Lesson #1: Above all else

If you need to be brought up to speed with what is going on, see last week's introduction entitled, One is closing while another is opening - you'll be informed.

One of my classes this past semester was a preaching class. One can't be enrolled in a preaching class without delivering a message or two during the course of the semester. To maintain structure and a sense of order my professor assigned us to deliver a message from the book of Ephesians. He set aside the last three weeks of school so that we would all have an opportunity to be graded and critiqued by a seasoned veteran and our classmates. He divided us into three groups and sent us on our way. The best part about all of this, for three weeks I sat and listened to God speak through my classmates as they delivered their messages from the book of Ephesians.

If you know anything about the book of Ephesians then you know that it can be broken into two sections. The first section (chapters 1-3) deal with doctrinal issues while the second section (chapters 4-6) deal with practical issues. It is in the middle of the second section that we find some familiar passages centered on the relationships between a husband and wife and parent and a child. I sat in class on my last day listening to a message on the marital union (Ephesians 5:22-33) and parenting (Ephesians 6:1-4).

I thought it fitting that these messages were delivered the last day. They served as a reminder to me, communicating the necessity of my role as a husband and father. They reinforced the idea that whatever my job and responsibilities may be they do not compare to my duties as a husband and a father. I love my wife and daughters with every inch of my body. Just look at them to the right, aren't they adorable? I am so blessed to be married to Heather and to be a father to Maya and Finley.

Above all else, I am called to be Godly husband and father. Above all else, I want to be known and remembered for the husband I was to Heather and the father I was to Maya and Finley. Above all else, I want everyone to know that my wife and daughters mean more to me then any job I may have, any title I may bear, or any other privilege or honor I may be given.

Introduction
Lesson #1: Above all else
Lesson #2: The church as the body and family
Lesson #3: People or programs
Lesson #4: To consume or to be consumed
Lesson #5: For mine or yours
Lesson #6: Peter Pan & leadership
Lesson #7: Rainbow vs. pot of gold