The Christian Life of a Wife/ The Wise Wife: Sermon Notes

Once again I have been asked to publish my speaking notes from the Sunday sermon.  These notes differ from the actual message.  That message can be found at: http://www.holidayshoresbaptist.org/media/2012-10-14_Wes_Pinkley.mp3

Several Scriptures are pertinent to this topic, and this sermon is limited by time.

However there are three areas I desire to address today.

I. Your Husband is Your Ministry

II. Submission is Faith in God

III. Looking Good

 Remember, Paul uses these things as an illustration of the Church.  Thus we all need to heed and know our role.  For it is a grand blessing of God to be His bride. 

Ladies, your success is not based on your husband, but on your God.  Live accordingly.  For it is an honor to God to serve well, especially in difficult circumstances.

All these are done to the glory of God.

I.          Your Husband is your ministry

Genesis 2:24-25 One Flesh
1 Corinthians 11:3 The husband is the head of the wife
Ephesians 5:23
Proverbs 31:10-31 The priority is the household to aid the husband
2 Peter 1:3 Doing all with excellence
Ephesians 5:22 & 33 submit and respect, serving by building up your co-laborer

 

II. Submission

This idea has been perverted by the “women’s liberation movement”, and by unloving husbands who have manipulated it into a dirge of the covenant.

HUSBANDS- remove the plank in your own eye before going after her speck.  Remember the sermon on success?  The standard is from God, not the world.  Idolatry places us against God’s ways.  You yourself are in submission to God. Are you thus hypocritical or a man of character?

Ephesians 5:22 Submission is graceful acceptance of the husband’s care.

Your husband has a responsibility to God, how can he learn submissiveness if you do not have humble submission?  This of course is for those who desire for their husbands to take on a spiritual leader role and to honor God. 

The context is Ephesians 5:2, 15-17, 20-21

It is a submission to God issue.

Because your husband is your ministry, it is a key to success before God.

III.  Looking Good, Women’s Adornment

1 Peter 3:1-6

            Again submission comes up, it is working orderly with your husband.

Peter shows that it has a purpose in bringing others to Christ.

As I said weeks ago, we are to be peculiar people.  Your disposition to your husband will set you apart from other women.  It can give great glory to Christ.  Otherwise, claiming to be a Christian and yet grumbling, band mouthing, and showing disrespect puts you in the category of unchanged from the former ways.  The cross always changes us in sanctification.

  Beauty is not merely clothing, hair, and jewelry. Peter does not prohibit these things.

A pastor once said, if the barn needs paint, then pain it.

However, true godly beauty is the personality of the heart.  Really. 

Unfortunately, physical appearance is idolized today.  Magazines, TV shows, fitness programs, all turn appearance into an idol.

            Here is a point, the body is temporary, the eternal is the priority.  God has chosen to give us the bodies we have.  Yes we should care for them, but to the point that we are at our best for ministry.  That we live quality lives for the glory of God.  When you eat, eat sensibly.  Exercise too.  To fail to do these is to be slothful, and Proverbs says much about this character, it calls it sin.

But your character is key.  A ring of gold in a pigs snout is a disgraceful waste.  If you do not have the beauty of the heart they you may run the risk of being a bejeweled sow.  However, a woman of excellence is to be praised.

Do not look for praise for your shoes, hair, or figure; find it in “well done thou good and faithful servant.”

Thus, eat that chocolate to God’s glory.  Dine on pasta.  But also enjoy a salad and exercise regularly, all the while, renewing the mind- not conforming to the things of the world. For God wishes to bless you through sanctification. 

Husbands, help your wife to become the woman God intends for her to be.  She is your co-labored, your help-meet, your responsibility, together you both shall worship God in spirit and in truth.

Living the Christian Life: Biblical Marriage-A Redemptive Work of God.

These sermon notes correspond to the sermon at http://www.holidayshoresbaptist.org/media/2012-10-07_Wes_Pinkley.mp3. It is my hope that if you missed out on being here that day, or even if you were here, these would be a help to you.

 

 

As you are called to be the leader of the home, you are required to lead with love.  This is the absolute best method.  It is God’s way.  It is the way in which He has always led the church.

BTW: Husbands ought to seek to measure up to the qualifications of an elder, as this is a consummate design in leadership.  Those whom can lead their home can then lead in the church.

 TEXT

1 Peter 3:7

Genesis 2 & 3

 Husbands, how do you handle someone given to you as a helper, and who submits to you?  Do you successfully fulfill the office of leader, of working together, of loving as God commanded, and of being an example to others of the grace of God?  Do you honor the covenant you made on your wedding day?

These are weighty obligations.

Lets talk a moment about the ideal marriage vs. reality?

            Again, do not look at the world’s example, but remember as I preached, what is marriage and what is success in the biblical model?

Ephesians 5 is about imitating God.

Submitting to Christ, thus 22-33 is how that is played out.
Action words abound: love, gave up, in order to sanctify her (make pure),

            In order to have a wife of splendor: (all glory)

            Without spot or wrinkle that is without blemish or seam, holy as one.

Lets look at 1 Peter 3

      Men vs1-6 is for you to know how to help your wife.
      Her ministry goal is you- make it easy for her.

     V7       Husbands- love in an understanding way
      Show honor
      Weaker vessel- leading you to honor/fellow heir
      Help make her complete

NOTE: This is that your prayer life is to not be hindered

·         Prayer life of the husband is expected, obligatory, not an optional item.

 So, we are to live as examples of Christ

This glorifies God and brings us joy (success too)
So as Chrsit loves the church so you are to love your wife.

How you treat your wife shows the depth of your relationship with Christ.

This requires

·         Being a Christian
·         Humility, the denial of self
·         Actively leading the family in the ways of Christ
·         Sanctification and discipleship
·         Daily applying love

Living the Christian Life: Biblical Marriage-A Redemptive Work of God,: Sermon Notes

Saints,

Once again I have been asked to publish my notes from the Sunday sermon.
These are the notes that I began with, however, as often happens, thae actual sermon will differ.
The link for this sermon is http://www.holidayshoresbaptist.org/media/2012-09-30_Wes_Pinkley.mp3

Many of you may have heard in the past two weeks about a third century fragment of parchment that alludes to a conversation where Jesus mentions having a wife.

Even though this is poor scholarship, many are curious about this “fragment.”

However, I need to tell you, it is true that Jesus had a bride, she is called The Church.

Biblical marriage can be seen as a redemptive work of God, even before sin entered the world.  For marriage was God’s way of blessing Adam.

Marriage needs to operate in the context that it is God’s picture of the church relating to Him, thus it is extremely sacred.  As a matter of fact, When Ephesian 5 talks about marriage, Paul states that he is actually talking about the church.

First off, through a Fact Checker, I found this week that the statistics on ”Christian divorce” are not equal to the world.  Often this has been misrepresented. Protestant active conservative couples are 35% less likely to divorce.

 Biblical Marriage is redemptive, in it we have

·         Trials and failures
·         Love as the key
·         And a covenant to keep

With all of that, we can find a picture of God’s redemptive plan.

 

Genesis 2:1-25  It is not Good for Man to be Alone

Genesis 3:7-17 God created Adam. 
He is the only creation where God breathed life into him.
Work, Duties, responsibilities, all were for the Glory of God and before the fall.

V18     God makes a helper, fit for him,

            This is one that is beside him, notice the rib.  God does have an order, but the wife is to be a literal part of the life of the husband.
God also implies charges that Adam is to care for his wife Eve.  It will be a pleasurable union.

V18-24 initiates the covenant of marriage- all before sin.

Leave- obligations are involved in the marriage covenant
Hold Fast- is that there exists a covenant bond- not to be broken.  The Bible only grants divorce in two cases, and both of those are to be worked out if at all possible.
Become- an active verb of growing together. Much emphasis is lost here, but you need to know your verbs.  They are for action, men, do you want to be a man of action?  Do you want to be an action superhero?  Then be a man of marriage in redemptive action.
One Flesh- this is the goal. That there be a solidarity in the marriage, a total single commitment that together they are helping one another to the glory of God.  This is the natural state of marriage.

But sin messes things up.

So let’s Be redemptive

Ephesians 5
Chapter 5:1-21 is all about the reverent behavior we are to have before Christ.
It explicitly addresses conduct that we ourselves are responsible, and thus answerable, for.

Ephesians 5:22-33

V 32 says that this is referring to Christ and the church.  However, it is a fitting doctrine for marriage.
The idea is for Husbands to submit to Christ as you know to do/ and to not be hypocritical of your wife in the matter.

Submit- granting full acceptance-  The word actually is best rendered- be subject to, which implies order.

Thus, the husband is to be in proper order with his Lord to in order be able to lead his household.

Wives are to live in proper order of the covenant, but this does not mean that they are trash or to be treated without sincere love.

This section gives us many clues to the Redemptive Union a church has with it’s Lord, as well as a wife with her husband.

Action Verbs abound

·         Submit
·         Love
·         Sanctify
·         Cleanse
·         Present
·         Love
·         Nourish
·         Hold Fast
·         Become One
·         Love/respect

Christ has done all of these on the cross.  They are the pinnacle of redemption in our history.

Men are to sacrificially glorify God as they do likewise for their bride.