Category Archives: marriage

Just sayin', marriage, Ministry

PLANK EYE

When my wife Brenda was teaching on the subject “Negotiating Change with people you care about“ this Sunday morning in Marriage Matters I had no idea that I would be using the teaching in real life this week.

Have you ever been in a situation were if you ask a person you cared about to change, you felt like they would pack up and leave the relationship?
Well, as a pastor I face that almost every week.
Pastoring people is the process of attempting to get groups as well as individuals to move forward toward a intended goal.
That is easier said than done.

FORWARD PROGRESS  is why Brenda and I love watching football so much. We get to see people move toward an intended goal in about 60 minutes.
I also love it when relationships with people who think totally different than I do work out. It just feels amazing to see stuff get resolved because two people work on a solution toward a common goal. – COOLNESS HAPPENS. When we start at the right place for change


The right place to start when it comes to HUMANITY is the place of HUMILITY.
Humility does not mean you think less of yourself. It means you just think of yourself  less.

If it is true that even “God resist the proud” , how much more inevitable is it for humans to resist us when we approach them in pride?
The place to start if we are desiring change from people we care about is not with them, it is with ourselves.

Again, Jesus nailed it when he said; “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. 2 For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. 3” Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? 4 How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? 5 You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye. Matthew 7

“according to Jesus, they absolute wrong place to attempt to negotiate change in others is the speck in your brothers eye and the right place to start is the plank in your own eye.”  -Brenda Lummer  Marriage Matters 11/26/2009

Standard
marriage

VALENTINES

Just gotta say it.

I LOVE BRENDA!

Today, we celebrate our 29th year of 100% PURE VALENTINES .

vday-card

I think Ephesians 5:25 say’s it perfectly, “Husbands, go all out in your love for your wives, exactly as Christ did for the church – a love marked by giving, not getting.” (MSG)

Standard
marriage, Ministry

FIREPROOFED

fire-cvr1

Really Xcited to start my new series of messages this Sunday called, “FIREPROOFED”.

Over the next few weekends we will be looking at biblical ways to fireproof our lives, our marriages, our teen agers and our finances.

Isaiah 43:2 “you will walk through the fire and not be burned.”

Standard
marriage, Ministry, what I am working on right now

MARRIAGE MINISTRY EXPLAINED

mnf-matters-2

Marriage matters small group lastnight was especially great with a 52 inch screen watching Arizona’s Cardinals barely pull it off in HD.

WOW close one.

A student at Central Bible College had an assignment this past week and ask me to help him with it.

Here is his email to me.

Pastor Lummer, I am having to write a paper on how to have an effective ministry for married couples. Not only that, but I would like to gain some insight on the importance of having such a ministry and the pros/cons of having one.

I sent him our MARRIAGE MATTERS purpose statement and wanted to share it with you on this post.

Purpose. Marriage Ministry at Prescott First Assembly of God

This ministry lives to be an instrument of the Holy Spirit in obedience to the great commission of our Lord.
Objectives. The objectives of this organization shall include, but not be limited to the following:

Promoting God’s plan for marriage through teaching married couples what the Scriptures teach concerning Christian marriage;

Helping individuals to come to a personal, saving knowledge of and trust in Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord, “teaching them to observe all things” that Christ commanded;

Betterment of marital and family communications;

Encouragement of couples and families to work toward the ideal in relationships set forth in the Holy Scripture;

Fostering of fellowship, witness, and deep interpersonal sharing in relationships as described in the New Testament;

Providing tools to couples and families for improving their relationship with each other and with God in Christ Jesus;

Gather into fellowship those who will respond and to nurture them.

The Final Test. Does this ministry to married couples work? does it give them a perspective in how life should and  can be lived in obedience to the Holy Spirit while still having a great time doing it.

Marriage is to be a blessing to God’s people, not a burden.

Standard
family, marriage

COFFEE AND CLARITY

vote-day

Yesterday we all had an opportunity to get a free coffee from Starbucks and clear up some confusion on a few definitions if you voted.

Proposition 102 defined marriage in its simplest form.

Marriage between one man and one woman. Can it get any simpler than that? Prop 102 simply secures the definition of marriage through an Arizona constitutional amendment.

Prop 102 is 20 simple and clear words that define marriage as the union of one man and one woman.

Some people in our neighborhood where my church is located obviously did not agree with prop. 102. We had to replace the 5 x 7 sign at least 6 times from them tearing it down.

Yes, it was a hassle putting the sign back up …..but what do you expect from confused people.

Another interesting bit of info. is that the same kind of measure was passed even in California.

If you can change a definition of something you can change the direction and destiny until it loses its purpose.

So I say thanks to Starbucks for the coffee and thanks to Prop. 102 for the clarity.

http://www.yesformarriage.com/

I love this quote; “A happy marriage is the union of two good forgivers.”  ~Ruth Bell Graham

Standard
family, marriage

EMOTIONAL

I just had to post these pics of EMOTION on this blog.

All I can say is…..daughters grow up fast.

What a flood of emotions where running through me at this moment.

Really glad to have Jesse Quiroz riding shotgun for this wedding….he helped big time.

Standard
family, Life experiences, marriage

“THAT WAS AWESOME DAD”

Well, we made it down to the altar with flying colors.

Before I walked Natascha down the isle I looked at her and said, ” Here we go….no eye contact until we get to the front.

It was not easy to hold back the tears of joy that I felt today.

The waves of emotions ran high but everyone did fantastic.

It was great to see our church family come out and celebrate with our family.

Tonight just after leaving the church I called Adam and Natascha on their way to Phoenix and over the phone I heard her say, “Thanks dad….that was awsome.” 

WHAT A BEAUTIFUL DAY.

Thank you God for such a great daughter and new son-in-law.

A wife of noble character who can find?
       She is worth far more than rubies. Proverbs 31:10 (niv)

Standard
marriage, My daughters wedding

FATHER OF THE BRIDE

Everything is about ready for my daughter’s wedding day this Saturday.

The tuxes are arriving tonight, the limo is scheduled, the reception hall has been decorated, the honeymoon trip to Hawaii is booked and finalized, Natascha’s youth pastor and his family have arrived from Ohio to help with the ceremony, and many other guest from all over the Nation are here in Prescott Arizona to celebrate with us this marriage, the marriage license sits on the desk in my office for me to sign.

It doesn’t seem possible that this weekend is here, but it is.

I am so honored to have such a great daughter to give away to a great son in law this Saturday.

Wow, how time goes by. by so quickly.

This is one of my favorite pictures of my little girl.

I will try to blog more about the weekend as it comes.

Matthew 24:38

Standard