Working For the Man

Colossians 3:22-25; Romans 6:16, 20; 1 Corinthians 7:23

In nothing has the church so lost her hold on reality as in her failure to understand and respect secular vocation. She has allowed work and religion to become separate departments and is astonished to find that the secular work of the world is turned to purely selfish and destructive ends, and that intelligent workers have become irreligious.

- Dorothy L. Sayers

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Reflection Points

• I trust Jesus, I love Jesus, but I need ____________. What have you been putting in this blank? What symptoms has this been producing in your vocation, marriage, parenting, or relationships? 
• Have you been working just to live because you feel that leisure is the meaning of life? How does that play out in your life at work?
• Have you been living just so you can work because work is the meaning of life? If so, has work become not just your dignity but your definition? What has suffered because of this?
• Can you identify examples when you are able to do things "from the soul" instead of trying to please others? What is this experience like? 
• When you hear that all of us are either slaves of sin or slaves of God, how do you respond? Do you feel trapped? Do you feel lost in desperation? Do you feel grateful?

Marriage: The Call to Cultivate (Part 2)

Colossians 3:18-20; Ephesians 5:22-33

"The state of marriage is one that requires more virtue and constancy than any other... it is a perpetual exercise of mortification... from this thyme plant, in spite of the bitter nature of its juice, you may be able to draw and make the honey of a holy life."

- Francis de Sales

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Reflection Points

• Husbands, how is your leadership related to sacrifice and servanthood? Where can you improve in taking the initiative to nourish, cherish, and cultivate the character of Christ in your wife and kids? Try asking your wife where she thinks this could happen.
• Wives, does your marriage enhance or cultivate the character of Christ in you? In what ways is your husband respectable and leading your family well? Have you told him?
• If you are not married, how can you be preparing yourself? What needs to change about your understanding of marriage?

Marriage: The Call to Cultivate

Colossians 3:18-20; Ephesians 5:22-33

"Our spouses are joint heirs and rulers over creation. We are called to create order and beauty out of chaos and cultivate in one another an even clearer picture of Christ. Our only option in responding to our role as spouses is to either create or to use creation for our own selfish purposes."

- Dan Allender

click to listen to sermon (right-click and "save as" to download mp3)

Reflection Points

• Husbands, how is your leadership related to sacrifice and servanthood? Where can you improve in taking the initiative to nourish, cherish, and cultivate the character of Christ in your wife and kids? Try asking your wife where she thinks this could happen.
• Wives, does your marriage enhance or cultivate the character of Christ in you? In what ways is your husband respectable and leading your family well? Have you told him?
• If you are not married, how can you be preparing yourself? What needs to change about your understanding of marriage?

Be Killing Sin or Sin Will Be Killing You (Part 2)

Colossians 3:12-15

Turn on the news or pick up any paper and you will be confronted with the news of war and fighting all over the world. As horrific as these battles are, there is one that is even greater... with more at stake. Yet, it doesn't even get a mention.

click to listen to sermon (right-click and "save as" to download mp3)

Reflection Points

One day even sins' presence in our lives will done away with. Until then, we fight.

• Is there an urgency in your life to "be killing sin?" Do you have a desire to put your sin to death?
• Have you lost sight of the seriousness of the battle?
• What danger might you be in if you ignore it?
• Are you well acquainted with the areas of your life where your old self gets the best of you... where you are prone to sin? What circumstances seem to surround that sin?
• Ask the Holy Spirit to make you aware of these areas and give you an earnestness to fight.
• God has given us "everything we need for life and godliness" - this includes strength for the battle and victory over the old self.