Thought For The Week

On May 3, 2026, Preacher Steve delivered a powerful sermon titled “Family Leadership.” With Scripture readers Roger and Kevin providing foundational passages, Steve unpacked God’s blueprint for the family drawn directly from Ephesians 5 and 1 Corinthians 11, while grounding the message in the warning against being unequally yoked. The sermon blended biblical exposition, personal testimony, real-life counseling stories, and practical application to show why unity in faith, clear headship, sacrificial love, and mutual responsibility form the only path to a secure and godly home. What emerged was not abstract theory but a urgent call for husbands to lead, wives to respect, and families to thrive under the umbrella of divine protection.

Steve began by highlighting the second Scripture reading from 2 Corinthians 6:14 (NKJV): “Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers, for what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness, and what communion has light with darkness?” He explained that an unequal yoke is not merely cultural or racial but spiritual: marrying someone who does not share the same core convictions about God, Christ, baptism, and the church. Drawing from his own upbringing in a predominantly Lutheran and Catholic German community, Steve recalled his parents’ firm instruction never to marry outside the faith established by Jesus. Those other traditions, he noted, simply do not walk in harmony with New Testament Christianity.

To drive the point home, Steve turned to Deuteronomy 7. God commanded Israel to destroy the pagan nations completely, make no treaties, show no mercy, and above all, “Do not intermarry with them. Do not give your daughters to their sons, or take their daughters for your sons. For they will turn your children away from following Me to serve other gods, and the Lord’s anger will burn against you and quickly destroy you.” Steve emphasized that the danger is generational: mixed faith destroys the spiritual formation of children. Through decades of marital counseling, Steve had seen this tragedy repeated. Couples—Baptist with Catholic, Methodist with Lutheran, Pentecostal with another denomination—came seeking help only to discover their deepest conflicts centered on church attendance and child-rearing. One spouse wanted infant baptism and christening; the other preferred simple dedication. Catholic partners faced pressure to convert the non-Catholic through mandatory studies. The result, Steve observed, was disunity, resentment, and often the erosion of faith itself. Paul’s command is therefore protective: true oneness requires shared belief that God reconciles us to Himself through Jesus, baptism for the remission of sins, and entry into Christ’s church.

Having established the necessity of spiritual unity, Steve moved to the positive structure God intends. From Ephesians 5:21-33 (NIV) he read the classic household code. “Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands as you do to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior.” Steve paused to note that he would return to the husband’s duties, but first wanted the full context clear. The passage continues: “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless.” Husbands are to love their wives as their own bodies, for “he who loves his wife loves himself.” The mystery of “one flesh” points ultimately to Christ and the church, yet the practical command remains: each husband must love his wife as himself, and the wife must respect her husband.

To illustrate how this headship operates, Steve turned to 1 Corinthians 11:2-16. “I want you to realize that the head of every man is Christ, and the head of the woman is man, and the head of Christ is God.” The discussion of head coverings and hair, he insisted, is not about literal fashion or length. Paul is describing a chain of command—the same hierarchy visible in the military or a factory floor like the International Harvester plant where Steve once worked. Boss to foreman to line worker: each level answers to the one above and is responsible for those below. The purpose is safety and order. Steve called this the “umbrella of protection.” At the top stands God, then Christ, then the husband, then the wife, then the children. When everyone remains under the covering authority of the one above, protection flows downward.

Steve painted vivid pictures of what happens when the order is broken. If a wife steps out from under her husband’s leadership and acts independently against his direction, she “uncovers her head.” God can rightly ask why she is doing it, and her only answer—“because I want to”—leaves her exposed. In doing so she also covers her husband’s head, bringing shame upon him and upon herself. The same principle applies to children who rebel against parental authority. They uncover themselves and expose their parents. Steve stressed that the passage concerns position, not appearance. God’s structure is not oppressive; it is protective, like the chain of command that keeps a soldier safe when he simply obeys his sergeant even if a general questions him.

With the framework established, Steve detailed the husband’s concrete responsibilities. Being “the head of the household” is not a title of privilege but of accountability. The husband answers for everything that happens under his roof. If a child vandalizes property, the father is legally and morally responsible. If the wife overspends and incurs debt, the husband bears the weight. God made the father responsible for the family’s education, welfare, finances, and—most critically—its spiritual formation. He must ensure there is enough income so the month does not outlast the money. He must oversee his children’s upbringing “in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.” If they stray, he corrects them.

Steve illustrated this with Old Testament examples. When Israel crossed the Jordan, God commanded memorial stones be stacked on the far bank. Children would ask their fathers, “What do these stones mean?” prompting the fathers to recount God’s deliverance from Egypt and His faithfulness at the river. The Jewish Seder meal functions the same way today: children ask prepared questions and fathers answer, passing faith generationally. Christian fathers must do likewise. Steve reminded the congregation that the husband’s leadership is sacrificial, not domineering. He is to love his wife as Christ loved the church—giving himself up for her holiness and well-being.

Yet leadership is not one-sided. Steve closed with a powerful reminder of mutual belonging. “You are not your own,” he declared, applying it first to wives and then equally to husbands. This is not primarily sexual language; it is about security. A wife has every right to expect her husband’s well-being because her security and the family’s future depend on him. If she insists he get a physical exam or give up a dangerous motorcycle, she is exercising legitimate concern. Husbands often overlook their own safety; wives feel the weight of family need more acutely. Steve shared from personal experience that wives frequently maintain their health precisely because they know their absence would leave the family in crisis. Both spouses, therefore, must care for their own bodies as belonging to the other.

The sermon reached its climax with a clear declaration: leadership belongs 100 percent to the husband because that is God’s design. He must be reasonable, appreciative, treat his wife as the weaker vessel, love her, protect her, and accept responsibility for the family’s spiritual destiny. Steve then transitioned to the evening lesson on the meaning of hell, underscoring the eternal stakes. He extended an open invitation: anyone needing to respond to the gospel—by becoming a disciple through baptism into Christ for the remission of sins—should come forward. Jesus died to reconcile us to God; we must put Him on in baptism and join His church. Those with sins to repent of were also welcomed. The service closed with the congregation standing to sing a song of encouragement.

Steve’s message on Family Leadership is both timeless and timely. In an age of blurred roles, fractured homes, and cultural rebellion against biblical order, the sermon calls believers back to God’s original design. Unity of faith prevents the heartbreak of divided households. Clear headship under Christ provides the umbrella of protection every family craves. Sacrificial love from husbands and respectful partnership from wives create the one-flesh union that mirrors Christ and the church. Fathers who teach their children at every opportunity—whether through family devotions, bedtime stories of God’s faithfulness, or everyday conversations—fulfill a divine mandate that no school or youth group can fully replace.

The practical outworking is straightforward yet demanding. Husbands must examine their finances, their schedules, their spiritual leadership. Are they ensuring income covers needs? Are they correcting and instructing their children? Are they loving their wives as their own bodies? Wives must examine their respect and submission—not as doormats but as partners under godly covering. Children must learn obedience as training for respecting all rightful authority. And the entire family must remain yoked together in the same faith, the same baptism, the same hope of heaven.

Steve’s sermon leaves no room for complacency. The stakes are eternal. A family walking in God’s order experiences safety, joy, and the radiant holiness Paul described. One that rejects it risks the very destruction Deuteronomy warned against. As the final song faded, the challenge lingered: Will we embrace God’s design for family leadership, or continue the experiment of self-rule that has broken so many homes? The answer, Steve made clear, determines not only the health of our households but the destiny of our souls.

back to top

In his May 3, 2026 sermon “Family Leadership,” Preacher Steve delivered a clear biblical call for unity, headship, and sacrificial love in the Christian family. Drawing from Ephesians 5 and 1 Corinthians 11, with supporting readings by Roger and Kevin, he emphasized that strong families begin with spiritual oneness.

Steve opened with 2 Corinthians 6:14: “Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers.” He warned that marrying someone with different core convictions about Christ, baptism, and the church creates division that harms children and erodes faith. Citing Deuteronomy 7 and years of marital counseling, he showed how mixed-faith marriages lead to conflict over church attendance, baptism practices, and child-rearing, often resulting in spiritual disarray.

The sermon’s heart lies in Ephesians 5. Wives are called to submit to their husbands as the church submits to Christ. Husbands must love their wives sacrificially, “just as Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her,” cleansing and caring for her as their own body. Steve stressed that headship is not domination but responsibility. The husband answers for the family’s finances, education, welfare, and spiritual direction.

Using 1 Corinthians 11, Steve illustrated God’s “chain of command”: God over Christ, Christ over man, man over woman, parents over children. He called this the “umbrella of protection.” When family members stay under proper authority, they enjoy safety and order. Stepping outside that covering brings shame and vulnerability.

Husbands bear primary accountability—to lead spiritually, provide financially, teach children the faith (as Israelite fathers did with memorial stones and the Seder), and treat their wives as the weaker vessel with appreciation and love. Yet leadership is mutual: “You are not your own.” Wives rightly expect their husbands’ well-being for the family’s security, and both spouses must care for one another.

Steve closed with an invitation to discipleship through baptism and repentance, reminding listeners that family leadership carries eternal stakes. God’s order—faith unity, loving headship, and respectful partnership—produces homes that reflect Christ and the church.

back to top