Our Ministry

INTRO.- ILL.- One man said, “In my house, I make all the major decisions and my wife makes all the minor decisions. For example, I decide such things as East-West trade, crime in the streets, welfare cheating and increase in taxes. My wife decides the minor things such as which house to buy, what kind of car we drive, how much money to spend, and how to raise the children.” Hmm, is that the way it is in your home?

Here are a couple of verses to consider about husbands and wives.

I Pet. 3:1 “Wives, in the same way be submissive to your husbands so that, if any of them do not believe the word, they may be won over without words by the behavior of their wives.”

I Pet. 3:7 “Husbands, in the same way be considerate as you live with your wives, and treat them with respect as the weaker partner and as heirs with you of the gracious gift of life, so that nothing will hinder your prayers.”

Both of these verses are powerful and should make us think about our role in the home.

Eph. 5:21 “Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.”

Now that’s a difference verse. What’s the meaning? Does this mean that the husband has to listen to his wife? Well, yes. He’d better. Both the husband and wife should consider one’s thinking and counsel. The two are better than one alone. They are to complement one another, help one another, encourage one another, and support one another.

ILL.- Here’s a great example. I remember reading a letter to Ann Landers by a lady named Rosie. She wrote, “A young couple in Missouri got married in 1937. ‘Mike’ worked the third shift for the railroad. He’d come home about 7 a.m. and do odd jobs around the house: fix the old car, do everything but go to bed. Finally, about 4 p.m. he’d crawl into the sack, and then it took an atomic bomb to wake him up so he could go to work. I would plead with him, ‘Honey, give me your feet and I’ll put your socks on for you.’

“By now it was 1947 and four children later. I never told anyone that I put Mike’s socks on, because they might think I was a nut.

“This went on for 46 years. In 1983 Mike died. I tried to figure how many times I’d put on Mike’s socks. The number came to about 15,000.

“I’ll soon be 75 years old. Mike has been dead 10 years. I would give anything if I could put on his socks just one more time.”

What do you think of that marriage? Rosie was a woman who loved and cared for her husband. And I suspect if the truth were fully known, he cared for her as well. It’s called servanthood. It’s a matter of serving one another in love. And that’s the way it should be in a marriage.

And guess what? That’s the way it should be in the church as well! We should serve one another in love.

Gal. 5:13 “You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love.”

PROP.- In this text, we want examine three different aspects of our ministry.

1- The attitude of our ministry

2- The author of our ministry

3- The activity of our ministry

I. THE ATTITUDE OF OUR MINISTRY

Col. 1:24 “Now I rejoice in what was suffered for you, and I fill up in my flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ’s afflictions, for the sake of his body, which is the church.” Now I rejoice in what was suffered for you.

What has happened to our joy? I realize that some things get us down in life, but it doesn’t have to be that way every day and all day long!

Prov. 17:22 “A cheerful is good medicine.”

It’s good medicine not only to the people around us but also to ourselves. Whatever we dish out, we will receive. What we give is what we get.

ILL.- One of my favorite preachers in the past was Wayne Smith who was the Sr. Minister of the Southland Christian Church in Lexington, KY, for 40 years. One of the great things about Wayne was his joy and his joyous attitude. He had a great laugh and an infectious attitude. DID YOU EVER HEAR HIM?

As he aged he wasn’t as good in his preaching but he still laughed a lot. Not sure if I ever told you this about Wayne but when my kids were young one time I was going to the North American Christian Convention. They were probably 15 and 9 years of age. I said to the kids while driving to the convention, “Who do you want to listen to? Do you want to listen to Sandi Patti sing or Wayne Smith preach?” They said, “We want to hear Wayne Smith preach!”