Sharing Faith (1) - With Family

SHARING YOUR FAITH WITH YOUR FAMILY

Lessons from Jesus and His family – It’s Not Easy!

How hard is it to share our Christian faith with our family? What problems get in our way of being effective Christian witnesses to them?

A. They know your history

Matthew 13:54-58

Coming to his hometown, Jesus began teaching the people in their synagogue, and they were amazed. "Where did this man get this wisdom and these miraculous powers?" they asked. 

"Isn't this the carpenter's son? Isn't his mother's name Mary, and aren't his brothers James, Joseph, Simon and Judas? Aren't all his sisters with us? Where then did this man get all these things?" 

And they took offense at him. But Jesus said to them, "Only in his hometown and in his own house is a prophet without honor."  And he did not do many miracles there because of their lack of faith.

How does familiarity diminish the effectiveness of faith? How can we counter this?

B. They may take offense

 Matthew 10:34-38

"Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to turn " 'a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law-- a man's enemies will be the members of his own household.'

"Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; and anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me.”

How does our faith affect our loyalty to our family members? How does our church life impact our families?

C. They may think you are crazy

Mark 3:20-26

Then Jesus entered a house, and again a crowd gathered, so that he and his disciples were not even able to eat. When his family heard about this, they went to take charge of him, for they said, "He is out of his mind." 

And the teachers of the law who came down from Jerusalem said, "He is possessed by Beelzebub! By the prince of demons he is driving out demons." 

So Jesus called them and spoke to them in parables: "How can Satan drive out Satan? If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. If a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand. And if Satan opposes himself and is divided, he cannot stand; his end has come.”

Do our religious beliefs make us different from our families? How do our Christian principles differ from those of our relatives?

D. They may not understand you

John 7:1-6

After this, Jesus went around in Galilee, purposely staying away from Judea because the Jews there were waiting to take his life. But when the Jewish Feast of Tabernacles was near, Jesus' brothers said to him,

"You ought to leave here and go to Judea, so that your disciples may see the miracles you do. No one who wants to become a public figure acts in secret. Since you are doing these things, show yourself to the world." 

For even his own brothers did not believe in him. 

Therefore Jesus told them, "The right time for me has not yet come; for you any time is right. The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify that what it does is evil.”

How is our religious commitment viewed by our relatives? Is this a fair assessment of who we are as Christians?

E. Patience, perseverance, and prayer prevails

Acts 1:12-14

Then they returned to Jerusalem from the hill called the Mount of Olives, a Sabbath day's walk from the city. When they arrived, they went upstairs to the room where they were staying. Those present were Peter, John, James and Andrew; Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew; James son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James. They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers.

How has our faith positively impacted our families? What faith sharing opportunities do we invite them to?

F. Great Christian Leaders are first raised in the home

2 Timothy 1:3-7

I thank God, whom I serve, as my forefathers did, with a clear conscience, as night and day I constantly remember you in my prayers. Recalling your tears, I long to see you, so that I may be filled with joy. I have been reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also. For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands. For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline. 

How was your Christian faith shaped by your own family?

Any other questions?