Categories
Obedience Respect Ten Commandments

Respect Your Parents

“‘Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the LORD your God is giving you.‘” Exodus 20:12 (NIV) As we continue exploring the Ten Commandments, we notice that the first four commandments are vertical in nature whereas the remaining six commandments are horizontal in nature. The first four commandments are “Godward,” and the remaining six are “manward.” The fifth commandment is the first commandment with a promise. Respect your parents by obeying them. In God’s covenant community, obedience and submission to parents is vital.  The family unit is built on mutual trust and mutual submission.  To disobey your parents is to bring chaos to the family and society. “Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right” (Eph. 6:1 NIV). Respect your parents by appreciating them. Appreciating your parents brings honor to God and produces a healthy atmosphere where peace reigns. Appreciation is demonstrated by recognizing their effort & sacrifice. Your parents are doing the best they can with what they have. Your parents are sacrificing personal ambitions, time, energy, & money. Respect your parents by caring for them. Meeting their needs and serving them throughout their lifetime is a mark of spiritual maturity and an indicator of respect. “But if a widow has children or grandchildren, these should learn first of all to put their religion into practice by caring for their own family and so repaying their parents and grandparents, for this is pleasing to God” (1 Tim. 5:4 NIV). Respect your parents by providing for them and helping them to finish strong. Respect your parents by forgiving them. Perhaps you have father-wounds or mother-wounds. Don’t be imprisoned by unforgiveness. Choose to forgive your parents. Extend forgiveness to them just as God has extended forgiveness to you. Pursuing God, Stephen Trammell Executive Pastor Follow me on twitter at: http://twitter.com/stephentrammell

Categories
Love Marriage Respect

Love and Respect

“However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.” Ephesians 5:33 (NIV) A few years ago Tonya and I participated in the Love and Respect Conference led by Dr. Emerson Eggerichs. Dr. Emerson identified what he called the Crazy Cycle. During conflict in marriage, we tend to act in unloving and disrespectful ways. The wife has a love tank and the husband has a respect tank. When a wife doesn’t feel loved by her husband, she will by nature respond by being disrespectful towards him. When a husband doesn’t feel respected by his wife, he will by nature respond by being unloving towards her. How do you get off of the Crazy Cycle? Somebody has to go first. Because of our fallen nature, we tend to be selfish and self-centered and actually prefer that our spouse go first. The one who sees himself or herself as the most mature moves first. Now that’s convicting! Dr. Eggerichs shared with us that respect empowers a husband to energize his wife and that love empowers a wife to energize her husband. The wife is crying out for love and the husband is crying out for respect. Doing marriage God’s way involves making the move to get off of the Crazy Cycle. Go first! If you are a husband, then honor Christ by choosing to be loving towards your wife. If you are a wife, then honor Christ by choosing to be respectful towards your husband. Showing love and respect flows out of our abiding relationship with Christ. We have the capacity to love and respect because Jesus is our Source. Jesus enables us to do what He did. Love unconditionally and respect intentionally. Pursuing God, Stephen Trammell Executive Pastor Follow me on twitter at: http://twitter.com/stephentrammell

Categories
Obedience Respect Ten Commandments

Respect Your Parents

“‘Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the LORD your God is giving you.‘” Exodus 20:12 (NIV) As we continue exploring the Ten Commandments, we notice that the first four commandments are vertical in nature whereas the remaining six commandments are horizontal in nature. The first four commandments are “Godward,” and the remaining six are “manward.” The fifth commandment is the first commandment with a promise. Respect your parents by obeying them. In God’s covenant community, obedience and submission to parents is vital.  The family unit is built on mutual trust and mutual submission.  To disobey your parents is to bring chaos to the family and society. “Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right” (Eph. 6:1 NIV). Respect your parents by appreciating them. Appreciating your parents brings honor to God and produces a healthy atmosphere where peace reigns. Appreciation is demonstrated by recognizing their effort & sacrifice. Your parents are doing the best they can with what they have. Your parents are sacrificing personal ambitions, time, energy, & money. Respect your parents by caring for them. Meeting their needs and serving them throughout their lifetime is a mark of spiritual maturity and an indicator of respect. “But if a widow has children or grandchildren, these should learn first of all to put their religion into practice by caring for their own family and so repaying their parents and grandparents, for this is pleasing to God” (1 Tim. 5:4 NIV). Respect your parents by providing for them and helping them to finish strong. Respect your parents by forgiving them. Perhaps you have father-wounds or mother-wounds. Don’t be imprisoned by unforgiveness. Choose to forgive your parents. Extend forgiveness to them just as God has extended forgiveness to you. Pursuing God, Stephen Trammell Executive Pastor Follow me on twitter at: http://twitter.com/stephentrammell

Categories
Love Marriage Respect

Love and Respect

“However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.” Ephesians 5:33 (NIV) This past weekend Tonya and I participated in the Love and Respect Conference led by Dr. Emerson Eggerichs and hosted by our church family, Champion Forest Baptist Church. Dr. Emerson identified what he called the Crazy Cycle. During conflict in marriage, we tend to act in unloving and disrespectful ways. The wife has a love tank and the husband has a respect tank. When a wife doesn’t feel loved by her husband, she will by nature respond by being disrespectful towards him. When a husband doesn’t feel respected by his wife, he will by nature respond by being unloving towards her. How do you get off of the Crazy Cycle? Somebody has to go first. Because of our fallen nature, we tend to be selfish and self-centered and actually prefer that our spouse go first. The one who sees himself or herself as the most mature moves first. Now that’s convicting! Dr. Eggerichs shared with us that respect empowers a husband to energize his wife and that love empowers a wife to energize her husband. The wife is crying out for love and the husband is crying out for respect. Doing marriage God’s way involves making the move to get off of the Crazy Cycle. Go first! If you are a husband, then honor Christ by choosing to be loving towards your wife. If you are a wife, then honor Christ by choosing to be respectful towards your husband. Showing love and respect flows out of our abiding relationship with Christ. We have the capacity to love and respect because Jesus is our Source. Jesus enables us to do what He did. Love unconditionally and respect intentionally. Pursuing God, Stephen Trammell Executive Pastor Follow me on twitter at: http://twitter.com/stephentrammell