Archive for the ‘Gospel centered’ Tag
“Rediscovering What Honoring Your Father and Mother Means!”
Filed under: Bible, By Pastor Timothy, By Tim Brassell, By Timothy Brassell, Christian Living, Christianity, Church, Discipleship, Faith, GCI Windsor Mill, Maryland, God, God Father Son and Spirit, God the Trinity, God's love, good news, Gospel, Grace Communion Baltimore, Grace Communion International, identity in Christ, Inclusion, Jesus Christ, Love, Ministry, New Life Fellowship Of Baltimore Maryland, New Life Fellowship Of Windsor Mill, MD., On Mission with Christ, Participation with Christ, Participation with Jesus, Perichoresis, Prayer, relationship with God, Relationships, Sermons, The Church, The Dance and Dream of the Trinity, The Father, Son and Holy Spirit, The Gospel Project, The Holy Spirit, The Plan of Adoption, Timothy Brassell, Trinity, Uncategorized, union, Union In Christ, Union with Christ, Witness, Witnessing to God, Witnessing to Jesus, Worship, Worshiping God, Worshipping Jesus | Tags: Adoption, Basic Christian Doctrine, Being In God's Family, Christian Faith, Christian Living, Christianity, Church, Ephesians 5, Ephesians 6: 1-3, Faith, GCI Baltimore, God's Faith, God's Grace, God's love, Gospel, Gospel centered, Grace Communion International, Having The Peace Of God, How God Reveals Himself, Humanity Revealed, Humanity Revealed In Jesus, Jesus, Knowing The Father's Love, Life's meaning and Significance, Love, New Life Fellowship Baltimore MD, New Life Fellowship Of Baltimore Maryland, Relationships, Revealing Your Life's Purpose, Sharing God More Accurately, Sharing In God's JOy, Sharing In God's Laughter, Sharing In The Divine Nature, The Basic Christian Belief, The God Who Is Love, the reason for your existence, Timothy Brassell of New Life Fellowship, Trinitarian Theology, Trinity, Understanding God, Understanding Human Beings, Understanding Life's Calling, Who Is God?, Who Is Jesus?
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Audio Part A:
Audio Part B:
Full Audio Message:
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Scripture: Ephesians 5, Ephesians 6:1-3
Summary:
In this Gospel-centered message, Pastor Timothy Brassell invites us to rediscover what it truly means to honor our father and mother. While many people understand this command primarily as a moral obligation or cultural value, Pastor Tim challenges us to see it through the larger reality revealed in Jesus Christ: the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit relationship and our participation in their life and love.
“Honoring your father and mother is primarily about the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit relationship—and our participation in their life and love.”
Beginning in Ephesians, Pastor Tim reminds us that the Christian life always starts with the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Before Paul tells believers to honor their father and mother, he first reveals the Father’s plan to adopt humanity into His life and love through Jesus Christ and by the Holy Spirit. The command flows from God’s character and His relationship with humanity.
Drawing on Ephesians 5:1–2, Pastor Tim emphasizes that believers are called to be “imitators of God” and to “walk in love, as Christ also loved us and gave Himself for us.” Honoring father and mother is therefore not merely about social duty; it is participation in the life and love of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. It reflects the self-giving love, unity, and relationship that have always existed within God Himself.
Pastor Tim also highlights the astonishing truth of the Gospel: in Jesus Christ, God has united Himself to humanity and reconciled the world to Himself. Quoting Dietrich Bonhoeffer, he reminds us:
“In the body of Jesus Christ God is united with humankind. All humanity is accepted by God, and the world is reconciled to God.”
Because Christ has embraced our humanity, believers are invited to see every aspect of life—including family relationships—through the lens of God’s grace and redemption. Honoring father and mother cannot be fully understood apart from the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit and the relationship they have graciously opened to humanity through Jesus Christ.
Pastor Tim further explains that the Church exists as the body of Christ in the world, reflecting the Father’s love, the Son’s self-giving life, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit. As believers grow in Christ, they become a distinct witness to the world, demonstrating what it means to live in loving relationship with God and with one another. The Church is called to be a living reflection of God’s life and love, participating with Christ in His ongoing ministry to the world.
This understanding echoes the words of theologian James B. Torrance: “Christian worship is our participation through the Spirit in the Son’s communion with the Father.”
Ultimately, this message encourages us to move beyond cultural assumptions and rediscover the deeper spiritual meaning behind honoring father and mother. It is an invitation to see parenthood, childhood, family, and the Church through the reality of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and our participation in their life and love through Jesus Christ.
Reflective Moment:
When you think about honoring your father and mother, what comes to mind? Rules? Obligations? Gratitude? Pastor Tim invites us to look deeper. What if honoring father and mother begins with learning to see the Father’s love revealed in Jesus Christ and our participation in the life and love of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit?
Take a moment to reflect on how God has welcomed humanity into His life through Jesus Christ. How might your understanding of family, relationships, service, and honoring others change if you viewed them through the lens of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and your participation in their life and love?