committed themselves to building up everyone they came into contact with?

Life is tough and we have enough discouraging people in the world already what we need is a band of encouragers. What a great reputation to have, That church is an encouraging church.

Eat in Each Other's Homes

Get together with other people and have a meal and spend time talking. Use the time to talk not about gossip and criticisms but to talk transparently about life and living in a world that pulls and tugs at us.

It is time for us to go beyond the superficial and begin to truly fellowship the way that God intends for His children to: participation and interaction on an intimate level with the family of God. When a non-believer witnesses that kind of interaction they are drawn to God. Let our church have such deep fellowship that we draw the non-believers into wanting what we have. Let us do whatever it takes to protect and deepen our fellowship.

NEXT STEPS

 Get involved in a GROW group.

 Send an encouraging note/text/email/Facebook post to at least five people this week.

 Share a meal with others in the church family and make it a priority to do that.

 Become a member of the family of God.

   

IMPROVING THE FRIEND RELATIONSHIP

Sermon Audio

• Everyone wants to have a friend who understands and loves them for who they are.
• Everyone wants to feel significant and important.
• Cutting people down and belittling them in front of people is a sign of an enemy not a friend.
• Everyone responds to encouragement.

Asking the right questions about friendships.

1. AM I USING PEOPLE OR BUILDING THEM UP?

• Philippians 2:1 - 4 (TLB) ^…3Don't be selfish; …thinking of others as better than yourself… be interested in others, too, and in what they are doing.

The basic ingredient for a good friendship is to consider others better than yourselves.

Real friends don't look for what they can get out of the relationship but what they can give. They are more interested in making their friends successful rather than accomplishing their own agenda.

1. DO I CARE ENOUGH TO CONFRONT?

If you care enough about your friends, then you will confront whenever necessary.

• Proverbs 27:6 (GWT) ⁶Wounds made by a friend are intended to help, but an enemy's kisses are too much to bear.

A true friend always stabs you in the front. Oscar Wilde

 

When do you confront?

When the issue involves sin, the Bible tells us that we are to go to the person and confront them.

Here are the 10 commandments of confrontation.

1. Do it privately, not publicly.
2. Do it as soon as possible.
3. Speak to issue at a time.
4. Once you've made your point, don't keep repeating it.
5. Deal only with actions that the person can change.
6. Avoid sarcasm.
7. Avoid words like always and never.
8. Present criticisms as suggestions or questions if possible.
9. Don't apologize for the confrontational meeting.
10. Use the compliment sandwich. Compliment – Confront – Compliment.

With confrontation you must first have relationship or you don't have the right.

It must be done in an attitude of love.

1. AM I A GOOD LISTENER?

Listening intently says to the people talking that you care.

 

Do I allow the speaker to finish without interrupting?

Always Usually Rarely Never

Do I listen between the lines?

Always Usually Rarely Never

When writing a message, do I listen for and write down the key facts and phrases?

Always Usually Rarely Never

Do I repeat what the person just said to clarify the meaning?

Always Usually Rarely Never

Do I avoid getting hostile and/or agitated when I disagree with the speaker?

Always Usually Rarely Never

Do I tune out distractions when listening?

Always Usually Rarely Never

Do I make an effort to seem interested in what the other person is saying?

Always Usually Rarely Never

 

Score four for always, three for usually, two for rarely and one for never.

1. IS OUR FRIENDSHIP A HIGH PRIORITY?

Do your friends know by your actions that your relationship is a high priority?

If someone were to ask your friends, what would they say? That they feel used by you or that they are truly important to you?

1. DO I SEE LIFE THROUGH THEIR EYES?

Realize quickly that each person has their own unique perspective on life.

People think that their…

Problems are the biggest,

Children are the smartest,

Jokes are the funniest,

Faults should be overlooked.

 

It is not communication until it connects with the person to which you are trying to talk.

We show God's love by the way we treat others.

• Are your friendships, with believers and non-believers, relationships that demonstrate the love of God?
• Are they relationships that draw people closer to God?

We worship God by the way we treat others.

• What kind of worship are we giving to God?
• Jesus says that the way you treat others is the way you treat Him. How are you a friend to God?

"The best vitamin for developing friends is B1."

NEXT STEPS

• Take some time to do something special for a friend that you take for granted. No strings attached.
• Is there a friend that you need to approach regarding some area of their lives that is a blind spot for them?
• Spend some time with your friend truly listening to hear where they are at and how you can support them.

WHAT'S A FAMILY FOR?

Sermon Audio

• Genesis 2, "The Lord God said, `It is not good for man to be alone. I will make him a helper suitable for him. For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife.'"

The family was God's idea.

Four purposes God intends for your family.

1. THE FAMILY IS A SHELTER FROM STORMS

• Proverbs 14:26 (ICB) A person who respects the Lord will have security. And his children will be protected.

Three storms that rock your life that you need a family to help make it through:

1. Change. We live in an era of rapid change.

    2) Failure.

    3) Rejection.

• Ecclesiastes 4:12, "One standing alone can be attacked and defeated. But two can stand back to back and conquer"

How do you turn a home into a shelter?

HEAR. You've got to listen when your family hurts and not turn a deaf ear.

HUG. Physically show your affection for your family.

HELP.

HOPE. You build each other up rather than tear each other down.

2. THE FAMILY IS TO BE A LEARNING CENTER FOR LIFE.

• Psalm 144:12 "May our sons in their youth be like plants that grow up strong."

• Ephesians 6:4 "Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord."

You want to move your kids through three stages. You want to move them from parent control to self-control to God's control.

• Luke 2:52 "Jesus grew in wisdom and stature and in favor with God and with man."

You develop as a person in four ways:

• Jesus grew in wisdom - He grew intellectually.
• He grew in stature - physical development.
• He grew in favor with God - spiritual development.
• And He grew in favor with man -- social development.

What you learn from your family:

1. We learn relationships from our family.

We need to model good relationships –

• that it takes honesty to make a relationship work,
• that it takes vulnerability to make a relationship work,
• that relationships don't just happen,
• it takes energy and effort and that you've got to have a lot of forgiveness if you're going to make a relationship work.

1. We learn character in the family.
2. We learn values.

• Isaiah 38 "One generation makes known your faithfulness to the next."

Deut.6 says

3. THE THIRD REASON GOD CREATED THE FAMILY AS A PLACE TO PLAY.

• Psalm 127 "Children are a gift from God. They are his reward. Children are like sharp arrows. Happy is the man whose quiver is full of them

4. THE FOURTH PURPOSE OF A FAMILY IS TO BE A LAUNCH PAD FOR MINISTRY.

• Acts 16:34 (NCV) "The whole family was filled with joy because they had come to believe in God."

• Romans 12:13 (TLB) "When God's children are in need help them out! And get into the habit of inviting guests home for dinner or, if they need lodging, for the night."

"What about those of us who are single? Who aren't married?" Several things:

1. Don't forget the relatives you still have. Parents that may be alive, brothers and sisters. They're family.
2. Pray for those who are married and pray for their marriages.
3. Realize that the Bible says the church is to be a family for those who don't have nuclear families.

We are a family. DSC is to do these same four things.

• DSC is to be a shelter from storms.
• DSC is to be a learning center for life.
• DSC is to be a place to play.
• And DSC is to be a launch pad for ministry.

NEXT STEPS

• Celebrate your family this week. Plan something crazy. Do something off the wall, enjoy your family.
• Find ways to be affirming and encouraging to your family this week. Write a note, send a text, tell them, give them a card or a gift.
• Have devotions as a family this week. Read and do the SOUL Journal together over breakfast or dinner.
• Look for ways to do all of the above with the family at DSC as well.

THE DATING RELATIONSHIP

Sermon Audio

REVIEW

To really be fulfilled in life, you have to find the "One."

The One is … Jesus.

Key Operating Thought…

"If you want something that you've never had, you must do something that you've never done."

• Romans 12:2 (NLT) ²Don't copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will know what God wants you to do, and you will know how good and pleasing and perfect his will really is.

• Romans 12:2 (TLB) ²Don't copy the behavior and customs of this world, but be a new and different person with a fresh newness in all you do and think. Then you will learn from your own experience how his ways will really satisfy you.

• 1 Corinthians 3:18 (NLT) ¹⁸Stop fooling yourselves. If you think you are wise by this world's standards, you will have to become a fool so you can become wise by God's standards.

WE WILL NOT FOLLOW THE WORLD'S STANDARDS

"I will have a higher standard on who I will see"

As a Christ follower, we will have a higher standard on who we will see.

• 2 Corinthians 6:14 (NIV) ¹⁴Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness?

• Deuteronomy 22:10 (KJV) ¹⁰Thou shalt not plow with an ox and an ass together.

"I will have a higher standard on what I will do,"

• 1 Peter 1:14 through 1 Peter 1:16 (NIV) ¹⁴As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. ¹⁵But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; ¹⁶for it is written: "Be holy, because I am holy."

What does holy mean? It means pure, morally blameless, set apart, different in all that you do.

• Hebrews 13:4 (NIV) ⁴Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral.

For those who are married…

If you want something that you once had, you must do something that you once did.

• Revelation 2:4 through Revelation 2:5 (NIV) ⁴Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love. ⁵Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first.

"I will have a higher standard on what I will expect."

• Ephesians 3:20 (NIV) ²⁰Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us,

NEXT STEPS

I will honor my spouse by being holy

I will seek to put God first

THE MARRIAGE RELATIONSHIP

Sermon Audio 

ONENESS IN MARRIAGE

 Genesis 2:18-25(CEV) ¹⁸The Lord God said, "It isn't good for the man to live alone. I need to make a suitable partner for him." ^19-20So the Lord took some soil and made animals and birds. He brought them to the man to see what names he would give each of them. Then the man named the tame animals and the birds and the wild animals. That's how they got their names. None of these was the right kind of partner for the man. ²¹So the Lord God made him fall into a deep sleep, and he took out one of the man's ribs. Then after closing the man's side, ²²the Lord made a woman out of the rib. The Lord God brought her to the man, ²³and the man exclaimed, "Here is someone like me! She is part of my body, my own flesh and bones. She came from me, a man. So I will name her Woman!" ²⁴ That's why a man will leave his own father and mother. He marries a woman, and the two of them become like one person. ²⁵Although the man and his wife were both naked, they were not ashamed.

Marriage is God's idea.

God designed marriage to be a lifetime COMMITMENT between one man and one woman.

Paul tells us that it is easier to be God's servant if you're single.

 1 Corinthians 7:32-34(TMSG) ³²I want you to live as free of complications as possible. When you're unmarried, you're free to concentrate on simply pleasing the Master. ³³Marriage involves you in all the nuts and bolts of domestic life and in wanting to please your spouse, ³⁴leading to so many more demands on your attention. The time and energy that married people spend on caring for and nurturing each other, the unmarried can spend in becoming whole and holy instruments of God.

What he is saying is that if you are married your highest relationship and priority after God should be your spouse.

God's design for ONENESS in marriage is at the heart of God's purpose for mankind.

Another way of defining oneness is…

"being in joyful agreement with God's will and purpose."
God's three great purposes in creating us.

To Mirror His Image

 Genesis 1:27(TEV) ²⁷ So God created human beings, making them to be like himself. He created them male and female,

It takes both a man and a woman to truly reflect...

 The nature of God.

 God as Trinity—Father, Son, Holy Spirit—is a model of relationships.

 Of unity.

 Of oneness.

 Of mutual goals.

 Common objectives.

 Supporting one another.

Our church relationships, and our friendships, and our marriages are all modeled on the reality that God the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit all love each other and seek oneness of purpose.

To Mutually Complete One Another
(To Experience Companionship)

 Genesis 2:18(CEV) ¹⁸The Lord God said, "It isn't good for the man to live alone. I need to make a suitable partner for him."

God ordains that companionship is the antidote for isolation.
A marriage doesn't just pool my talents and those of my spouse; we actually help each other to develop to the fullest and to gain new talents.

 Genesis 24:67: Isaac brought her into the tent of his mother Sarah, and he married Rebekah. So she became his wife, and he loved her; and Isaac was comforted after his mother's death.

To Multiply a Godly Legacy

 Genesis 1:26-28(TEV) ²⁶ Then God said, "And now we will make human beings; they will be like us and resemble us. They will have power over the fish, the birds, and all animals, domestic and wild, large and small." ²⁷So God created human beings, making them to be like himself. He created them male and female, ²⁸blessed them, and said, "Have many children, so that your descendants will live all over the earth and bring it under their control. I am putting you in charge of the fish, the birds, and all the wild animals.

We're here to fill our planet with more people like ourselves, people who will acknowledge the sovereignty of God in our lives.

WARNING LIGHT

In American culture today, when it comes to marriage, more and more people are deciding: it isn't necessary. The mom-dad-kids family structure is now a minority statistic here in America.

Satan plots to destroy God's design. He challenges the concept of intimacy. He breaks up marriages; he has twisted the ideal of sexual fulfillment.

Your spouse is not the enemy, Satan is.

None of us have a perfect marriage—but we must treasure the one we have and fight hard to lay down the selfishness, disappointments and disillusionments that are inevitable so that we can allow our marriage to be what God designed it to be.

NEXT STEPS

 Spend some time talking with your spouse, going beyond the business of living together and talking about things like, hopes, dreams, fears, concerns.

 

 Put aside time to draw closer to God, because as you do you are able to develop deeper intimacy with your spouse.