"Strong churches don’t make strong families. Strong families make strong churches.” (Tim Kimmel)
Our
families are our first congregation (before we serve God in our church or our
communities around us). Our knowledge of God (and His goodness) should be
passed down from one generation to another.
Go home,
and be your family’s pastor by sharing God’s story about you with them.
Deuteronomy
6:4-9, MSG-4Attention, Israel, God, our God [is] the one and only [God]. 5 Love God, your
God, with your whole heart: love him with all that’s in you. Love Him with all
you’ve got. 6-9 Write these commandments that I’ve given you
today on your hearts. Get them inside of you and then get them inside your
children. Talk about them wherever you are, sitting at home or walking in the
street; talk about them from the time you get up in the morning to when you
fall into bed at night. Tie them on your hands and foreheads as a reminder;
inscribe them on the doorposts of your homes and on your city gates.
If
your relationship with God is not part of our family life, nothing else will
matter.
1
Timothy 5:8, VOICE-And listen, if someone is not providing for his own relatives and
especially his own household, then he is denying the faith and is worse off
than an unbeliever. If you are not taking care of your family, you are
disobeying what God wants you to do. Go
home. Their well-being should be among your first priorities.
1
Timothy 3:4-5, TPT-4 His heart should be set on guiding his household with wisdom and dignity; bringing
up his children to worship with devotion and purity. 5For if
he’s unable to properly lead his own household well, how could he properly lead
God’s household? Your mission of showing God’s love for your family
will always be a prerequisite to any other kind of ministry you do for your
heavenly Father.
Mark
5:15-21, ERV-15They came to Jesus, and they saw the man who had the many evil spirits.
He was sitting down and was wearing clothes. He was in his right mind again.
When they saw this, they were afraid. 16 Those who had seen what Jesus
did told the others what happened to the man who had the demons living in him.
And they also told about the pigs. 17 Then
the people began to beg Jesus to leave their area. 18 Jesus was
preparing to leave in the boat. The man who was now free from the demons begged
to go with him.
19 But Jesus did not allow the man
to go. He said, “Go home to your family and friends. Tell them about all that
the Lord did for you. Tell them how the Lord was good to you.” 20 So
the man left and told the people in the Ten Towns about the great things Jesus
did for him. Everyone was amazed. 21 Jesus went back to the
other side of the lake in the boat. There, a large crowd of people gathered
around him on the shore. Here are some things to remember
as the pastor of your family:
Be real with your family- Tell them what God has done for you, and how it has affected your
life. Don’t be afraid to show your
flaws, too. (80% of what you say is your actions or body language.)
Show your family the
mercy (and grace) God has given you-Take
ownership of your past. Stop playing the victim role, and remember Jesus is the
hero, and you are the zero.
Don’t exaggerate you
story to your family-Be
transparent with the real, unadorned facts. All sins are equal to God both big
and small. Be ready to give that story whenever someone asks to hear it. But
keep the Lord Christ holy in your hearts. Always be ready to answer everyone
who asks you to explain about the hope you have. (1 Peter 3:15, ERV)[i]
[i] Inspired by the sermon
“Go Home: Go” (installment two) Sunday October 25, 2020, Pastor Jon Fulton
(CPW). All CenterPoint churches are open in-person at 10am. They will
continue to meet online at facebook.com/centerpointchurches or
centerpointchurches.com/live.
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