​CHURCH AS FAMILY: Church as a family of faith 4-19-26

​CHURCH AS FAMILY: Church as a family of faith 4-19-26

 

INTRODUCTION

 

Church as family, as God intended. We are what we are, not what we are not. 

 

Definitions matter. Do you know what these words mean?

 

ABDICATE: To give up all hope of ever having a flat stomach.

ADULT: A person who has stopped growing at both ends and is now growing in the middle.

ANTIQUE: An item your grandparents bought, your parents got rid of, and you’re buying again.

AVOIDABLE: What a bullfighter tries to do.

BALDERDASH: A rapidly receding hairline.

BATHROOM: A room used by the entire family, believed by all except Mom to be self-cleaning.

COFFEE: A person who is coughed upon.

DERANGE: Where de buffalo roam.

EYEDROPPER: A clumsy ophthalmologist.

EXPERIENCE: The name men give to their mistakes.

FEEDBACK: The inevitable result when the baby doesn’t appreciate the strained carrots.

GROCERY LIST: What you spend half an hour writing, then forget to take with you to the store.

HINDSIGHT: What one experiences from changing too many diapers.

INDEPENDENT: How we want our children to be as long as they do everything we say.

MISTY: How golfers create divots.

OVERSTUFFED RECLINER: Mom’s nickname for Dad.

OW: The first word spoken by children with older siblings.

POLYGON: A dead parrot.

RELIEF: What trees do in the spring.

SELFISH: What the owner of a seafood store does.

SHOW OFF: A child who is more talented than yours.

TOP BUNK: Where you should never put a child wearing Superman pajamas.

VEGETARIAN: Old Indian word for bad hunter.

 

What does it mean to be a part of the family of God, the household of faith, the children of God?  What does it mean to be a Christian?

 

Sing "Family of God"

 

I.  A HOUSEHOLD OF FAITH

 

Galatians 6:9-10 NIV

 

“Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.”

            Galatians 6:9-10 NIV

           

            A.  A family of believers

            B.  Belief is the key

                        1.  Confession "I believe that Jesus is the Christ the son of God."

                        2.  Creeds -   No creed but Christ

                                                No book but the Bible

                                                No law but love

                                                No name but the divine

            C.  Not any faith but a particular faith

 

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!"

 

II.  FAITH IN CHRIST

 

“In the last resort faith is an act of will, inspired by love. Our love may be chilled and our will eroded by the spectacle of the shortcomings, folly, and even sins of the Church and its ministers, but I do not think that one who has once had faith goes back over the line for these reasons.”

            J. R. R. Tolkien

 

1 Timothy 2:1-7 NIV

 

“I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people—for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness.  This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all people. This has now been witnessed to at the proper time. And for this purpose I was appointed a herald and an apostle—I am telling the truth, I am not lying—and a true and faithful teacher of the Gentiles.”

            1 Timothy 2:1-7 NIV

 

            A.  One mediator

            B.  One ransom for all people

 

III.  WE ARE CALLED CHRISTIANS

 

Acts 11:25-26 NIV

 

“Then Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul, and when he found him, he brought him to Antioch. So for a whole year Barnabas and Saul met with the church and taught great numbers of people. The disciples were called Christians first at Antioch.”

            Acts 11:25-26 NIV

 

A deacon, who was full of himself, was teaching a boy Sunday School class. He was working hard to stress the importance of living a Christian life. With an air of arrogance he asked, "Why do people call me a Christian?"

 

After an awkward silence one of the little guys said, "Maybe it's because they don't know you."

            Ed Sasnett, Sermon Central, June 8, 2010.

 

            A.  "Christian" - little Christ

            B.  A follower of Christ

            C.  Like Christ

 

CONCLUSION

 

THE 40 MARTYRS

 

"History knows them as the forty martyrs of Sebaste. They were soldiers in the famed Twelfth Legion of Rome’s imperial army, around A.D. 320. One day the captain informed his troops that Emperor Licinius had sent down an edict commanding all soldiers to offer a sacrifice to his pagan god. Forty of the soldiers were followers of Christ, and they refused. 'You can have our armor and even our bodies, but our hearts' allegiance belongs to Jesus Christ,' they said.  

 

"The emperor decided to make an example of the soldiers, so in the middle of winter he marched them onto a frozen lake and stripped them of their clothes. 'Renounce your God and you will be spared from death,' he told them. Not one man came forward. So he left them there, huddled together to contemplate his offer. Throughout the night the man stayed together, singing their song of victory: Forty Martyrs for Christ. When morning came, thirty-nine of the men had frozen to death. The one survivor finally relented and crawled to safety, recanting his confession of faith in order to live. The officer in charge that night had been so moved by the scene that during his watch he’d come to Jesus, so he broke rank and walked out onto the ice. Stripping his clothes he openly confessed his faith in Christ. The furious emperor demanded that he renounce Jesus, but he refused. When the ordeal was over, the Roman soldiers carried forty frozen men off of the ice." 

 

Sing "Family of God"

 

Unity and coexistence and tolerance do not change truths.  They inform how we should act toward one another in light of the truth, but they do not change truth.

 

We are a household of faith because of our faith in Christ.  As a family of faith, we are called “Christians.” We are a family of 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.