Family Life Baptist Church Sermon Audio

Jesus Christ gave Himself sacrificially, meaning that He put His personal feelings aside and did that which was necessary so that He could accomplish that which God gave Him to do, regardless of the pain that it caused Him. And He is our example.

Marriage is not designed to produce constant euphoric emotional satisfaction or sexual ecstasy, marriage is designed to be the process by which we purposefully meld two lives into one that mirrors the relationship between the three parts of the Holy Trinity, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.

Carnal thinking discounts any spiritual dimension. Carnal thinking is focused on earthly realities, rather than heavenly ones. A person that thinks carnally makes decisions as though life on earth is the only reality, and disregards the reality of death that moves us from life on earth to everlasting life with God. Carnal people function as though they were going to live on the earth forever.

God chose Joseph to be the earthly father of Jesus because of Joseph's faith, but also because of Joseph's wisdom. Secular definitions of intelligence include the skills of logical reasoning, problem solving, critical thinking, and adaptation. Joseph heard the word of God, and obeyed. This is an example of both wisdom and intelligence.

Friendship with God requires us to use that which we have fruitfully to do good works, to increase in the knowledge and the strength of God that comes from exercising the power of God, which will lead us into developing the attributes of patience, longsuffering and ultimately joy.

Joseph had faith in God. Not intellectual faith or theoretical faith, but actual faith. When God spoke to Joseph, even through an angel and even in a dream, Joseph had faith in that which God said.

We are all God's children, and regardless of the sin that we have committed, the Father is still looking for us to come home and receive His grace, if we will only repent of our sins and believe the gospel of Jesus Christ.

The purpose of life and the key to happiness is the development of maturity, not the acquisition of possessions.

Regardless of how good any of us may think that we are, none of us are sinless, and so none of us are worthy of heaven.

We need to avoid becoming like the men of Sodom, who exalted their personal desires above the law of God, although they knew that that which they were doing was wrong.

Leaders should not lead their people in opposition to God or His commandments because of fear of that which their followers might do if the leader applies the commandments, which was the case with Jeroboam, or simply because of their own sinful desire to do that which they want, which is the case with most leaders.

Our primary concern should be that we develop the proper belief structure that will allow us to be profitable in bringing others into the Kingdom of Heaven.

The rewards in Heaven are for those that work to increase the number of souls in the Kingdom of God. The Lord exposes us to an assurance of the Gospel, and expects us not only to believe it, but to do that which we can to convince others of its' truth, and to present an attractive church, not meaning one that has attractions, but one that is genuine and sincere about living the Christian life and providing an inviting example to those who are outside.

When Jesus Christ points out the error of our ways to us, we have to decide whether or not to repent. There is no magic to help us make the decision. There is also no escaping the consequences of our decision.

It is most important that the spirit with which we obey the law of God must be a sacrificial spirit, meaning that we must be able to put aside our own needs so that any benefit that comes from that which we do will go to others, and we must be able to put aside our desires to build up our own reputation so that any glory that comes from that which we do will go to God.

Washing with water, in the Old Testament, symbolizes purification. It is important to understand, however, that washing with water only symbolizes purification. Actual purification before God has to do with living a pure life on the inside; to be pure means having a pure thought life, because all actions start in the mind.

There is only one solution to our familial problems and our societal problems, and that is the preaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ, of His sacrifice, of His death, His burial, His three days in the grave, His resurrection and His admonition to us to obey the Word of God. The avant-garde ideas of the psychologists and sociologists of our times will not cure the problem of our society, because new and wonderful ideas are not needed. What is needed is repentance and the application of the Word of God.

Pride is a terrible attribute for us to have. Pride causes us to ignore God, and it keeps people from acknowledging that they are sinners that need to be saved.

Life is about developing intimate relationships, and the path to intimacy between us and God is prayer. We have the capacity, through our interaction with God in prayer, to develop an intimate relationship that will allow us to function on a level higher than we can imagine. There is no limit to the power of God. The limitation is in the quality of our relationship with Him.

Every tenet of the model prayer is consistent with the teaching that God is really in control and we are simply sinners that are totally dependent on the grace of God for sustenance and salvation.