The Webster Bible Church Podcast

Title: The Duty of Dads

Speaker: Matthew Fletcher, Senior Pastor

Scripture: Ephesians 6:4

Transformative Truth:
Fathers are to intentionally cultivate the spiritual flourishing of their children.

1. The Negative Command: 
 -"Do not provoke your children to anger."
 -Unreasonable expectations.
 -Disproportionate discipline.
 -Inconsistent responses.
 -Constant criticism.
 -Demeaning comparisons.
 -Relational neglect.
 -Cookie-cutter parenting.

2. The Positive Command:
 -"Bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord."

"Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.  -Deuteronomy 6:5-7

 -Set reasonable expectations (1 Cor. 13:11).
 -Discipline with love (Heb. 12:6).
 -Be clear and consistent (Matt. 5:37).
 -Encourage generously (1 Thess. 5:11).
 -Speak graciously (Eph. 4:29). 
 -Delight in your children (Psalm 149:4).
 -Point them continually to Christ (1 Cor. 11:1).

Title: God's Charge to Children

Speaker: Matthew Fletcher, Senior Pastor

Scripture: Ephesians 6:1-3

Transformative Truth:
God rewards children who rightly obey and honor their parents.

1 Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. 2 “Honor your father and mother” (this is the first commandment with a promise), 3 “that it may go well with you and that you may live long in the land.”
Ephesians 6:1-3

1. God’s regard for children (v. 1a)

2. Your responsibility as children (v. 1b, 2a)

3. Your relationship with the Lord (v. 1c)

4. The reason you should obey (v. 1d)

5. The reward if you do (vv. 2b-3)

Title: Love Her Like Jesus, Part 2

Speaker: Matthew Fletcher, Senior Pastor

Scripture: Ephesians 5:28-33

Transformative Truth:
Loving your wife as yourself reflects Christ’s union with the church.

A Pointed Mandate Ephesians 5:28-31: "Husbands should love their wives...."

* the care we initiate
* the Christ we imitate
* the covenant we celebrate

A Profound Mystery Ephesians 5:32

A Practical Mindset Ephesians 5:33

Title: Love Her Like Jesus, Part 1

Speaker: Matthew Fletcher, Senior Pastor

Scripture: Ephesians 5:25-27

Transformative Truth:
Christlike husbands give themselves for their wives’ highest good.


The Mandate of Self-Sacrificing Love

The Model of Self-Sacrificing Love

• What Jesus did

• Why He did it

• How He did it

Title: A Word to the Wives

Speaker: Matthew Fletcher, Senior Pastor

Scripture: Ephesians 5:22-24

Transformative Truth:
Spirit-filled wives magnify their Savior by submitting to their husbands.


The Mandate of Submission Ephesians 5:22

The Motive for Submission Ephesians 5:23

The Manner of Submission Ephesians 5:22, 24

1. It is Christ-centered. 

2. It is comprehensive.

Speaker: Matthew Fletcher, Senior Pastor

Scripture: Psalm 122

Transformative Truth:
It is a great privilege to praise God with his people.

You have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, 
the heavenly Jerusalem, and to countless thousands of angels 
in a joyful gathering. You have come to the assembly of God's 
firstborn children, whose names are written in heaven. 
You have come to God himself, who is the judge over all things. 
You have come to the spirits of the righteous ones in heaven 
who have now been made perfect. You have come to Jesus, 
the one who mediates the new covenant between God and people, 
and to the sprinkled blood, which speaks of forgiveness instead 
of crying out for vengeance like the blood of Abel.
Hebrews 12:22-24

Yet she on earth hath union with God the Three in One, and mystic 
sweet communion with those whose rest is won: O happy ones and holy! 
Lord, give us grace that we, like them, the meek and lowly, on high 
may dwell with thee.

Their Delight in Jerusalem Psalm 122:1-2

Their Description of Jerusalem Psalm 122:3-5

Jerusalem, built as a city should be, solidly united, where the tribes, 
the LORD's tribes, go up to give thanks to the name of the LORD. 
Psalm 122:3-4 Christian Standard Bible

In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy 
temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become 
a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit. 
Ephesians 2:21-22 NIV

Do you not know that you are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in you? 
1 Corinthians 3:16

Their Dedication to Jerusalem Psalm 122:6-9

"How lovely is the sanctuary in the eyes of those who are truly sanctified!"

Speaker: Rod Whitney, Guest Speaker

Scripture: Exodus 3, 4, 33

Transformative Truth:
As individuals, drawing close to God has everything to do with the attitude of our “undivided” heart.

Consider His Call (Exodus 3)

Consider His Conversation with God (Exodus 3, 4)

Consider His Choice (Hebrews 11:24-28)

Consider His Courage (Numbers 14:22-23)

Consider His Question and His Request (Exodus 33)

Transformative Truth:
Children of light live with care to make Christ shine.

1. Buy up the time. Ephesians 5:15-17

2. Be filled with the Spirit. Ephesians 5:18-21

Transformative Truth:
God’s children are to radiate the light that they are.

The Change Described (v. 8)

For God, who said, "Let light shine out of darkness," has shone in our hearts... - 2 Corinthians 4:6

Four Encouragements from Ephesians 5:8 1. Permanent Re-creation 2. Present 3. Personal Relationship 4. Practical Reordering 

The Challenge Delivered (vv. 9-14)

God's children are to radiate the light that they are.

But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil. - Hebrews 5:14

Rule #1: Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness.

Rule #2: Expose them.

Transformative Truth:
God transforms people by His Word
 

"By its very nature the Word does its work" - Alistair Begg

To be transformed, you must Trust the Goal of God's word in your life

1. Wisdom for Salvation

2. Maintenance of Your Faith

3. Preparation for Good Works

To be transformed, you must Trust the Power of God's word in your life

Trust the Power of God's Word for Teaching

Trust the Power of God's Word for Reproof

For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. - Hebrews 4:12

Trust the Power of God's Word for Correction

Trust the Power of God's Word for Training

"The Word of God is able to do that which nothing else can do in the hearts and lives of men.  It is able to accomplish certain results which nothing else can accomplish.  It has a power which no other message has.  And the need for that power of the Word of God is imperative."