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Are we "All in the Family"?

we have been given a new identity, a new family and we are a new creation…

If you are younger than 40 then most of you won't even know the reference or if you do won't understand the point about "All in the Family". "All in the Family" is an American sitcom that aired from 1971 to 1979. Created by Norman Lear, the show broke new ground by addressing controversial social issues with humor and candidness. It revolves around the lives of the Bunker family, a working-class household in Queens, New York.

This sitcom, however you feel about it, attempted to take on some of the most hard hitting social issues of the 1970's and however you may feel about how they attempted to do it - at least they were attempting to make a difference. I'm not suggesting that it was great TV, but it sure did make you cringe and it was in those cringe worthy moments that the truth was being protrayed on the TV set.

What's my point... well... it's complicated and it's not one that I have fully grasped at times. My point in all it's complicated implications is this: "We are ALL IN THE FAMILY" and we should probably try and figure out how to live as a family if we want to honor God and bring glory to His Church. Because if we fail at this, then what are we gathering together for?

N.T. Wright said: "I don’t possess very many suits of clothes, but there is one which I keep for best, which only comes out on the most special of occasions. That’s what being ‘holy’ means, from God’s point of view; it means that God has set people aside for special purposes; and the people in question are expected to co-operate with this."

CO-OPERATE WITH HIS PURPOSE

Much like the sitcom, we too stumble and bumble around trying to make a difference and in many ways we simply make the issue more difficult by trying to be funny or cute about it. It's in those cringe worthy moments in life that some of the most teachable moments show up. When we understand that we are created and prepared and equipped to show the world "Who" Jesus is - then we might just make a difference.

So how do we "Co-Operate" with God? How do I "Co-Operate" with God... For me, it begins today by understanding some hard hitting truths that most will find hard to handle. For most, it will sound crazy and out of touch, but for the follower of Jesus - you might just find that it's what has been missing for you for a long time.

#1: PREPARE FOR WORSHIP (Yes you need to prepare to worship! You need to set your mind right, your heart right and you need understand the moment in which you putting yourself). You won't be able to Archie your way through the day and expect everyone else to understand.

BE INTENTIONAL - Coming to church should be intentional and not just something we do. We should have the purpose of coming before God to give Him thanks, to ask for His help, to seek forgiveness, to celebrate victories… all of this is to be intentional. As the Psalmist declares, 'Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name' (Psalm 100:4).

BE IN A MINDSET OF PRAYER - We should always be ready to pray and to come before God - we should be humble, yet bold in our prayers. Pray for a spirit of unity and openness, remembering Jesus' words: 'For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them' (Matthew 18:20).

BE READY - EXPECTATION IS THE KEY - We should be ready for God to move in our hearts, our minds, and our SPIRIT… we should be aware of what the Spirit is saying to us - that means we need to listen, not just to the preacher, but to the Spirit. Be ready to serve, to be changed, to be challenged… following the challenge in Ecclesiastes 5:1 NIV: 'Guard your steps when you go to the house of God and the Ecclesiastes 5:1 NLT: As you enter the house of God, keep your ears open and your mouth shut. It is evil to make mindless offerings to God.

These and many others are some ways that we can make a difference in how we prepare for worship. Our worship should be an overflow of our time and understanding of God. Our worship should overflow from what God has poured into us. When we are intentional, prayerful, and ready - God may just show up and do somehting unexpected - something that you've been waiting for, for a long time.

#2 GUARD AGAINST SIN

BE INTENTIONAL… being mindful of the ways sin can creep into our hearts and lives. As Proverbs 4:23 instructs, 'Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.'

RESIST TEMPTATION… following the example of Jesus, who overcame the devil's schemes in the wilderness by declaring, 'It is written: "Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God"'

BE PREPARED TO RUN… Just like Joseph in the Old Testament, when sin shows up, don’t mess around with it… RUN FROM IT FAST.

BE ALERT… Remember the warning of 1 Peter 5:8, 'Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.' You think that you are living everyday free from temptation. You are not! Things are coming at you with the speed of light. They are moving in ways that you don't understand. Wake up and Stay Alert! Oh... by the way... Jesus is coming again... there is an urgency - even if we don't want to see it or think it is soon!

ASK FOR FORGIVENESS… Lean on the strength of the Spirit, for as Galatians 5:16 says, 'So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.' And when you stumble, remember the promise of 1 John 1:9: 'If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.'

#3 WE ARE BETTER TOGETHER.. THE VALUE OF COMMUNITY

LIVE IN UNITY & HARMONY… The Apostle Paul challenges us in Romans 12:10, Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other. We should let our actions within the community demonstrate the unity that Jesus prayed for in John 17:21, I pray that they will all be one, just as you and I are one—as you are in me, Father, and I am in you. And may they be in us so that the world will believe you sent me.

BUILD EACH OTHER UP… 1 Thessalonians 5:11 reminds us: 'So encourage each other and build each other up, just as you are already doing and in Galatians 6:2: Share each other’s burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ.

VALUE OTHERS MORE… In everything, act with humility and love, heeding the words of Philippians 2:3-4: 'Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.' By honoring God in community, you become a living witness of His grace and truth, showing the world what it means to belong to the body of Christ.

I'm not so sure my life would be same if I had not grown up with the impressions that TV families like the Bunkers, the Jeffersons, the Bradys, the Griffiths and maybe even the Bundys made on my life (good and bad). Never the less, I'm here and I'm thankful that I'm now part of another family - The family of God.

I'm thankful that Jesus loved me in my darkest moments and saw me for what I was - a child of God. I now have an "abba" that I can learn from, be disciplined by, call on, trust, know well and forever be chased after by. I have a family that is truly messy, but really isn't that what family is all about. Loving each other through the mess, in the mess and because of the mess.

We ALL have a chance to be "IN THE FAMILY"... join us at First Christian Church of Scottsburg this week if you are looking for a family that is OK with your mess and will love you enough to help you out of it - even if you don't what to hear the truth or the love.