Blueprints set a STANDARD
- How it should be
When blueprints aren’t followed, disaster happens
That’s what this series is about…
Blueprints
God’s design for church and family
God is a God of design
Psalm 8:3-4
3 When I observe your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you set in place, 4 what is a human being that you remember him, a son of man that you look after him?
A MAJOR THEME in the story the Bible is telling is:
Let’s first define Family:
A family consists of people, usually related, with shared values that provide safety, guidance, accountability, respect, and forgiveness.
Let’s build a BIBLICAL THEME of Family…
1: God planned and placed the family at the beginning of creation
Genesis 2:24
This is why a man leaves his father and mother and bonds with his wife, and they become one flesh.
2: God designed the family for human flourishing
Genesis 1:28
God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth, and subdue it. Rule the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, and every creature that crawls on the earth.”
3: The enemy of God hates family
Genesis 4
8 Cain said to his brother Abel, “Let’s go out to the field.” And while they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him. 9 Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?” “I don’t know,” he replied. “Am I my brother’s guardian?”
The enemy always tries to mimic and distort to eventually destroy anything g that God has created for our good
4: God has chosen to redeem the world through a family
Genesis 12
12 The Lord said to Abram: Go from your land, your relatives, and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. 2 I will make you into a great nation, I will bless you, I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, I will curse anyone who treats you with contempt, and all the peoples on earth will be blessed through you.
What does all this mean?
To God, Family is a BIG DEAL
- His blueprint for human flourishing and happiness is through Family
Some Examples:
Father vs. Absent Fathers
- According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 17.8 million children, nearly 1 in 4, live without a biological, step, or adoptive father in the home.
No father:
Research shows that when a child is raised in a father-absent home, they are affected in the following ways…
- Greater Risk of Poverty
- More Likely to Have Behavioral Problems
- Greater Risk of Infant Mortality
- More Likely to Go to Prison More Likely to Commit Crime
- More Likely to Become Pregnant as a Teen
- More Likely to Face Abuse and Neglect
- More Likely to Abuse Drugs and Alcohol
- More Likely to Suffer Obesity
- More Likely to Drop Out of School
Kids:
Children with involved fathers have a strong foundation for child well-being. They are at lower risk for…
- Infant Mortality Low Birth Weight
- Emotional and Behavioral Problems
- Neglect and Abuse
- Injury
- Obesity
- Poor School Performance
- Teen Pregnancy
- Incarceration as Juveniles
- Alcohol and Substance Abuse
- Criminal Activity
- Suicide
Mom:
Mothers with active fathers in the home…
- More likely to receive prenatal care
- Less likely to smoke during pregnancy
- Healthier births
- Lower risk of post-partum stress & depression
- Lower parenting stress
- More leisure time
- Higher marital satisfaction
(All info taken from https://www.fatherhood.org)
Healthy Families lead to HUMAN FLOURISHING
Why?
Because it’s God’s blueprint
I don’t think anyone has a problem with this, but it is INCOMPLETE in scripture’s view of FAMILY…
5: Jesus has come, and not only is our savior but also our BROTHER
Hebrews 2
11 For the one who sanctifies and those who are sanctified all have one Father. That is why Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers and sisters, 12 saying: I will proclaim your name to my brothers and sisters; I will sing hymns to you in the congregation.
Because we belong to Christ, we belong to his family
6: The church is a family and the Bride of Christ
Ephesians 5
22 Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord, 23 because the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church. He is the Savior of the body. 24 Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives are to submit to their husbands in everything. 25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself for her 26 to make her holy, cleansing her with the washing of water by the word.
31 For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two will become one flesh. 32 This mystery is profound, but I am talking about Christ and the church.
God has EXPANDED the understanding of FAMILY
- Not just “DAD, MOM, KIDS
- The Bible doesn’t have a category for that
Sermon Title:
More than Blood
Here’s where there is trouble for us…
Family as an INDIVIDUAL INSTITUTION
- Me and mine vs you and yours
- Instead, it is US/WE
Personal Family is important, and so is the FAMILY OF FAITH
- Christian Family
- Church Family
The Reality
- We will spend eternity with our FAITH FAMILY, not necessarily our BLOOD relatives
- God’s family is MORE THAN BLOOD
How did this work out in the New Testament?
Summarization of the Reason for the letter:
- Written to Philemon by Paul
- A resident of Colosse (Colossians)
- He held church as his house
- He had a Slave named Onesimus (oh NESS in muss)
- Onesimus stole money and ran away
- Met Paul and became a Christian
Listen for the “family language”
Philemon 1
1 Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus, and Timothy our brother:
To Philemon our dear friend and coworker, 2 to Apphia our sister, to Archippus our fellow soldier, and to the church that meets in your home. 3 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
4 I always thank my God when I mention you in my prayers, 5 because I hear of your love for all the saints and the faith that you have in the Lord Jesus. 6 I pray that your participation in the faith may become effective through knowing every good thing that is in us for the glory of Christ. 7 For I have great joy and encouragement from your love, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed through you, brother.
8 For this reason, although I have great boldness in Christ to command you to do what is right, 9 I appeal to you, instead, on the basis of love. I, Paul, as an elderly man and now also as a prisoner of Christ Jesus, 10 appeal to you for my son, Onesimus. I became his father while I was in chains. 11 Once he was useless to you, but now he is useful both to you and to me. 12 I am sending him back to you—I am sending my very own heart. 13 I wanted to keep him with me, so that in my imprisonment for the gospel he might serve me in your place. 14 But I didn’t want to do anything without your consent, so that your good deed might not be out of obligation, but of your own free will. 15 For perhaps this is why he was separated from you for a brief time, so that you might get him back permanently, 16 no longer as a slave, but more than a slave—as a dearly loved brother. He is especially so to me, but how much more to you, both in the flesh and in the Lord.
17 So if you consider me a partner, welcome him as you would me. 18 And if he has wronged you in any way, or owes you anything, charge that to my account. 19 I, Paul, write this with my own hand: I will repay it—not to mention to you that you owe me even your very self. 20 Yes, brother, may I benefit from you in the Lord; refresh my heart in Christ. 21 Since I am confident of your obedience, I am writing to you, knowing that you will do even more than I say.
God’s plan is still the same…. To redeem the world through family
- Through those who are a part of His REDEEMED family
What should we take away from this?
1: Family is a BIG DEAL to God
- We should make it a big deal in our lives, too
- We treat it with respect
2: God’s vision for the world is a RENEWED FAMILY
- With Christ as our king
3: You and your family flourish MOST when a part of God’s REDEEMED FAMILY
- Your family flourishes through its activity in the church family
- Single
- Older – no kids
You no longer need to feel lonely because you have a LARGE family
- You no longer need to feel threatened because you are a family that protects
- You have a part to play because everyone takes part in a healthy family