Pillar #1: Honoring God's Authority

God, as sovereign creator and sustainer of all, holds ultimate authority over his creation. By establishing the family, God has provided a unique setting in which each individual should come to properly understand and respect authority. I will glorify God by surrendering every area of my life to Him, and by offering godly respect in all my earthly relationships, starting in my family.

Human life is a gift from God and is of transcendent worth. It is to be treasured, protected, encouraged, and loved from the moment of conception until the moment of death. I know that each member of my family must ultimately give an account to God, and forgiveness and eternal life in Heaven require personal repentance of sin and faith in Christ. I will honor God by expressing self-sacrificial love to each of my family members throughout the entirety of their lives.

God has established the family as His first institution on earth. It is worthy of my most noble aspirations and commitments, including my commitment to moral purity, marital fidelity, and Christ-like love for each family member. Because marriage is a picture of Christ's faithfulness to his bride, the church, and because the family is a picture of the father's faithfulness to his children, I will honor the Lord by being faithful and pure.

The church is the bride of Christ, comprised of all the redeemed who will, one day, be taken to heaven by Him. By exalting Christ, resting on the sufficiency of His word and giving place to the ministry of the Spirit, the local church becomes the means by which spiritual growth is promoted and the ministry of Christ is brought to my family, my community, and to the world. I will support and will encourage my family to support our local church with faithful attendance, diligent service, generous and God honoring giving, and loving cooperation.

Time is a resource given to each person by God. My use of it, especially in matters related to my family, reflects my esteem for God. One day, I will give an account to Him for how I have spent the time He entrusted to me. As I order my life in concert with His will, I will discover that I have sufficient time for personal growth through prayer, for the study of God's word, and for fulfilling every God-given responsibility related to my family.

God has provided material resources so that I may glorify Him through the exercise of faithful stewardship over them. I will be held accountable for this stewardship. Therefore, I will diligently seek my master's best interests in the way I earn money, expend it for life's needs, use it to touch the lives of others and give it for the support of His work through my local church.

The greatest and most noble purpose in life is to glorify the Lord through the fulfillment of His great commission. I will glorify the Lord by sharing my faith with my family, and by joining with them and others in specific activities that cultivate a passion for fulfilling the Great Commission.