From His Heart Ministries with Pastor Jeff Schreve... - The Power of Kindness and Forgiveness at Home - Ephesians 4:29-32

March 27, 2026·25 min·2 clips

Pastor Jeff reveals how Jonathan Edwards' godly family produced hundreds of leaders while Max Jukes' line led to crime and ruin.

This episode of From His Heart features Pastor Jeff Schreve teaching a lesson titled "What Every Family Needs" from his series "Modern Family, God's Wisdom for Today's Family." He addresses unresolved conflict in marriages and dysfunctional home cultures, offering biblical guidance for change. The teaching is based on Ephesians chapter 4, verses 29 through 32. Pastor Jeff argues every family needs to build a "godly culture," characterized first by a culture of encouragement where words build others up. He cites Ephesians 4:29 and Hebrews 3:13, emphasizing daily encouragement and avoiding "unwholesome" or corrupt speech. The second characteristic is a culture of spiritual sensitivity, meaning not grieving the Holy Spirit by allowing things that offend Him in the home. He lists examples like lying, pornography, and ungodly music, referencing Acts 19 where new converts burned valuable magic books. The third characteristic is a culture of kindness and forgiveness, directly from Ephesians 4:31-32, which commands putting away bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, slander, and malice. He explains bitterness often stems from unresolved hurt that turns to anger and then resentment. A key insight is the instruction from Ephesians 4:26-27 to not let the sun go down on anger, as this gives the devil a "place" to create chaos. For conflict, he distinguishes between the offender, who must humbly seek forgiveness, and the offended, who must graciously grant it. He stresses that forgiveness, or *charizomai*, is gracious and frees the offended person, even if an apology is never offered. A memorable historical comparison contrasts the descendants of the godly Jonathan Edwards with those of the ungodly Max Jukes, citing specific numbers like 300 paupers from the Jukes line versus 100 missionaries from the Edwards line. The episode's tone is pastoral, instructional, and directly applicational, using personal anecdotes and scriptural exegesis. It is conversational yet authoritative, aiming for practical life change. Listeners seeking biblical, practical advice for improving family dynamics and Christian living would appreciate this episode. Those not interested in evangelical Christian teachings or scriptural family guidance would likely skip it.

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