FAMILY FIRST: Our responsibility and our
privilege 5-26-24
INTRODUCTION
I feel like I need an
introduction. Thank you to you, my church family, and our leadership for
extending me extra time to be away with family. We are grateful for your
love and grace.
This past year- Katie’s dad died last May. Katie’s grandma died. Caleb took a job
in KY. CJ was born by emergency C-section. COVID.
Paula’s dad died March 28th. My dad died May 15th on his 85th birthday.
Lois Ryan’s funeral just 5 days after my dad’s
funeral reminded me of how connected we really are. We are not the only family to go through great loss and change over
the last 365 days. We are all on
this journey together, and a good part of it is difficult.
The importance of family has been highlighted
over this past year. I have reflected
over the past couple years on faith and family. Today I have served in ministry for 35 years. For many years, my family saw my example of service to the kingdom,
but they did not see me very much. I have tried to correct that over the last few years. I am reminded of 1 Timothy 5:8 and its significance.
“Anyone who does not provide for their relatives,
and especially for their own household, has denied the faith and is worse than
an unbeliever.”
1 Timothy 5:8 NIV
I. OUR LIVES REFLECT OUR FAITH
A. You believe what
you do.
B. You do what you
believe is important.
C. Faith is what
you do.
“What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if
someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them?
Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you
says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about
their physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it
is not accompanied by action, is dead. But someone will say, “You have faith; I
have deeds.” Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my
deeds. You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe
that—and shudder.”
James 2:14-19 NIV
One of Grimm’s fairy tales tells of an old man
who lived with his son, the son’s wife, and the young couple’s four-year-old
boy. The old man’s eyes blinked, and his hands shook. When he ate, the
silverware rattled against the plate, and he often missed his mouth. Then the
food would dribble onto the tablecloth. This upset the young mother, because
she didn’t want to have to deal with the extra mess and hassle of taking care
of the old man. But he had nowhere else to live. So the young parents decided
to move him away from the table, into a corner, where he could sit on a stool
and eat from a bowl. And so he did, always looking at the table and wanting to
be with his family but having to sit alone in the corner. One day his hands
trembled more than usual; he dropped his bowl and, and broke it. “If you are a
pig,” they said, “then you must eat out of a trough.” So they made the old man
a wooden trough and put his meals in it.
Not long after, the couple came upon their
four-year-old son playing with some scraps of wood. His father asked him what
he was doing. The little boy looked up, smiled, and said, “I’m making a trough,
to feed you and Mamma out of when I get big.” The next day the old man was back
at the table eating with the family, from a plate, and no one ever scolded him
or mistreated him again.
James Emery White, You Can Experience an Authentic Life, p. 59.
Our faith should be seen within the context of
our family.
II. OUR FAITH AND FAMILY ARE CONNECTED
A. Family
1. The Lord is to be the center of the home.
“Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this
is right. “Honor your father and mother”—which is the first commandment with a
promise— “so that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on
the earth.” Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in
the training and instruction of the Lord.”
Ephesians 6:1-4 NIV
2. Children are a blessing from God.
“Children are a heritage from the Lord, offspring
a reward from him.”
Psalms 127:3 NIV
A young minister, with very small children,
preached to his congregation on the theme, "10 ways to raise good and
godly children."
Some years later, with his children entering
their teens, he returned to his theme, but the same sermon was entitled:
"10 suggestions for raising good and godly children".
Several years later, with his children now in
their late teens, the sermon got another airing, this time presented as,
"Feeble hints for fellow strugglers."
3. Children continue the faith.
“Start children off on the way they should go,
and even when they are old they will not turn from it.”
Proverbs 22:6 NIV
Pastor Wayne Cordeiro, in Leading on Empty, writes of his daughter, adopted when only three days old. The apple
of his eye, Abby, compromised her faith and morality, making choices that
expelled her from college, and for two years was searching for her identity,
struggling why her birth mother didn’t want her. Her adopted parents continued
to pray, to call, email and write but never received any responses from Abby.
But they persisted, determined never to give up on her. One day they received
an email from Abby, who said she had returned to God. She wrote, "I know
now that God may not have had me born of this family, but I am convinced that
He has had me born into this family. I am coming home!"
B. Faith
1. A family affair
“But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to
you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods
your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in
whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the
Lord.””
Joshua 24:15 NIV
2. A community belief
“Yet to all who did receive him, to those who
believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— children
born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but
born of God.”
John 1:12-13 NIV
“Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and
strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his
household,”
Ephesians 2:19 NIV
C. Forgiveness
“Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and
dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness
and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a
grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.”
Colossians 3:12-13 NIV
III. OUR FAMILIES NEED FAITH
The blessing of hope
A. How do
unbelievers do life?
B. How do we
respond to the death of an unbelieving family member/friend?
C. How do we let
our family members die without Jesus.
David
“Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are
God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long.”
Psalms 25:5 NIV
Paul
“That is why we labor and strive, because we have
put our hope in the living God, who is the Savior of all people, and especially
of those who believe.”
1 Timothy 4:10 NIV
Clovis Chappell, a minister from a century back,
used to tell the story of two paddleboats. They left Memphis about the same
time, traveling down the Mississippi River to New Orleans. As they traveled
side by side, sailors from one vessel made a few remarks about the snail’s pace
of the other. Words were exchanged. Challenges were made. And the race began.
Competition became vicious as the two boats roared through the Deep South.
One boat began falling behind. Not enough fuel.
There had been plenty of coal for the trip, but not enough for a race. As the
boat dropped back, an enterprising young sailor took some of the ship’s cargo
and tossed it into the ovens. When the sailors saw that the supplies burned as
well as the coal, they fueled their boat with the material they had been
assigned to transport. They ended up winning the race, but burned their cargo.
God has entrusted cargo to us, too: children,
spouses, friends. Our job is to do our part in seeing that this cargo reaches
its destination without being burned. Yet when the program takes priority over
people, people often suffer. How much cargo do we sacrifice in order to achieve
the number one slot? How many people never reach the destination because of the
aggressiveness of a competitive captain?
Max Lucado, Eye of the Storm, Word Publishing, 1991, pp. 97-98.
CONCLUSION
Our lives reflect our faith (for good or bad). Our faith and family are connected. Our families need faith.
INVITATION
It is our custom to offer an
"invitation" following the preaching of the Word. You may want to follow Jesus. You may want to proclaim your faith. You may want to repent (stop doing ungodly things and start doing
Godly things). Perhaps you want
to be baptized for the forgiveness of your sins and receive the gift of the
Holy Spirit. Possibly, if you
have already responded to God’s call in these ways, you would like to become a
member of Kenwood Church. If you have been
moved by the Holy Spirit to make a decision in your life, you can come forward
now. If you would like, I would be honored to speak
with you following the service about what God is doing in your life.
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