I. Introduction
A. Family
1. The picture of the family is changing. Many of you may come from homes where you had to navigate stepparents, step-grandparents, step-siblings, etc.
2. Family is often the greatest source of pride and shame.
3. Family can be a blessing and a curse.
B. Family in Scripture
1. In a few places in Scripture, the church is referred to as a family:
a. Ephesians 2:19 So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God,
b. Galatians 6:10 So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.
c. 1 John 3:1 See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are.
2. But what does that mean? What should the church look like as His family?
II. Family Matters
A.
1. The church should be a place where people can find support for their life’s .
2. Spiritual & Emotional support
a. Galatians 6:1-2
b. Romans 12:15
3. Physical Support-Gal 6:10
4. Admonishment and Encouragement- Hebrews 10:24-25
5. The family is not supposed to be about programs, it’s about people… 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 their cargo was burned. God has entrusted cargo to us, too: children, spouses, friends. Our job is to ensure that this cargo reaches its destination. 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?
6. Quite often, we just need people to walk beside us, don’t we?
B.
1. The church is to be a for the soul. How do we develop that security?
2. Love -1 John 3:11-18
a. One of the last places I should feel threatened is at church; not necessarily speaking in terms of physical safety…speaking more in terms of spiritually or emotionally.
b. There is enough hatred in the world…people should not find it here. (1 John 3:11-15).
c. We should seek to love one another as Christ has loved us (1 John 3:16-17).
d. We cannot just talk about love, we have to show love (1 John 3:18).
3. The church is a place where we can find comfort and be convicted all in the same place. (1 John 1:5-10)
a. Discipline is about love Heb 12:11 For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.
b. There is a balance between and . We can never give the impression that one who desires to be a disciple can continue in a life of sin, but we also realize that living a holy life is a challenge. The church is to be a place where I can admit that I am not perfect without facing persecution.
4. Jesus’ Call
a. In Mark 2, Jesus is eating at the home of Levi after He has called Him to be a disciple. Apparently, Levi invited guests. The problem is the kind of people he invited as guests. They were people like him, tax collectors and sinners. When the Pharisees see it, they question Jesus’ disciples about why. Jesus responds that the people who were there knew they were sick.
b. Mark 2:17
c. Don’t miss the fact that Jesus was scolding the scribes and Pharisees because they didn’t realize they were sick. They were too busy judging the situation of the sinners to realize they were sick, too.
5. Illustration of Baggage: I want you to imagine that everyone in here tonight brought a backpack with them. I literally brought one, but metaphorically speaking, we all have some kind of baggage. Some have a pretty lightweight backpack on. That’s great! However, some of you came in tonight with a backpack so heavy you barely made it through the door. What if we thought about ways we can help each other with what’s inside our packs?
6. The church is the place where I should learn what eternal security looks like, even when it is uncomfortable.
C.
1. The family of God is designed to assist each of us in becoming in our faith.
a. Iron sharpens iron; so one man sharpens another. Prov 27:17
b. Romans 15:1-2 We who are strong have an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves. Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to build him up.
c. 1 Timothy 3:15 if I delay, you may know how one ought to behave in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, a pillar and buttress of the truth.
2. This passage reminds us that the church is a pillar and buttress (foundation-NIV) of truth.Illustration: A house is only as strong as its foundation and its structure. When we find a crack in the wall, we don’t demolish the whole house; we fix what is causing the crack.
3. We are stronger than we could ever be apart.
III. Conclusion
A. Review of the Church as a Family
1. Provides Support
2. Provides Security
3. Provides Strength
B. Invitation
1. Just like any other family you are born into this family, but you’re not born physically into this family.
a. The church is a spiritual family, which means you have to be born into this family in a spiritual way.
b. When Nicodemus came to Jesus by night Jesus told him that if we are not born again we cannot see the Kingdom of God. Later He tells him that one must be born of the water and the Spirit.
c. Romans 6:3-4 reminds us that when we are baptized we connect with the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ.
d. It’s at that moment that God adopts you into His family. You become His child that He has chosen.
2. Today, if you would like to become a part of God’s family He is ready to accept you.