We Are Family | 5/4/25
9 Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. 10 Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers. —Galatians 6:9–10 (NIV)
19 Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, —Ephesians 2:19 (NIV)
8 Anyone who does not provide for their relatives, and especially for their own household, has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever. —1 Timothy 5:8 (NIV)
8 We loved you so much that we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well, because you had become so dear to us. —1 Thessalonians 2:8 (NIV84)
BIG IDEA: AS A FOLLOWERS OF JESUS YOU BELONG TO THE FAMILY OF BELIEVERS
FAMILY OF GOD
Chorus
I’m so glad I’m a part
Of the fam’ly of God
I’ve been washed in the fountain
Cleansed by His blood
Joint heirs with Jesus
As we travel this sod
For I’m part of the fam’ly
The family of God
Verse 1
You will notice we say brother
And sister ‘round here
It’s because we’re a family
And these folks are so near
When one has a heartache
We all share the tears
And rejoice in each victory
In this family so dear
Verse 2
From the door of an orphanage
To the house of the King
No longer an outcast
A new song I sing
From rags unto riches
From the weak to the strong
I’m not worthy to be here
But praise God I belong
note
THOUGHT 1: AS FOLLOWERS OF JESUS WE ARE
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4 In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. —John 1:1–4 (NIV)
In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, 2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe. 3 The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven. —Hebrews 1:1–3 (NIV)
14 For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. 15 The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” 16 The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. 17 Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory. —Romans 8:14–17 (NIV)
4 But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, 5 to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption to sonship. 6 Because you are his sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “Abba, Father.” 7 So you are no longer a slave, but God’s child; and since you are his child, God has made you also an heir. —Galatians 4:4–7 (NIV)
5 he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will—6 to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. —Ephesians 1:5–6 (NIV)
THOUGHT 2: THE
25 Large crowds were traveling with Jesus, and turning to them he said: 26 “If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even their own life—such a person cannot be my disciple. 27 And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple. —Luke 14:25–27 (NIV)
37 “Anyone who loves their father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves their son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. —Matthew 10:37 (NIV)
“One’s loyalty to Jesus must come before his loyalty to his family or even to life itself. Indeed, those who did follow Jesus against their families’ desires were probably thought of as hating their families.” —– Martin, J. A. The Bible Knowledge Commentary
47 Someone told him, “Your mother and brothers are standing outside, wanting to speak to you.”
48 He replied to him, “Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?” 49 Pointing to his disciples, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers. 50 For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.” —Matthew 12:47–50 (NIV)
“It would follow from this that just as we need to increasingly actualize the positional reality of our justification in the spiritual formation process, so also should we long to increasingly actualize the positional reality of our familification, as we grow into the image and likeness of Christ. Indeed, as we have seen throughout our discussion, we simply cannot separate the two. To be sold out to God (and thereby actualize our justification) is to be sold out to God’s group (and thereby actualize our familification). We need to cultivate both the vertical and the horizontal dimensions of what happened to us at salvation, as we seek to mature in the Lord.” —- Hellerman, Joseph H.. When the Church Was a Family: Recapturing Jesus’ Vision for Authentic Christian Community (p. 132). (Function). Kindle Edition.
ACTION POINT: EMBRACE THE FAMILY OF BELIEVERS GOD HAS PLACED YOU WITHIN
4 For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, 5 so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. —Romans 12:4–5 (NIV)
