Sermon Tone Analysis

*INTRODUCTION*:

 

Thanks for supporting the Cooperative Program

 

Galatians 6:6 Marriage Retreat

 

Marriage retreat for couples

-Praying before each session

 

*See if any of these prayers sound familiar . .

.*

Now I lay me down to sleep I pray the Lord my soul to keep. .

.

God is great, God is good, let us thank him for our food.

How’s your prayer life?

Do you ever feel like your prayer life is dull?

That you seem to pray the same way about the same things?

I want to challenge you to be an expository prayer.

Use Scripture to guide your prayers in a creative way.

Tomorrow is July 7  Read Psalm 7, 37, 67, 97, 127.

Pick one psalm and go back and meditate on it some and then as you pray use some of the phrases or things you learn to guide your prayers.

Read 5 Psalms this way every month.

Read 1 Proverbs a day through a month.

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*1.

ASK THE LORD FOR DIRECTION IN PRODUCING A GODLY FAMILY*.

Psalm 127:1a “/Unless the Lord builds the house, its builders labor in vain./

Interpretation: USELESS!  Meaningless!

Vanity!

Worthless!

These are words that could describe you if God is not the center of your world.

Building a house is futile unless God is in the center of the process.

Striving to build up your family is useless unless God is in the center of the process.

Joshua 24:15 “/But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living.

But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord/.”

Illustration: *Son asking about God’s direction*.

This past week in our morning devotion time with my family I was sharing how I had listened to God and obeyed his will for my life by leaving Illinois and going to seminary in Ft.

Worth, and then to SAU in Magnolia as a campus minister, and now to Little Rock as a Family minister.

My 6 year old son asked, “Dad, how did you know God was leading you and speaking to you?”  My comment to him was that I spent time praying and reading my Bible to discover the direction God had for my life.

What I was trying to convey to my son was that we followed the Lord’s direction in our lives and I want him to grow up knowing that his daddy depended upon the Lord for direction so he will learn to as well.

Illustration: Quotes from George Barna

Transforming Children into Spiritual Champions

 

n  While more than 4 out of 5 parents (85%) believe they have the primary responsibility for the moral and spiritual development of their children, more than 2 out of 3 of them abdicate that responsibility to their church.

n  In a typical week fewer than 10% of parents who regularly attend church with their kids read the Bible together, pray together (other than at meal times) or participate in an act of service as a family unit.

Less than 1 out of 20 families have any type of worship experience with their kids, other than while they are at church during a typical month.

If we want to have strong families, and strong marriages, and strong children, and strong churches, then the Lord must be a part of our families consistently and more than just on Sundays and Wednesdays.

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*2.

ASK THE LORD FOR WISDOM IN PROTECTING YOUR FAMILY*.

Psalm 127:1b “/Unless the Lord watches over the city, the watchmen stand guard in vain/.

You can have the best security system, an electric fence around your house, a pit bull, but unless God is watching over your family then it’s futile.

Psalm 121:1-8

     /1     I will lift up my eyes to the mountains; /

/From where shall my help come?

/

/     2     My help comes from the Lord, /

/Who made heaven and earth.

/

/     7     The Lord will protect you from all evil; He will keep your soul.

/

/     8     The Lord will guard your going out and your coming in From this time forth and forever/.

/ /

 

Illustration: Guys, how many times has your wife turned over to you and said something like, “Did you hear that.

I think someone is in the house.

Will you go check that out?”

My wife did this a lot when we were first married and I remember one night I thought I would have some fun.

I must tell you I grew up in a family where we were always jumping out from behind doors and scaring each other and my wife did not grow up in that kind of family.

She got up one night to go to the bathroom and I got up and went and hid on the other side of a door and when she came out of the bathroom I jumped out and screamed boo.

She literally stabbed me with her fingernails and drew blood.

I’ve talked to many older parents and one of the common themes that I’ve heard about how they have survived parenthood has been prayer.

I keep an eagle eye on my family and if anyone messes with my family then they’ve messed up because they have to deal with me and I have very little mercy when someone messes with my family.

I think God has built that into guys to have a protector mentality.

But, one of the things that I’m learning is I can’t always be there to protect them.

I have to trust the Lord to protect them.

*3.

ASK THE LORD FOR STEWARDSHIP TO PROVIDE FOR YOUR FAMILY*.

Psalm 127:2  “/In vain, you rise early and stay up late, toiling for food to eat.

For He grants sleep to those He loves/.”

What we do:

Rise Early

Stay Up Late

Toiling for food to eat

 

Colossians 3:23 “/Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men/,

 

What He does:

                Gives rest

                7th day – God rested

 

 

 

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Illustration: Karen’s car catching on fire and God providing a Buick Skylark.

-Karen drove a Ford Tempo from apartment to school.

-Karen runs downstairs to tell me car is on fire.

-It’s just overheating.

-No, it’s on fire.

-It will be ok, I’ll go and check on it later.

-Andy Griffith was on.

-Finally, I went outside to check on it and, guess what, IT WAS ON FIRE!

-wedding pictures.

-BOOM!

BOOM!

Tires explode.

-We prayed specifically for a car that was $10,000 or under

Had less that 20,000 miles on it

Was less than 2 years old.

It later burned up as well and God has since provided us with another vehicle.

-Guys, God has given us a desire to provide for our families but sometimes we work so much we never spend any time with the family we’re providing for.

-Guys, I think our families would be willing to do with less stuff if they had more of us.

*4.

ASK THE LORD F0R A VISION TO PERPETUATE YOUR FAMILY.*

Psalm 127:3-4 “/Sons are a heritage from the Lord, children a reward from Him.  Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are sons born in one’s youth/.”

Interpretation:           Sons are:

        A heritage (an inheritance given by God)

 

        A reward (an incentive to be faithful)

 

        Like arrows (an instrument to release)

Children are given to you by God.

They’re a reward from God.