'family & Friends'

Reading: Romans chapter 1 verses 1-27.

SERMON OUTLINE:

Be welcoming (vs 1-2)

Be honouring (vs 3-16&21-24)

Be discerning (vs 17-20)

SERMON BODY:

Quote: You all know the saying,

"You can choose your friends, but you are stuck with your family."

• Friends are a choice:

• You can choose who you want to befriend,

• We do that based on shared values, interests, and personalities.

• Family is a given:

• Your family, or your family of origin,

• Is the group of people you are born into, such as parents and siblings,

• And you don't have a say in who they are.

• But remember, they don’t have a say about you!

• We all need friends and family!

• Without the support of others, we will struggle through life.

Ill:

• Author Rd. Donald Joy.

• (expert on bonding and relationships).

• Wrote a chapter called, "Who's Holding Your Trampoline?"

• The odea is simple but very helpful.

• He is talking about a handheld trampoline or a Firefighters life net).

• (see photo).

• The circumstance of life is constantly bouncing us up and down,

• And you and I need individuals in our lives,

• When you're bouncing up and down and struggling,

• Who's holding your trampoline?

• Who is in your network of personal support?

• Who are the people, the family members and good friends,

• Who have a firm grasp on a corner of your life, helping to hold you up?

What Donald Joy says is every individual need four groups of people.

• Think of it as a four-sided trampoline.

• He calls the four groups, family, relatives, friends, acquaintances.

• #1: Family:

• These are your immediate family, parents, children, marriage partner.

• #2: Relatives

• Those are also part of your family but they're a little more distant,

• Uncles, aunts, grandparents.

• #3: Friends,

• Those people you trust the most those you laugh with and those you hang out with.

• #4: Associates.

• People you work with, people you join with in a team or club.

• People in your church.

• All four groups, says Donald Joy, represent a person's support system in any crisis.

• So pause, just think for a minute,

• How many people can you count in your life that are holding your trampoline?

• TRANSITION:

• The apostle Paul counts 28 people,

• And that's just in this chapter!

• Paul lists 26 people by name,

• And two other people that are unnamed.

The apostle Paul was a team player.

• He didn't operate alone.

• He was not a Lone Ran ger,

• He always had somebody around him.

Scan the passage and look at his use of langue.

• In verses 3,7,9 & 19 he talks about those who are “in Christ.”

• Those are his Christian brothers and sisters.

• Then in verses 8,11,12 & 13 he talks about those who are “in the Lord.”

• Again, they are his Christian brothers and sisters.

• Then in verses 5,8,9 &12 he talks about those who are, “dear friends.” or “beloved”

• Again, they are his Christian brothers and sisters.

• Then in verses 4&7 he talks about those who, “risked their lives”

• Those who, “suffered” with him.

• Again, they are his Christian brothers and sisters.

• Then in verses 3&9 he talks about those who are, “fellow workers.”

• Again, they are his Christian brothers and sisters.

• I labour this point to say, there is no such thing as a solo Christian.

• Every Christian is theoretically united in Christ and part of a spiritual family.

• Therefore, every Christian needs to practically be part of a local Church.

• And I challenge you this morning,

• That means more than just attending a Church,

• That means more than being on membership list.

• It means serving together, praying together, being together on a regular basis.

• Which leads to the obvious question:

• How connected are you to people in this church?

• How connected are you to this spiritual family?

(1). Be Welcoming (vv. 1-2)

“I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a deacon of the church in Cenchreae. I ask you to receive her in the Lord in a way worthy of his people and to give her any help she may need from you, for she has been the benefactor of many people, including me.”

Ill:

• Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams returned to Earth this week,

• After nine unplanned months in space

• The pair waved and smiled as they emerged from the SpaceX Dragon,

• Which splashed down off the coast of Florida?

• It was good to see NASA astronaut Butch Wilmore,

• Boldly praising Jesus Christ during a CBS interview,