Here's my sermon from Sunday May 19 at Revive Church on 1 Timothy 4:1-10 entitled "Spiritual Fitness." (We had some technical difficulties with the audio, so I sound like I'm screaming into my pillow, but that's alright!)
The deceived servant will fall away.
- Deceitful Teaching
- Seared Conscience
- Legalism The disciplined servant will remain faithful.
- Different Diet
- Different Discipline
- Different Source of Strength
This last Sunday, I had the honor of giving the message at my church for Mothers' Day. I'll be honest with you- it was one of the toughest messages to plan and preach (since the elders decided to do a moms-specific message). I am not a mother (obviously), and it was a challenge and a stretch to preach something encouraging, sensitive, challenging, grateful, etc. One thing I was sure of was that I didn't want anyone feeling shame over their shortcomings (or perceived shortcomings) with their own family or their own mother. Therefore, I had to emphasize the gospel, and not just the importance of a godly momma. In my prep, I came across a great article - "Happy Daughter's Day" - by Elyse Fitzpatrick, and it prompted me to write the below "poem" in encouragement to mothers about the great God they serve:
It is not about your temporary status as a mother, it is about your eternal position as a daughter.
It is not about birthing children; it is about being re-birthed by God’s Spirit.
It is not about your performance as a mother, it is about Jesus’ perfection as a Savior.
It is not about having faithful children, but having faith like a child.
It’s not about weaning kids, but about worshipping the King.
It is not about your greatness; it is about Jesus’ grace.
It is not about your skillset; it is about God’s strength.
It is not about your imperfect love, but his perfect love. It is not about your work, it is about Jesus’ worth.
If you wanted to check out the whole sermon "A Mother's Faith" (on Timothy's godly mother), here it is as well: