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Scott LaPierre Ministries

By: Scott LaPierre
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  • Summary

  • Scott LaPierre (https://www.scottlapierre.org/) is a pastor, author, and Christian speaker on marriage. This podcast includes his conference messages, guest preaching, and expository sermons at Woodland Christian Church. Each of Scott’s messages is the result of hours of studying the Bible. Scott and his wife, Katie, grew up together in northern California, and God has blessed them with nine children. View all of Pastor Scott’s books on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Scott-LaPierre/e/B01JT920EQ. Receive a FREE copy of Scott’s book, “Seven Biblical Insights for Healthy, Joyful, Christ-Centered Marriages.” For Scott LaPierre’s conference and speaking information, including testimonies, and endorsements, please visit: https://www.scottlapierre.org/christian-speaker/. Feel free to contact Scott at: https://www.scottlapierre.org/contact/.
    © 2020 Scott LaPierre
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Episodes
  • What Does Sin Do to Us? (Proverbs 7:18-23)

    What Does Sin Do to Us? (Proverbs 7:18-23)
    Apr 22 2024
    What does sin do to us? The harlot in Proverbs 7 personifies sin. We can see how she acts toward the foolish young man to see what sin does to us. Table of contentsSin Lies to UsSin Says, “You Won’t Get Caught”God Won't Be MockedWhen It Looked Like David Wouldn't Get CaughtSin Makes Us More Like AnimalsSin Produces a Slow, Painful DeathSin Hunts the FoolishSin Is a Baited HookThe Way Joab Approached Abner and AmasaTurn to God from Sin https://youtu.be/-JeVOMo2fhY What does sin do to us? The harlot in Proverbs 7 personifies sin. We can see how she acts toward the foolish young man to see what sin does to us. Radio personality Paul Harvey shared about how Eskimos kill wolves: First, the Eskimo coats a knife blade with seal blood because seals are easy to trap. He allows the blood to freeze and then adds another layer of blood and another until the blade is completely concealed by frozen blood. Next, the hunter fixes his knife in the ground with the blade up.When a wolf follows its sensitive nose to the source of the scent and discovers the bait, it licks it, tasting the fresh, frozen blood. The wolf licks the blade more vigorously until the keen edge is bare. But the wolf doesn’t notice the razor-sharp sting of the blade because his tongue is numb from the cold, nor does it recognize that its insatiable thirst is being satisfied by its own warm blood. The wolf’s carnivorous appetite just craves moreuntil the dawn finds it dead in the snow. The account is grisly but illustrates sin's consuming, self-destructive nature. When we see people engaged in habitual sin, we can share this story with them and tell them to stop licking the knife. I looked at over ten websites to determine if Eskimoes do this because I don’t like when pastors use illustrations that aren’t true (something pastors are famous for doing). I found many websites with this story. But they were pastors’ websites or websites for sermon illustrations, so I’m not sure they can be trusted. I think an even better illustration of sin’s destructiveness is found in Proverbs 7 with the harlot. We can swap the wolf for the foolish young man. Like the wolf, he is killed because of his desires. If you want to see just how much the foolish young man looks like an animal being hunted, notice the theme of verses 22 and 23: "an ox to the slaughter...a stag caught in a trap...a bird stuck in a snare." Sin Lies to Us I will pick up at verse 18 with the harlot speaking to the foolish young man: Proverbs 7:18 Come, let us take our fill of love till morning; let us delight ourselves with love. In the same sentence, the harlot twice mentioned the word love. This is a lie: she’s known this young man for about five minutes, yet she talks to him about love. She would’ve said the same words to any young man. She is like a prostitute or woman on the Internet who has no concern for the men she entices. But this is what sin does. Take your mind back to the fall. God said: Genesis 2:17 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.” When the devil tempted Eve: Genesis 3:4 The serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. The devil told Eve the exact opposite of what God said. Sin does the same with us. Romans 7:11 Sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, DECEIVED ME and through it killed me. Paul said sin deceived him. Hebrews 3:13 Exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” that none of you may be hardened by THE DECEITFULNESS OF SIN. We should exhort each other daily so we aren’t deceived by sin. What are some of the ways sin deceives us? What are some of the lies it tells us? This won’t ruin your family. This won’t hurt your friends and loved ones. This won’t become an addiction. You’ll be able to stop whenever you want. Sin Says, “You Won’t Get Caught”
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    24 mins
  • Biblical Advice for Christian Marital Problems

    Biblical Advice for Christian Marital Problems
    Apr 18 2024
    Our Christian marital problems are only symptoms. The actual problem is in our relationship with Christ. This is why all the prayers for marital problems should include praying for a stronger relationship with the Lord. Read or listen to this content from Your Marriage God’s Way to find biblical advice for marriage problems. Table of ContentsSubmission to Christ Improves MarriagesHandling Christian Marital ProblemsThree EncouragementsWhy We Should Embrace Christian Marital ProblemsAsk Difficult Questions and Expect Painful AnswersGod's Chastening Is Not Punishment, But a Father's Loving DisciplineLearning From Painful Seasons Caused by Christian Marital Problems Because our relationships with our spouses reflect our relationships with Christ, our marriage “problems” are merely symptoms. The actual problems are in our relationships with Christ. The horizontal relationship with our spouse is suffering because there’s something wrong with the vertical relationship with Christ. For instance, in my marriage, the problem looked like I did not have enough time for my wife and children. But that was a symptom. The problem was that I would not listen to the Holy Spirit’s promptings to meet my family’s needs, and I was not trusting Christ enough. Instead, I let anxiety consume me. Thus, the first place to address any symptoms that appear to be problems between the husband and wife is to look at each person’s relationship with the Lord. When I counsel couples, and they share a problem they are experiencing, they become confused when I ask, “What does your time in God’s Word look like? How is your prayer life? Tell me about your involvement in the church.” A wife might say, “I just told you my husband yells at me. Why are you asking about his time in the Word?” Because the hope is that as a husband reads God’s Word he will be convicted of what he is doing wrong, repent, and become a more patient and loving man. I do not have the power to change a husband’s heart, nor does a wife, or there would be no need for counseling. A husband can only become the man he should be by having a good relationship with Christ. Likewise, a husband might respond, “I just told you about how my wife humiliates me in front of our friends. Why do you ask whether we are part of a small group study?” Because ongoing connections with other believers can provide accountability and require vulnerability and transparency. You can learn from other believers and be challenged by their examples. When you are not actively involved with others in the body of Christ, you will not receive the encouragement and exhortation God wants you to have. You will feel alone, as though you are the only people having these problems. You will not have anyone through whom God can regularly speak to you. We are made to have fellowship with other believers. When that is lacking, it manifests in other areas, including our marriages. Submission to Christ Improves Marriages Here are two situations I have witnessed many times. A husband and wife are having Christian marital problems. They submit to Christ, and soon, their marriage improves. Why? Did their difficulties simply disappear? No, those difficulties were symptoms of the real problem—Christ was not supreme in their lives. When they put Christ first, their marriage improved. Similarly, I have seen a couple plugged into a church. The husband and wife pray and read the Word together. They are doing well spiritually, and their marriage is healthy. Then, for various reasons, they get distracted from the Lord, and their priorities shift. They start wavering in church attendance and spiritual disciplines. They fall out of fellowship. Soon, their marriage suffers. So remember: Christian marital problems are only symptoms—or negative consequences—of not having Christ as the focal point in the marital relationship. If a couple wants a strong, healthy marriage, they need a strong,
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    18 mins
  • How to Have a Lasting Christ-Centered Marriage (Ephesians 5:18)

    How to Have a Lasting Christ-Centered Marriage (Ephesians 5:18)
    Apr 10 2024
    Do you want to know how to have a lasting Christ-centered marriage? Ephesians 5:18 tells us to "be filled with the Holy Spirit." Read or listen to this material from Your Marriage God’s Way to learn how the Holy Spirit will help you have a lasting Christ-centered marriage. Table of ContentsYour Marriage Reflects Your Relationship with ChristJesus Deserves Your ObedienceTrust the Holy Spirit to Help You Have a Christ-Centered MarriageA Holy-Spirit Filled MarriageWe Cannot Just Sit BackWhat Might It Look Like for the Holy Spirit to Help Us?The Encouraging Balance When Striving to Have a Lasting Christ-Centered Marriage A few years ago, Katie and I faced the biggest crisis of our marriage. I started pastoring Woodland Christian Church when it was small, but within three years, the congregation tripled. Before I became a pastor, I was unaware of how much work is involved in shepherding a church of even a few hundred people. I had been an Army officer, a supervisor at a distribution center for a major retail chain, and an elementary school teacher. But none of those occupations approached the amount of mental and emotional energy and sheer hard work pastoring entails! Almost all my waking hours were spent studying, teaching, counseling, making phone calls, sending emails, attending meetings, addressing administrative responsibilities, and tending to benevolence issues. When I was at home, where I should have been an engaged father and husband, I did not have much left for my family mentally, emotionally, or physically. Although I was failing as a husband and father, I was able to convince myself I was still pleasing the Lord. I compartmentalized my life by saying, “I am a Christian first. I am a spouse second. I am a parent third. I am an employee fourth.” Instead, I should have said, “I am a Christian spouse. I am a Christian parent. I am a Christian employee.” The danger of seeing ourselves as Christian servants first and spouses second is that we can believe the lie I bought into: “If I can be a good pastor, I can please God even though I am not the best husband.” The truth is that I was a poor husband, and I should have recognized that meant I was not pleasing the Lord. Your Marriage Reflects Your Relationship with Christ The reason we cannot please the Lord while failing as a husband or wife is that our Christianity is directly related to the way we treat our spouses. Our marriages are outpourings of our relationships with Christ: In Matthew 7:16, Jesus asked, “Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles?” In James 3:11-12, the apostle James asked, “Does a spring send forth fresh water and bitter from the same opening? Can a fig tree, my brethren, bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs?” The point of these verses is that we reveal our Christianity by the way we live. Jesus clarified: “You will know them by their fruits” (Matthew 7:16). And right living—or right fruit—can only be produced through a strong relationship with Christ. Because our relationships with our spouses are our most important earthly relationships, what we are as spouses reflects what we are as Christians. The two key commands in Scripture that give us God’s standard for marriage: Ephesians 5:25—“Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her.” Ephesians 5:22—“Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord.” Because these commands are from the Lord, our obedience to them affects our relationship with Christ. Think of it this way: There is no such thing as a spiritually mature man who does not love his wife. Nor a spiritually mature woman who does not submit to her husband: A husband cannot love Christ without loving his wife. A wife cannot submit to Christ without submitting to her husband. A husband loves and cherishes his wife not because she is perfect or treats him the way he wants to be treated.
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    16 mins
Children's Audiobooks Relationships Parenting & Families Christianity Spirituality
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