We all have to serve someone, whether that is God, the devil or ourselves. Jesus says in Matthew 6 that “No one can serve two masters. For he will either hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and ____” (fill in the blank, whatever it may be for you). We are going through a series as a church called, “The Secret To Healthy Relationships,” and in this final part we will look at relationships of authority: those who serve and those who are served. And we will see the eternal perspective the Bible gives us on power and control, on service and submission.

It is hard to be a parent on display, responsible for guiding your kids in righteousness and goodness. It is also hard to be a child, watching and having to obey an imperfect, flawed and sometimes downright ungodly parent try their best to parent successfully. We are in a series as a church called, “The Secret to Healthy Relationships” looking at what the book of Ephesians has to say for us in a variety of relationships. This morning we will look at the beginning of Ephesians 6 as we talk about healthy relationships between parents and children. This is one of the most remarkable passages in Scripture, equally difficult to fulfill as both parents and children - and God’s Word has something to say for all of us as His children.

We are in a series called “The Secret to Healthy Relationships,” going through the book of Ephesians verse by verse. Our passage today deals with relationships between husbands and wives. Marriage can be one of our greatest sources of joy and fulfillment. Or it can be our greatest source of pain and misery. Just like tandem kayaking. One of the articles online you can find on Tandem Kayaking is an article entitled: How to Paddle a Tandem Kayak (and Avoid Opposition, Mutiny and Divorce). And it says this: “Two people both trying to steer a tandem kayak is a recipe for misery. You can only be successful if you and your partner are willing to come together, to sacrifice the idea of full control and to exercise patience with each other’s shortcomings. If you can do this, then paddling a tandem kayak can be magnificently fun.” What the Bible will tell us today is that no matter your past, your present situation or what the future throws at you in terms of marriage there are some secrets to having a healthy marriage relationship that brings joy and laughter, rather than strife, stress and paddling around in passive aggressive circles.

Relationships can often be the source of some of our greatest joys in this life, but they can also often be a source of our greatest sorrow, anxiety and exhaustion. And the common denominator for unsuccessful relationships in our lives is simple: us. Many of us have wounds, shortcomings, insecurities and sins in our lives that make us capable of making a mess of some if not all of the relationships in our lives. We are going through a series as a church called, “The Secret to Healthy Relationships,” and this week we will look at what the Bible has to offer us as the genuine power to change in relationships; a power that doesn’t start with others, and doesn’t even start with each of ourselves, but rather starts with the God who made us.

We are a people in love with love. And yet few have any idea what real and lasting love looks like or how it acts. It would be easy to sum up healthy relationships, whether it is romantic relationships or relationships between family or friends or neighbors, with something like “All we need is love.” But that brings up the question: What KIND of love is foundational to healthy relationships? What does that kind of love look like? Are we basing our relationships on something that looks like love, but really isn’t love at all? Is that why they are failing or stressed out? We are in a series called “The Secret to Healthy Relationships,” looking at what the Bible says about how to have relationships that are strong, growing and reflect God’s best for us. And we are doing that by going verse by verse through a book of the Bible called Ephesians. Last week we talked about forgiving others and realizing our own need to be forgiven as one of the secrets of a healthy relationship. This morning we’ll talk about our second secret to healthy relationships: having a love that gives and is satisfied, rather than a love that takes and always wants more.

How are your relationships lately? Whether it is in your marriage, in your family, or at work, relationships can be our greatest source of joy or our greatest source of heartache. Join us starting this Sunday for a new 6 week series as we examine the key to building healthy relationships in our marriage, in our family, in our personal and in our work lives.