Introduction

• Philippians 4:6
• Being deliberate in your gratitude can be a huge benefit to you.

You can be thankful even in bad situations.

• Daniel 1:1; 2:17-23 – Daniel gave thanks and praise.
  • Jonah on the other hand had a terrible attitude.
  • The Israelites wanted to go back to Egypt after witnessing God’s miracles.
• Job 1:20-22 – Job was suffering terribly, but he praised God.
• Luke 17:11-19 – One of the ten lepers returned to thank Jesus for healing him.
• Habakkuk 3:18
• No matter how bad my day is, there is something to be thankful for. I see what I am looking for.

You can be thankful even when plans don’t work out.

• II Samuel 7:1-29 – God did not allow David to go forward with his plans for the temple, but David showed gratitude.

You can be thankful even when you don’t think you need to be.

• Mark 8:6 – Jesus gave thanks for the loaves.
• John 6:11 – Jesus gave thanks!
• John 11:41-43 – Jesus thanked the Father for hearing his prayer.
• Luke 22:19 – Jesus gave thanks for the Passover meal.
• Why would Jesus thank the Father?

Wives: how does God-given authority work?

• The wife is subject to the husband (Titus 2:4-5; Genesis 3:16)
• Being under authority does not mean one is inferior in value (Genesis 2:18, 20; 1:27; I Peter 3:7; Psalms 115:9-11; John 14:26; I Corinthians 11:3; Philippians 2:5-7)
• Rebellion against a God-given leader is rebellion against God (Exodus 3:10; 19:6; Numbers 16:3, 28, 31-33; I Samuel 8:7; Romans 13:1-2)
• There’s a lot of male-bashing in our society today (Proverbs 14:1)
  • Be careful what you absorb from the culture!

Ephesians 5:22-24, 33: everything, respect

• First, a word about Ephesians 5:21 (Ephesians 6:1, 5; Hebrews 13:17).
• Be subject “in everything” (v24) – but harmonize that with all of Scripture (Acts 5:29; I Peter 3:7; Hebrews 13:17; Genesis 3:17; I Timothy 2:14).
  • The husband will answer to God for how he led his wife. He cannot abdicate that responsibility.
• Each spouse must focus on themselves (Ephesians 5:22-33; Colossians 3:18-19).
  • The husband is not told to make the wife submit. He is told to love her.
  • The wife is simply told to respect their husband, not to make him love her.
• “as to the Lord” (v22) (Ephesians 6:5-8; Colossians 3:23-24)
  • Give your husband the breathing room to lead. Managing your responsibilities properly makes it easier for him to lead properly.
• “respects her husband” (v33) (John 8:29; Philippians 2:8)

I Peter 3:1-6: gentle and quiet spirit

Women, there’s a lot of learning to do

• Men have a very strong desire to lead, protect, and provide (Genesis 2:15; 3:16-19; Nehemiah 4:14; I Corinthians 16:13; I Peter 3:7; Ephesians 5:33).
• Women tend to bring out those strong, God-given instincts in men.
• Your husband will make decisions differently than you (Ephesians 5:23).

Busyness

• Solution: Make time for what’s important (Mark 1:35, 38)
  • Despite Jesus’ extremely busy schedule, he made time early in the morning to pray.

Wealth

• Wealth does not have to be possessed in order to distract you.
• Solution: Put God’s word into action (Luke 8:14-15)

Sin

• The time and energy you spend sinning is time and energy you are not spending serving God.
• Hebrews 11:24
• Solution: continue in the word to become free (John 8:31-32)

Luke 3

• Luke 3:23-28 – This shows the genealogy of Jesus all the way back to Adam, roughly 27 generations, through Jesus’ earthly father Joseph.
  • Luke 3:23 – Joseph’s father is Heli? Compare Matthew 1:16.
• Luke 3:2 – See John 1:6-9 regarding John the Baptist.
• Luke 3:3 – See I Peter 1:18-19; Ephesians 1:7; Romans 3:24-26. There had been no blood at this point in time, but John was already preaching about forgiveness of sins. John was preaching about a different kind of baptism than what Jesus would teach later.
• Luke 3:7 – See John 1:24. John began very aggressively, but he knew his audience.
• Luke 3:7-14 – John was essentially teaching them to love their neighbor in whatever way might have been most problematic for each group.

Introduction

• Mark 9:35-39
• Mark 10:13-16
• Children’s Letters to God

What are kids learning from parents?

• Psalms 78:1-8
• James 1:26
• Matthew 21:14-16 – Sometimes kids are the most honest. Jesus defended them here by quoting Psalm 8.
• II Timothy 3:15

Struggling with morality

• Matthew 7:12
• Matthew 5:43-45 – Love everyone! This is not easy.
• Genesis 3:22-24 – Man’s sin brought death into the world. I Corinthians 15:21-22
• Psalms 73:2-3, 16-17, 28 – Why do the evil prosper? Things looks different with eternity in the equation.
• I Peter 5:6-7
• II Corinthians 12:7-9

God’s wisdom and power

• Psalms 63:1-7
• Exodus 20:1-6 – God is a jealous God. God wants our attention and devotion.
• I Timothy 1:17
• Psalms 139:1
• Psalms 90:1

Conclusion

• Kids: Ask all your questions about God.
• Adults: Let’s do our best to answer their questions.