["Pomp and Circumstance"]
Good evening and welcome to Verity Baptist Church.
Let's go ahead and find our seats this evening.
Find a seat, find a hymnal, close to you.
Turn to page number 416.
Song number 416.
And we will sing as a volunteer.
Song number 416.
Find a seat, find a hymnal, turn to page number 416.
Let's go ahead and sing it out.
On the first.
A call through loyal soldiers, come to one and all.
Soldiers for the conflict, will you heed the call?
Will you answer quickly with a ready cheer?
Will you be enlisted as a volunteer?
A volunteer for Jesus, a soldier true.
Others have enlisted, why?
Others have enlisted, why not you?
Jesus is a captain, we will never fear.
Will you be enlisted as a volunteer?
Song number 416.
On the second.
Jesus calls for soldiers who are filled with power.
Soldiers who will serve Him every day and hour.
He will not forsake you.
He is a veneer.
Will you be enlisted as a volunteer?
A volunteer for Jesus, a soldier true.
Others have enlisted, why not you?
Jesus is a captain, we will never fear.
Will you be enlisted as a volunteer?
Because.
All right, I'm going to say something in this one.
416, are you guys ready?
Song number 460, sing it out.
On the third.
He loves you with a heart most kind.
He whose heart was broken, broken for mankind.
Now just as long as he calls you, calls in his spirit.
Will you be enlisted as a volunteer?
A volunteer for Jesus, a soldier true.
Others have enlisted, why not you?
Jesus is a captain, we will never fear.
Will you be enlisted as a volunteer?
Sing it out.
On the last.
And when the war is over and the victory won.
When the true and faithful gather one by one.
He will crown with glory all who will appear.
Will you be enlisted as a volunteer?
A volunteer for Jesus, a soldier true.
Others have enlisted, why not you?
Jesus is a captain, we will never fear.
Will you be enlisted as a volunteer?
Amen.
Great singing.
Welcome to Verity Baptist Church here on our Sunday evening service.
We are so glad to see everyone here this evening.
Let's open the service with a word of prayer.
Dear Heavenly Father, we love you and thank you for a great day you've given us.
And thank you for the opportunity to be in your house this evening.
And thank you for these dear people who would come Lord and sing praises to your name and learn from your word.
Lord, we pray that you bless the service.
We pray that you be with the singing, the preaching, the fellowship.
And we hope Lord that everything that be said and done this evening will only bring glory and honor to you.
In Jesus' name we love you and in Jesus' name I pray, amen.
All right, it's now time for favorites where if you're selected, we will sing a stanza from the song that you picked.
Brother Moses, go ahead.
Four hundred and twelve.
Onward Christian soldiers, song number four hundred and twelve.
You guys, you all know this song, so we have to sing this one out as loud as we can.
All right, song number four, one, two, on the first.
Onward Christian soldiers, marching as you are.
With the cross of Jesus, going on before.
Christ our royal master, leads against the foe.
Forward into battle, see his banner go.
Onward Christian soldiers, marching as you are.
With the cross of Jesus, going on before.
From Montel, go ahead.
Two oh two.
My Redeemer, song number two hundred and two.
I will sing of my Redeemer, song number two oh two, sing it out on the first.
I will sing of my Redeemer and his wondrous love to me.
On that cruel cross, he suffered from the curse that set me free.
Sing oh sing of my Redeemer, with his blood he pushes me.
On that cross, he sealed my pardon.
He made the dead and made me free.
Brother Salvador, right?
Forty on the last.
There's no disappointments in heaven, song number 40.
Song number 40, we're going to sing it out on the last.
There'll never be creep on the doorknob, no funeral train in the sky.
No graves on the hillsides of glory, for there we shall never more die.
Be old, be young, live forever, transform in the moment of time.
Immortal sand in his likeness, the stars in the sun to outshine.
I'm bound for that beautiful city, my Lord has prepared for his own.
We're all the Redeemer of all ages, sing glory around the white throne.
Sometimes I grow homesick for heaven, in the glories I there shall be hope.
What a joy that will be when my Savior I see, with that beautiful city of gold.
Brother Edgar, go ahead.
One hundred, day by day, song number 100.
Day by day, with each passing moment, song number 100, sing it out on the first.
Day by day, with each passing moment, strength I find to meet my trials here.
Trusting in my Father's wise bestowments, I've no cause for worry or for fear.
He rules hard, he's kindly on our measure, gives up too each day what he deems best.
Loving me is part of pain and pleasure, mingling toil with peace and rest.
Um, Noelle, is that your name?
No, Avery?
Alright, go ahead.
What was it?
146.
Of course it's Avery, song number 146.
A shelter in the time of storm, song number 146, sing it out on the first.
The Lord's our rock, in him we hide, a shelter in the time of storm.
Secure whatever will be tight, a shelter in the time of storm.
Oh, Jesus is a rock in the weary land, a weary land, a weary land.
Oh, Jesus is a rock in the weary land, a shelter in the time of storm.
Let's sing one more song, Madison, God.
319.
This will be the last song for favorite song number 319, Just a Closer Walk with Thee.
This will be the last song, so let's finish on the first.
I am weak but thou art strong, Jesus keep me from all wrong.
I'll be satisfied as long as I walk, let me walk close to thee.
Just a closer walk with thee, granted Jesus is my plea.
Just a walking close to thee, let it be, dear Lord, let it be.
Amen.
Amen, and we welcome you to the Sunday evening service.
Of course, we're glad you're here.
Let's take our bulletins and we'll look at some announcements real quickly.
If you do not have a bulletin, just raise your hand and one of our ushers can get one for you.
If you need a bulletin, just put your hand up and we'll get one for you.
The verse this week, Proverbs 18, 10, the name of the Lord is a strong tower.
The righteous runneth into it and is safe.
And that's a good verse there.
Of course, we like that.
If you open up your bulletin, you'll see our service time Sunday morning service, 1030 a.m.
We had a wonderful service this morning.
We're glad you're back out for the evening service.
And we do invite you to be with us on Wednesday night for the Wednesday evening Bible study.
We call it the most encouraging service of the week and we'd love for you to join us just right in the middle of the week and be with God's people.
Of course, if you look at our soul-winning times, our main soul-winning time is on Saturday mornings at 10 a.m.
And we'd love for you to join us for our big soul-winning rally as we go out and knock doors, invite people to church and preach the gospel to anyone who's interested.
We have additional soul-winning times on Thursdays and Sundays at 2 p.m.
And don't forget that if you're a soul-winner and you have salvation, make sure you mark those on your communication card.
Let us know.
I think we have a lot of soul-winners that get people saved and then they forget to mark it on the communication card, which is fine.
Our bulletin's not the Lamb's Book of Life.
They still go to heaven.
But we want to rejoice with you and we want to know that you got somebody saved so we can add it to the bulletin.
So make sure you don't forget about that.
And then, of course, if you have a map that you did not finish, please clearly mark what was done, what was not done and put it in the bin in the back so we can get that recycled through.
And if you're running late, you can always call us at the number there, 916-868-9080.
Let us know that you plan on being there, but you're running late.
That way we can have our team captains have a partner for you and a map and have everything you need.
If you look at the announcements and upcoming events, next Sunday, November 17th, is our Worker Appreciation Sunday.
And we just want you to be aware of that.
And we'll be, of course, recognizing all of our volunteers and appreciating them and thanking them.
And then also we have our Pi Social coming up on Wednesday, November 27th at 7 p.m.
So that's the Wednesday night before Thanksgiving.
So make sure you just mark that on your calendar and we'll have a time of desserts after the service.
If you can, please bring a pie, bake a pie, buy a pie, whatever you'd like, and we'll have a good time with that.
And then Saturday, November 30th, we're having a Spanish service at 5 p.m.
So if you'd like to be part of our Spanish service, you're welcome to participate.
And that'll be, of course, on Saturday, 5 p.m., November 30th.
We'll have a potluck as well.
And let us know you're coming on the communication card.
For the men that are part of the Biblical Leadership Institute, we had a week break last week.
And then this Tuesday, we start back up with a new course, How to Study the Bible.
And we encourage you, of course, to be a part of that if that's something you're interested in.
And just for those of you that are curious, next year, next semester, we're going to have a course on preaching.
But How to Study the Bible is going to feed into that.
You have to learn how to study scripture and dissect scripture before you can preach scripture.
So just be aware of those things.
Choir practice started today, and choir practice went great.
We had a good crowd, and everything seemed to go well there.
Children's choir is on Sunday, November 24th.
They're going to start practicing, and both are practicing for Christmas.
And then there's other things there, of course, for you to look at.
If you look at the back of the bulletin, Birthdays and Anniversaries, for the month of November this week,
we have Suzette Zuniga's birthday on November 12th.
Brother Shah Radari has a birthday on November 13th.
Benjamin Vakochik has a birthday on November 13th.
And Isaiah Gonzalez has a birthday on November 15th.
And Emilia Gonzalez has a birthday on November 16th.
Praise Report, Money Matters, all of those things are there for you to look at.
And then just real quickly, if you're a first-time guest, if it's your first time here at Verity Baptist Church, we're glad you're with us.
We have a small gift we'd like to give you.
As you walk out of the church building tonight, as you go through the foyer, you see a little table set up.
On that table, you'll see these little gift bags.
Please grab one on your way out as a gift from us to you for being our guest tonight.
And also, we ask that you please take a moment to fill out the communication card, which is inserted in your bulletin.
And if you need a pen, you can raise your hand. We'll bring a pen to you.
We'd love to send you a little gift from our church, but we need your information to do that.
So please take a moment to fill the card out.
When we're done with the announcements, we're going to sing a song.
When we're done singing, we're going to receive the offering.
And as the offering plate goes by, you can drop that card in the offering plate.
And I think that's it for all of the announcements.
So we're going to go ahead and sing the chorus of the week, which is the insert in your bulletin as we prepare to receive the offering this evening.
And we're going to sing the law of the Lord is perfect.
Let's go ahead and sing it out on the first.
More to be desired are they than gold.
Gave them much fine gold.
Whom also they honeyed.
Behold, sing it out on the second.
The statutes of the Lord are right.
Rejoicing God.
The commandment of the Lord is pure.
Enlightening the eyes.
More to be desired are they than gold.
Gave them much fine gold.
More to be desired are they than gold.
Behold, sing it out on the second.
More to be desired are they than gold.
Rejoicing God.
More to be desired are they than gold.
And righteous all together.
More to be desired are they than gold.
Gave them much fine gold.
Sweeter also than honey and the honey gold.
Amen.
Good singing.
Just a quick reminder that we've got mother baby rooms and
daddy rooms available of course for you if you need those.
If you have a child that's been distracting during the service.
And also if you wouldn't mind making sure you have your cell
phones off.
We'll place them on vibrate during the service so that they
don't go off in the middle of the preaching.
We'll have the guys come up and help us with the offering at
this time.
And let's bow our heads and have a word of prayer.
Heavenly Father, Lord, we do love you.
We thank you for allowing us to gather tonight.
Lord, we pray that you'd bless the time set aside for the
church.
We ask that you would meet with us, that you would teach us,
that you would strengthen families in our church, Lord.
And we pray that you would help us to draw closer to you.
In Jesus' name we pray, amen.
Amen.
Please open up to Matthew 19.
Matthew 19, if you do not have a Bible, please raise your hand
and I'm not sure you can read your Bible.
Matthew 19, just keep your hand up or she will come by.
Matthew 19, we will read verses 1 through 9.
Matthew 19, beginning of verse number 1.
And it came to pass that when Jesus had finished these sayings,
he departed from Galilee and came to the coast of Judea beyond Jordan.
And great multitudes followed him and he healed them there.
The Pharisees also came unto him, tempting him and saying unto him,
Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife for every cause?
And he answered and said unto them, Have ye not read that he which made
them at the beginning made them male and female?
And said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother,
and shall cleave to his wife, and they twain shall be one flesh.
Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh.
What therefore God hath joined together, let no man put asunder.
They say unto him, Why did Moses in command to give a writing of
divorcement, and to put her away?
He saith unto them, Moses, because of the hardness of your hearts,
suffered you to put away your wives.
But from the beginning it was not so.
Nice hand to you, whosoever shall put away his wife,
except be for fornication, and shall marry another,
commiteth adultery, and whoso marrieth her which is put away,
doth commit adultery.
Let's pray.
Heavenly Father, thank you for this evening.
God, I thank you for your word, for our church.
I ask that you please give us all a tender heart to the message this evening,
and ask that you be their pastor, please strengthen him,
and fill in her spirit. Lord, we love you.
In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.
Alright, we're there in Matthew chapter number 19,
and I'd like you to look down at verse number 5,
Matthew chapter 19, of course we have a famous quote here from the Lord Jesus Christ,
as he quotes the book of Genesis, Matthew chapter 19 and verse 5,
the Bible says this, and said,
For this cause shall a man leave father and mother,
and shall cleave to his wife,
and they twain shall be one flesh,
wherefore they are no more twain but one flesh,
what therefore God hath joined together,
let not man put asunder.
This is a portion of scripture that almost every time that I've performed a wedding,
and I think I've performed like 20 weddings in the last 15 years,
this is a portion of scripture that we go to, and we read,
and the reason we do that is because this portion of scripture is speaking to us
about the establishment of a Christian home,
and that this is God's will.
Not everyone gets married, but God's will is that individuals would get married.
He says, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother,
and cleave to his wife.
I remember years ago, about 20 years ago I guess,
my wife and I just in June of this year celebrated our 20 year anniversary,
and almost 20 years ago we had been married for, I don't know, just a few months.
I mean, it couldn't have been more than three or four months,
and we were sitting in a church service,
and I remember the pastor was preaching on the subject of the Christian home,
and he asked for a raise of hands,
and he asked everyone in the congregation to raise their hand
if they had established a Christian home,
and he said, I'd like you to raise your hand if you'd have established a Christian home.
I remember sitting there, I'd only been married for a couple of months,
and I'm just kind of, you know, doing what you do in church,
you know, just sitting there not really paying attention,
and it just kind of took a few seconds for it to register,
and I'm like, oh, yeah, me, you know, I just got married.
We've established a Christian home,
and he began to speak about this idea of what it means to have a Christian home,
and I'd like to speak on that subject tonight.
I'd like to give you some thoughts in regards to the Christian home,
because I think that we oftentimes get this idea that if we're Christians,
and we have a home, then we must have a Christian home,
but I don't know that that's necessarily true.
That's part of it, but it's not necessarily true,
and I'd like to speak on the subject of establishing a Christian home,
and I'd like you to be pondering this question.
Have you established a Christian home?
Could your home be called Christian?
Would it be something that God would acknowledge as a Christian home?
Now, you're there in Matthew 19.
I'd like you, if you wouldn't mind, to go with me to the book of Acts,
Acts chapter 16.
Keep your place in Matthew.
We're going to come back to it,
but I'd like you to find the book of Matthew, Matthew, Mark, Luke, John,
and then the book of Acts, Acts chapter number 16.
Let me give you three thoughts, and maybe you can jot these down
if you've got a notebook,
or if you're taking notes on the back of your course of the week.
The establishment of a Christian home,
characteristics of a Christian home,
what makes a home a Christian home?
And number one, I would say this.
The Christian home, and this should be obvious,
but let's go ahead and deal with it.
A Christian home should have the salvation of Christ in it.
I said that just because you're a Christian
does not necessarily mean you have a Christian home,
but you cannot have a Christian home
without having Christians in that home.
We, of course, understand that a Christian home
should have Christians in it.
It should have people that are saved in it.
It should have the salvation of Christ in it,
and this should be a priority for all of us
as Christian people,
that the individuals of our home, of our family,
of our household, that they would be saved.
Notice there in Acts 16 and verse 29,
the Bible says this,
Then he, and this is, of course,
the famous story of the Philippian jailer.
The he here is referring to the Philippian jailer,
called for a light and sprang in
and came trembling and fell down
before Paul and Silas
and brought them out and said,
and of course he asked the famous question,
Sirs, what must I do to be saved?
And they said, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ
and thou shalt be saved.
Now that's a part of the scripture we quote a lot,
we reference a lot,
especially in regards to salvation here.
The question clearly is asked,
the question is clearly stated,
what must I do to be saved?
And the answer is clearly given.
It's a resonating answer.
Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ
and thou shalt be saved.
And praise the Lord for it.
Praise the Lord for the fact
that the Gospel is so clear.
There's nothing else that must be done.
You don't have to go to church to be saved.
You don't have to get baptized to be saved.
You don't have to repent of your sins to be saved.
All you need to do is believe on the Lord Jesus Christ
and thou shalt be saved.
What I think is interesting though
is that when the Apostle Paul is asked the question,
when the Philippian jailer comes to Paul
trembling and falls down before him
and he asks the question,
sir, what must I do to be saved?
The answer given by the Apostle
is not just believe on the Lord Jesus Christ
and thou shalt be saved,
although that is the answer
and that is a true answer.
But the answer actually given is this.
Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ
and thou shalt be saved.
And then he says this,
and thy house.
I want you to notice that Paul
looking at this Philippian jailer
and the Philippian jailer asking,
if the will of God is that I should be saved,
then what must I do to be saved?
And Paul already preemptively giving the answer
that the will of God is not just that you would be saved
but that your entire family would be saved.
Not just you, Philippian jailer,
but your wife and your children.
He said, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ
and thou shalt be saved.
And then he says this,
and don't forget this,
he says, and thy house.
We should be concerned with this idea
of our family members being saved,
especially those that live within our household.
Now you're there in Acts.
I've already asked you to keep your place in Matthew.
I understand that.
I'd like you to also keep your place in Acts.
We're going to come back to that as well.
But go with me if you would
to the book of 1 Corinthians.
1 Corinthians chapter number 7.
You're there in Acts,
so just go past the book of Romans
into 1 Corinthians.
1 Corinthians chapter number 7.
I think we as Christians should concern ourselves
with the salvation of our family.
And I'm talking about the salvation
specifically of your household,
but of course extended family as well.
If you've got loved ones that are not saved,
you've got to be concerned about that.
You've got to pray for them.
You've got to attempt to give the gospel to them.
You say they won't listen to me,
then bring them to church
and let somebody else give the gospel to them.
But you've got to be concerned with these things.
The Bible talks a lot about this idea
and the Bible speaks a lot about this idea
of making sure your spouse is saved.
Now I don't want to spend a lot of time on this,
but I think since the Bible speaks on it,
we should speak on it.
1 Corinthians 7 verse 14.
The Bible says this,
For the unbelieving husband
is sanctified by the wife.
Here we have an example
where a wife is saved
and her husband is not saved.
Then it says this,
And the unbelieving wife
is sanctified by the husband.
Here we have an example
where the husband is saved
and the wife is not saved.
He says,
Else were your children unclean,
but thou are they holy.
Look down at verse 16.
He says,
For what knowest thou, O wife,
whether thou shalt save thy husband,
or how knowest thou, O man,
whether thou shalt save thy wife.
And we see this emphasis in scripture.
God does not recommend.
Now here's what's interesting about this
and I want you to just think about this.
In fact,
go with me if you would
to the book of 2 Timothy,
2 Timothy chapter number 1.
If you find the t-books
that are all clustered together,
1 Thessalonians, 1 Timothy Titus,
the teaching in scripture about this is this,
that a believer should not marry an unbeliever.
The Bible says that we should not be
unequally yoked together with unbelievers.
And young people that are not married,
let me just tell you right now,
make sure you marry your spiritual equal.
Not only are they,
that they're saved,
of course make sure they're saved,
but make sure that they're also
your spiritual equal.
If you're right with the Lord
and right with God
and zealous for the things of God
and they're barely making it along,
then you might want to reconsider that
and think about that.
What the Bible teaches is that
Christian people should marry Christian people.
What's interesting though,
is that when we find situations
where two people that were not saved
and now one of them gets saved
and a Christian finds himself
already married to an unbeliever,
God does not say that they should divorce,
that they should separate.
He says,
you should try to get your spouse saved.
In fact,
He says,
and if they won't get saved,
and I'm not going to deal with it
in the scope of this sermon,
He says,
still stay with them
because you can sanctify them
and of course you can be
a good testimony to them.
1 Peter 3, 1 says this,
likewise,
you don't have to turn there,
you go to 2 Timothy 1,
2 Timothy chapter 1,
but 1 Peter 3, 1 says,
likewise you wives,
be in subjection to your own husbands
that if any obey not the word,
they also may without the word
be won by the conversation,
that is the lifestyle or the conduct
of the wives.
So,
if your spouse isn't saved,
you should try to get them saved,
and you should do everything in your power
to get them saved,
and part of that,
and again I won't go into detail
with that tonight,
maybe we'll deal with that
in another time,
but part of that has to do with
your testimony,
your Christian testimony
can do a lot to bring
your family members to Christ
or to push your family members
away from Christ,
and we should be concerned with that.
So, Christians should have
the salvation of Christ in it.
Let me say this,
not only should you be concerned
with getting your spouse to save,
and I would imagine that
in a room like this,
most people that are married here,
both husband and wife are saved,
but you should also be concerned
with getting your children saved.
2 Timothy chapter 1 and verse 5 says this,
When I call to remembrance,
this is Paul speaking to Timothy,
when I call to remembrance
the unfeigned faith,
that means the genuine,
authentic faith,
he says that is in thee,
this is Paul speaking to Timothy,
which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois
and thy mother Eunice,
and I am persuaded in thee also.
Look at 2 Timothy chapter 3 and verse 15,
just flip over two chapters
to chapter 3 and verse 15,
notice what Paul says to Timothy,
he already talked to Timothy about the fact
that he knows he has this unfeigned faith,
which dwelt first in his grandmother Lois
and then in his mother Eunice,
and he says I am persuaded in thee also,
in 2 Timothy 3.15 he says this,
and that from a child,
thou has known the holy scriptures,
which are able to make thee wise
unto salvation through faith,
which is in Christ Jesus.
The benefit of being born into a Christian home
is that a child can be saved,
from a child they can be saved
unto salvation through faith,
which is in Christ Jesus.
And we as parents must concern ourselves
with making sure that our children are saved.
And you say why would you need to preach that?
You'd be surprised how many Christian homes
do not concern themselves
with making sure that their children are saved.
And I think sometimes people assume
well they come to church
and we bring them to church
and they're going to get saved
at some point along the way.
Listen mom and listen to that,
it's your job to make sure
that your children are saved.
Now this is something my wife and I
get asked a lot about,
and I'd like to just give you real quickly
just some practical thoughts
in regards to getting your children saved.
We've got a lot of children in this church
and of course a lot of babies and toddlers
and things like that,
and let me just give you some thoughts
real quickly on getting your children saved.
Obviously your children don't,
they're not going to get saved
until they get to a place
where they can understand the gospel.
We know that there's an age of accountability.
Obviously if a child dies
and they cannot understand the gospel,
we know the Bible teaches they go to heaven.
That's a subject for another day.
But when your children get to that place
where they can begin to understand the gospel,
what are some things that you can do
as a parent to help your children get saved?
Let me just give you a list,
a real quick list of some practical things
you can do to make sure your children get saved.
First of all, you should talk to your children
about the gospel a lot.
This should be something that we talk about
in the home, the gospel.
And the Lord Jesus Christ should be
someone we speak a lot about in our homes
and we talk with our children.
You ought to memorize Bible verses
and specifically dealing with the gospel
within your home.
I would say that this is one of the most
powerful things that you could do.
I'm thankful for my wife
who is a homeschooling mother
and she takes the time to memorize verses
with our children, especially when they're little.
They memorize verses, not just gospel verses,
all sorts of verses, but definitely gospel verses
and the verses used in the plan of salvation
and it helps when we get to the place
where they're now old enough for us to sit with them
and begin to explain the gospel to them.
Oftentimes, my experience has been with the children
that I've had the privilege to lead them to the Lord
and my wife has led some of our children to the Lord
and the experience has been this,
that as we read verses to them,
they're quoting them with us
because they've already memorized them
and they understand them and they're aware of them.
So this is something you can do.
You say, well, my three-year-old and my four-year-old
are not really there yet
and they don't really understand the gospel,
but you can begin to memorize,
especially you homeschool mothers,
you can begin to memorize these verses with your children
and this will help them along the way.
So you should talk to your children about the gospel,
you should memorize the verses about the gospel,
the gospel presentation with your children,
you should expose them to the gospel through soul winning.
This is probably one of the best reasons
to bring your children out soul winning
is that if you have a habit
of bringing your children out soul winning with you
and they come week after week, year after year
and they watch and see and experience people getting saved,
every time that you lead somebody to Christ,
your children are there
and they're watching and listening and hearing
the gospel presentation over and over and over again
and these are things that will help them
to come to the place where they realize that they need to be saved.
So talk to your children about the gospel,
you ought to memorize gospel verses with them,
you ought to expose them to the gospel through soul winning
and then once you're ready to begin to talk to them,
I would say this,
you should give them the gospel over and over again,
as many times as need be
and I would say this,
you need to get them saved as many times as needed
and what I mean by that is obviously people only get saved one time
but sometimes what happens is you give the gospel to a child
and you're explaining it to them
and they're getting it, they're understanding it
but then maybe they don't understand all of it
and we've heard of and I've had many parents come to me
and maybe sometimes frustrated because they're like
I gave my kid the gospel, we went through the verses,
I explained it, I asked them questions, they understood it, we prayed
and then two days later we're talking about it
and they don't know anything.
You know and it's like what do I do?
And it's like do it again, get them saved again,
go through it as many times as you need to go through it
if they're not learning it, if they're not getting it,
if they're not grasping, just keep talking to them about it,
don't get frustrated with them,
just keep exposing them to it, keep explaining it to them
and here's what I would say,
don't ever tell your kid that they're saved.
Don't get to say, well you know, your kid says something
and they're not saved, you know,
they're just telling you something that is clear,
they don't understand the gospel
and then the indignant parent's like
you got saved three weeks ago, no I got you saved,
now here's the certificate, we took a picture.
You know, don't ever do that, be careful about that.
You don't want to tell your kid that they're saved,
you say well what do I do?
Keep talking to them about it, keep getting them saved
as many times as you need to and when it'll click,
they'll tell you they're saved
and when they're telling you and explaining to you the gospel
and explaining to you what they did, that's a good thing.
Oftentimes with my wife and I,
when we get one of our young children saved
and we actually get to the place
where we feel confident praying with them,
even then we acknowledge it, we celebrate it,
of course, you know, we hug them and all of that
but we don't make a big deal about it,
we don't make some big posts on Facebook about it
or something, I don't post anything on Facebook,
you know what I mean, we don't make a big deal about it
because of the fact that we want to be able to
maybe two, three days, four days down the road,
bring it up to them again, ask them about it again,
see if they're remembering, comprehending, you know,
so when it comes to children, you just have to take it slow
and realize they all grasp it at different ages
and at different times and you need to just be patient
but I think it's a good thing to just talk to your children
about the gospel a lot, memorize the verses with them,
expose them to other gospel presentations through soul winning
and as many times as needed, talk to them,
pray with them if you need to, multiple times,
if it becomes clear that they did not understand,
they didn't grasp it, don't get upset,
don't get impatient, don't tell them they're saved,
just go through it again, teach it to them again
and get to the place where they're expressing to you
the testimony that they have in the Lord Jesus Christ.
So this is something we need to focus on.
If we're going to have a Christian home,
then we should make sure that we have the salvation of Christ in that home.
Now if you would, go back to Matthew chapter number 11.
I asked you to keep your place there in Matthew, Matthew chapter 11.
So we're talking about the Christian home
and we begin with this foundational idea
that the Christian home should have Christians in it.
So make sure your spouse is saved
and make sure your kids are saved
and while you're at it, make sure your extended family is saved as well,
even if they're not necessarily in your household.
The Christian home should have the salvation of Christ in it.
But I would say secondly, tonight,
the Christian home should not only have the salvation of Christ in it,
but the Christian home should have the spirit of Christ in it.
And this is what I mean when I say
that just because you've got Christians in a home
just because you've got Christians in a home
does not necessarily make it a Christian home.
Because what makes it a Christian home
is the Christians in it acting like Christ.
And yes, of course, the Christian home should have the salvation of Christ in it,
but the Christian home should also have the spirit of Christ in it.
It should have the attitude of Christ in it.
It should have the atmosphere of Christ in it.
You say, well, what does that look like?
Well, we don't have to search very far.
The Lord Jesus Christ Himself described Himself for us.
He didn't describe Himself physically.
He didn't tell us what He looked like. Nobody knows what Jesus looked like.
But He did describe us what kind of personality He had.
Notice there in Matthew chapter 11 and verse 29,
here's what Jesus said.
Matthew 11 29, He says,
He says, take My yoke upon you and learn of Me.
He says, take My yoke, take My burden upon you.
He says, and learn of Me.
And then He says this, I think this is amazing.
This is the Lord Jesus Christ Himself describing Himself to us.
He says, learn of Me.
And He says, here's why I want you to learn of Me.
He says, for I am meek and lowly.
He said, I am meek and lowly in heart, and ye shall find rest unto your soul.
I think it's very interesting that when the Lord Jesus Christ described Himself,
when He took some time to say, let me tell you about how I am, who I am,
the type of person I am, my personality,
He used these words that I don't know that any of us would have used these words,
necessarily if it was us speaking, but thank the Lord you're not Christ and I'm not Christ.
He said, you want to know how I am?
He said, this is how I describe myself, I am meek and lowly.
Meek and lowly.
The word meek means to be gentle, means to be kind.
And this is a word that is attributed not only to the greatest man who ever lived, the Lord Jesus Christ,
but it's attributed to one of the other great men in the Bible, one of the greatest men in the Old Testament, Moses.
You don't have to turn here, but in Numbers chapter 12 and verse 3, the Bible says this,
Now the man Moses was very meek above all the men which were upon the face of the earth.
That's interesting to me.
The Bible says that Moses was very meek.
In fact, it tells us he was more meek than all other men above all men which were upon the face of the earth.
And this is being attributed to Moses as a positive thing.
He was a meek man.
He was a gentle man.
He was a kind man.
The Lord Jesus Christ said, for I am meek and lowly.
What about the word lowly?
Go to Philippians if you would, chapter 2.
If you kept your place in Acts, I ask you to keep your place in Acts.
If you kept your place in Acts, from Acts you can go to Romans, 1st, 2nd Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians.
Philippians chapter 2.
Acts, Romans, 1st, 2nd Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians chapter number 2.
Philippians chapter 2 and verse 5, the Bible says this,
Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus.
Here again, we find another, they're rare in scripture.
We find another portion of scripture where we're being told this is what Christ is like.
Now we saw in Matthew 19, Jesus himself telling us,
Learn of me for I am meek and lowly in heart.
Here in Philippians we're being told this is what Christ is like.
This is what the mind of Christ is like.
This is how Christ thought.
This is how Christ thought of himself.
This is how he acted and then we're being told,
Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus.
What does it look like? What is it?
Look at it, verse 6.
Being in the form of God, who believes Jesus was God. Amen.
Who being in the form, I mean I hope you believe Jesus is God, that didn't sound very good.
I believe Jesus is God, maybe you're a Mormon.
Who being in the form of God, look at it, thought it not robbery to be equal with God.
So there was no robbery, there was nothing wrong with him equating himself to God because he was God.
But then notice verse 7.
But made himself of no reputation and took upon him the form of a servant and was made in the likeness of men.
And being found in fashion as a man, notice these words,
He humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.
See Jesus told us that he was meek, it means to be gentle, it means to be kind.
And he also told us that he was lowly, the word lowly means the individual who takes a lower status.
It's a synonym for the word humble or humility.
He made, we're told, Philippians 2 7, but made himself of no reputation and took upon him the form of a servant.
He was God in the flesh, but he took upon him the form of a servant and was made in the likeness of men.
And being found in fashion as a man, look this is Jesus.
This is Jesus. He humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.
The Bible tells us.
This is how the Bible and the word of God describes the Lord Jesus Christ.
And you know my concern is that we have gotten to this place in American Christianity.
We have gotten so away from the word of God
that we actually have a Christianity today who thinks that worldliness is godliness.
We've got this Christianity today, I mean literally you get up, not you, I get up and preach and say,
hey we ought to serve, we ought to be servants.
The Bible says that Jesus took the form of a servant.
Jesus said, I came not to be ministered unto, but to minister.
And then people today will muck at that.
We'll say, hey, you ought to love your wife and be like, that'll never work.
The Bible literally says, husbands love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave it to them.
And then you preach that, which is literally what the Bible says, and you'll get mucked at.
Ah, you must be a wimp. You must not be a strong leader.
No, I think you need to get back to the Bible.
You know the Christian home should be a home that has the spirit of Christ in it.
And I would say this, look, Jesus is the greatest man who ever lived.
The most powerful man who ever lived.
You'll never find a stronger man, a more macho man, than the Lord Jesus Christ.
And he said, I'm meek and lowly.
And then the New Testament describes for us what does a godly woman look like.
And it says that she has a meek and quiet spirit.
And yet today in Christianity we've got homes with chaos in them.
We've got a home with cussing in it, screaming in it, moms cussing at their children, husbands cussing at their wives.
And they say, well, we're Christians, so we must be a Christian home.
Well, you might be a Christian, but you're not acting like it.
And the Christian home should not only have the salvation of Christ in it, but it should have the spirit of Christ in it.
It should have people who live like Christians, walk like Christians, act like Christians.
The Christian home should not be a home full of chaos.
It should not be a home full of cussing.
It should not be a home full of screaming.
It should not be a home full of wrath and anger.
The Bible literally says, fathers, provoke not your children to wrath.
And you preach these things and you get mocked at today.
But that will never work.
The Bible always works.
The word of God works.
And look, I understand that the liberals have taken some of these things to an extreme,
but just because liberals take something to an extreme does not nullify the fact that the Bible teaches,
the Bible teaches that the spirit-filled Christian is going to have these attributes,
love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance.
Against such there is no law.
And I'm here to tell you, if we're actually going to have Christian homes,
then yes, we need Christians in it, but we need Christians who act like Christians.
Who have the spirit of Christ.
Men who describe themselves as meek and lowly, and please don't misunderstand,
don't misunderstand meekness for weakness.
Meekness is not weakness, meekness is strength under control.
Listen men, just because you can lose your temper and throw a grown man temper tantrum,
just because every little thing triggers you and sets you off does not make you strong.
Meekness is a man who has strength and yet chooses to love his wife, love his children, love his God.
I'm here to tell you, the Christian home must have salvation in it, absolutely.
But it must also have the spirit of Christ in it.
You know, we get so hung up on making America great again,
I think we maybe should focus on making Christians Christ-like again.
I think we're to the place now where if the Lord Jesus Christ himself,
if the Lord Jesus Christ himself showed up and you didn't know it was Jesus,
I think he would be mocked at today.
People look at him and say, oh look at that, he's weak, real strong.
Why? Because you lose your temper?
Because you scream and yell and curse and anger and throw things?
No my friend, the Christian home must have the spirit of Christ in it.
You say, how do I know if the Holy Spirit is in my home?
Is it a home full of love and joy and peace and long suffering and gentleness?
And goodness and faith and meekness and temperance?
I'm literally reading the Word of God to you.
I don't understand how this became controversial in 2024.
This is the Word of God!
That the attributes out of a Christian ought to be these things.
So I say to you tonight, just because you're a Christian
does not necessarily mean you have a Christian home.
Just because you're a Christian
does not necessarily mean that you're acting like a Christian, living like a Christian.
The Christian home should have the salvation of Christ in it.
The Christian home should have the spirit of Christ in it.
And then thirdly tonight, let me say this.
The Christian home should have the submission of Christ in it.
The submission of Christ.
I'm going to say something and this is going to trigger some of you.
And that's okay, just listen to me.
Everyone in the Christian home should be submitting.
You say, prove it. Well, I'd be happy to.
First of all, let me say this. Children should submit to their parents.
In Luke chapter 2, if you would.
Luke chapter 2 and verse 51.
The Bible says, I'm not sure if you kept your place in Matthew, but if you did, Matthew, Mark, and then Luke. Luke chapter 2.
Here's a story of the Lord Jesus Christ. He's 12 years old. He's a kid.
Luke 2.51, the Bible says this.
And he, this is Jesus, went down with them and came to Nazareth and was, look at the word, subject unto them.
And by the way, the them there is Mary and Joseph.
Mary, his earthly mother, and Joseph, his stepfather.
This is after they lost Jesus, of course.
They found him and they said, we've been looking for you.
And he says, I must be about my father's business.
But then the Bible tells us he went down with them and came to Nazareth and was subject unto them.
But his mother kept all these things, these sayings in her heart. Look at verse 52.
And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature and in favor with God and man.
We see that Jesus, as he was growing up, he was subject, the Bible says, unto his parents.
And I would say to you in the Christian home, children should be taught to submit to their parents.
Let me quickly just give you a couple thoughts on this.
If you would, go to Ephesians chapter number 6.
If you kept your place in Acts, you've got Acts, Romans, 1, 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians.
Ephesians chapter number 6.
I think sometimes when it comes to these issues of the home and parenting,
I think we can make things complicated and people make things complicated.
But they don't need to be that complicated.
I think we talked about it recently.
Sometimes we just need some clarifying questions or clarifying statements to just kind of clarify some things for us.
Let me just help you parent out.
When it comes to what are all the things that children need to be taught in the home,
we could give you a list of 112 different things, beginning with what we've already talked about, salvation.
I understand that.
There's lots of things that can be taught and lots of things that should be taught.
I'm not minimizing that.
But let me just help you kind of clarify some of these things and give you just a little bit of perspective.
In the Christian home, children should be taught to obey and be respectful.
Obey and be respectful.
This is what is highlighted for us in scripture.
Notice Ephesians 6 and verse 1.
Here we have God speaking to children and he says this,
Children, obey your parents in the Lord for this is right.
So we're told here very clearly, and there's many other scriptures,
that children should be taught to obey.
And look, in your Christian home, in your Christian home,
if you're going to establish a Christian home,
if you're going to have children in the Christian home,
one of your goals needs to be for your children to be taught to obey.
Not to rebel, not to roll their eyes and do what they want, but to obey.
This is a goal of the Christian home.
In the Christian home, children should be taught to obey.
Children, obey your parents in the Lord for this is right.
That's one. Notice number two.
Literally, verse number two.
Honor thy father and mother, which is the first commandment of the promise.
Here we find the two basic things that every child ought to be taught in the Christian home.
They should be taught to obey and they should be taught to be respectful.
Honor thy father and thy mother, which is the first commandment of the promise.
So again, it's not that they obey, but they're rolling their eyes and screaming at you as they're doing it.
No, no, that's not good enough. They need to be taught to obey and to be respectful.
Obey and be respectful.
Are you having a Christian home?
This is what children should be taught in a Christian home.
They should be taught to submit to their parents and what that looks like is they should be taught to obey and to be respectful.
Years ago, my wife wrote a couple of children's books.
She wrote these children's books and I illustrated them.
My wife is extremely talented and the entire book rhymed.
The whole thing rhymed. All of it rhymed.
But in it, there was a theme that was brought up over and over through the books.
Though the whole thing rhymed, this theme came up several times.
In the first book, called Herb Learns Obedience, this was a children's book about a turtle named Herb.
When she was a young person, she had a turtle named Herb.
So it's based off her turtle, I guess.
Here's what the theme of the book says.
God wants me to obey my parents right away with a good attitude, says Ephesians 6 verses 1 and 2.
It's simple. Children should be taught to obey and they should be taught to obey with a good attitude.
This is what a Christian home looks like.
What does a Christian home look like?
The Christian home should have the salvation of Christ in it and it should have the spirit of Christ in it.
It should have the submission of Christ.
We saw that when Jesus was a young person, when he was a child, he was subject unto them.
Subject unto his parents.
In the Christian home, children should be taught to obey and to be respectful.
Children should be taught to submit. They should submit to their parents.
I want you to notice a second thing.
You're there in Ephesians 6. Flip back to Ephesians 5.
In the Christian home, children should submit to their parents.
And in the Christian home, wives should submit to their husbands.
Now we talked about this in detail last week so I'm not going to spend a lot of time on it.
But let me just say a couple of things.
Wives should submit to their husbands. This is what the Bible teaches.
And I would say this, ladies.
You cannot be spiritually fulfilled when you are rebelling against your husband.
Ephesians 5 and verse 22 says wives, notice the word, submit yourselves unto your own husbands.
By the way, the Bible does not teach.
I've heard people say this and I don't agree with this at all.
The Bible does not teach.
You cannot find me a verse in the Bible that teaches that every woman has to submit to every man.
In fact, the emphasis in Scripture over and over and over again as you look at the verses about wives
is that they are to submit to their own husbands.
Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands.
But I want you to notice this.
As unto the Lord.
For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church and he is the savior of the body.
Therefore, as the church is subject unto Christ, so let wives be to their own husbands in everything.
And what I want to highlight for you is this idea that it is as unto the Lord.
Because, let me be clear, if you are not submitting to your husband, you are not right with God.
You are in sin.
You cannot fulfill your spiritual duty.
You cannot be fulfilled spiritually while in rebellion to your husband.
Because it's not truly rebellion to your husband, it's rebellion to the Lord.
Because biblical authority is always under the umbrella of God.
God has ordained this authority over us.
And when we rebel against any biblical authority, we're really rebelling against the Lord.
So you cannot be fulfilled spiritually while rebelling against your husband.
But let me just give you another thought.
Because maybe you don't care about that.
You say, well I don't care about being right with God. I'm rebelling against my husband. Why would I care?
Okay, good point. Let me give you another point.
Genesis chapter 3. First book in the Bible should be fairly easy to find.
Wives should submit to their husbands for their spiritual fulfillment.
If you actually care about spirituality, you actually care about being right with God,
and you actually care about what God thinks, then you ought to submit to your husband.
You say, well he doesn't deserve it. Whether he deserves it or not, the Lord deserves it.
And you should submit, the Bible says, as unto the Lord.
But let me just give you a selfish reason.
If the spiritual reason isn't good enough for you to submit, then let me give you a selfish reason.
And the selfish reason is this. Genesis 3 and verse 16.
And to the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception.
In sorrow thou shalt bring forth children.
Now here we have, and I don't have time to develop this, in fact I might develop this further in a different sermon, but let me just say this.
Adam and Eve just completely failed. We talked about this morning having setbacks.
Adam and Eve had a pretty big setback.
They brought sin into the world.
And God is now dealing with them and God seems to be punishing them.
And he is giving them some correction and some chastisement.
But I don't know that God is necessarily punishing them as much as he's giving them an opportunity to be restored.
In fact, this is what the Bible says.
This morning we talked about the fact that sometimes when we have setbacks, God has to set us up.
Well I think what God is doing is he's setting up Adam and Eve.
They just had a major setback. They had a major failure.
And now God is telling them, here's how you can make a comeback.
Here's how you can find fulfillment in life.
What does God tell Adam? He says, go work from the sweat of your brow.
Go work. And by the way, let me just say this, that's how men feel fulfilled when they work.
When men go to work, when they work hard, when they lay their head on their pillow at night,
and they've worked hard all day long, they feel fulfilled.
Men that are depressed and discouraged and upset, there's many reasons why that may happen,
but one common reason is that they're being lazy and they're not working hard.
God says we find our fulfillment as men through work.
Then he tells Eve,
He's telling Eve, here's how you will be able to recover.
Here's how you'll be able to find fulfillment through bearing children.
Because women were created obviously to birth children,
and they will find their fulfillment in bearing children, having children, raising children.
This is something that God has wired them to do.
Obviously we as men have children as well, and we have responsibility to our children.
But women find their fulfillment in that, but that's not it.
He says, you're going to have children,
And then he says this, look at it, I don't want you to miss it.
He says,
And the truth of the matter is this, and you can argue with me if you want, but it doesn't make a difference.
Every woman is wired with a desire to have a strong man leading her.
Not an abusive man, not an angry man, not a mean man, we're not talking about that.
But every woman wants a strong leader to lead her.
The Bible says that she has a desire, the desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.
And the idea is this, that you cannot be fulfilled spiritually while rebelling against your husband.
But ladies, I would say this, you cannot be fulfilled in your femininity as you rebel against your husband.
Because the truth is this, no woman, that's not a reprobate, wants to be a man.
No real woman, we're not talking about reprobates or consciences, we're just talking about a normal woman.
Not even safe women, just normal women.
No woman wants to be a man, no woman wants to be a strong man, I'm the boss and I'm in charge, they don't want that.
They want a knight in shining armor, they want a man that will protect her and love her and care for her and defend her.
Every woman has a desire to be led by a strong and loving, and I would say, meek and lowly man.
Thy desire shall be to thy husband and he shall rule over thee.
If that's not true, then please explain to me why is it that it seems to me, and this is just observation, you can debate this if you want,
but it seems to me, as I look at women in the highest levels of power, it seems to me that they are very miserable.
Have you ever watched Hillary Clinton in an interview? I'm being serious.
She just doesn't look that happy. She just kind of looks real miserable.
How about Kamala Harris? I know she's the joyful, whatever, warrior, but I think she would be more joyful as a housewife.
And I'm just here to, you can do what you want with it, but I'm just telling you this, women will only be fulfilled spiritually as they submit to their husbands as unto the Lord.
And personally, because God has put in them a desire, thy desire shall be to thy husband and he shall rule over thee.
So in the Christian home, we should have children who submit to their parents and wives who submit to their husbands.
Let me give you another thought. Go to 1 Corinthians chapter 11. I know we were there last week, but let's just look at it again, 1 Corinthians chapter 11.
If you kept your place in Acts, you've got Acts, Romans, 1 Corinthians. Remember I said in the Christian home everyone should be submitting?
In the Christian home, everybody should be submitting. I've already got emails, people emailing me, I'm sure.
The Bible says that the husband is the head of the wife. The Bible says that the husband is the ruler of the home. I believe that. I agree with that. Amen and amen.
But the question is this. Does the Bible teach that a man is a sovereign to himself? Does the Bible teach that a man is autonomous within himself?
Does the Bible teach? Because the Bible teaches the authority of a man. I believe it. I agree with it. I've been preaching it for 15 years.
The husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church. His wife should submit to him. All of that is true.
But I think what happens is that carnal men take this to an extreme that says, therefore I am a sovereign to myself.
I am the source of my own authority. I am separate from anyone and anything else.
And we literally have this idea in Christianity today that your husband could just be committing adultery, looking at pornography, doing drugs and no one can say anything to them.
A wife can't say, hey I don't think that's something you should be doing. No one can say anything because they're the head of the home. Really? Is that how it works?
Because last I checked, the only I am that I am, the only self-existing one, the only one who is the source of their own authority is God Almighty God.
Yes, husbands have authority, but that authority is given to them. Pastors have authority, but that authority is given to them.
Employers, bosses, they have authority, but that authority is given to them.
And I say to you that in the Christian home, in the real Christian home, the true Christian home, everyone should be submitting.
You say, what do you mean? Children should submit to their parents. They should be taught to obey and be respectful. Wives should submit to their husbands.
It's the only way to be fulfilled spiritually and personally.
Here's what the Bible says in 1 Corinthians 11 verse 1. Don't let me mess you up with the Bible.
Here's what Paul said, be ye followers of me.
Why Paul? Because you are your own authority. You're the sole source of your authority. You're sovereign. Is that why Paul? No, he says be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ.
Now I praise you, brethren, that you remember me in all things and keep the ordinances that I delivered them to you, but I would have you know, don't miss it, that the head of every man is Christ.
And the head of the woman is the man, and the head of Christ is God.
And I'm here to say to you that in the Christian home, in the Christian home, children are submitting to the authority of their parents and wives are submitting to the authority of their husbands.
But husbands are not sovereigns, just doing their own thing with no accountability, with nobody holding them accountable. No, no, no. The Bible says that husbands are to submit themselves to Christ.
Your authority comes to Christ. So you say, well pastor, you're the boss at Verity Baptist Church. Does that mean you get to do whatever you want? No, I have to submit myself to this book right here.
To the word of God, as a pastor. And as a husband, I have to submit myself to the word of God.
Now if wife, if your husband's not submitting himself to the Bible, God doesn't give you the right to rebel against your husband. We understand that.
Children, if your parents are not doing right and living right, that doesn't give you the authority to then rebel and be disrespectful. We're clear on that.
But it doesn't mean that we have these homes where the man runs around like he's the incarnate Christ, because the Bible teaches that in the Christian home everyone should be submitting.
Children should submit to their parents, wives should submit to their husbands, and husbands should be submitting to the authority of Christ.
And husbands should be leading their wives and their children for the Lord.
See the reason that the wife is told to submit to her husband as unto the Lord is because the husband is supposed to be leading as for the Lord.
The husband says, these are not my children, yes they are my children, but God, they are a goodly heritage. God gave me this children that I might raise them for him.
God gave me this wife as a help me that I might lead her for him.
Why am I pastoring this church? You say you're the pastor, you're the shepherd. Yeah, but there's a chief shepherd, his name is the Lord Jesus Christ.
I'm an under shepherd, but I do not pastor this church for my own glory and my own fame and my own authority. No, I am pastoring this church for the great shepherd, the Lord Jesus Christ.
And in the Christian home we all understand that we must submit to our God given authority.
And I say to you, in the Christian home, in the Christian home, everyone should have the salvation of Christ. I think that's basic.
But we should also have the spirit of Christ. Gentle and kind, meek and lowly.
Love, joy, peace, long suffering, gentleness, goodness. The Christian home, look, the Christian home should not resemble a worldly drunkard's home.
Chaos and anger and dysfunction. This is not of the Lord.
Now I understand that not all our homes are not going to be perfect. I understand that. I'm not trying to beat up on you. I'm really not.
But I'm telling you that we need to wake up every day and ask ourselves. We need to wake up every day and pray.
My wife and I try to pray every day and one of the things that I like to pray is, Lord, let this be a home that honors you.
A Christian home. The Christian home should have the spirit of Christ in it and the Christian home should have the submission of Christ in it.
Everybody in the Christian home should be submitting. Children should submit to their parents. Wives should submit to their husbands.
And husbands should submit to Christ. And they should not live lives of autonomy and unaccountability.
Their accountability is to the Lord. And if they're smart, they make themselves accountable to a good pastor, to other men.
So I ask you the question that I was asked of me almost 20 years ago. And I don't want you to raise your hand, but I want you to answer the question.
Have you established the Christian home? I didn't ask if you're saved. I hope you're saved.
If it is your home, what could be characterized as a Christian home, what has the salvation of Christ in it, the spirit of Christ in it, the submission of Christ in it, be ye followers of me even as I also am of Christ.
Lord we do love you. And Lord we thank you for the clear teaching of scripture. Lord I pray you'd help us.
I pray that here at Verity Baptist Church you would help us to have some strong Christian homes.
Where fathers and mothers teach their children to obey and be respectful. Where wives honor, reverence, submit to their husbands.
Realizing that it's the only way that they can fulfill their own spirituality. The only way they can be right with God.
And the only way that they can fulfill their personal emotional state, they've been created, they have a desire to be ruled by a husband.
And help the wives in this room to submit themselves into the authority of their husbands. And then Lord I pray you'd help these men not to take advantage of that.
They are not sovereigns unto themselves. We must submit ourselves to the authority of Christ, to the word of God.
And help us Lord to establish Christian homes that honor Christ and represent the Lord Jesus Christ.
In the matchless name of the Lord Jesus Christ we pray. Amen.
Well we're going to have Brother RJ come up and lead us in a final song. Just want to remind you of a couple of things just real quickly.
First of all those of you, you men that are in the Biblical Leadership Institute don't forget Tuesday night 7pm begins the 6 week course on how to study the Bible.
50 minutes every night for 6 weeks how to study the Bible. And this is a prerequisite to the how to preach course that will be coming in January so make sure that you are aware of that.
And then of course I just want to remind all of you that we'd love for you to join us on Wednesday night. It's the most encouraging service of the week.
And on Wednesday night we're going to be in Psalm 16 and we're going to learn from Psalm 16 how to have joy.
And how to have joy and how to have it from your heart and not based off your circumstances.
I want to encourage you to be here as we study Psalm 16 how to have joy and of course I just want to ask you if you wouldn't mind picking up your row around you if your kids have made a mess or something.
If you could help us with that and it just helps the cleaners in the morning to be able to work through the cleaning quickly.
And of course I just want to say that I hope you know that my wife and I love all of you. We're praying for you.
And if there's anything we can do for you please let us know. We're here for you. And we'll have Brother RJ come up and lead us in the final song.
Amen. Let's grab our song books and turn to page number 315.
Song number 315. Take my life and let it be. Song number 315. Let's go ahead and sing it out on the first.
Take my life and let it be. Consecrated Lord to thee. Take my hands and let them move. At the impulse of thy love. At the impulse of thy love.
Song number 315 on the second. Take my feet and let them be. Swift and beautiful for thee. Take my voice and let me sing.
Always only for my King. Always only for my King. Take my silver and my gold. Not a mic would I withhold.
Take my bones and my days. Let them flow in ceaseless praise. Let them flow in ceaseless praise.
Song number 315 on the last. Take my will and make it thine. It shall be no longer mine.
Take my heart, it is thine own. It shall be thy royal throne. It shall be thy royal throne.
Amen. Great singing. Of course, before we dismiss, if anyone here has questions about salvation, baptism, or church membership,
I just want to let you know that pastor will be at the door. And we would love to talk to you directly to someone who's trained to do that as well.
Brother Matt, would you dismiss us with a word of prayer?
Amen. God bless you. We'll see you on Wednesday.
Amen.