Matthew 5-7: The Sermon on the Marraige

People pay a lot of money for marriage counseling that basically tells them that to have a happy marriage they must work on: communication, self-control, loving kindness, preferring one another above ones self, forgiving past mistakes, and so on.

It sounds to me like the real issue is applying the relationship rules of the Sermon on the Mount to marriage. If we use the rules and principals of Christianity at home, like we do at work and at church, maybe our homes would be places of peace. Some people are happy at work and at church because they and their spouse live by the Word of God in public. Thus, they are happy in public. But at home, there is no peace because the relationship rules of the Sermon on the Mount are not followed.

Here are a few to study and apply to marriage.
1. Matthew 5:23-26 - Settle disagreements.
2. Matthew 5:27-30 - Maintain sexual purity.
3. Matthew 5:37 - Communicate clearly and honestly.
4. Matthew 5:41-42 - Go the extra mile for others.
5. Matthew 6:14-15 - Be forgiving.
6. Matthew 7:1-3 - Harsh judgement can go two ways.
7. Matthew 7:12 - The golden rule.

No one is perfect. I have to work on these as much as the next guy. It is God's Word. These are the rules and principals that Jesus gave us for peacefully living together. I realize that this is difficult to follow through with when your spouse will not follow these same relationship rules. But, just as they are effective in relating to erring behavior in your community, they are effective in the home. Your marriage is your most important human relationship. Let's try applying these to our homes this week. I am praying for your marriage today.

III John 2 ya'

Pray for Some Space

The Bible says, "pray for the peace of Jerusalem." I am asking that you, "pray for some space in Washington." Please keep our future building campaign in your prayers. Today I checked on another property that will be up for sale in our area. Please know that this issue is heavy on my mind and I don't want to do this relocation thing alone.

In any venture, the first step is prayer. Please pray for some space in Washington.

Faster Than You Think

Well, Saturday was the race day. I finished in 23:40. I did not think I could, but I did. Recovery has been very difficult. Recovery was never this slow in High School. Monday's run nearly killed me.

One of my life rules from running is, "You can run faster and farther than you think you can." Just when you think you can't run another step, a car pulls out without seeing you and you make it several more steps! Just when you think you are going as fast as possible, a big dog jumps out of a yard at you and you sprint away. The lesson learned, "You can run faster and farther than you think you can."

The first sub five minute mile (4:57) I ran was in a 5-K race. I still had two more miles to run. Should I stop or slow down? No. Other things will cause me to slow down later. I can run faster and farther than I think I can.

Often Christians think that other Christians will be the ones who really succeed with God. Others will go on mission trips, lead friends to Christ, be prayer warriors, and be used in spiritual gifts. What do I think? I think that you don't realize how far and fast you were actually made by God to run.

Paul said, "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith." "Finished the race..." does not just mean, well, I lived my whole life. It means that he ran. I ran the race set before me. I did it the way God intended. I achieved the God given goals for my life. Finishing life easy, everyone will eventually. Running the length of the race, that takes determination and God's daily help.

Ready To Run

I am getting ready for a 5-K race on Saturday. There are a few others from church that will be running in the race. It is a Relay for Life fund raiser. I encourage everyone to wear their Nothing's Too Hard for God shirts at the race. We may have to change into a race t-shirt, but it is always good to flood the town with our shirts when we can.

I am hoping to run close to a 24 minute race. It will not be easy based on my last few weeks of practice. For you serious racers, I will never beat my PR, set in 1989 when I weighed 140 pounds and just about to turn 18.

27 Tough Questions

I just finished reading, "27 Tough Questions Pastors Ask." It is by Dick Hardy, who started The Hardy Group, a church and leadership consulting group.

Many of the things are items that I have know for years and tried to implement. It was really good to get a reminder that those items are important. These items would be great for any church board to read as well. It is a great book for helping a church leadership team all be on the same page. Here are the two most important items that I picked out that seem to come up in several chapters.

First, prayer is absolutely important. Dick is not talking about a little prayer, but creating a "culture of prayer" in every part of the church. It was really challenging to me to read a church growth book that actually emphasized prayer! That is a miserably missing component of many church growth books today. This needs to improve in the church I pastor.

Second, growth is not about all the things that the Pastor and leadership must implement, but about removing obstacles to growth. It really makes sense. I am weary with mail and advertisements about all the things I need to add to my church to make it grow. First, pray, second, preach the word. That is the recipe for building the kingdom, not just a church. But, too often we place barriers in the way of the seeker and the person far from God so that they can not get through our man made obstacles. This came up several times and really makes me think differently about growth for a church. It is not what we add; it is what we need to remove in many cases.

This would be a great book for Pastors to share with their board.

Its a Jungle Out There

My book is now available in the Jungle of Amazon.com. Cool feeling to think that it is available so widely. Check it out here.

Free Shipping

Lulu.com is offering free shipping on orders over $19.00. That means, if you buy two soft cover copies of "How Will We Live Then?" your shipping is free. Several people have said that they intend to buy a copy for a friend this summer.

Pray and Fast

The Elders met last week for our monthly meeting. The verdict? We have to pray and fast. We need more space and have a goal to reach eight households by the end of summer. That would put our attendance around 190. We can do it. But, that would put us at our building limit (past actually). Please pray earnestly about a building program.

We need money and we have not prepared for the huge amount of money needed for a down payment on expensive property in the Washington, MO area. We are saving money for a small church, but it is small savings. We own our building, but it is not worth an amount that would allow us to purchase much. Almost everything larger than our current building is going for at least double our value and in some cases four to five times more.

First thing is first. First we need to pray. Then we can consider other steps. Pray, Pray, Pray.

Weekend Rewind

Great to be back in the speakers slot again. Three weeks off. I spent most of my time visiting people and researching our finances and properties we might relocate to. That is not going to be easy!

Shared a great message on God's ability to heal broken relationships and his ability to give us wisdom for relationships. Several people who did not respond publicly are responding privately.

Interestingly we had the same word in both morning services through the gifts of the Spirit. An encouragement to surrender everything to God. God was trying to tell us something today! Let's listen.

Office Closed Friday

Friday, May 7th, the offices will be closed due to staff needing to take days off for family.

Our regular hours are Monday through Friday 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. We stagger our days off and our lunch hours so that, as much as possible, one of the three full time staff will be available during office hours.

Thanks,

Crazy Mother's Day

The kids at school were making a book for Mother's Day by answering some questions about their moms. One question was, "How much money does your mother make?" Here are some answers fresh from the classroom this week. Don't be offended, I am just quoting the kids.

--She tries and tries to make $133 per week.
--Probably $65. And guess what, my mom's business does not pay her enough to work for them. (Love to be a fly on the wall when mom gets home from a tough day.)
--She stays at home and dad does all the work. (Some kid is going to get a lecture from mom.)

For that last one, here is a link to a great Mother's Day video you can buy from BlueFishTV. They are a Christian ministry that creates videos for teaching. They also have some great Small Group materials on video. If you are a small group leader, check them out for material. We have purchased their videos for sermon illustrations many times.