From Dream to Deliverance
Sunday, September 12, 2004
My Prayer Today
Heavenly Father, Thank You for a new week of life and worship! I praise You for being worthy of our worship, for being holy and perfect in every way. Thank You for the gift of life and for the gift of eternal life through Your Son, Jesus Christ. I pray that as I go about this day, in my time alone in worship with You, and in my time of corporate worship with brothers and sisters through Jesus, that You will be glorified. Fill me with the Holy Spirit that all that I am and all that I have will be dedicated to advancing the cause of Your coming Kingdom. All this I pray in Jesus’ name. May His name be praised forever! Amen.
God's Word For Me Today
Ephesians 5:21-28a; 6:1-4
21And further, you will submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. 22You wives will submit to your husbands as you do to the Lord. 23For a husband is the head of his wife as Christ is the head of his body, the church; he gave his life to be her Savior. 24As the church submits to Christ, so you wives must submit to your husbands in everything.
25And you husbands must love your wives with the same love Christ showed the church. He gave up his life for her 26to make her holy and clean, washed by baptism and God’s word. 27He did this to present her to himself as a glorious church without a spot or wrinkle or any other blemish. Instead, she will be holy and without fault. 28In the same way, husbands ought to love their wives as they love their own bodies.
1Children, obey your parents because you belong to the Lord, for this is the right thing to do. 2“Honor your father and mother.” This is the first of the Ten Commandments that ends with a promise. 3And this is the promise: If you honor your father and mother, “you will live a long life, full of blessing.”
4And now a word to you fathers. Don’t make your children angry by the way you treat them. Rather, bring them up with the discipline and instruction approved by the Lord.
Reflecting on God’s Word
What do you think of when someone mentions the word “family”?
A Deeper Exploration of God’s Word
Look at the entire passage of Scripture for today as a whole. What commands stand out to you?
In looking at the entire passage, who is addressed in the totality of the reading?
What did you notice in this reading that you have never noticed in reading it before?
Understanding God’s Word
What do you learn about God through reading today’s Scripture?
Why do you suppose that a proper understanding of family was so important to the Apostle Paul?
Applying God’s Word to Our Lives
What one thing do you need to do as a result of reading today’s Scripture?
Thoughts...Following the Dream to Deliverance in Our Families...
God doesn’t just give dreams to great leaders, or to churches or nations. God gives dreams to families as well! Sometimes the dreams are big. Sometimes they may be simple. The key is that God ordered and structured the family in such a way that there may be both authority and harmony. The Apostle Paul makes it evident that wives are to submit to the husbands just as they would submit to Jesus! At the same time husbands are called to love their wives to the point of giving their lives for them if necessary. When children are part of the family, they are to understand that it is their primary responsibility to obey the authority of their parents, while Paul reminds Fathers in particular that they are not to provoke anger in their children by the way they treat them. Paul presents a balanced view of family life. That in itself is a dream for most of us. Along the way we will find that it is most definitely a decision to say, “yes” to these commands, and that there will be delays, difficulties and even dead ends along the way. The key is for us to remember that as we trust in the Lord, putting Him first, we WILL come to the ultimate deliverance—a healthy, growing family where Jesus is truly Lord, and where the whole “unit” works together to advance His kingdom. This week we’ll see the plan unfold.