Modern Family

I decided to use a title from a popular TV series for my messages for May and June. With Mother's Day and Father's Day in these months, I thought it would be great o hit a series on the family. We will be discussing a lot to modern family topics and addressing the commitment issue in marriage and to the family that society seems to think is very unimportant.

The commitment to family is so important and the and below is the message I preached this past Sunday. My church family may be looking to finish the outline from Sunday...sorry if it doesn't make sense to you but hope it is a blessing if you study it through!

Text: Ephesians 5:21 – 6:4

Modern Family

…Yet Happy?

q Relationships

“Life is relationships; the rest is just details.” Dr. Scott Sticksel

· Make Jesus first (Matthew 6:33 & Joshua 24:15)

· Commit to your marriage (Matthew 19:6…asunder)

· Enjoy your kids!

q Respect

“Earned respect will always outweigh positional respect.”

· Take responsibility for your own actions (Ephesians 5:21 & Romans 12:10)

· Listen & Understand each other

· Resolve conflicts quickly (Ephesians 4:26)

q Rules

· Follow God’s rules (Psalm 119)

· Agree on Marital rules (Hebrews 13:4)

· Reasonable and age-appropriate rules (Proverbs 22:6 & Ephesians 6:4)

“Rules without relationship lead to rebellion.” Josh McDowell

q Rest

· Comfort and healing

· Creativity and individuality

· Encouragement and instruction

q Reconciliation

· Free to confess

· Free to forgive (Ephesians 4:32 & 1John 1:9)

“I’m sorry, will you please forgive me?”

Mother's Day

"Did you say something encouraging to your children today? The average parent has 10 negatives to 1 positive. Don't be average. Look for opportunities to express love and encouragement to your children today! If you were critical, remember it takes 4 plus encouragements to negate the effect of one negative statement. Do your best to raise a positive children." Al Menconi Ministries

Mothers have a great responsibility in building their children up. There are so many negative things in this life that can discourage and destroy a child's destiny so home has to be a place for building up not tearing down. If you ever take the time to read a biography of Abraham Lincoln you will discover just how much his mother had a part in building him up. I read one biography of him back in school and another about 6 years ago. What an incredible love he had for her and what potential she saw in him. He was motivated to read and learn while his father wanted him to do chores and a lot of physical labor. His mother found ways for him to do both and told him he would do something great one day. What a wise woman.

I have been blessed with a mother who believed in me and built me up. Time and time again she would instruct me to do the right thing. She also joined many of my backyard baseball games, played cards, games, puzzle races and all sorts of fun activities when we were kids. She instilled such love and acceptance that I had a lot of confidence to do whatever I wanted. From piano lessons to what I do today, I always had confidence. Maybe too much at times! She always did this by staying positive and saying positive things. I was not a perfect kid and I'm sure I gave her many reasons to say something negative. If she did say anything negative, there was more than enough positive to cover it up!

Are you able to say the same of your mother? If you are a mother, are you able to find enough positive things to say about your child(ren)? If it is a struggle for you, here is a great guiding principle. "Whatever is true, noble, honest, right, pure, lovely, admirable, if anything is excellent or praiseworthy, think on these things!" (Philippians 4:8)

Happy Mother's Day!