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The Power of Jesus’ Family

Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the command of God our Savior and of Christ Jesus our hope: To Timothy, my true son in the faith. Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord. 1 TIMOTHY 1:1-2 CSB

In a culture of isolation, Jesus invites me to his community of family

Then Jesus’ mother and brothers arrived. Standing outside, they sent someone in to call him. A crowd was sitting around him, and they told him, “Your mother and brothers are outside looking for you.” “Who are my mother and my brothers?” he asked. Then he looked at those seated in a circle around him and said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! Whoever does God’s will is my brother and sister and mother.” MARK 3:31-34 NIV

Jesus’ family is intergenerational where we invest into one another

Do not rebuke an older man harshly, but exhort him as if he were your father. Treat younger men as brothers, older women as mothers, and younger women as sisters, with absolute purity. 1 TIMOTHY 5:1-2 NIV

What keeps us from investing into others in a meaningful way?

I am reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also. 2 TIMOTHY 1:5 NIV

Timothy, inside Jesus’ family, has the opportunity to be there for someone else. What he never had himself.

Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity. 1 TIMOTHY 4:12 NIV

Although I hope to come to you soon, I am writing you these instructions so that, if I am delayed, you will know how people ought to conduct themselves in God’s household, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of the truth. 1 TIMOTHY 3:14-15 NIV

Jesus’ family provides what my physical family may have lacked

Do your best to come to me quickly, for Demas, because he loved this world, has deserted me and has gone to Thessalonica. 2 TIMOTHY 4:9-10 NIV

Who is like the Lord our God, the One who sits enthroned on high, who stoops down to look on the heavens and the earth. He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap; he seats them with princes, with the princes of his people. He settles the childless woman in her home as a happy mother of children. Praise the Lord. PSALM 113:5-9 NIV

How does this provision happen?

Allow the love of God to reparent you into Jesus’ family

He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God. JOHN 1:10-13 CSB

My Notes

Personal Reflection Guide

Take a few deep breaths, releasing any burdens from the day by offering them up to God. Invite him into this time of reflection, asking him to help you be more real with yourself and him during this time. As you reflect on your childhood, and in particular your family experiences, what wounds did you experience? How has Jesus’ family been used by God to heal these wounds? Thank him for how he has transformed you through these people and thank those he has used personally as you have opportunity. Next, ask yourself how you can be used in the lives of others around you. Confess your own obstacles to investing in others (family of origin, age, feelings of inadequacy). Invite God into these, asking him to re-parent you where you need it most. Thank him for his faithfulness to you, and write your reflections in the space below, sharing with your group if you feel comfortable.

Discussion Questions

  1. PERSONAL REFLECTION: Begin group time by completing the Personal Reflection Guide, (link found on the top of sermon notes). Use this time to process your own experiences with God’s family, as well as your personal obstacles for fully offering yourself to others in the church. (Tip: playing some soft background music is helpful here!)
  2. REAL WITH SELF: Share a meaningful memory from your childhood. How did that experience shape you and how does that still influence you today?
  3. REAL WITH SELF: Not only do we have gifts to offer, we ourselves are gifts to others. Do you believe that you are a gift to this group and our church?
  4. REAL WITH GOD: Read Psalm 113:5-9 NIV. How can God use your personal, professional or spiritual life experiences to lift others up? What obstacles stand in the way of you being used like that?
  5. REAL WITH OTHERS: What would our group, our church (or your life) look like if we took an attitude and posture of listening to and learning from others?
  6. TAKE ACTION: What steps can you take this week to invite God into fathering you more? What practical differences could that make in your life?