Untitled Sermon

Hey everyone, during this crazy time, I want you to know that while we may not be able to gather together in person, that doesn’t mean that we can or will stop exploring God’s Word together! While schools are out of session, many people are home and can’t go to work, some are quarantined at home, I felt that this would be a great opportunity to start a series on Family. As you are cooped up at home with your family, and may be for an unforeseen amount of time, I hope that this series gets you thinking a little more about your family and how you can continue to grow closer to one another.

Now, I’m not sure about you and your family, but my family has always loved watching TV. It seems kinda funny but we often find ourselves watching other families on shows like Modern Family, This Is Us, Full House, or following other families like the Robertsons from Duck Dynasty. It’s always fun watching these families. What families do you watch on TV or online? Comment below and let us know!

The families that we watch on TV or in movies aren’t usually what we would classify as “normal.” And honestly that’s probably because “normal” doesn’t make for very good entertainment. We love the drama of watching the stories of not-so-normal families, but when it comes to our own families, odds are you might feel differently. Everyone feels differently about their family.

If you have what you would consider a not-so-normal family, there are probably times you wish your family looked more like other families, or acted more normal.

Or maybe your family is normal…for the most part, but a little quirky, and you love it and embrace it!

Or maybe you feel that your family is a little too normal, and you sometimes with they were more interesting, exciting, or just different.

Or maybe your family looks normal on the outside but there are some not-so-normal things about it that you don’t like to think about or talk about.

No matter what kind of family you have, I hope that you know that you and your family are loved by God and by us. No matter what you think about your family, no one truly has a “normal” family - and that’s okay!

So What? Why does it matter to God and to us?

No family is perfect. Not even those that seem “normal” on the outside. If you’re anything like me, I’m guessing there’s been a time or two in your life (maybe it’s even been this week!) that you’ve thought...

“My family is so dysfunctional.”

“My family doesn’t understand me.”

“I wish I had a different family.”

Again, no family is perfect. Every family has it’s quirks and things that make it unique. Every family has it’s struggles. My family growing up was (and even still is) sometimes kinda crazy. I always felt like my family was decently normal. I remember this one time in college that me and a few friends were talking about our families and I shared a little about mine. See, in my parent’s house, we love sweets, but more specifically chocolate. And chocolate is a precious commodity in that house, especially when we get near Easter time and the Cadbury eggs start coming out in stores. But we couldn’t just leave the chocolate in the pantry because it wasn’t safe. If I put some chocolate in there, I could almost guarantee that someone else in my family would scoop it up and eat it before I could. So we each began creating our own stashes and hiding spots in the house. So, if you were to tear through our house, you might find some chocolate in a few strange places.

This is a small example of a quirk that my family has. I always thought that it was a pretty normal thing, but when I shared it with people they thought it was bizarre. My point is that every family has it’s quirks. Every family is different and unique.

Genesis 2-3

And no matter how imperfect, abnormal, or dysfunctional you feel your family is, I have some good news. As crazy as it may sound to you, God can use your family to do great things. Maybe that sounds unlikely since you know your family, but some of the families we will talk about in this series will show you that. If God can use these families to do something great, then trust me - He can use your family too.

In the beginning, Adam and Eve were the first family. We learn that from the book of Genesis. God designed that first family to live a life of closeness and intimacy with God and with each other, but because of their actions, everything changed.

They lost: their innocence, the Garden of Eden, and the access to God they once took for granted.

They gained: shame, a new and more difficult life, and a cycle of sin that wouldn’t just impact them, but would impact all of mankind and the entire world.

Their family started out perfect. They were literally in paradise. And yet due to their actions, sin entered the world. But even after that happened, God didn’t leave them hopeless. He gave them hope and a promise when he foretold of the Messiah that He would send into the world to save it and restore it back to the way that God designed for it to be. Adam and Eve’s family definitely had their fair share of struggles don’t get me wrong, check out to see what I mean. But despite their mistakes and their struggles, God was able to bless all of creation through that family in the form of Jesus. See, God uses things in ways that we don’t often expect. He uses families to do great things, and he uses broken things to bring about amazing things.

Perhaps right now God is using this time to grow your family closer together. Perhaps right now your family can bless another family by providing some sense of hope in this time of crisis. I’d like to challenge you to see how your family can be a blessing to others even in this time of social isolation and separation.

I would encourage you to see this time together at home not as a prison or as a curse, but instead as a blessing. Use this time to play games together, laugh together, read Scripture together. God can use times like this to help our families grow closer together.

with so much hope and promise and joy, but their actions led to pain, loss, damaged relationships, and brokenness. But what was God’s response to all of this? God was disappointed for sure, and there were consequences for their actions, but God still took care of them. Despite their mistakes, God did not leave his family hopeless. He gave them the promise of a savior to come and return life back to the way that He had designed it. But until that day, they still had to leave the Garden of Eden.

Leaving the Garden was for sure difficult for Adam and Eve, but they had no option to stay. Once they had left, their relationship with God grew more distant because of their sin, but despite that, God never left or gave up on them. And just like Adam and Eve surely struggled when they were forced to leave the Garden of Eden, many families are struggling right now as people can’t be home or at work or at school. But God still has not left us hopeless even in this time. We still have the hope that remains. Our hope even now remains in God.

We have to continue during this time to trust in God that He holds the whole world in His hands. And more so that He can use this time of darkness and struggle for good. I would encourage you and your family to look at this time as a blessing that you get more time to spend together as a family. I would encourage you to focus on deepening your relationships right now. Playing games, talking, laughing, or reading Scripture together!

Leaving the Garden was for sure difficult for Adam and Eve, but they had no option to stay. Once they had left, their relationship with God grew more distant because of their sin, but despite that, God never left or gave up on them.

Leaving the Garden was for sure difficult for Adam and Eve, but they had no option to stay. Once they had left, their relationship with God grew more distant because of their sin, but despite that, God never left or gave up on them.

After leaving, Adam and Eve had two sons named Cain and Abel, but their story isn’t a happy one. Summarize .

Cain was so full of anger, hurt, and jealousy that he killed his own brother, and then lied to God about it.

Have you ever let the emotions get the best of you? It’s easy to do with our family members, isn’t it?

Cain let his emotions drive him to do something terrible. His choice led to consequences he would have to bear for the rest of his life.

So, look again at God’s response to Cain. It’s pretty similar to God’s response to Cain’s parents. God was grieved by Cain’s actions, and there were serious consequences, but God still took care of him, and Cain went on to build an entire city. Despite his mistakes, God didn’t leave Cain hopeless.

That’s how God’s relationship with humanity began. While this family’s story began with hope and promise in the Garden, it quickly became a story of failure, betrayal, jealousy, anger, and tragedy.

When a family has this kind of history, you might wonder...

What good can come from all of that? How do they return to “normal”? Can God actually use them now?

Throughout Scripture, you see a lot of genealogies.

I really love this passage from the book of Romans:

Romans 5:18–21 ESV

18 Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men. 19 For as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous. 20 Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, 21 so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

I love the part where it says “Where sin increased, grace increased all the more.” See, during this time, I’ll call it as it is, some families are struggling to be all cooped up together for so long. And even though it hasn’t been that long yet, you might already be tired of them. But I want to encourage you to look at this as a blessing. That through this time, you can use it to grow closer to your family. You can enjoy time together to play games, share laughs and struggles, and learn to appreciate one another even more. Just as God uses some not so typical families to do amazing things like bring Jesus into the world,