Real Help for the Modern Family: Where to Begin

My message notes from Easter Sunday 2012...

Real Help for the Modern Family Part 1

The Beginning of Real Help

Intro:  Today begins a new series about family

-many family structures today:  traditional, single parents, divorced, his/hers/ours, grandparents raising grandkids, not married/no children, adult children caring for aging parents, foster parents, adoptive parents, and many other configurations

-modern and ancient families face the same challenges

-This series is about timeless principles for every type of family

Upcoming topics:

 April 15          Marriage

 April 22          Raising Kids

 April 29          Launching Kids/Empty Nest

 May 6             Dads

 May 13           Moms

 May 20           Grandparents/Adult Children

I visited Fort Recovery a few weeks ago…

-built after General Anthony Wayne recovered land and property that was tragically lost when General Sinclair was crushed by British and Indians. 

-I thought of all the forces that are waging war against the family

My Goal for this series=Recovery of Healthy Family!

The Beginning Of Real Help for the Modern Family

Mark 16:1-7

Is there an Empty Tomb or do we have an Empty Faith?

-1 Corinthians 15:17, 19

-If Jesus is alive, there is great hope, and our faith is rooted in truth

-If Jesus is still dead, we have no hope, and we might as well give up!

Real Help Right Now- Mark 16:1-7

1.  Start asking the right questions

-they were worried about moving the stone that was moved

-stop focusing on what you can’t answer, what may not matter

2.  Keep moving towards Jesus

-they kept going, found an empty tomb, eventually Jesus appeared!

-You may not know what it means to trust Jesus fully…

    Keep taking your next right step towards Jesus

3.  Believe in the impossible

-If Jesus can come back to life, He can help your family right now!

To be a healthy family we don’t have to…

-Know it all

-Be perfect

-Be strong enough

The same power that raised Jesus from the dead is available now!

-Ephesians 2:4-10

But God, who is abundant in mercy, because of His great love that He had for us, made us alive with the Messiah even though we were dead in trespasses. By grace you are saved!

He also raised us up with Him and seated us with Him in the heavens, in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages He might display the immeasurable riches of His grace in [His] kindness to us in Christ Jesus.

For by grace you are saved through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God's gift- not from works, so that no one can boast.

For we are His creation-created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared ahead of time so that we should walk in them.

The Beginning Of Real Help for the Modern Family

My next right step…

1.  Start asking the right questions-  keep coming to worship, seeking God's answers!

-we will discover principles for healthy family relationships

2.  Keep moving towards Jesus-  keep praying!

-we will learn what it means to really depend on Jesus and His church

3.  Believe in the impossible-  trust Jesus!

-we will seek to bring hope and healing

-I desire for us to move beyond the past and embrace a preferred future

    Under the power and influence of Jesus Christ

Will you trust Jesus today? 

John Wesley's 22 Questions

John Wesley, over 200 years ago, created the following questions to help believers become more spiritually accountable.  Our circumstances may have changed, but human nature has not.  These are still practical and relevant for any individual or group interested in growing spiritually.  

1. Am I consciously or unconsciously creating the impression that I am better than I really am? In other words, am I a hypocrite?
2. Am I honest in all my acts and words, or do I exaggerate?
3. Do I confidentially pass on to another what was told to me in confidence?
4. Can I be trusted?
5. Am I a slave to dress, friends, work, or habits?
6. Am I self-conscious, self-pitying, or self-justifying?
7. Did the Bible live in me today?
8. Do I give it time to speak to me everyday?
9. Am I enjoying prayer?
10. When did I last speak to someone else about my faith?
11. Do I pray about the money I spend?
12. Do I get to bed on time and get up on time?
13. Do I disobey God in anything?
14. Do I insist upon doing something about which my conscience is uneasy?
15. Am I defeated in any part of my life?
16. Am I jealous, impure, critical, irritable, touchy, or distrustful?
17. How do I spend my spare time?
18. Am I proud?
19. Do I thank God that I am not as other people, especially as the Pharisees who despised the publican?
20. Is there anyone whom I fear, dislike, disown, criticize, hold a resentment toward or disregard? If so, what am I doing about it?
21. Do I grumble or complain constantly?
22. Is Christ real to me?

Remember the unborn

Here are some ways to remember the unborn as we pause to remember that our country made it legal to murder children in a mother's womb 39 years ago:

How to remember the unborn

Protect the unborn

-Psalm 139   God "sees" us as a person before we are born.

   

-Jeremiah 1:5   God has a plan and purpose for us before we are born.

-Unborn children are referred to as people by God, and therefore deserve the same protection as a baby or person who is already born!

  

Avoid the crisis

-Unplanned pregnancies occur most often when we make unhealthy and unholy lifestyle choices

-We must promote and support healthy marriages- the proper context for pregnancy and parenthood

-We must help our teens and single adults abstain from sex until marriage

    -provide real help, not just legalistic rules.

    -openly discuss sexuality with them in the context of what the Bible says about it

    -discuss with teens how modern media portrays sex vs. what God says about sex

    -be a parent before you are a pal!  Parenthood requires us to provide healthy boundaries

    -but remember, rules without a relationship with our kids = rebellion.  We must have both!

-Stay personally accountable-  don't ever say "adultery will never happen to me!"

-Support pregnant women-  no matter the situation!  

    -men, step up and take the lead in serving her when you become the father of an unborn child!

Offer Hope

-When a crisis pregnancy happens, be there!

-visit  www.ahopecenter.com  

-Is God asking YOU to volunteer as an advocate for life?

  

Find comfort during loss

The Bible declares that Children who die are safe

Truths about children

-Children are born sinners

    Ephesians 2:3

    Psalm 51:5  Indeed, I was guilty when I was born; I was sinful when

                       my mother conceived me.

    -if children were not born into sin, they would not ever die!

-Salvation is by grace alone

    Ephesians 2:8-9

    -Baptism cannot save an infant

    -prayer or activity after death doesn’t save an infant

       -no scripture supports this,  Heb. 9:27 refutes it

-Children are declared as “innocent” in the Bible

    Deuteronomy 1:39

    Jeremiah 19:4-7

    Mark 10:14-16

        -true faith is modeled by the unassuming trust displayed in children

        -Jesus would not have blessed children if they had rejected Him

   -How can a child…

            Openly reject Jesus (refuse to believe)?

            Know or comprehend the consequences of their sin?

                -this idea is the basis for legal classification of  “minor”

  

-We will see our children who died

    2 Samuel 12:22-23

    -David would see “him” (a person)

    -implies a relationship with his child in eternity

Choose Life Today: 

We must Remember the Unborn

-as we choose our new President

-as we elect other political officials

-as we petition currently elected officials

-as we choose to give financially

-as we pray for our friends, family and neighbors 

-as we serve men and women expecting a child