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The Great Commandments Apply at Home

April 9, 2013 — Leave a comment

“Which commandment is the most important of all?” Jesus answered, “The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.” (Mark 12:28-31)

If no commandment is greater than these, no environment needs them more than our homes. When God first commanded the children of Israel to love him with all their heart, soul, and might, he directly attached his expectations to everyday life at home.

“These words that I command you today shall be on your heart. 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. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.” (Deut 6:6-9)

By God’s design, home is “where the children are led to know Christ in his beauty who loves them so.” Home, as God envisioned, is “where the altar fires burn and glow” (B. B. McKinney). Home may be “where the heart is,” but nothing matters more in Christian homes than the heart of God.

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To What (Or Whom) Are Mean People Driving You?

June 7, 2012 — 2 Comments

Some people are mean. Plain and simple. They boast. They’re arrogant and rude. They enjoy rivalry. They try to irritate. They’re skillful at crushing the spirits of others. They walk in the footsteps of Peninnah, who used to provoke Hannah grievously to irritate her.

If you find yourself in the place of Hannah today, could I encourage you to ask a question? To what (or whom) is this mean person driving me?
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"It's Not Your Party!"

March 27, 2012 — Leave a comment

A story and powerful point of perspective from Paul Tripp as told in Instruments in the Redeemer’s Hands:

In 1978 I did one of the most courageous things in my life: I became a kindergarten teacher!

One Monday afternoon, the mother of one of my novice academics asked if she could have a birthday party for her daughter in the classroom on the following Friday. The day came, and after the mother’s frenetic preparation, we all entered the room. She had turned our little classroom into a birthday kingdom! The walls and table were lavishly decorated, multi-colored streamers hung from the ceiling, and a balloon within a balloon was tied to the back of each chair. At each seat was a ribbon-tied cellophane bag of party favors. The only exception was the birthday girl, who was surrounded by a huge pile of beautifully-wrapped gifts.

At the far end of the table sat Johnny. Johnny kept doing the same thing over and over. He would look at his little bag of party favors, then at the birthday girl’s mountain of gifts, fold his arms, stick out his lower lip, and let out an audible “HUMPH!” Each time, the look on his face got more ugly and his humphing more audible. Before long he had become the center of attention and was well on his way to spoiling the party. Then one of the mothers walked over and knelt beside him. She turned his chair so that Johnny was looking directly into her face, and she spoke the profound words: “Johnny, it’s not your party!”

Johnny wasn’t supposed to be the center of attention. He wasn’t supposed to have a huge pile of gifts. It was Susie’s birthday, and everything was rightly focused on her. Johnny would never enjoy his inclusion in the event if he demanded to be the center.

So it is with the grand story of the Bible. With all of its locations and people, with all of the dramatic events of nature and history, at the center of the story is the Lord. It is his story. Paul summarizes the story this way, “For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory forever! Amen!” (Rom 11:36)

What about today? What about you?

What sort of joy might you experience if you lived in harmony with that simple truth: “It’s not my party”?

What sort of peace might you discover if you called off the pitiful pity parties that have wasted your past and are spoiling your present?

What sort of purpose might be clarified for the future if you refined your shortsighted quests to  ”be the center” and reassigned those energies to living in joyful recognition of the Lord as the center of the story?

Whatever you do today, don’t forfeit your opportunity to share in the story because you can’t get over yourself.

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Self-Centered Religiosity vs. God-Centered Humility

October 26, 2011 — Leave a comment

[Jesus] also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt: “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’ But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.” (Luke 18:9-14)

Polar opposites. Two distinct mindsets that produce two different types of people. This sermon compares the two: self-centered religiosity and God-centered humility.

The key question in the shaping of the mindsets: Who is at the center?

For more sermons, visit the Sermons archive.
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Control Yourself!

July 14, 2011 — Leave a comment

Nathan Williams has compiled a good list of wise warnings we need to hear today.

One of the overriding themes of Proverbs is the admonition to control yourself! The wise man controls his attitude, his tongue, and his actions. The fool is lazy, mean-spirited, quick-to-react, hateful, and vengeful. Whatever a man does reflects what is in his heart. What is in your heart? You can tell by your attitude, words, and actions.

Control Your Body

___ The sluggard says, “There is a lion outside!
_______ I shall be killed in the streets!”  (Pro 22:13)

 

____________ I passed by the field of a sluggard,
__________________ by the vineyard of a man lacking sense,
____________ and behold, it was all overgrown with thorns;
__________________ the ground was covered with nettles,
__________________ and its stone wall was broken down.
____________ Then I saw and considered it;
__________________ I looked and received instruction.
____________ A little sleep, a little slumber,
__________________ a little folding of the hands to rest,
____________ and poverty will come upon you like a robber,
__________________ and want like an armed man.  (Pro 24:30-34)

Control Your Tongue

____________ What your eyes have seen
__________________ do not hastily bring into court,
____________ for what will you do in the end,
__________________ when your neighbor puts you to shame?
____________ Argue your case with your neighbor himself,
__________________ and do not reveal another’s secret,
____________ lest he who hears you bring shame upon you,
__________________ and your ill repute have no end.  (Pro 25:8-10)

 

____________ When words are many, transgression is not lacking,
__________________ but whoever restrains his lips is prudent.
____________ The tongue of the righteous is choice silver;
__________________ the heart of the wicked is of little worth.
____________ The lips of the righteous feed many,
__________________ but fools die for lack of sense.  (Pro 10:19-21)

Control Your Temper

____________ A fool gives full vent to his spirit,
__________________ but a wise man quietly holds it back.  (Pro 29:11)

 

____________ A man of wrath stirs up strife,
__________________ and one given to anger causes much transgression.  (Pro 29:22)

Control Your Associations

____________ Make no friendship with a man given to anger,
__________________ nor go with a wrathful man,
____________ lest you learn his ways
__________________ and entangle yourself in a snare.
____________ Be not one of those who give pledges,
__________________ who put up security for debts.  (Pro 22:24-26)

 

____________ Do not eat the bread of a man who is stingy;
__________________ do not desire his delicacies,
____________ for he is like one who is inwardly calculating.
__________________ “Eat and drink!” he says to you,
__________________ but his heart is not with you.
____________ You will vomit up the morsels that you have eaten,
__________________ and waste your pleasant words.  (Pro 23:6-8)

 

____________ My son, if sinners entice you,
__________________ do not consent.  (Pro 1:10)

 

____________ For the commandment is a lamp and the teaching a light,
__________________ and the reproofs of discipline are the way of life,
____________ to preserve you from the evil woman,
__________________ from the smooth tongue of the adulteress.  (Pro 6:23-24)

 

____________ Say to wisdom, “You are my sister,”
__________________ and call insight your intimate friend,
____________ to keep you from the forbidden woman,
__________________ from the adulteress with her smooth words.  (Pro 7:4-5)

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Are You Living Beneath a Cloud of Guilt?

March 11, 2011 — Leave a comment

Healthy vs Unhealthy Guilt

Guilt is a powerful emotion that can have positive and negative effects on our lives. Are you currently under a cloud of guilt? Is it a healthy or unhealthy cloud, as defined by your Creator?

For more sermon outlines and recordings, be sure to visit the Sermons archive.

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What is True Love?

February 14, 2011 — Leave a comment

In What Did You Expect? Redeeming the Realities of Marriage, Paul Tripp defines love as “willing self-sacrifice for the good of another that does not require reciprocation or that the person being loved is deserving.”

Love is  willing.

Jesus said, “No one takes [my life] from me, but I lay it down of my own accord” (John 10:18).  The decisions, words, and actions of love always grow in the soil of a willing heart. You cannot force a person to love.  If you are forcing someone to love, by the very nature of the act, you are demonstrating that this person doesn’t, in fact, love.

Love is  willing self-sacrifice.

  • There is no such thing as love without sacrifice.
  • Love calls you beyond the borders of your own wants, needs, and feelings.
  • Love calls you to be willing to invest time, energy, money, resources, personal ability, and gifts for the good of another.
  • Love calls you to lay down your life in ways that are concrete and specific.
  • Love calls you to serve, to wait, to give, to suffer, to forgive, and to do all these things again and again.
  • Love calls you to be silent when you want to speak, and to speak when you would like to be silent.
  • Love calls you to act when you would really like to wait, and to wait when you would really like to act.
  • Love calls you to stop when you really want to continue, and it calls you to continue when you feel like stopping.
  • Love again and again calls you away from your instincts and your comfort.
  • Love always requires personal sacrifice.
  • Love calls you to give up your life.

Love is willing self-sacrifice  for the good of another.

  • Love always has the good of another in view.
  • Love is motivated by the interests and needs of others.
  • Love is excited at the prospect of alleviating burdens and meeting needs.
  • Love feels poor when the loved one is poor.
  • Love suffers when the loved one suffers.
  • Love wants the best for the loved one and works to deliver it.

Love is willing self-sacrifice for the good of another  that does not require reciprocation.

  • The Bible says that Jesus died for us while we were still sinners. If he had waited until we were able to reciprocate, there would be no hope for us.
  • Love isn’t a “you-scratch-my-back-and-I’ll-scratch-yours” bargain.
  • Love isn’t about placing people in our debt and waiting for them to pay off their debts.
  • Love isn’t a negotiation for mutual good.
  • Real love does not demand reciprocation, because real love isn’t motivated by the return on the investment.
  • No, real love is motivated by the good that will result in the life of the person being loved.

Love is willing self-sacrifice for the good of another  that does not require reciprocation or  that the person being loved is deserving.

Christ was willing to go to the cross and carry our sin precisely because there was nothing that we could ever do to earn, achieve, or deserve the love of God. If you are interested only in loving people who are deserving, the reality is that you are not motivated by love for them, but by love for yourself. Love does its best work when the other person is undeserving. It is in these moments that love is most needed. It is in these moments that love is protective and preventative. It stays the course while refusing to quit or to get down and get dirty and give way to things that are anything but love.

  • There is never a day in your marriage when you aren’t called to be willing.
  • There is never a day in your marriage when some personal sacrifice is not needed.
  • There is never a day when you are free from the need to consider the good of your husband or wife.
  • There is never a day when you aren’t called to do what is not reciprocated and to offer what has not been deserved.
  • There is never a day when your marriage can coast along without being infused by this kind of love.

-  What Did You Expect? Redeeming the Realities of Marriage
(Paul David Tripp, pg. 188-189)

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Be Careful About What Gets Lodged Inside You Today

January 25, 2011 — Leave a comment

If an object becomes  lodged somewhere, it is “fixed, implanted, or caught in a place or position.” It “comes to rest” or “sticks.”  As in,

  • The chicken bone got lodged in her throat.
  • The bullet lodged in his leg.
  • She had emergency surgery to remove a blood clot that was  lodged in her lung.

But objects aren’t the only things that can get lodged in unnatural places.

__________O Jerusalem, wash your heart from evil,
_________________that you may be saved.
__________How long shall your wicked thoughts
_________________lodge within you? (Jer 4.14)

There are wicked thoughts that can so very easily become lodged in your heart today. They don’t belong there any more than a chicken bone belongs in your throat, or a bullet belongs in your leg, or a blood clot belongs in your lung. If allowed to “stick,” these unholy seeds will take root and blossom.

Into selfishness, sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, callousness, greed, deception, self-pity, slander, obscene talk, and things like these.

As Jesus established in Matthew 15:19-20, “Out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander. These are what defile a person.”

Don’t want to be defiled?  Don’t want evil to “naturally” spew out of your mouth? Don’t want to live in bondage as a slave who foolishly continues to act on sinful passions and desires? Recognize these for what they are—wicked thoughts—and don’t allow them to become lodged within you today.

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When Jesus Says, "Woe to You!"

December 10, 2010 — Leave a comment

Seven times in Matthew 23 Jesus pronounces “woe” on the scribes and Pharisees of his day.  ”Woe” is grievous distress, affliction, or trouble.  It’s an exclamation of grief or lamentation.

Using Matthew 23 as a type of mirror for self-examination, Jesus will say “woe” to me…

The “good news” of Jesus Christ is that it is not too late (Matthew 23:37-39).  For those who are willing to respond to God’s offer of grace, the opportunity for redemption still stands (1 Peter 3:18-22).

For more interactive outlines and mp3 recordings, be sure to visit the Sermons archive.

NOTE: Advertisements on the above player are randomly generated by the service provider and do not necessarily imply endorsement of the material advertised. Readers are always encouraged to apply the “Berean test” (Acts 17:11) to all that they see and hear.
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"Nobody Stays Together Anymore"

April 27, 2010 — Leave a comment

It was a few days ago, but it has stuck with me.

I was walking through our kitchen. Chloe was telling Shelly about her day at school. She mentioned that a friend had cried off and on all day. On the playground, when asked what was wrong by some of her 3rd-grade classmates, this little girl revealed that the night before she had been told that her parents were “breaking up.” At that point, one of Chloe’s other classmates laughed, told the little girl it would be alright, and remarked, “Nobody stays together anymore.”

The accepted concept of marriage in the eyes of this 3rd-grade girl was summed up in that one statement. Undoubtedly she had heard it before. She could say it with a laugh. And, intentionally or not, her words are one more shaping influence in several other 3rd-grade minds. “Nobody stays together anymore.”

Parents, work to give “good gifts to your children” (Mat 7:11). Do what you can to create an environment where the hearts of your children are cheerful. Enjoy watching as they learn to walk in the ways of their hearts and the sight of their eyes (Eccl 11:9). Just remember that one of the greatest gifts you can possibly pass on to your children is the security produced by a father and mother who genuinely and selflessly love each other to the glory of God.

Enough money can buy any toy, but there isn’t enough money in the world to buy a cheerful heart. Job promotions can open exciting doors of opportunity, but job promotions can’t produce fulfilling marriages. Recreation can recharge our physical batteries, but recreation alone can’t repair broken hearts. A bigger house can provide more space, but a bigger house doesn’t equal a happy home.

Those selfish demands you’re making? They are eroding the foundation of your marriage.

Those disrespectful judgments that have become a regular part of your vocabulary at home? Your children are listening.

Those angry outbursts you’ve grown accustomed to inflicting? Each one is weakening the stability of your family.

The dishonesty that is characterizing more and more of your decisions? It will eventually consume you like a cancer.

The hidden lusts of the flesh you continue to sinfully gratify? They are lying to you. They will eventually cost you everything that matters.

Husbands and fathers, take a moment to imagine your son on the playground. Wives and mothers, take a moment to imagine your daughter nonchalantly remarking, “Nobody stays together anymore,” and offering her own parents as proof. Let’s be humbled by the fact that today’s actions will impact tomorrow’s circumstances. Today’s choices will strengthen or weaken tomorrow’s marriage. Today’s decisions will shape tomorrow for our children.

Be on guard today, and say a prayer for those children whose future has been made more difficult and lonely by the selfishness of their parents. May they find peace and fulfillment in a submissive relationship with the only perfect Father in heaven (Mat 7:11).

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