00:00:01 Tiger Woods is a household name in the golfing world. I don\'t play golf. I know many of us don\'t, but we\'ve all heard this name float around. By 2008, he had won 14 championships, which was an unbelievable record for someone of his age. But by 2009, he was also a husband and a father of two young children, and he had built a beautiful family. He had a once in a generation talent, immense wealth, worldwide fame, and the admiration of millions of followers. 00:00:42 By every measure of worldly success, he ticked all the boxes and it looked as though he was thriving. And then in 2009, revelations of repeated infidelity shattered that public image. Woods admitted and owned up his wrongdoing. He apologized for the pain he had caused his family, his followers. His marriage ended in divorce the following year, and his reputation took a beating severely. He did make a comeback in the Masters in 2019 and has since still had many challenges. 00:01:28 But his story exposes a sobering truth. You can be extraordinarily successful in public and experience devastating failure in relationships that matter most. You can have talent without integrity. You can build wealth without trust. You can have public admiration and a million followers on your Instagram page, all the while privately wounding the people closest to you. You can build or buy an impressive million-dollar home in the Bay Area without building a thriving family. 00:02:15 And before we judge Tiger Woods, we must remember that the temptations behind such failures are not confined to celebrities alone. Every one of us must ask the question: what does it mean for my home and my family to thrive in God\'s eyes? Is it building a great career, a beautiful home, accomplished children or financial security? Those can be good gifts, but they cannot be the foundation of a thriving family and a godly home. 00:02:51 We are through our series on thriving families, and today we are going to hit at the crux or at the center of a definition of a thriving family, which is the text that was read to us. We are taking some inspiration from that. It\'s titled \"Holiness in the Home.\" A little bit of a context about this church, and he\'s writing to the Thessalonians. 00:03:17 He was addressing a young church, a relatively young church plant like ours, in a very busy Roman port city on the Via Egnatia, was a very major commercial road. They lived in a culture that had a lot of worshiping a lot of different idols. There were pressures for social status, and there were sexual practices that often conflicted with God\'s design. But these believers had undergone a radical change. 00:03:48 Paul had just been kicked out of Philippi, and he comes to Thessalonica, and he preaches, and he had immense fruit with people coming to accept Christ. In 1 Thessalonians 1:9, Paul says that they had turned from idols to serve the living and true God. But while their allegiance had not changed, it\'s not like this church had a lot of problems like the church in Corinth, they still lived among a culture with tremendous pressures in every direction around them. 00:04:21 He was not accusing this church of any scandalous behavior. In fact, he praised their faith and love. But he was saying, \"Don\'t just be content with where you are.\" He wanted them to grow. Twice in this passage, he uses the phrase more and more. In verse one about pleasing God, and in verse 10 about loving one another. 00:04:47 And immediately before our text, if you read the previous chapter, closing verses, Paul prays that God will increase their love and establish their hearts blameless in holiness at the coming of Christ. They were waiting for Jesus to return, and that hope was meant to shape how they were living right now. Isn\'t that the same challenge for us in Silicon Valley or any large metropolitan city anywhere in the world? 00:05:18 Where metropolitan cities and centers attract people and immigrants who come for jobs and upward social mobility and better opportunities. But what can happen in these places, whether it\'s New York or San Francisco or Chicago or Frankfurt or New Delhi or Bangkok, we can become so busy building careers, preparing successful children, investing in comfortable homes, that we neglect building holy homes. Our phones today bring tremendous opportunity at our fingertips. 00:06:01 We can have tremendous power at the push of a button To order goods that can please us and arrive at our doorstep or communicate with someone literally across the world. 140-character tweets have been able to topple regimes, but they also bring a temptation into every room. Our calendars can be full and look impressive. Our neighbors may admire our achievements while never seeing the love of Christ in our lives. So here is our question this morning. 00:06:37 Are we building homes that impress the world or homes that please God? That\'s the context in which we want to work our way through this text. Paul shows us four marks of a godly home. These instructions, by the way, were given to the whole church, of course. They are for married people, they are for singles, parents, those whose children have left home, and those whose children still live at their homes. 00:07:06 Whatever your household looks like, God\'s call is for us to grow more and more in holiness and love. So we are going to look at four things this morning of definitions of a godly home that grows in holiness. First, a godly home receives God\'s Word, a godly home expresses God\'s holiness, a godly home also is one that cares for God\'s people, and lastly, a godly home lives a counter-cultural life. So those are the four things we are going to work through this morning. 00:07:50 Now, first, a godly home receives God\'s Word. It sounds very simple, doesn\'t it? And it is kind of simple. Paul begins in verse one and two, \"We ask and urge you in the Lord Jesus, that as you received from us how you ought to walk and to please God, that you do so more and more.\" Look at the progression. He says, \"Receive God\'s instruction, walk in obedience, and keep growing.\" So how does this happen? He\'s asking them to put into practice what they already know. 00:08:24 Firstly, it happens by prioritizing receiving God\'s Word through the church. Christ gives us church, the ministry of preaching and teaching, and faithful pastors are servants of that Word. They\'re not substitutes of that Word. We come to worship not merely to enjoy music or see friends, as important and wonderful they are, but we primarily come to church to hear God address us through His Word. Parents, what does your family learn from the way you plan your Sunday? 00:09:03 Is gathering with God\'s people central to your week, or is it the first thing that gets sacrificed when the schedule gets crowded? Our children learn our priorities by what we consistently make time for. Our calendars reflect what we value. Secondly, they receive the Word humbly and eagerly. Paul talks about that, how he did not come to them with persuasive words of wisdom or charm or eloquence, but through the power of His Spirit, and how they eagerly and humbly received God\'s Word. 00:09:41 An example of that is Acts 17, the Bereans, how they received even the Apostle Paul\'s preaching. We should welcome biblical instruction while we examine scripture. We should not simply approach preaching as a critic or by asking, \"Was it entertaining?\" Or, \"How can I find something to poke a hole in it?\" Instead, we ask, \"What has God said? What must I believe, repent of, or obey?\" Hearing is not the same thing as obeying. Imagine a Sunday drive home of two families. 00:10:22 They\'re leaving the same worship service. In the first car, the conversation is a running review. The sermon was too long, and I always preach long sermons, and I\'m not going to shorten it anyways, guys. The music wasn\'t what I like. Calvin was so boring. I\'m not saying that, but please don\'t quit. You\'re awesome. But that illustration didn\'t work. Children learn that church is something you have to rate and critique and evaluate all the time. 00:11:00 But in the second car, a parent asks, \"What did God teach us today?\" And a child answers, \"Perhaps we need to forgive.\" And the father says, \"That reminds me, yesterday, I spoke harshly to you, and I need to ask your forgiveness.\" Now, the children learn that God\'s Word speaks to their parents, too. The difference is not the sermon they heard. It was the same sermon. It\'s the way they received it that mattered. 00:11:29 And imagine a home where after worship, someone asks, \"What is one thing we can obey this week?\" Where children see parents apologize. Where biblical truth shapes what the family watches, how it spends money, and how disagreements are resolved. A godly home is not merely a place where God\'s Word is heard, but a place where God\'s Word is honored and obeyed. And when the Word of God governs the home, it doesn\'t just stop there. It reaches even the private places that no one else sees. 00:12:07 And that brings us to our second point. A godly home expresses God\'s holiness. And Paul spends the majority of his time in this text, verses three to eight, it\'s like the central fulcrum of his whole thing. And he makes this strong, clear statement in verse three. Says, \"For this is the will of God, your...\" Two people are awake. I was just testing. This is the will of God, your... Sanctification. Oh, good. You\'re reading from your Bibles. That\'s good. 00:12:45 Your sanctification, that you abstain from sexual immorality. One of the most often asked questions, especially by young people, is how do I find God\'s will? We spend so much time wondering what is God\'s will. Where should I work? Whom should I marry? Where should I live? Should I take up this job? Which school should my children attend? But God makes it very clear what His will is. He says, \"My will,\" His will is our sanctification. 00:13:13 Sanctification means being set apart for God and increasingly shaped by His character. It\'s not simply behaving better in public, face-saving and posturing. It is belonging to God in a way we think, desire, relate, and live when no one is watching. Now, Paul focuses here and he zooms in particularly on sexual holiness, because that was their challenge in their context. It is relevant to us in our own culture, in our own times. He teaches at least three closely related responsibilities. 00:13:53 First, he says in verse three, \"Abstain from sexual immorality.\" The Greek word porneia describes sexual immorality, and scripture places sexual intimacy within the covenant of marriage between one man and one woman, as established in Genesis two and reaffirmed by Jesus in Matthew 19. And that\'s one of the biggest culture wars going on in this country, isn\'t it? Sexual intimacy is not dirty or shameful. 00:14:23 In some cultures, couples don\'t even hold hands as though it\'s like a crime in front of their children. It\'s shocking sometimes when I hear in some Asian cultures, children have never seen their parents hug or kiss. What do you think it communicates to your children? Please hug and kiss your spouses more before your children. You guys are like, \"This guy is preaching some sacrilegious stuff.\" No. Because it\'s good, and it must be received according to His design. 00:15:00 And for those who are unmarried, it calls for sexual purity and chastity. And for those who are married, it calls for being faithful in exclusive love that ought to be celebrated in the context of marriage. But Christian discipleship teaches something more beautiful and more demanding. Says our bodies belong to the Lord. Our desires must be shaped by His Word and not by culture or our Spotify streaming list. 00:15:28 So parents, do not let social media and entertainment become your children\'s primary teachers about sex, love, and marriage. Have honest, age-appropriate conversations. Teach not only what God forbids, but why His design protects dignity, faithfulness, and most importantly, covenant love. And young adults, do not mistake sexual restraint for missing out on life. I know it\'s so challenging, especially in campuses, in high schools and colleges, where you see everyone doing whatever they wanted. 00:16:09 Obedience to God is not the enemy of joy. God\'s boundaries are expressions of His wisdom and goodness for us. In verse four to five, Paul talks about this. He said that, \"Each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor.\" Paul contrasts holiness and honor with uncontrolled lust. Some interpreters are trying to figure out what exactly is the precise wording of verse four, but what the overarching point is that we cannot objectify our human bodies. 00:16:52 Women\'s bodies cannot be objectified purely for lustful and sensual purposes. Men\'s bodies ought not to be objectified for toxic masculinity in the name of being muscular or macho. Every person bears God\'s image and must be treated with dignity. Men and women are not objects made for our gratification. And then he talks about do not violate another person\'s marriage or dignity. 00:17:37 Paul warns, in verse six, he talks about that, \"No one transgress and wrong his brother in this matter, because the Lord is an avenger in all these things, as we told you beforehand and solemnly warned you.\" Sexual sin is never merely my private business. It can break a covenant, break trust, and deeply wound spouses and children. 00:18:04 I can tell you, and any pastor will tell you, that the most heartbreaking experience in their counseling ministry is when a marriage fails because one person chose to cross that line And was so selfish without thinking of the damage and havoc it will wreak on the rest of his loved ones. That\'s when a pastor feels helpless and sad and grieves the most. But it doesn\'t have to be that big. It doesn\'t start there. The conversation started with a boundary that was crossed. 00:18:44 Imagine a married professional who reconnects with an old friend or colleague online. And I got this from a counseling book written by a counselor. This is representative of recently, a lot of cases that they are receiving. At first, the messages concern work and ordinary life, then the conversations become more personal. Soon this person is sharing disappointments about their marriage, seeking sympathy and encouragement from someone other than their spouse in their workplace. 00:19:20 The messages begin to feel exciting. They become something to hide. Some are deleted. There\'s no physical affair that has happened yet, but loyalty and emotional intimacy are quietly being redirected away from the marriage. This is how a marriage can be undermined long before the most obvious boundary is crossed. Sin often doesn\'t begin with a dramatic decision. It begins with a small permission you give to your own hearts. 00:19:54 And I remember I was visiting a friend recently in one of the large tech companies here to have lunch, and there was this couple sitting right next to me and talking in my mother tongue, Tamil, so I could understand. This was following the script exactly like this. I didn\'t want to judge them, but I was concerned. I initially thought they are husband and wife before they said, \"Oh, my husband said this, and my wife said this.\" I wasn\'t eavesdropping, guys. They were very close to me. Okay? 00:20:21 Don\'t judge me now. Don\'t think, \"Oh, I shouldn\'t invite him to my office.\" Faithfulness is not merely refusing adultery. It is actively guarding the covenant God has entrusted to us. This means refusing to cultivate secret relationships, speaking honestly with one spouse, and maintaining boundaries that protect trust. It also means rejecting this covetous fantasy that someone else\'s spouse or someone else\'s life will satisfy us. Notice Paul\'s warning. It\'s serious. 00:21:00 It says, \"The Lord is an avenger in all these things.\" God takes seriously the harm we do to others, especially if it reaches children. So we cannot dismiss sexual betrayal as an inconsequential personal choice. There\'s tremendous, tremendous heart-wrenching, heartbreaking consequences. And then he talks about verse seven and eight. He says, \"Remember God\'s calling and God\'s gift.\" He concludes, \"God has not called us for impurity, but in holiness.\" 00:21:33 And he reminds believers that God gives His Holy Spirit to them, and that\'s vital. If all we hear today is try harder, be more disciplined, hide your failures better, we have missed the gospel. Holiness is not mere self-improvement. The God who calls us to lead a holy life also gives us His Holy Spirit to sanctify us. Sanctification is not a self-improvement project we do through our own abilities, our own smartness, and our own willpower. You can never win. 00:22:04 Perhaps you\'re struggling with pornography or secret attachment or a wounded marriage or a shame over a past sin. You don\'t have to excuse sin. You don\'t have to pretend that you can conquer it by image management. Bring it to light. Come to the cross. I love, in these moments, the gospel walls that we practice in Life on Life Discipleship. This is the moment to do the gospel walls. Confess to God. Seek trustworthy help, wise accountability, and where needed, sometimes even professional care. 00:22:43 And if there has been an abuse or coercion, remember, the victim is not responsible for the offender\'s sin. Safety and protection come first. You don\'t have to live in that. But when you come to Christ, there is forgiveness for repentant sinners and grace for genuine change. So a thriving home is not a home without temptation or failure. Don\'t get me wrong. It\'s a home where sin is taken seriously, but grace is received, and holiness is pursued not through self-effort, but through Holy Spirit. 00:23:19 And holiness is never meant to make us individualistic, isolated, self-righteous Christians. God who calls us to live holy lives also calls us to love. And that takes us to our third point: A godly home cares for God\'s people. In verses nine and 10, Paul shifts to brotherly love. He tells the Thessalonians, \"You yourselves have been taught by God to love one another.\" In fact, they\'re already loving brothers throughout Macedonia. He says, \"Your love is so evident. 00:23:52 I\'m so thankful for how you love on God\'s people from all over the world.\" That\'s our vision, too. We want to help all people connect to Christ and see all our lives transformed from every nation, tribe, tongue, and language. And Silicon Valley is a host of 90 plus nations. We want to be a church that expresses the grace of God to all the nations in Silicon Valley, isn\'t it? But then, though they are such a loving church, he tells them, \"But do this more and more.\" 00:24:27 The gospel is not merely to improve relationships within biological families. Sometimes biological families can become a cult. You may think, \"Oh, our family has this pedigree and this history, and sometimes we support missionaries, and we have several people doing ministry, and our family is the best. We have 50 people, 60 people, 100 people. Our family, we stay there, we take care of each other.\" No, your family is not going to back you up. You will learn that the hard way one day. 00:25:02 But it\'s God\'s family and God\'s children and God\'s church where you are going to receive that love. It brings us into a new spiritual family. So sometimes as immigrants, it\'s possible for you to come from one country and another country, but you still can\'t remove your country out of you. You can still live in the country where you were, though you are living in another place. You\'re only thinking about that all the time, not connecting with anyone, not having anyone else in your life. 00:25:32 In Christ, people from different cultures, generations, become brothers and sisters, isn\'t it? I cherish our friendships as a church we have with Revive, with Pastor Susang, Tapestry Church with Pastor Bernard and Pastor Joey Wang, our combined services. And even with our sister church, Comunidad Cristiana, where we could do this dual Spanish, English worship services. That\'s my favorite place to preach more than here because people respond there. 00:26:03 They don\'t give me the poker face to my sermons every time. So I need to talk to the pastor and set up another one. It\'s been a while, right? A godly home understands our love must extend beyond the people we share our last name with, isn\'t it? People who don\'t look like us. And one beautiful way, a simple way of expressing this is hospitality. Paul doesn\'t explicitly command hospitality in these two verses, but elsewhere, scriptures exhort believers to practice it, isn\'t it? 00:26:36 Romans 12:13, 1 Peter 4:9. Because hospitality makes brotherly love visible. When I was in a pastor\'s missions conference last weekend, I was greatly encouraged by a couple. The husband is 80 years old. He has been doing ESL. He\'s an American Caucasian brother. He has a passion for people from other countries. He has been doing ESL, and his wife, and they were trying to start... They also are involved in kids club, like we do. 00:27:05 And they came to me and said, \"We have a neighbor who\'s from India, perhaps. They practice Hinduism. They\'ve invited us to their festival. Can you help us? How can we be sensitive and share about Jesus to them?\" And I said, \"The simplest thing for you to do is invite them back to your home for a meal.\" That means a lot. And share your story and read the gospel. And you know what we do in our churches, start with a sermon on the mount. They all love Jesus. 00:27:36 They may have a problem with Christianity, but they never have a problem with Jesus Christ. Hospitality makes brotherly love visible. Just having an extra chair at your table. Again, let me unpack it vividly as an illustration. Imagine as a family returning from Sunday worship and preparing lunch. But suddenly you remember there is this young adult who has moved to our Bay Area, or maybe an international student who came once in a while, doesn\'t have a home or an apartment to go and have lunch. 00:28:10 Maybe you may think the husband or the wife, depending on who is a clean freak, \"The house isn\'t clean enough. We haven\'t prepared enough. We\'ll invite them once things settle down.\" How about instead if you say, \"Let\'s just add another chair, give them what we have.\" And they walk in, children are talking, the dishes are in the sink. Nothing looks like you cannot take that picture and post on Instagram, unfortunately. 00:28:38 But in that ordinary situation, someone who was lonely gets to experience Christ\'s love. May be simple, but it\'s profound. That meal might become the beginning of a friendship, maybe from your colleague. A conversation may open the door for prayer. A person who felt like a stranger now suddenly begins to feel part of your family. Not your biological family, your family in Christ. Hospitality requires an open heart more than an impressive home. 00:29:15 For some, it means inviting someone home for lunch, but for others, maybe sharing coffee or offering a ride or checking on an elderly member at church, giving them a call, or making sure a newcomer has someone to sit with at church and are not alone. I understand not every home can host a large gathering, but if you have a home in the first place, you can open that up consistently, not once in a blue moon. \"Oh, I had a sermon I\'m convicted today. 00:29:43 Let me just invite four people and wipe off my conscience and guilt.\" As a believer, we can all look for ways to extend that brotherly love. And when children see parents do this, and you welcome someone who is different than you and show love, that\'s a priceless sermon to them. They learn that our positions are not for our comfort, our schedules are not for our convenience, and God\'s people truly are our family who we are called to love. And it has been a joy for us personally. 00:30:18 I\'ve lived in different countries. Our closest friends, we meet very rarely. Some of our dearest friends are German brothers and sisters, who are in Germany and in other parts of the world. And some of my pastor friends you all have gotten to see and meet who have blessed us. Pastor Danny and Tracy from Boise, Pastor Bernard and Pastor Joey and Pastor Susan. I enjoy their friendship. They all make me learn and grow in areas where I need, and I have my blind spots. 00:30:52 So the question for us is, are our homes becoming private little kingdoms built around our own needs or places through which Christ\'s love flows to others? A godly home does not merely nurture love within its walls, it extends God\'s love beyond its walls. And this love should also shape how we live, and that takes us to our final point, a godly home lives a counter-cultural life. Paul gives a very surprising instruction. 00:31:23 He says very simply, \"Aspire to live quietly, and to mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands.\" That\'s so counter-cultural to Silicon Valley. He says, \"Make it your ambition to live quietly.\" We live in a world that tells us to keep achieving more, earn more, display more, make sure everyone notices. 00:31:53 Yesterday, a friend of mine was saying, as soon as he graduated from a college and moved into the Bay Area and walked into a church, the first thing a person in the church asked him is, \"What car are you driving?\" We are not Germans. Germans love their cars. I can understand that if they do, but this is shocking, right? And the mantra of Silicon Valley and sometimes even the wider American culture is go big or go home. That\'s how you ought to live. Go all in. 00:32:27 And even our families can become projects for public recognition. They\'re boasting about the best college or the best career or the most impressive vacations you post on Instagram for people, and the most successful children. Paul is not condemning excellence or ambition. He\'s redirecting our ambition to faithfulness. A quiet life is not an idle or a disengaged life, it\'s a life which is not governed by restless comparison. 00:33:04 Comparison kills, jealousy kills even the best of friendships, gossip, unnecessary controversy, or the need for applause. So he says, \"Choose faithfulness over recognition.\" What if the goal of our homes is not for us to be admired, but to please the Lord? What if we measured a successful week not by what we accomplished alone, but by whether we prayed, whether we spoke truthfully, whether we kept our word, whether we worked honestly, and whether we loved people well? 00:33:37 And that calls us to regard our attention and priorities. Social media is designed to invite comparisons, right? Someone else\'s child has entered an elite university. Someone else bought a larger home. Someone else received a promotion. Slowly, the question changes from are we faithful to are we keeping up? And it can even spill into pastoral ministry, even for pastors. In pastors ministry, in pastors meeting, one of the questions I detest, and pastors do this. 00:34:16 The first question is who are you? What\'s your name? Second question is how many people are in your church? And they say pastors always exaggerate that number by 25%. And I thought about it, did I do that? I think sometimes I tell them the max number we get. We used to have a chart, people were tracking. That\'s still truth, but it\'s a temptation. We sometimes feel like that\'s kind of how I measured if I\'m being a good pastor or not, isn\'t it? Or look at your family calendar, right? 00:34:49 Maybe your family calendar reads like this: Monday, music, Tuesday, tutoring, Wednesday, sports, Thursday, another activity, Friday, school event, Saturday, tournament, Sunday, church squeezed between other commitments. I already lost my breath reading that. Nothing in this calendar is wrong, but there\'s no time for unhurried conversation with your spouse or children, no margin to welcome a neighbor, barely a moment for prayer, family prayer. There\'s absolutely no room to help someone in need. 00:35:21 One evening, the parents ask, \"Are we raising children who are merely accomplished, or children who are learning how to love God and others?\" And let\'s say this family chooses to remove one activity, not because achievement is sinful, but because something good has begun to crowd out something better. Perhaps for your family, it\'s not a children\'s activity, it may be extra work or endless crawling or another purchase. 00:35:50 Sometimes a thriving home is built not by adding one more thing, but by letting go of what is crowding off our faithfulness. And finally, Paul says, \"Work responsibly and live as a witness.\" Paul also says to mind your own affairs and work with your hands. He doesn\'t want us to be idle. Our work has to be excellent. Our work is a gift and a calling. We should work with integrity. 00:36:18 We should provide for our own households as we are able, and use our resources to help others and use our gifts to create goods that are really good for the world at large. 00:36:30 So the question you ought to always be asking, as we are on the cusp of this AI revolution and innovation, and you guys get to have the front-row seat to build it, to drive it, and to consume it, is the end product of my endeavor resulting in creating something that is genuinely good for humanity, or it\'s genuinely driven to increase the bottom line of my shareholders? That\'s how it says you may walk properly before outsiders. The word properly means that you stand apart. 00:37:12 You\'re walking honorably, that they can see what you\'re doing. Yeah, I know you\'re not going to make that much money in that job, but that\'s a cool product, man, that you guys are building, and you\'re building that for changing the lives of people in Africa or South America, those who can\'t afford it. That\'s amazing. The world may never applaud a quiet home, Christian home, but God can use its ordinary faithfulness to display his goodness. 00:37:42 So as we conclude, let me remind us, if you\'re not careful, you can misinterpret this entire sermon. You could hear four demands for already tired families, and you can think, \"Man, I don\'t make this mark.\" If you just heard be purer, invite more people, simplify your calendar, who among us has done all this perfectly? We know we have neglected God\'s Word, because if you\'re honest, you know you have entertained sinful desires, withheld love, chased worldly success. 00:38:18 But the good news is not that God accepts us when we finally create ideal homes. The good news is that Jesus Christ came to redeem sinners and transform imperfect people by his grace. Jesus alone obeyed his Father\'s word perfectly. He was holy while we are impure. He loved sacrificially while we are selfish. He humbled himself and sought his Father\'s glory rather than worldly acclaim. 00:38:46 At the cross, he bore the judgment for our desires and what our sins deserve, and through his resurrection, he gives life to everyone who comes to him freely. And he gives us His Holy Spirit, who abides in us, resides in us, and enables us to increasingly be like him. Our hope is not in a perfect home. Our hope is in a perfect Savior, and from that assurance, we repent. From that assurance, we can receive his grace and we can start again. Do you remember Paul\'s repeated words, more and more? 00:39:23 So there are four decisions this week I want to leave before you. Four simple responses. Not four ways to earn God\'s favor, but four ways to live in response to his grace. First, receive God\'s Word. After worship today, ask someone in your household or church family, \"What did God teach us and what will we obey this week?\" Second, pursue holiness. Identify one private habit, a digital pattern, or a relational boundary that needs to change. 00:39:56 Bring it into light, share it with a trusted friend or a counselor or your discipleship leader, and seek the help you need. You don\'t have to fight this alone. Third, extend God\'s love. Before this month ends, here\'s our challenge again. Make room for someone outside your immediate family at your table, over coffee, or through a concrete act of care. 00:40:23 We just have a new couple from China that moved across our street, and we just started by waving at each other, and then we started exchanging things like my wife\'s... Not, I shouldn\'t say we, my wife. She went and gave them fruits, persimmons from our backyard. They came and gave us moon cake from a Chinese calendar year celebration. The next step is my desire is to have them in our home before the end of this month. So you can hold me accountable and ask me if I did that or not. 00:40:52 And fourth, choose quiet faithfulness. Look at your calendars. There\'s no merit in having an overflowing calendar. We are not trying to impress anybody there. And ask what one thing could you remove from your calendar this week, either to make room for worship or people or service. This belongs to the entire church, whether you\'re married, single, anyone. We are called to grow in holiness and love. A thriving home is not a perfect home. 00:41:27 It is a Christ-centered home, continually transformed by God\'s grace, receiving His Word, reflecting His holiness, extending His love, and living faithfully for Him