We continued our series this weekend, Hebrews XII. My husband's sermon was called, "the Father's Discipine: When God Counts to Three." He preached from Hebrews 12:2-11.
In his sermon he talked about God as the perfect parent. He is neither negligent, nor abusive. Neither is he overprotective. He didn't simply create us the stand back to let us exist. He came to live among us, inside of us.
I loved how my husband affirmed us to know that if we are stuggling in sin that is a good sign. It is a sign of life. It is dangerous when we stop sturggling and give over to sin. God's goal in disciplining me is never to beat me down, but rather to raise me up.
My favorite thing my husband said is that we do not have to go around wondering if we somehow caused a particular hardship by doing something wrong and therefore receiving some sort of spanking by God. We will never be able to explain our hardships. But we can know that God uses the hardships we face to shape us to become more like him.
The message was so encouraging. I feel like it was so helpful to many people including myself. You can listen to the message at the Elevation Experience this week or in our archives. Have a great Monday!
i love your monday morning commentarys... i always read them before i get a chance to listen... they totally wet my appitite to hear the message! blessings, Claire
Posted by: Claire | October 04, 2011 at 12:23 AM
I attempted to practice what Pastor preached as far as disrespect and discipline. My eldest is at that tween age and she is quite fast. No spanking for her. I think my words as the disciplinarian speak to her so I prayed that God would help me with the words so that I did not sound like a raging lunatic. As far as the TV analogy, I unplugged and she plugged back in. I will stop there. Cute seeing Elijah in his skinny jeans like Pastor. I am sure Abbey is almost ready for skinny jeans. :) Blessings to you, Holly.
Posted by: CG | October 03, 2011 at 03:20 PM