We Are Family

Brothers and sisters, last week we talked about being thankful for the things that we have, and for the life that we share. Well part of that life that we share is with family. AMEN

Now, by family I don’t necessarily mean family by some blood DNA, but family as “God’s Family”. If you really thought about it, you and I are as much the sons of God as Jesus himself. So it would seem, that “we are Family” AMEN

There was even a place in time right here in the U.S where fathers and mothers were lost, and kids were left without a family. Someone, would stand up and take care of that child or those kids, and love them as their own.

That’s probably where that old saying comes from that says “If you feed a child long enough they start to look just like you, they start to act like you.” In fact, if you didn’t tell people that some kids were not yours, they would never know.

Jesus says, I am the vine, you are the branches. If you draw your family tree and start from the beginning, well, you’ll find that “we are family”. AMEN

Matthew 12:50 states: For whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother.

However, this family, this GREAT BIG FAMILY of ours is becoming more comfortable with sin. We laugh at things that use to make us cry. We excuse the things that use to break our hearts. We see wrong and unjust actions, and we look away, probably saying, or thinking, that these are just a sign of the times.

Brothers and sisters that tree, that family tree, began as the family of God. However, there are fallen branches that have fallen for the Devils lie, and are now a part of the family of the Devil.

1 John 3:10 states: In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother.

Now, I’m not trying to say that “that tree”, “that family”, should be perfect, because no family is perfect, because we all fall short, and we all should continue to strive for what God intended.

However, we are family, but as with any family, as with any group, there will be issues. There will be grudges, selfishness, critics, distrust, lying, deceit, hurt, and they may turn their back on you as a Christian. Just as there is love within our bond, there will be hurt and pain.

But, Just as Jesus forgave, we as family have to learn to get past our issues and find that path to unity. AMEN

My message today is “We are Family”

Brothers and sisters, if you didn’t know, my wife and I have been married a long time, and we both have great big families. There are times of hurt and pain, times of love and greatness, times of happiness, times of plain old silliness, and sometimes just plain old embarrassment. OR so we think… AMEN

I ask you, my brothers and sisters to think back, think back to when you thought your family was embarrassing. And as you think back, let me tell you a story. AMEN

Well long time ago, my middle daughter thought her mom was embarrassing her. She used to get so embarrassed when her mom came to her games and each time she made a score or the team was doing something great, she would make a “Zena Warrior battle cry”, and everyone knew it was her mom. I’m almost sure that a thought went through her head that went something like this: “Oh Lord, Why Is My Moma Making That Noise? Why Can’t She Just Sit There And Cheer Like The Rest OF The Moms?”. AMEN

But now, when she talks about those times, when she thought she was embarrassed ……well…. it turns out that…… that “embarrassment” was one of hers, and her teammate’s fondest memories. MY LORD!

You see the other girls on the team remember that warrior cry her mom attempted with a smile. They say that whenever they heard her warrior cry, they knew they were gonna win that day.

You might even say, that her mom became there warrior mom, and that sound was the game’s winning sound. So, back in the day, when she use to get mad at her mom, now she’s rejoices every moment she was at those games.

That’s family brothers and sisters, and sometimes that embarrassment is actually a blessing. AMEN

Proverbs 31:26-27 states: She openeth her mouth with wisdom; and in her tongue is the law of kindness. She looketh well to the ways of her household, and eateth not the bread of idleness.