The Building Blocks for the Family part 3

Amen. Glad that Brother Keith repeated that song that he taught us last week, "Happy the Home." It resonated a little more with me this Sunday. I think I was catching on to the words. We're all a little slow to learn, isn't that right? I promise I am. And I challenge you maybe to get those words. Brother Keith, maybe you can share with the folks where they can acquire maybe a recording of that. I don't want to put you on the spot, but I do say this from time to time. I challenge you to take any of the music that we've seen, bring that, make that a part of your home, use that in your home.

Your children should see you worshiping through things like music, as well as studying the Word and prayer and living the Word of God throughout your life. And this is a very good song. I'm sure we'll sing this one again throughout the series. I appreciate him repeating that. Well, let's take our Bible. Let's turn back to Genesis chapter 1. I know we read quite a bit of scripture earlier. Just have your Bible there to Genesis, turn to Genesis chapter 1, and I will get us to look at a few other verses. I'll let you know when and where you need to turn.

Now, this morning we're continuing with what I have been calling the building blocks for the family. And I think I said this earlier in our scripture reading. So this is a part 3. It's really easy for you to keep up with the title of the message. This is the theme that we're carrying through all of these messages, the building blocks for the family. And this is all centered around the title of the series, the theme of the series. This is all about God's design for the family. Now, with all of these messages that we've been in, we've primarily been in chapter 1 and chapter 2.

Notice that last week we spent a little more time in chapter 2, and then this morning we're going to be mostly in chapter 1. And it's just the way it's worked out from me and my study. I've said several times that I'm not being exhaustive here. I'm just preaching what comes to the surface from me as I think the Lord wants you to hear it. I think this is some information and messages that we all really need in our day and time. In our first message in the series, I said that we were looking at basic information, and I did say that it was vital. I'm sure I repeated that a few other times.

I also said that I would be aiming at what constitutes the family and also how the family should function. Now, think about the debates today around the family. It used to be that the function of the family was really the only debate. It was really the only discussion. And now what constitutes the family is being debated and even redefined as we speak. I don't think I have to convince you of that. And listen, folks, it's only going to get worse. I just don't see it getting any better culturally. That is why I was so direct and even graphic last week.

Parents, take this information that we're studying, take these messages from God's Word and infuse them into your children. Church, we've got to work hard. We've got to gather together as the church. We've got to work hard to teach this to our children, to our teenagers. I used that very sobering example last week with Lot and his family there in Sodom, and I wasn't trying to shock you, but I wanted you to see just how serious this really is. And listen, our day is a lot like Lot's Day. In many ways we are living here in Sodom. And I do challenge you to go back and read that account.

Now, if you think on what we have covered the past two messages, most of what we have examined really relates to what constitutes the family. That's why I have used this title, The Building Blocks for the Family, because that's really what we've been studying. These are basic building blocks for God's design for the family. And this morning we will start getting into how the family functions a little. But next week we will move more into the New Testament and we will see more New Testament teaching on the family, and we will get more and more into the function. Now, look at these building blocks. This is really a quick review.

We have seen that God created man. We have seen that God created man in his own image and his own likeness. And he created man, male and female. And I gave you three words that will help you remember what we studied there. Ownership, ownership, unique, gender. God owns mankind. He created mankind. Man is unique in that man is created in the image and the likeness of God. We are going to talk about that a little more this morning. And gender. God created man, male and female. There is no such thing as anything but male and female. And then we continued from there. We saw that God created woman different.

She was created from the rib which God took from the side of Adam. And then God presented the woman that he had created to Adam. And then God joined Adam and Eve in that first marriage ceremony. And after that first marriage ceremony, God gives this marriage declaration is what I called it. Just kind of to abbreviate everything that we looked at in that second message. We see the roles and the relationships in marriage. And then we see the wow factor. Remember that? The wow factor? God himself performed that first marriage ceremony after he had brought Eve to Adam. And what did Adam say? He said wow in that wonderful expression in verse 24.

And in this declaration we saw God's design for marriage. Look at how all of this speaks to what constitutes the family folks. This all speaks to God's design. This is God's design. Not the world's design. Not a man's design. Not a particular church or denomination's design. And look folks, we really have to be on guard here. You know we can roll up our sleeves and we can work real hard here. And if we're not careful we can get involved in what Christian experts say. And I'm going to be honest with you. There are times when even the experts go beyond the scriptures. No man can go beyond what the scriptures say about the family.

And this can seem attractive to some. Many times these that go beyond the scriptures at best can be legalists and at worst many of them can be false teachers. I know I'm going to throw a couple of names out here. Some of you might not even know who they are. It wasn't that long ago. There was a respected minister named Doug Phillips. I'm telling you he had all kinds of ideas and thoughts about the family that we wouldn't find in the scriptures and he was revealed as a fraud. And before him there was one that was real popular years ago named Bill Gothard. Same thing. And what I'm sharing with you is this. Be careful.

Because even if someone sounds like an expert, if they go beyond the scriptures they've gone too far. Now this morning I want to really pick up where we left off last week. In verses 24 to 25 we looked at what I called God's marriage declaration. And here we see that God made three statements. Three declarations. The man, the woman coming into marriage they shall leave their father and mother. The man, the woman coming into marriage they shall cleave to one another. And then the man, the woman coming into a Christian marriage they shall become one flesh. Remember one plus one equals one. Listen children don't take that to your math class.

Okay. You'll fail. I promise. And the man and the woman were both naked the text says and there was no shame because this was before sin had entered into the human race. This was before the fall of man. And men I ask you a question. Ladies I ask you a question here. Is there sin that would come between you and your spouse that would bring shame into the arm? Think about this. I've seen this. I've seen a man bring sin into the family, sin into their life that brings shame into the home. And many times we see that. It can be secret sin. It can be behind the closed doors. And I want to challenge you there.

There's something mysterious and mystical and hard to explain when you have this man and this woman and there's no sin in between them. There's no shame. There's no shame. But look at this picture. God brings two Adam a woman that just made for him. And Adam has moved to express his great pleasure, his great happiness. I called it the wow factor. We see that in verse 24. Now I want to pause here and I want to make some application for you teenagers. See teenagers you start thinking about you know marriage and boyfriends and girlfriends and you start thinking about dating and all of that.

And moms and dads you're the ones that have to police and govern all that according to your conscience and the way the Lord leads you. But I want to just say this to you. If you desire to stand at an altar and have this wow factor you just pray and you serve the Lord and you walk with God and God will bring you who he wants you to marry. God will do that. But see if you go out and you do it the world's way when you finally find that person there will be some shame involved in that.

But I'll tell you if you'll do it God's way if you'll walk with God and you'll serve God and you just won't lower God's standards in any way one day there will be a man or a woman in front of you and you'll have the same wow factor that Adam had. One of the things that's been so hard in ministry is to counsel folks who have just blown it in so many areas and they bring all that sin and all of that stuff into that marriage and they have to try to fix all that. Don't do it. Especially teenagers don't listen to what the world says. Now let me get back to where we were.

Remember in between verse 23 and 24 I envisioned this marriage ceremony where God performs just what he declared in verse 24. Adam and Eve they come together they cleave to one another and they become one flesh. And we see that God stepped forward and he made this great marriage declaration. His declaration of what should take place. A man should leave, a man should cleave and they should become one. It's really nice to be talking to one of the men of the church this week and he was just talking about this leaving and cleaving and how he was working out in his own family.

Now it's plain to see here we have God's design for the family for the marriage. We have the basic building blocks. Now this morning I want to step to the side kind of under this declaration and I want us to look at what God called Adam and Eve to do. I'm calling this their calling, their responsibilities and we see four things in chapter 1 starting in verse 27. Now when I say four don't panic the last two are rather short. This is going to speak to their calling and their responsibilities. But let's jump right into what I want us to look at. I want us to see number one God calls them to rule the earth. God calls them to rule the earth.

Now in what we see about man right here proves two things. First the man is greater than the entire creation even the animals. He is the crown of God's creation with a special place within creation. And then second the man was created God like. He was created to do things which animals can't do and these things that only God can do. Now I want to go ahead and tell you something. I'm going to use this term God like and I don't mean that man is a little God no. When he was created in the image of God he was created God like. But I want us to focus on two words or phrases.

I want us to look at verses 26 to 28 and we're going to see where God calls man to subdue the earth the rule the earth the English standard uses the word dominion. Look at the verses. Verse 26 and 28 and God said let us make man in our image according to our likeness. Now notice and let them rule over the fish of the sea over the birds of the air over the sky birds of the sky over the cattle over the all the earth over all the creeping things creeps on the earth. We see that let them rule. Then verse 28 and God blessed them and he said to them be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and rule over it. Notice the repetition.

Verse 26 and 28 but here God reveals man's relationship to the creation. Follow me here. Man is to rule the earth and all that is in it man is to subdue the earth. He is to exercise dominion over the creation. Here God is giving man authority and control over the creation. He is giving man the responsibility to rule the creation using those abilities that were given to man by God. This is a part of what makes man higher than all of the other animals.

Remember what we've learned man was created in the image and the likeness of God so man was created God like not as a little God no but he is God like in that he is in the image and likeness of God. Man can think man can reason because he was given the gift of intelligence he was and is conscious of himself in the world. He was given the ability to understand integrity and morality and holiness. Man is God like man is a God like pattern of God in the world in the creation and he was created for God's purposes and glory and subduing and ruling the creation was a part of God's purposes for man but this just isn't Adam.

This isn't just Adam and Eve. This is all of mankind. Go back and look at the verse, verse 26. Then God said let us make man in our own image according to our likeness and let them rule over. Let them. That is pluralistic language. So God he gives this first husband and wife really all of mankind. He gives them this unusual call and responsibility to exercise God like authority over the world which he has just created and this is unusual because nothing else in the creation receives this responsibility only man only man. You know we see this happening right away. We see two jobs. God gave them two jobs before Genesis chapter 3.

Job number one we've already covered naming the animals. In chapter 2 verse 19 and 20 God called the animals before Adam and he named them. See Adam was God like in that exercise and when he gave them the names those names described what they were and how they function. It wasn't random. And then job number two I really haven't mentioned this one. Keeping the garden of Eden. In Genesis in chapter 2 verse 15 when God called Adam to tend the garden God was showing us that Adam was God like when he tended the garden and when he kept the garden you see. So we see this responsibility from God this responsibility this given to mankind.

This was given first to Adam and Eve. They were to rule the earth and all that was in it. They were to take dominion of that which God had given them and look they had all of the creation to rule and to enjoy except the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. And I'm going to talk a little more about that as we continue. Now a few questions here and application I want us to think about. To be honest with you we can spend a lot more time here. First question. Does this have to do with us today? In our day? We're a long way from Genesis chapter 1 and 2. Yes it does. Listen folks man is to rule the earth.

Man is to subdue the creation. Man is to take dominion over the world. Now another question. Is man to abuse the creation? Is mankind to misuse and damage and mar the creation? No that would be a sin. Remember this truth here folks. The creation is for man. I've said this a few times. Remember this. The creation is for man not the other way around and we live in a fallen world and we need to see two things here. See we're on this side of Genesis 3 the fall. First of all the world, the sinful world will tell us that man is to serve the creation and that is backwards. That is totally backwards.

Second because man is sinful man will abuse the creation. Man will seek to abuse and misuse and even mar the creation and that is sinful to me. But listen men. Listen close. You were to go out and you were to rule the world. You're not to sit at home on the couch and do nothing. You go out and you subdue the earth. You go out and get an education. You go out and get a good job. You work hard. As a Christian you should work the hardest of anyone that you're around. You work hard and you should do the best that you can. The study of Proverbs shows us that. You're to work hard and look even work hard for that promotion. Work hard for that raise.

Buy a house. Buy a land. Those things are not evil. I heard a famous preacher say it like this. Abraham had all things but all things did not have Abraham. Now just now there could be somebody sitting right here saying something like this. Hold on pastor. Sounds like you're telling us to be worldly. No that's not what I'm saying. A Christian should live under the authority of the Lordship of Christ. And if Christ allows us to have those things. Listen. Well then you have those things in your life for His glory for His honor and also for kingdom purposes in the world.

And listen men you just may get a raise to better provide for your family and to better provide for the work of the church. You hear me. It should all be under the Lordship of Christ in His work on earth. God just may allow you to have more so as to be used for His glory and His honor in a unique way. I know men who have lots of money and they are used in a unique way because of what they have. But here's the thing. What they have does not own them. And a question here. What does this have to do with marriage in our day? In what context are these verses written? Marriage. This was given to Adam and Eve.

This was all tied up in that marriage union folks. And we must see that and I think you see that. God gave Adam and Eve this responsibility. So we see that God called Adam and Eve to rule the world. To rule the world. To take dominion. He called them to subdue it and to use it for their enjoyment. We're going to talk about that but ultimately for His glory and His honor. And there's nothing wrong with as Christians ruling the world. Taking dominion and being used of God accordingly. And I know I probably start up a few questions for you and that's okay. You come to me and I'll help you answer those questions.

And if I can't answer the hard ones I'll give them to Brother Keith. He'll handle them. So let's move on. I want us to see number two. God calls them to fill the earth. Number two. God calls them to fill the earth. Now here we see another way in which man is God-like. Not only was man created to rule which is God-like. It's a God-like ability given by God to man. But man was created with the ability to produce life and not just any life. Now pause with me for a second. Some of you who really know the creation account could pose a question here if you think long enough. You could say something like this.

Didn't God call the animals to reproduce as well? He did. See animals can only produce animal life. But man and only man can produce others who were made in the image and the likeness of God. You see? Only man can produce others that are made in the image and the likeness of God. Now here we are really picking up from where we left off last week. Remember that God created a woman for Adam. He was alone with nothing in the creation that corresponded to him. And God presented that woman that he had made to Adam and his reaction was wow. He was amazed. He was gripped with amazement.

And then God himself joined that first man and that woman in marriage. They had no earthly parents to leave but they did cleave to one another and the two became one. And within the story of creation here Adam and Eve are now at the place where God is calling them to be fruitful, to multiply, and to fill the earth. Go back to the verses. I'm just going to start verse 26. God said let us make man an hour image according to our likeness and let them rule over the fish of the sea etcetera etcetera. Verse 27. And God created man in his own image. In the image of God he created them male and female and he created them. And God blessed them.

And he said be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth. Is that what we see? See at this point I want to call your attention to where we are chronologically. This is pre-fall folks. Everything changes in Genesis 3. It falls apart because of sin. So this call from God to be fruitful, to multiply, and fill the earth was pre-fall. But here's where I want us to turn over to Genesis chapter 9. Just a couple of pages. Some of you know where I'm going. Genesis chapter 9. Verse 1. And God bless Noah. This is after the flood folks. God had preserved Noah and his family in the ark. God had judged the whole world.

All of humanity was right there in that little ark that God saved. And God blessed Noah and his sons and he said to them be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth. See the same language? Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth. Here we have Noah, his wife, his sons, and their wives after the flood and here God calls them to do what? The same thing that he called Adam and Eve to do. To be fruitful, to multiply, and fill the earth. So we see this call from God to man. This was given to Adam. This was given to Eve and to Noah's family as well.

They had a call from God to be fruitful and to fill the earth, to have children, to have babies, and to raise those babies to be children and to raise those children to do what? To produce more of their kind. Others in the image and the likeness of God. God calls them to fill the earth with more God like beings. Now a couple of questions here I want us to examine. These are very important. First, is this a command? Is this a command? See the Jews did see this as a command. You need to see this. The Jews saw this as a command and there are some Christians that do see this as a command for us.

They see this as the first commandment that was given by God to man. Now this is a debate. There is a debate around this if this is a command or not. There are some churches and some denominations and even some people that feel like they are commanded to have children and have as many as they can, but there are some that feel like this is a matter of conscience. And I'm going to speak a little more to that a little later. But what we must see here that applies to us in marriage is very important. Children are a blessing from God. They are a blessing. They are not a curse. Children are no accidents. They are a true blessing.

And the purpose in having children is not simply to gratify our own feelings or our own desires. We as Christians should have children first and foremost for what? For God's purposes to fill the earth with more and more God-like people who live for God's purposes in the world. You see? And then a second question. Does this mean that husbands and wives who can't have children are somehow in sin? Are there something wrong with them or somehow they are second class? No. I've known people who had that attitude. I've known people who felt like, "Oh, if you can have a lot of children, you have some unique blessing from God.

But if you can't have children, well then there must be something wrong with you. Maybe you're not blessed." We must see that there are individuals and families who don't have the physical ability to have children. And that does not mean that they are somehow cursed or second class. We live in a fallen world, folks. That's just a part of the fall. And also there are God's sovereign purposes sometimes that we cannot understand. I'll give you a couple of examples. What about Daniel? The Old Testament figure Daniel. Was he cursed of God or somehow second class because he couldn't have children?

Go study and you tell me why Daniel couldn't have children. What about Hannah in 1 Samuel? Was she somehow cursed of God or some kind of a second class servant of God when she could not have children for so long? No. Her lack of children served the purposes of God in her life. Now ultimately she did conceive. But what about Paul? Paul never married nor did he have children. He had a unique calling in his life. And what I'm trying to show you is this. It's not that some are blessed because they can have a lot of children and then everybody else is just some kind of second class Christian in the kingdom. No. But another question.

What about adoption? Is adoption good or is it even Christian? You know our church's view on adoption. We think it's wonderful. But you know if you look around the Christian culture in our day it's very popular. But if you study Christian history, Christians have always been about adoption. I'll give you a couple of examples to think about. Moses was adopted. Moses was adopted by Pharaoh's daughter. Think about this. He was raised in the most pagan home imaginable but that was all a part of God's purpose and plan in his life. Think about this. Eli was adopted. Or excuse me. Eli adopted Samuel. Remember the baby Samuel? He was adopted by Eli.

And what about Jesus? Did not Joseph adopt Jesus? Joseph was not his biological father. So we see that God called Adam and Eve and Noah and his family to be fruitful, to have children and to raise those children and to have more children and to fill the earth for God's purposes here. To produce more people who are created in the image of God for God's purposes on the earth. Now I want to share with you my opinion. If God gives you the ability, if God gives you the resources and you feel called of God to have children and more children, praise God. Praise God.

If you have the ability and you have the money and you have the resources and you can parent those children, have them. Now I know people who will take this and go a little far. They'll have so many kids, so many kids. They can't pay their bills. They have to mooch off mom and dad and then laws and outlaws and their mooches on the government. I don't advise that. This is where this matter of conscience comes in. I know people that have children and then sometimes they have health issues and they have to stop there. But what I'm sharing with you is this.

If God gives you the ability, have children, have plenty of children and raise them up for the purposes and the glory of God. Why not fill the earth with more people who are God like and we trust that they would come to know Christ and be used of God in the world for God's purposes. But listen folks, the leaders of the church here will not allow this attitude where if you have more and more and more and more children, well then you must have some kind of a special blessing and if you have none, you must be cursed of God. We won't allow that because it's not Christian and it's not biblical. Let's move on.

Number three, number three, I want us to see that God calls them to enjoy the earth. God calls Adam and Eve to enjoy the earth. Now number three and number four will be a little shorter. I want us to look at these verses. I don't think we've really focused on them in our reading, scripture reading, the past two Sundays.

Then God said, talking to Adam and Eve, "Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the surface of all the earth and every tree which is fruit yielding seed and it shall be food for you and every beast of the earth and every bird of the sky and everything that moves on the earth which has life I have given every green plant for food and it was so. And God saw it all, saw all that he had made and behold it was very good." And the rest of the verse says it's the end of the sixth day. Here we see that Adam and Eve had a wonderful life. It doesn't get any better folks.

This is a wonderful life before the Christmas classic came along. It's a wonderful life. You see, this is the true wonderful life. Here we see that all of the creation is complete. This is at the end of the sixth day. So everything associated with Adam was finished. He has been given a home. That was the garden. He has been given a job. That was to care for in tindergarten. He started his work in naming the animals. He has been given a wife. Nothing in creation corresponded to him. So God created this unique individual for him that was woman. Now notice how we briefly examine the finished touch of creation.

God gave Adam and Eve the call and the responsibility to multiply and fill the earth. God gave Adam and Eve the call and the responsibility to subdue the earth and to rule it. And now what does God say? Verse 21 he says, "Enjoy it all, but oh be careful." One thing. And then in verse 31 he says, "It's good, it's very good." See folks, this is a wonderful life. So notice what we see. God had blessed Adam and Eve. Everything was complete. And God had given them everything to enjoy. And they were in a perfect fellowship with God. And there was no sin.

And they enjoyed a perfect relationship with God in all things because all things were at their fingertips. Just look folks. Adam had a perfect wife. Adam had a perfect marriage. Adam had a perfect family and a perfect home and a perfect job and perfect food. The whole world. And there was only one exception to this. Chapter 2 verse 16 and 17. They were forbidden from eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. You know when I just got to this point in the message, I just couldn't help but think about one word, joy. Joy. Perfect joy. Perfect joy. But you know folks, we live in a fallen world. We do.

Sin has corrupted everything, leading marriage. So our only hope for true joy and a lasting joy and a lasting joyful marriage is Christ. You see? And my question for you husbands, fathers, is your joy in Christ? And is your marriage founded on Christ and the word of Christ and a relationship with Christ? And you have joy in the midst of your marriage and in your home because Christ is the center of it all? And listen ma'am, wives and mothers, do you know Christ? Is your joy in Christ? And is your whole life wrapped up in knowing Christ?

Listen, men and women, husbands and wives, do you have this unexplainable, mysterious thing called Christian joy? And at the heart of our marriages should be our relationship to Christ and a Christian joy that we cannot, we cannot replicate it with religion and rules it can't be. And we live for his purposes in the world. And listen folks, I say this with a little hesitancy. I don't have a perfect marriage. My kids will tell you that. But look, we have joy. I love my wife. My wife loves me. We serve God. Our home is built on Christ and his word and the kingdom purposes that God's put at our fingertips.

And listen, whatever God puts in front of us, we want to rule it and we want to subdue it. And we want to be used for the kingdom and the work of the church throughout the world. And look, we have joy. And my question for you is this, do you have joy? Some of you don't have joy because you just don't know Christ. And religion won't substitute that folks. It only makes it worse. Number four, God calls them to obedience. Here's where I want us to turn over to chapter two. I know I referenced these verses. I want us to just read them starting in verse 15.

Then the Lord God took the man, he put him in the garden, the garden of Eden to cultivate it and to keep it. And the Lord God commanded the man saying, from any tree of the garden, you may eat freely, but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, you shall not eat for in the day that you eat from it, you will surely die. Now here I want to show you one truth, obedience. Obedience. They were given God's command and they were to obey it. It's just that simple. And of course they didn't. As a matter of fact, later on, Eve changed it, said, Oh, we can't even touch it. God didn't say that. And here we have one word for our marriages.

This is for you men. And this is for you women, especially you men, because you were supposed to lead its obedience, obey what God's word says. And this applies in two ways. First, obey God's word in your marriage, not just what God's word says about marriage, but what God's word says about all things. Remember the challenge I gave you. If you saw that your marriage, your home life doesn't line up with God's word, will you repent and will you adjust obedience, obedience? When we come across God's word, obey. But second husbands and wives obey what you know you need to do in your marriage.

You know, there are just some things that are not clearly lined out in scriptures, but you know what you should do. I remember years ago in my home church, there was a guy in our church and you know, he was just lazy. Now Proverbs deals with laziness. Didn't want to clean his yard up. Didn't want to mow his yard. His poor wife was out there on a broken down mower mowing. Now I know some ladies like to mow, some men like to mow. I'm not getting into that, but this is what you had. He just wouldn't suck it up and clean up his yard, mow his yard. He's always making his wife do it. Oh, he had plenty of time to deer hunt and fish.

Oh, but he never always had an excuse. I'm using that as an example to show you something. Sometimes ladies, sometimes men, you just know what you need to do. You don't necessarily find it in the scripture. You just know what you need to do. So Adam and Eve were called obey and look as the people of God, we should do the same. This church house should be full of people who obey God's word and just do what you know you should do. We should be marked by obedience. Now in conclusion, remember the illustration I've just worn it out. I know in every one of these messages I've concluded the same way. Remember that million dollar house.

Really it was a million plus. Most of you know that I worked with a contractor years ago and you know, he worked for the other half. You know, I referenced that one house and that one homeowner and you know, the homeowner, he was building his dream home. I had the privilege of starting at the bottom and going all the way to the top of that home. He was building his masterpiece and the contractor I worked for was accommodating him in every way. He gave him everything he wanted. You know, I remember when they were building the fireplace raising the chimney. I remember that vividly.

That homeowner would come to the job site every day and as the brick layers were going up with that chimney and they were getting over the roof line, the homeowner would go across the street and he would keep saying hire, hire, hire, hire. Remember he had those special brick now, hand picked, clean. See he wanted that chimney to go higher and higher because he thought it should be very prominent when you looked at the roof line. Finally the contractor, my boss went out there and said, look, you got to stop. We can't go any higher. It'll fall over. He's building his masterpiece, dream home. You know, we're not building a dream home.

We're not even building a physical home here folks. Listen church, we're to be busy building the family. We're to be building our families according to God's design and that is what this is all about. This is God's design for the family and we are to be building according to what we have been seeing in his word and the things we're not going to cover and the things we will cover. Hopefully you'll be a good student and you'll continue to study with me, behind me and ahead of me. So what are we looking at? Building blocks for the family. It's all basic stuff. God's design for the family. Let's do this. Let's pray.

Let's commit what we've looked at in these three parts. Let's commit this to the Lord and then next week, the Lord willing, we'll move over into some New Testament teaching. So let's pray.