FAMILY FIRST: Family as it should be 6-9-24

FAMILY FIRST: Family as it should be 6-9-24

 

INTRODUCTION

 

There is no such thing as a perfect family.  Perfect families would have to be made up of perfect people, and we don’t have any of those running around.

 

Theodore Roosevelt said in 1917, "No other success in life--not being president, or being wealthy, or going to college, or writing a book, or anything else--comes up to the success of the man or woman who can feel that they have done their duty and that their children and grandchildren rise up and called them blessed."

           From a sermon by Michael McCartney, “Keys to a Healthy Spiritual Family, pt 2.”, 10/22/2009.

 

We have the building blocks for strong families.  We have what the world needs.

 

I.  FAITH

 

“Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.”

         Hebrews 11:1 NIV

 

Faith gets us through today.

 

   A.  Personal

    B.  Personal and shareable

    C.  Personal but familial too

 

“Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.”

          Romans 5:1-5 NIV

 

II.  HOPE

 

Hope = quintessential human delusion, simultaneously the source of humanities greatest strength and weakness

 

Hope helps us make it to tomorrow.

 

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”

         Romans 15:13 NIV

 

         A.  Hope is a gift.

         B.  Hope gives us what we need to make it through life.

                      1.  Joy 

                    2.  Peace

 

There was a family who decided to move to the country.

They bought a ranch and made plans to raise cattle.

They completed the relocation process and set about building their ranch, and about six months later some friends came to see them.

They wanted to see the ranch and the cattle.

The friend said to the owner of the ranch, "What do you call the ranch?"

The owner of the ranch said, "I wanted to call it the ‘Flying W.’ My wife wanted to name it the ‘Suzie Q.’ My oldest son wanted to call it the ‘Bar J.’ And my youngest son wanted to call it the ‘Lazy Y.’

So the friend asked, "Well, what did you call it?"

"Well, we call it ‘The Flying W, Suzie Q, Bar J, Lazy Y Ranch,’" he said.

"OK," the friend said, "but where are the cattle?"

The owner replied, "Well, we don’t have any. None of them survived the branding."

           "God Has Never Failed Me, But He’s Sure Scared Me to Death a Few Times" by Stan Toler.

 

“Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.”

           Isaiah 40:30-31 NIV

 

         C.  Hope brings strength.

 

III.  LOVE

 

Love binds us together for eternity.

 

“If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing. Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away.”

           1 Corinthians 13:1-8 NIV

 

          A.  Love is all that matters.

           B.  Love is to be lived.

           C.  Love is eternal.

 

A preacher was requested by family members to visit a man in a mental institution who thought he was Jesus. When the preacher introduced himself, the man replied, "Bless you, my son." The preacher asked if he were Jesus and he replied that he was. So, the preacher excused himself and said he would be back in a couple of minutes. The preacher returned with a measuring tape and some lumber and nails. He measured the man’s arms and height, and then he began nailing the boards into a cross. The man asked what he was doing. The preacher said, "You know what I’m doing. I’m helping you fulfill your destiny!" At that, the man cried out, "I’m not Jesus! I’m not Jesus!"

           Tom Livorno, Sermon Central, June 9, 2003.

 

“Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.”

           John 15:13 NIV

 

“Friends” = “the ones we love, the objects of our love”

 

CONCLUSION

 

Faith, Hope, Love by John L. Stevens

 

My faith is in my Jesus

My anchor is in Him.

When turmoil comes my way

His power is still within.

He keeps me through the bad times

And guides me through the good.

His love is always with me

On His promise I have stood.

 

My hope is in my Jesus

My life is in His hand.

The hope of life eternal

On His promise I will stand.

The hope of Joy in heaven

The hope of Glory above.

The hope that fills my soul today

Is because of His great love.

 

My love comes from my Jesus

And fills my heart today.

His love is overflowing

I have love to give away.

His love is still within me

His love is so divine.

I kneel before my savior

Grace and mercy’s always mine.

 

It’s by Faith, Hope and Love

I have come to Him today.

Can’t have one without the others

There is no other way.

My faith I keep in Jesus

My hope He will secure.

His love is always with me

With all three I will endure.

 

The greatest of these is Love.

 

           John L. Stevens, © Oct. 24, 1999.

 

Faith.  Hope.  Love.  That is what family should look like.

 

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.