A few thoughts on a great day at NewSpring Church…
- First of all…you are INSANE if you miss next Sunday at NewSpring Church…the children’s ministry is taking over the service and it is going to be straight up awesome!
- People always ask me, “Did you have a fun time really bringing it to the men?” The answer is no…because, well, I’m a man…and I am FAR from perfect. :-)
- Being a godly husband and father are two of the most difficult things I’ve ever done…it honestly feels like so many times I am playing “king of the mountain,” I will do good for a little while and then fall on my face!
- We are called by God to fight for our families (see Nehemiah 4:14)
- Men…if you don’t lead your family then satan will! (See Genesis 3:1-6)
- EVERY family in the Bible was jacked up…so is mine…so is yours!
- The harder a family tries to pursue image over integrity the harder the fall will be when it all comes crashing down.
- The family today has sacrificed integrity for image…it’s not what we do that really matters…it’s how we appear to others. And…uh…it’s NOT working.
- Men…the way we walk and talk WILL impact our families…this was SO evident as we examined Ruth 1:1-4 and Acts 10.
- In America it seems all to often that the ritual that makes a boy become a man is when the boy tells his mother that he is staying home with his father and not going to church.
- Call it what you want…make excuses for men all day long…the bottom line is that we tend to want to walk away from a challenge, especially the one to lead our family spiritually.
- BUT…the man who will STEP up MAKES a difference…I read a statistic the other day that BLEW me away - if a woman takes her kids to church there is a 1 in 50 chance that child will become a regular church attender…if a man takes his kids to church there is a 1 in 3 chance that they will become regular church attenders.
- Ezekiel 22:30 says God is looking for a man to take a stand…I want to be that man will all my heart.
- If you are a dude and think that at times it feels weird to lead you’re family spiritually…that just means you’re normal! It’s weird at times for me as well…we all struggle with this!
- Quality time with our kids is not letting them watch a DVD in the mini van while we drive five minutes to the grocery store. (We usually do that so we don’t have to talk to them.)
- The reason most men would rather spend more time at work than at home is because they are actually built up and encouraged at work…ladies, it is your job to make sure you encourage and build up your husbands as much as possible.
- Single ladies…if the dude isn’t running after Jesus now then he’s NOT going to be able to lead your family! (AND…if you are making excuses for him you probably know what you need to do.)
- Our words to and about our kids have power…to build up OR destroy. (If you didn’t get to see it you really should take a look at the message when we get it online on Tuesday when I shared the paper and glass illustration.)
- Too many men seek to lead their families through intimidation…but, INTIMIDATION leads to ISOLATION…we can intimidate them for their first 10 years…but that will isolate them for the next 50!
- Dads…when is the last time you told your son/daughter that you are proud of them. UH…they NEVER get tired of hearing that!
- Too many parents refuse to talk to their kids about the tough issues…uh…the world is talking to them about those issues! (Telling our church about the conversation with Charrise after she asked “what’s that” after I got out of the shower was…uh…uncomfortable!)
- Our kids are not just listening to our words…they are watching our lives. SO…that means we can’t do things like tell them not to speed when we have a radar detector in our car!
- If you are a husband/father and you feel like you’ve dropped the ball…you can start TODAY and make things right! There is ALWAYS hope in Christ!!! I am praying Romans 15:5 for you as well as Romans 15:13!
- It was SO moving to see HUNDREDS of men stand today to be prayed for!
I really could go on and on about today…it was great. I hope you will check out the service online this Tuesday…or you can download the podcast. It honestly was the most challenging “man message” I think we’ve ever put together…and I am praying that God continues to do GREAT things through it.