Worth a listen

This weekend I am preaching at Elevation.  Eeesh!!  I have been spending time every day preparing my message.  Our current series is called Mr. and Mrs. Betterhalf, it is a series on marriage and relationships. I am excited to get to teach on the topic.

I am lucky because I get to watch the greatest preacher alive prepare and preach a message every week.  One thing I have learned from him (I'm talking about my husband by the way :)) is that part of preparation is just listening to other teachers.  I picked up this series by Pastor James MacDonald (also known as the head Elephant to Elijah and Graham) today and popped in the message on marriage (see here).

Wow. The message was encouraging and convicting at the same time.  He talked about how, in marriage, women have the tendency to nag and men have the tendency to neglect.

The part that stuck out to me the most was when he talked about speaking words of grace to your mate.  He explained grace as giving something to someone they don't deserve.  There comes a time in every marriage where you are faced with the opportunity to speak words of grace to your to someone you love, words they may not deserve, or, words of death, that do nothing but tear down the other person.  It takes a lot of humility to speak words of grace, but those who have received grace, know how to give grace.

Jesus talked about this in Luke 7:41-43...

“Two people owed money to a certain moneylender. One owed him five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he forgave the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?”

 Simon replied, “I suppose the one who had the bigger debt forgiven.”

   “You have judged correctly,” Jesus said.

You can listen to more of Pastor James' messages here.

I hope today, when you are faced with the opportunity, you will speak words of grace to someone you love. 

 

Comments

[Sandra]

Hi Holly,
Do you know if they are going to have your sermon from yesterday in Elevation`s website? I only see the one from the previous week. I`ve been checking since yesterday in the afternoon and this morning and I cant seem to find it. It will be very nice if they have ready so the people who don't go to elevation and live far from NC can see in the internet.
Thank you!!

[Marty]

Wonderful sermon Holly! You hit it out of the park!

But what I REALLY want to know, is where did you get that great (^) necklace??? And where can I find another?

[Jennifer Lamphear]

Well.... I am thinking that tomorrow's Monday Morning Commentary will be full of encouragement for you! Wonderful message today.... and You be Jesus... ahhh haaaa! So, as I walk out and get my cupcakes...(I had like 3 minutes before picking up the kids where I determined in my heart that TODAY I was going to eat those cupcakes and not have to share...after all it is mother's day!) As we walked out someone said, "Enjoy your cupcakes!" The kids screamed..."Mom will you share your cupcakes!" I said, "Will I share my cupcakes!?" with a smile. Another mom standing by me laughed... I stopped and said, "You be Jesus... now I gotta be Jesus and share my cupcakes!" We laughed. So I said to my buggas, "You kids are lucky I was in the sermon...Pastor Steven's wife told us YOU BE JESUS and that means I need to share!" We got home and Cut our YUMMA cupcakes into 4 equal pieces...one for each kid and me and hubs shared! THANK YOU! You guys rock! You did a phenominal job today... you are a blessing to us! Happy Mother's Day!

[Carrie]

Thank you for your message this morning, Holly! God really spoke through you in a powerful way.

[mandy perry]

I will be praying for you tomorrow, Holly. And I cannot wait to hear how the Lord uses you in mighty ways! And happy Mother's day to you too!!

[kathy]

I am excited to hear you preach this weekend! :D I really enjoy you sharing from your heart on each mother's day. :) You will do great, no matter what.
Have a great mother's day as well, and hello to your family. :)
Keep up this awesome blog.

[Marsha Carsner]

Holly,

Again you couldn't be more "right on" with this message. Youngest daughter graduating college, in-laws coming to stay, married kids coming for the weekend, and I had so much to do! But the hubs, who is normally right there in the trenches cleaning and preparing, was having an off week and I was getting frustrated. After last week's sermon and speaking to the king in Mr. C, I realized I would have to take one for the team. Up early, cleaning late at night, but the pay off is amazing. Everything is ready, and no big blow outs yet! I love Mr. C and can't imagine a day without him (did I mention we celebrated 27 years last night) and my willingness to fight exhaustion and press on was well worth it. I let Mr. C know that what he was able to help with was a huge help, and he spoke truth into me as well. Let the family fun begin!