Jamesville Community Church
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Latest Sermon
Sermons are written in conversational style and include notes and directions to the preacher. Sermons are always better when heard rather than when read, but if you missed last week's, here it is:
“The Secret to a Happy Family” - (Mother's Day)
John 15:9-17
May 13, 2012 - 5 th Sunday of Easter
Psalm 98 :
O sing to the Lord a new song,
for he has done marvellous things.
His right hand and his holy arm
have gained him victory.
2 The Lord has made known his victory;
he has revealed his vindication in the sight of the nations.
3 He has remembered his steadfast love and faithfulness
to the house of Israel.
All the ends of the earth have seen
the victory of our God.
4 Make a joyful noise to the Lord , all the earth;
break forth into joyous song and sing praises.
5 Sing praises to the Lord with the lyre,
with the lyre and the sound of melody.
6 With trumpets and the sound of the horn
make a joyful noise before the King, the Lord .
7 Let the sea roar, and all that fills it;
the world and those who live in it.
8 Let the floods clap their hands;
let the hills sing together for joy
9 at the presence of the Lord , for he is coming
to judge the earth.
He will judge the world with righteousness,
and the peoples with equity.
John 15:9-17 :
9 As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love. 10 If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love. 11 I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete.
12 ‘This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. 13 No one has greater love than this, to lay down one's life for one's friends. 14 You are my friends if you do what I command you. 15 I do not call you servants * any longer, because the servant * does not know what the master is doing; but I have called you friends, because I have made known to you everything that I have heard from my Father. 16 You did not choose me but I chose you. And I appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask him in my name. 17 I am giving you these commands so that you may love one another.
The World's Hatred
Children : I want to talk about MY family - 2 great kids and wonderful wife. (picture) How about you?
Anyone here an ONLY child? How would you feel if I said: MY family is better, because WE have 2 kids and you only have one? It wouldn't be very nice.
Anyone live with Grandma or Grandpa? (MY family is better!)
Anyone have More than 2 kids? (Is MY family BETTER?)
Anyone live with just mom? Dad?
Mom sometimes and Dad sometimes?
BETTER? - No, just DIFFERENT.
What makes a family Better? LOVE
The rest of that stuff doesn't really Matter.
What Matters is that we Love one another.
A family was moving across the country…
And mom and dad decided to drive Both of their cars…
This presented a bit of a Dilemma for the 8 year-old-son, Nathan.
“What if we get SEPARATED ?” He wanted to know…
“We'll dive slowly. One car can follow the other.” Answered dad.
“But what if we DO get separated?” Nathan persisted…
“Well then…” his father joked…
“I guess we'll just never See each other again!”
(pause)
Nathan thought for a moment…
“Then I'M riding with MOM!”
(pause)
There's some TRUTH to that… isn't there? …
I know, at least in MY family…
Dad is usually 2 nd Choice… to Mom.
(pause)
I think it was Erma Bombeck who said:
“I'd like to be the Ideal mother…
“But I'm too Busy … Raising my Kids!”
(pause)
There's some Truth to that Also… isn't there.
(pause)
Happy Mother's day!
(pause)
In 1914… President Woodrow Wilson declared
Mother's Day an annual National Holiday
And he directed the Congress to designate the second Sunday of May as such…
A special day for quote:
“public expression of love and reverence for the mothers of America.”
(pause)
Ever since then… This has been a special day for MOTHERS...
But it has become MORE than that...
For today has become the quintessential Family day. (repeat)
And it can be a Lot to Live Up to…
(pause)
For us Older people… THIS is the Model:
Video of Ozzie and Harriet trailer
http://www.metacafe.com/watch/1708449/the_adventures_of_ozzie_harriet_promo/
(pause)
Ah… for the Good Old Days…
A dutiful stay-at-home mom…
With a Successful husband and two wonderful kids…
Whose problems were all a bit Humorous…
And could all be solved… in 30 minutes (including commercials).
(pause)
It's a lot to live up to…
But what if OUR Family… is NOT Ozzie and Harriet ? …
What if we have REAL problems…
That Can NOT be solved in 30 minutes… including commercials ?
(pause)
If YOU are feeling Bad because YOUR family is not
The Perfect Family…
Perhaps… some BIBLICAL Families… can help to put things into Perspective for you.
Take the very FIRST family in the Bible...
Adam and Eve and their children... (remember them?) ...
Cain... KILLED his brother Able.
Talk about Sibling Rivalry... And Family Dysfunction!
The very FIRST family in the Bible... had a Murder between siblings!
And it Didn't End There! …
Abraham Abandoned his Son and Mistress… in the Desert.
Lot… had incestuous relationships with his 2 daughters…
Then there is David and Bathsheba…
ADULTRY… and Murder again.
(pause)
If you are feeling bad because you don't have the quote: “PERFECT” family.
Just page through the BIBLE… and it soon becomes obvious…
That there is pretty much No Such Thing… in the Bible.
Families in the Bible... suffer through Infidelity... Abuse... and Abandonment...
There are Widows in the Bible... Orphans...
Polygamy…
Childless Couples... People who never marry... (JESUS never married)
Children who don't get along with their parents...
Parents who don't get along with their children.
Because friends... THAT'S LIFE…
THAT is what Family Life is REALLY like.
(pause)
Even MARY… the mother of Jesus…
(the Epitome of Motherhood – on this Mothers' Day) …
Even SHE had trouble getting it right.
Has anyone here… ever piled all of their kids into the family car…
And Driven OFF somewhere…
Only to realize Miles down the road…
That you have Left a Child Behind ?
Well… if you will remember… Mary and Joseph did that once with JESUS.
After a trip to Jerusalem…
Mary and Joseph and Jesus… and assorted Aunts and Uncles and Cousins…
All gathered together… for the Trip Home.
It was a whole DAY… before they noticed that JESUS was Missing!
(pause)
What could Mary and Joseph have been THINKING ?!!!
They knew Jesus was a Special Child…
How could they NOT count heads before they left ?...
And how could it take a Whole Day before they Noticed ?
Besides that… the Angel had told them… that this Jesus was the Son of God…
They had LOST the Son of GOD !!!
Certainly all of History would remember them as the WORST Parents of all time!
But no… Mary and Joseph were Good parents…
They were simply Human…
And made Mistakes… like the rest of us…
For NO family is Perfect.
(pause)
On top of all of this … Imperfection…
The very FABRIC of the family system… seems to be CHANGING.
The Divorce rate is UP…
Extended families… are in Decline…
Single Parents and Step Families are on the Rise…
Not to mention… Same Sex Marriage.
(pause)
But, you know… Families have ALWAYS been Changing.
In Old Testament days... it was seen as a BLESSING for a man to have MORE than one Wife...
POLIGAMY... was a Blessing from GOD! ...
CONCUBINES (Mistresses) were OK too...
SONS were of much more Value than Daughters...
And if a man died... it was his Brother's DUTY...
To Mary his Widow…
(even if he already Had a wife… or 2)
(pause)
Times have CHANGED...
But things haven't changed all That much...
Mothers and Fathers everywhere... STILL spend their lives trying to make for… a HAPPY FAMILY.
(pause)
But you know… the STRUCTURE of a Family…
Has NEVER been… what makes it Good…
It's not about the Number of Kids… OR parents…
Or if there Are any kids at All…
And it's not about who Works and who stays home.
CERTAINLY… it's not about what kind of SEX that people have.
House work… is NOT the Secret to a Happy Family
It's not about Cooking… or Cleaning….
And of course… it's not about Material things…
Houses and cars… computers and TV's don't necessarily make for a Good Family.
(pause)
So What IS it ? ...
What IS it ... that truly makes for a Good Family?
On this MOHERS' Day… Let's consider what it IS…
That makes a Family Happy.
(pause)
JESUS tells us... it is Simply to (as Corny as it sounds)...
“LOVE one another... as I have loved you.” (repeat)
“I have said these things to you” ... said Jesus... “so that my JOY may be in you, and that your JOY may be complete.”
(In other words… so that you will be HAPPY)
(pause)
Love one another as I have loved you … and you will have a Happy Family… Your Joy will be Complete.
(pause)
It seems NOT to Matter... what KIND of Family we have...
Jesus Said this to the people whom he considered to be HIS Family... His Disciples... a rag-tag group of Adopted fishermen, tax-collectors, housekeepers, and sinners.
THAT'S not an ORDINARY family...
But it doesn't Matter what KIND of Family we have...
So long as we LOVE one another...
THAT is the Secret... to a happy family…
That our “JOY… might be complete.”
(pause)
It may sound like an OVER simplification...
“Love one another... then you'll be Happy...
But Jesus didn't just say: “Love one another.”
Jesus said: “Love one another... as I have loved You.”
THAT… is a little more Difficult.
(pause)
So let's take a closer look at How JESUS loves...
For THAT is the secret to a Happy Family.
(pause)
Does Jesus Love us... because we are GOOD ?
Does Jesus Love us... because of our Physical Appearance ?
Does Jesus love MY mother more than he does YOUR mother?
No... Jesus love us... in SPITE of ourselves...
Even though we Complain and Whine...
Even though we would HURT Jesus... he still loves us...
Even though we would Deny our Savior...
Even though we would Nail him to a Cross and KILL him...
Jesus STILL Loves us.
(pause)
Jesus Loves... with a Sacrificial and an Unconditional Love...
This is MORE than just a Warm and Mushy Feeling...
Jesus gave his LIFE for us.
(pause)
No... a HAPPY family doesn't HAVE TO look like Ozzie and Harriet...
With a mother AND a father... who never fight...
With Kids who ALWAYS behave...
Who get straight A's in school and never get sick...
And grow up to be Doctors and professionals...
Don't forget the Grandparents who live around the corner and bake Pies for us every Sunday afternoon.
(pause)
No... we don't NEED all of that in order to have HAPPY families.
What we NEED... is to LOVE one another... in SPITE of ourselves...
In SPITE of the fights that mom and dad have...
In SPITE of the D's that our kids bring home from school...
In SPITE of our grown-up children who don't pay attention to us...
And In SPITE of our aging parents who Complain too much.
The Secret to a Happy family... IS simply:
To LOVE one another... even as JESUS loves us.
(pause)
Throughout history... parents have SACRIFICED... to make a Better life for their children...
And children, in turn...have taken care of their parents in their old age.
But recent studies have shown that a sizable portion of parents NOW put their OWN happiness before that of their children.
And GROWN children are returning the favor... By NOT caring for their aging parents.
SOME parents... actually coach their children...
To act CRAZY in school...
So that their children will be LABELED Disabled...
And the Parents will get MORE Welfare... for having a Disabled child.
Some Grown children... actually beat and abuse... and extort money... from their Aging parents.
(pause)
We have gone from the ME generation... to the GI'ME generation...
And we can't Understand why we are not Happy.
(pause)
JESUS TOLD us how to be HAPPY...
He told us the SECRET to Divine Joy...
In his words: “I have said these things to you so that my JOY may be in you, and that your Joy may be complete.” ...
So that you might be HAPPY.
What THINGS did Jesus Say to us ?:
“Abide in my love... If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love... This is my commandment, that you Love one another as I have loved you.”
THAT... is the Simple… Corny… Secret... to a Happy Family.
(pause)
I'd like to end with this Anonymous Rewriting of the Love Chapter (ch 13) from the book of 1 st Corinthians…
From the perspective of a Mother:
If I live in a house of spotless beauty with everything in its place,
But have not love, I am a housekeeper--not a homemaker.
If I have time for waxing, polishing, and decorative achievements,
but have not love, my children learn cleanliness - not godliness.
Love leaves the dust in search of a child's laugh.
Love smiles at the tiny fingerprints on a newly cleaned window.
Love wipes away the tears before it wipes up the spilled milk.
Love picks up the child before it picks up the toys.
Love is present through the trials.
Love reprimands, reproves, and is responsive.
Love crawls with the baby, walks with the toddler, runs with the child, then stands aside to let the youth walk into adulthood.
Love is the key that opens salvation's message to a child's heart.
Before I became a mother I took glory in my house of perfection.
Now I glory in God's perfection of my child.
As a mother, there is much I must teach my child, but the greatest of all is love. (Author Unknown – quoted in ESermons.com)
Happy Mother's Day. Amen.
Prayer : We pray, today, Lord... for FAMILIES everywhere. We pray for families of 20, and for families of ONE... For families with children and for families with Out children...
We pray for Extended families and Nuclear families... and Church families.
Families have many Faces, Lord... Help us, we pray... not to Value one type of family above another...
Rather, we pray that you would bless ALL our families with the Love of Christ... in who's name we pray. Amen.