We are excited to announce some new features to the blogsite. As more and more readers are viewing from foreign countries we have added the translate feature to the site. Our readers can also now choose to have the blog emailed to them, and they can search the blog by keywords on various topics. We hope that this makes the site more manageable for you. God Bless.

Hear current audio messages by Pastor Scott Burr at:
http://sermon.net/dayspringchurchag

Thursday, March 30, 2017

The Role of a Godly Wife (Pt. 1)

(Pt. 1)

“Charm can be deceptive and beauty doesn’t last, but a woman who fears and reverences God shall be greatly praised.”-Proverbs 31:30

There are so many voices declaring what womanhood should look like that generations of women are greatly confused about what it means to be a godly woman. The world says that women should aspire to its image of physical perfection, even at the risk of harming yourself. The world says that you’ve got to be pushy to get ahead, regardless of how you may have to demean yourself to get there. The world says that you, as you are, simply are not enough.

Sometimes, however, the church isn’t much better. The church has, at large, become so focused on teaching young women to be meek, pure, and modest that it has forgotten to teach them first and foremost to find out who God says they are and let that be the guide for their actions, behaviors, and decisions.

There are so many roles that I have, such as a wife, mother, administrator, teacher counselor, and mentor; but the first role, the first title I ever received was that of a daughter. Genesis 2:21-22:

“So the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep. While the man slept, the Lord God took out one of the man’s ribs and closed up the opening. Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib and He brought her to the man.”

Before any relationship that a woman has, she was created to have a relationship with God. We have no idea the amount of time that Adam was asleep; only that Eve had time to form her own relationship with God before she became Adam’s wife.

This is the message the church needs to communicate to women; pursue your relationship with God, understand your role as a daughter, and when you are secure in that then every other role, married or unmarried, will flow out of the confidence of knowing who you are in Christ!

When a young girl is raised to believe that she is loved, she has value, she has gifts, talents and strengths; when she is confident that she is whole simply because of her relationship with Christ, then she is prepared for more!

Perhaps the “more” awaiting her is out in the workforce as a CEO, a nurse, or pursuing a job in law enforcement. It also may include being a wife. They key is to equip them for more! We need to teach them to live a John 10:10 life:

“The thief’s purpose is to steal, kill and destroy My purpose is to give life in all its fullest.”

Life in all its fullest! What does “life in all its fullest” look like in marriage? What does God have to say about being a wife? Does He actually care about my marriage? He does a lot actually!

Sadly, a large percentage of society believes that the Bible sums up the biblical role of a wife in one verse:

“Wives submit to your husbands as to the Lord.”-Ephesians 5:22

A sad testament to our understanding of the Bible and the biblical role of wife. Next week, we will go back the beginning, back to creation to discover God’s heart in the creation of Eve.

Tandy Burr
Dayspring Community Church.

Wednesday, March 22, 2017

The Biblical Role of a Husband (Pt. 3)

“In the same way, husbands ought to love their wives as they love their own bodies. For a man who loves his wife actually shows love for himself. No one hates his own body but feeds and cares for it, just as Christ cares for the church.”-Ephesians 5:28-29

Unfortunately for many families, husbands have adopted a philosophy; that if they bring home a paycheck then they have fulfilled their duty as a husband. They trumpet their role as provider and protector as being their exclusive responsibility towards their family. Although providing for our family is of utmost importance (see 1 Timothy 5:8); it is curious that God does not place a lot of emphasis on it here in Ephesians Chapter 5. 

In the above passage, feeding and caring correlate to providing and protecting. In the book of Genesis we read how God gave Adam a job to provide for himself. So bringing home a paycheck for his family did not begin when Adam got married. He was already doing that before he had a wife. That is why God spends very little time addressing “providing and protecting” in this chapter; because as men we should already be doing this. 

However, becoming married does create a new relational dynamic that we, as husbands, must embrace and take seriously. That is the dynamic of spiritual headship:

“But there is one thing I want you to know: The head of every man is Christ, the head of woman is man, and the head of Christ is God.”-1 Corinthians 11:3 

Most mane embrace the idea that the head of the woman is man, but neglect the rest. They tend to forget that the head of Christ is God and more importantly the had of man is Christ. Ultimately it is not knowing who you are leading that is important, it is knowing who you are following. You must know what it means to submit to the headship of another if you expect others to follow you. 

So who are you learning headship from? If it is not Jesus, you will struggle in your marriage. There is a lot to learn from Jesus that can help us lead our families: Jesus didn’t bark out orders, demand selfishly, or expel to be waited on hand and foot. He demonstrated headship by donning and apron and washing the disciples feet. 

He spoke words of comfort and encouragement, laid hands on the sick, prayed for peoples needs, taught them the word of God, fed them, protected them, and who it was tax time…He did that too! Why?

“For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many.”-Matthew 20:28

The “I’ll do as I please attitude,” that prevails in so many homes is not the example provided by Jesus:

“So Jesus explained, “I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself. He does only what he sees the Father doing. Whatever the Father does, the Son also does.-John 5:19

Jesus only did what He saw the Father doing. As husbands we ought to be only doing what we see Jesus do. Who we learn headship from will have a huge impact on our marriages. As husband our primary responsibility is to sacrifice and serve our wives and families. Although we are not to neglect caring for their physical needs, we have been given an even greater responsibility to nurture the spiritual health of our families. 

Pastor Scott Burr
Dayspring Community Church

Thursday, March 16, 2017

The Biblical Role of a Husband (Pt.2)

(Part 2)

“Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish. So husbands ought to love their own wives as their own bodies; he who loves his wife loves himself.”-Ephesians 5:25-28

What is the Biblical role of a husband? In the eyes of many men, their primary responsibility is to provide for and protect their family. However, according to Ephesians 5:25-28; the first thing that husbands are instructed to do is to love their wives, as Christ loved the church. This is not a call for provision, but instead a call to sacrifice. Romans 5:8 declares:

“But God demonstrated His own love towards us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”

Christ demonstrated His love for us by sacrificing His life for us. We, in like manner, are admonished to demonstrate love by giving ourselves up for our wives. This means that we may have to give up some of what we want in order to accomplish the will of God for our marriages. The objective of this sacrificial expression is holiness:

“For husbands, this means love your wives, just as Christ loved the church. He gave up his life for her to make her holy and clean, washed by the cleansing of God’s word.”-Ephesians 5:25-26 (NLT)

A Biblical husband lives sacrificially to see their families set apart unto God! To be holy means to be set apart for God’s purposes. Christ, gave Himself, so we as believers would be set apart unto God; so we as husbands must take an active interest and role in our wives’ pursuit of holiness. How does a husband do that?

Christ cleansed the church by the washing of water through the word. We then, like Christ, must also bathe our wives and families in the Word of God. As Biblical husbands we must be concerned about the spiritual condition and atmosphere in our homes. For, according to Mark 8:36:

What does it profit a man to gain the whole world, but lose his own soul?”

We carry the responsibility of priest and prophet, in so much as, we are to talk to God about our families as well as to speak to our families about God. We must have a firm command of the Word of God so that we can direct our families spiritually.


Jesus understood that the church, when presented, would be a direct reflection of His love and sacrifice; so Christ wanted to present to Himself a radiant church-one without stain, wrinkle or any blemish. The extent He invested in her would be immediately noticeable. As a Biblical husband, is your love and sacrifice noticeable in your wife’s life?

Pastor Scott Burr
Dayspring Community Church



Wednesday, March 8, 2017

The Biblical Role of a Husband (Pt.1)


(Part 1)

“Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.”-Genesis 1:26-27

God has much to say about the role men are to play in a marriage relationship and most of what you read, over the next couple of weeks, is going to go against what is culturally accepted. The mere fact that I would even mention that there are gender roles in a marriage relationship will cause many to consider God’s position on marriage archaic and obsolete. However, God’s word is unchanging and His instruction for husbands remains the same as it did thousands of years ago. So let’s look at what it takes to be a Biblical husband. 

Becoming a great husband begins, not on our wedding day, but rather before marriage. God began the work of grooming Adam in anticipation of bringing him a suitable helpmate. So before there was Adam and Eve; there was just Adam. Genesis Ch. 1 tells us that Adam was created in God’s image and likeness; meaning that He was a child of God before He became a husband. King David recognized this when he penned Psalm 139:13-14:

“For You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother’s womb.
I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Marvelous are Your works, And that my soul knows very well.

Before Adam could have a relationship with Eve, he first had to know how to have a relationship with His Creator. I cannot emphasize enough that a man’s relationship with God is the most important relationship he will ever establish. It is this relationship that gives a man his identity; which is foundational to every relationship he will foster throughout his lifetime.  

It was shortly after this that God gave Adam something else:

“Then the Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it.”-Genesis 2:15

After God established Adam’s identity, he gave Adam a job! He gave Adam the ability, strength, and direction to provide for himself. Here is a bit of advice to you unmarried men; you don’t need a wife until you have a job. You cannot provide for a family until you’ve proven you can take care of yourself. 

Another interesting thing that God gave Adam was a free will:

“And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”-Genesis 2:16-17

God gave Adam the freedom to choose right from wrong; to follow His commands or to disobey. Essentially, God was preparing Adam to lead a family. It was only after all these things that God entrusted Adam with a helpmate. 

Pastor Scott Burr
Dayspring Community Church

Thursday, March 2, 2017

Marriage 101: Marriage is a Covenant Pt. 2

(Part 2)

“Jesus said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”-Matthew 22:37-39




The covenant model for marriage is best illustrated using the above diagram patterned after Matthew 22:37-39. Each line in the model represents a relationship. You have a relationship with God and a relationship with your spouse. Both relationships are important in marriage, however God should always occupies the top spot! This makes the relationship between you and God and your spouse and God the most important relationship in your marriage. 

In fact, structurally speaking you can remove the bottom line and still maintain structure; but remove a side and the whole model collapses. If our relationships with God are strong they provide a covering for the relationship between you and your spouse. That is why 2 Corinthians 6:14 declares: “Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers.” If you do not have a relationship with God, it will be impossible for the covenant model for marriage to stay healthy. 

A covenant, as we defined last week, is an unbreakable commitment between two individuals that provides for the mutual benefit of both. So, how do we benefit from the marriage covenant? The marriage covenant creates a holy space in our relationship. A space where God blesses a couple with divine provision, protection, spiritual intimacy, life-long companionship, godly offspring, and sexual intimacy. 

According to the model, however, we are also in a covenant with God! How does He benefit from our marriage? 

“But did He not make them one, having a remnant of the Spirit? And why one?
He seeks godly offspring. Therefore take heed to your spirit, and let none deal treacherously with the wife of his youth.”-Malachi 2:15

He desires Godly offspring! He desires for couples to have children and to raise them to God-fearing homes. Offspring, however, are not always biological. This might include adopting, fostering, or even volunteering and ministering to kids in need. In this way we honor God with our marriages. 

Marriage is a sacred institution that we should not enter into lightly. When we marry we are establishing a covenant with each other and with God. A covenant that He fully expects us to honor. God’s word gives us the parameters for marriage; if we choose to establish covenant with our spouse and God, we need also to be prepared to live out His word. 

Pastor Scott Burr
Dayspring Community Church