Category: Church Is Family

In the past few years, Christians have been emboldened to “take back Christmas” by saying, “Merry Christmas!” whenever they can, especially when greeted with “Happy Holidays!” While I’m not a big fan of being confrontational in the “name” of Christ, I am thrilled that more Christians want to be identified openly with Jesus.

In Ephesians 3:15, Paul tells us that God’s family derives its name from him. So, when we approach the celebration of Jesus’ birth, how much more special it is for the people wearing Christ’s name to honor Jesus on the day bearing his name. Surely our growing relationship with God, through Jesus, is the source of our desire to proclaim Jesus’ name more openly.

That was Paul’s prayer in Ephesians 3:16-21. Consider what he wrote: “I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge–that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.”

As we celebrate the birth of Jesus within our own families and as God’s family, let us remember the amazing expense of God’s gift to us. Let us grow closer to God through Jesus’ loving sacrifice. Let us grow in God’s strength and, with his power, proclaim to the world the name we share, giving all the glory to God.

When Mark began his series about the fruit of the Spirit, he told us that we need to uproot those things that keep fruit from growing in our lives. Mark reminded us of Paul’s words in Galatians 5:16, that we should “live by the Spirit” so that we will not “gratify the desires of the sinful nature.”

I’ve often wondered what the “sinful nature” is. Galatians 5 gives us a list of the ways that the sinful nature is revealed in our actions, and Mark pointed out that most of those sinful actions are, at their core, relational problems. Ultimately, our sinful nature can be summed up in one word: selfishness.

If we go all the way back to the garden, Adam and Eve were tempted by the fruit because it looked good, it promised to taste good, and it would give them wisdom; they sinned because they were focused on themselves and not on God. Throughout the rest of the Bible, we can see that sin was often caused by someone’s selfishness. Even in our own lives, we know that most, if not all, of our sins are related to selfishness.

So, if we want to “live by the Spirit” instead of our selfish, sinful nature, we need to be focused outside ourselves. Obviously, we need to be focused on God—how else can we live by the Spirit? But we need to be focused on others as well.

Throughout his writings, the apostle Paul refers to other Christians as “brothers”; Paul clearly thought of the church as family. In Galatians 5, Paul frequently encourages the church family to serve one another; in fact, that’s exactly how he told them to beat the sinful nature of selfishness. So, if our family wants to grow the fruit of the Spirit, we must focus on God and on others and work on it together, taking Paul’s advice from Romans 12:10: “Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves.”

The more we study the Bible, the more we can see that God’s Word contains one central message: Grace. My Sunday evening class has been studying the Old Testament sacrifices and offerings found in Leviticus. Yes, there is a lot of blood being offered to God in order to have sins forgiven, but we’ve also learned that these sacrifices, while commanded by God in the Law of Moses, are the means by which sinful people can experience God’s grace.

Perhaps the best example is found in Leviticus 7 where God explains the peace offering, also known as the fellowship offering. Again, an animal is sacrificed, its blood sprinkled on the altar to atone for the people’s guilt. However, not all of the animal is burned on the altar, as with the sin offering; only certain fatty portions of the animal are burned on the altar as an offering to God. The rest is shared with the priest and his family and among the family and friends of the one who brought the sacrifice. In addition to the animal sacrifice, there is also an offering of grain, in the form of bread and cakes, which are also shared with the priests and others.

The peace or fellowship offering is brought as a statement of thankfulness to God, and it is an opportunity for God’s people to celebrate their blessings with God and with others, especially within their families. Since the offering to God was fat portions of the sacrifice, it is understood to be offered out of the excesses of life, which are due to God’s blessings. So when God’s people wanted to thank God for his blessings personally, they had to offer a sacrifice, thus allowing them to have a relationship with God, and they were able to celebrate God’s blessings with their friends and family.

This sounds a lot like our celebrations of Thanksgiving, feasting with our families because of the blessings we have received. As we celebrate Thanksgiving with friends and family, let us remember the blessings that God has given us, especially his grace.

Our annual meeting on October 13 was a turning point in our life as a church family. Rather than conducting a business meeting filled with reports from all the various ministry teams and committees, we celebrated the new additions to our family by honoring those who had been baptized in the past year plus those who had transferred their membership.

Just as a new mom and dad will celebrate the arrival of a new member to their family, the church celebrates new life as well. Sometimes it’s easy to get bogged down in the activities of day-to-day life; we get up, go through our daily tasks, eat a couple of meals, go here and there, and go to bed. Sometimes the days blur into weeks and weeks blur into months, and the years just seem to fly by—and we miss a lot.

As we head into the fall and toward Thanksgiving, our minds tend to focus on celebration. Despite the fact that the calendar between October and January often turns into one giant to-do list, we find ourselves celebrating the past year. Not only do we celebrate the arrivals of new life, but we celebrate marriages, anniversaries, promotions, graduations, and all sorts of other milestones. We celebrate with those who continue to live long, healthy lives and with those who are able to celebrate another year of life despite cancer or other illnesses.

As God’s family, we must continue to celebrate these things together. We must continue to praise God for the blessings of what we have plus the blessing of answered prayers. Most importantly, we must continue to celebrate those who turn back to God and give their lives to him. While we continue to work together to make more disciples of Jesus, let us remember his words from Luke 15:10, “I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”

Coming from a large family, I’ve learned the value of sharing. Sure, when you’re eight or nine years old, sharing a new toy or sharing the last chocolate chip cookie doesn’t seem like a great idea, but later in life, sharing makes a lot of sense. It doesn’t take long for us to figure out that there are people who have and people who don’t have. Whether it’s money, possessions, family, or love, it’s pretty clear that there isn’t an even distribution of anything among us. So it is up to individuals to share.

At least that’s the way it was in the early church. Acts 2:44-47 says that “All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.”

Sometimes we miss these details. Acts 2 starts with a great sermon, so good that 3000 people were baptized. After that, Acts 2:42 tells us that they adopted new spiritual disciplines, and everyone was amazed by the transformation. But it didn’t stop there. The new church didn’t hunker down and wait for Jesus to return. They continued to live their lives, but they were different lives. They shared what they had with everyone.

They shared their possessions, giving to whomever had a need. They shared their time, meeting together daily in the temple courts. They shared meals together in their homes. They shared their joy, and apparently they shared their faith because “the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.” Let us not forget that the early church, upon receiving the best gift ever, salvation through Jesus, shared everything they had so that others would be saved.

On Sunday, September 12, we kicked off our fall programming with a concert and the first group meeting of the elder care teams. That evening was a great example of how important it is for the family of God to encourage each other. Several people in our group mentioned how good it is when their brothers and sisters in Christ call on them when they miss just one Sunday or when someone visits them when they’re sick. One person called us to accountability about praying for each other and especially for the elders, who guide and protect this body of believers.

This is the way the church is supposed to be. This is one important characteristic of the church that sets it apart from all other groups and organizations: the church family encourages each other. In Romans 1:11, 12, the apostle Paul writes: “I long to see you so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to make you strong—that is, that you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith.” While this is a simple statement of Paul’s love for the church in Rome, it speaks volumes about how the church ought to feel and act toward each other.

Think about your friends at church. Do you long to see them? Sure, we’re usually separated from each other from one Sunday to the next. But does that separation from your brothers and sisters in Christ bring just a little heartache? Does that longing encourage you to come to church as often as you can? Does it encourage you to form or join other groups, whether study, fellowship, or service groups?

The idea that the church is family isn’t merely a “nice” idea; it’s a matter of mutual encouragement and growth. Paul didn’t long to see the Roman church just because they made him feel good; he wanted to see them so that he could encourage them and so they could encourage him, with the ultimate goal that everyone’s faith would grow. Let us continue to encourage each other so that we can grow together in our faith.

In 2 Timothy 3:15, the apostle Paul reminded Timothy of “how from infancy you have known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.” Paul says that the Bible makes us wise so that we can be saved, and Timothy learned this since he was a young child.

Where did Timothy learn the Scriptures from infancy? From his mother and his grandmother. Timothy learned the foundations of salvation from his family. It’s easy to read that, nod, and move on; it makes sense, but it’s not always the case. Even among Christians, it seems that Christian parents have delegated Bible teaching to the church. This was not God’s plan.

Deuteronomy 6:6, 7 say: “These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.” God’s original plan for teaching the Scriptures, which make us “wise for salvation,” was for families to teach God’s commands through everyday life.

Family life, then, becomes “Bible school.” Every morning brings new opportunities to tell about God’s promises. Every chore is a chance to describe God’s power and tell about God’s plan—and how each of us has a part in that plan. Every evening should lead us to look back over God’s blessings throughout the day and thank him.

Parents, you are responsible for teaching Scriptures to your children, but you don’t have to be a Bible scholar or professional educator, you just have to tell your children what you do know and do it through your everyday experiences. However, your responsibility to teach your kids should encourage you to build up your own faith and knowledge of Jesus, and you can do that through personal and smaller group Bible study. Get involved in a smaller group or start one yourself. Be sure to catch the September sermon series as we get back to the Bible together.

I come from a long line of farmers and gardeners. My grandmother would save every seed from every tomato that she ate and start what would become a jungle of tomato plants every season. My dad has kept at least one major garden and sometimes even three at different locations around our community. I have clear, sometimes traumatic, childhood memories of planting, tending, and harvesting potatoes, tomatoes, beans, and corn. It wasn’t always fun, and it was rarely easy, but we worked as a family to make the garden grow.

Growing the church is the responsibility of the whole family, as well. In Hebrews 3:12, 13 we read: “See to it, brothers, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.” The writer encourages us, as a family, to make sure that we continue to grow and not turn away.

The early church surely faced the same kinds of daily temptations that we face; in fact, they faced outright persecution, which we can only imagine. Yet they were called to encourage each other daily so that they would not become hardened by the sin that they faced.

Tending a garden is not a weekly chore; it is a daily chore. Just as there is always something to do in a garden, there is always something to do in the church; so we cannot be content with interacting with each other only once a week. As the extended family in Christ, we must always be on the lookout for times when our brothers and sisters need encouragement. We have families who are facing temptations and struggles daily, and we must always be ready to encourage and help them however we can. It isn’t always going to be easy, but let’s keep working together as a family, so that none may turn away and so that we may continue to grow in our faith and knowledge of Jesus.

You have probably heard the phrase “Charity begins at home.” This Fathers Day weekend, I had an opportunity to see that in action. On the third Saturday of each month, we have the serve our community by distributing food to people who need it. This month, our whole family worked together to help set up and distribute food. It was an amazing thing for me to see all my kids working with other kids and adults from the church to live out the second greatest commandment and love people in a tangible way.

The thought that “charity begins at home” is an excellent starting point for helping Christians, particularly young Christians, to grow up in their faith and knowledge of the Lord. It is not a bad thing for family to take care of family. In fact, the apostle Paul commands it in 1 Timothy 5:8: “If anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for his immediate family, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.”

But the command is not intended to make us focus on ourselves. it’s a matter of growing closer to God and serving God. Jesus said in Matthew 5:46-48: “If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”

Paul tells us that we need to take care of our own families, and if we don’t, we’re worse than people who don’t know God at all. Jesus said that it’s a matter of becoming like God. Ultimately, it’s about sharing the Good News of God’s love and forgiveness. If we cannot learn to take care of our own families, and our own church family, our message of God’s love will fall short because our personal lives won’t reflect it. If we truly want people to know the God who loves us enough to forgive our sins, we have to show that love through our own families.

Throughout the long winter we have been dreaming about how we will get away from it all. Whether it’s kids dreaming about a two-month summer break or families planning a week or even a weekend away, we long for a change of pace. But with all the changes of summer, we find ourselves altering not only our schedules but the way we think and the way we behave.

Unfortunately, it seems that those breaks from everyday life give us more opportunities to lose our focus on God. One way we do that is to go away over a weekend and not go to church. I don’t mean to be harsh, but even though it’s healthy to get away from the daily grind, it’s unhealthy to take a break from God, even for a weekend. It’s especially bad for families because it gives children the idea that taking a break is more important than worshipping the One who has given us everything. So, if you’re planning to be gone over a weekend, visit the church office and look at the “Directory of the Ministry,” which lists our sister churches all across the country; then you can plan to worship with the extended family of Christ wherever you go.

Another way we lose our focus on God occurs when we travel. I have to admit that travelling at 70 mph for several hours in a small metal box is not a family builder. Not only that, but many vacation activities have a way of stirring up our sinful nature: waiting in lines, paying for meals, wanting this or that from gift shops; it seems that vacations are also havens for temptation. Many of these temptations get the best of us, and we lose our focus on God.

Regardless of how it might happen, we must remember that we are still examples to the world. So when it’s time to go “up north” or when the kids start getting the gimmes and wants at the next tourist trap, remember Paul’s words in Philippians 2:14, 15: “Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe.