Rev. David Holwick Y
First Baptist Church
Ledgewood, New Jersey
July 28, 1996
2 Timothy 1:1-7
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I. Is Christ in your home?
A. The faith of your family matters.
An issue of American Heritage Magazine last year contained an
interesting book review.
The book came about because the author's parents had died.
Cleaning out their home, Ian Frazier began to keep two files,
a Mom Museum and a Dad Museum.
He let the leads he found take him where they would, looking for
"a meaning that would defeat death."
Frazier realized that however closely he may feel himself linked
to his ancestors, they and he remain starkly different.
Take the matter of religion:
"I imagine myself in a grange hall full of ancestors - their
dark clothes, perhaps a woolly, smoky smell, their inward
demeanors.
I think conversation between me and them would be even more
strained than usual at family get-togethers.
My ancestors talked and wrote a lot more about God and Jesus
Christ than I do....
They approved of mirth but not 'dissolute mirth.'
They could be a tough audience.
In church, they often hummed when they liked what the preacher
was saying and sometimes hissed softly when they didn't....
"Compared to them, I suppose I am an infidel.
They might call me a Nothing-arian.
This was the name regular church-goers in the 1800's sometimes
applied to those who weren't."
Despite his own lack of faith, Frazier came to see the central
role religious faith played in the founding of the country.
He was led to a conclusion that seems as eloquent as it is
currently unfashionable:
"The people who founded the country came from a tradition of
thinking about God and man and about how people best should
live, a tradition more passionate then, than it became or
is today.
And if the founding words about freedom and justice and equality
were traduced the moment they came out of the speakers'
mouths, traduced by crimes against people unlike the
speakers themselves,
still no fact of history tells us we cannot believe the
aspiration." #3217
B. A nation of "Nothing-arians".
1) We could lose this generation.
a) According to Barna researchers, "Baby-busters" are
interested in spiritual matters, but dropping out
of church.
1> In young and affluent Aspen, Colorado, less than
17% of residents attend any church. #3412
b) Remember how you were brought up in church.
1> Do your children, grandchildren have same commitment?
2) I meet many who vaguely believe in Jesus.
a) Their religious commitment consists of spiritual thoughts,
not real prayer.
b) They are ignorant of Bible.
c) Their values are shaped by the world, not God.
d) Their beliefs are a hodgepodge of fads and fantasy.
3) Jesus demands a full commitment. Not a "taste."
a) A "smiggin" of religion will not save your family.
II. Put God first in your family.
A. Are your loved ones saved?
1) We need to talk to them.
a) Not just going to church with you, or believing in God,
but having a living faith.
2) Families should not be afraid to talk about God.
a) Especially of a personal nature.
b) Encourage a heart-felt commitment.
B. Strength during times of grief.
1) Mary McMurtrie's testimony:
First husband suffered terribly before he died, yet
did not express any faith until last few days.
Finally he said to his brother, "I'll see you in heaven."
Mary asked her husband, "Do you mean it?"
He was able to nod "yes."
Delbert, on other hand, has been very open about his
faith.
Several times he has said his heavenly books are in
order and once he told her he is "walking with Jesus."
You cannot imagine the comfort this has been for Mary.
2) Don't wait until it's too late.
3) Song "Will the Circle Be Unbroken?" reminds us of the
seriousness of salvation. 2 Tim 1:5
III. Develop spiritual habits in your family.
A. Families can do what Churches cannot.
"The facts show that it is the family which is the main center
of maintaining the religious spirit....
We cannot accept that blind and ignorant people raise their
children in their own image and deform them...
"We cannot and we shall not remain indifferent to the fate of
children on whom their parents -- fanatical believers -- in
reality commit an act of spiritual violence.
We are not indifferent to the fact that, in the Soviet society,
a family is a cell of communist education or a refuge of
backward conceptions."
These words were spoken in 1964 by one of Nikita Khrushchev's
chief deputies.
Khrushchev was reported in the West to be a liberal, but his
attitude toward Christians was worse than Stalin's.
He began an intense persecution that threw thousands of believers
in prison and closed almost all the churches.
Sunday Schools were outlawed.
Baptisms were forbidden to anyone under age 21.
How was the family passed on during this persecution?
The Christian families passed it on.
If Ledgewood Baptist was closed, and our Sunday School locked,
what would your family come to know about God?
#1513
B. Family devotions.
1) Personal.
a) Communion Covenant:
"We promise to maintain family and secret devotions."
b) Do you have personal devotions?
c) Daily Bible reading, prayer, meditation...
d) If you are not growing spiritually, how can you expect
your family to?
1> Share your insights with family members.
2> Pray regularly for them.
2) With spouse.
a) Not easy with alternate schedules, as many have.
b) Talk about spiritual matters.
c) Pray together. (It will make you closer!)
3) With kids.
a) Before bed, Sarah insists on prayer, a kiss, and a tuck in.
b) Grace before meals.
c) Christian books, videos.
C. Church should not be an afterthought.
1) Modern families face a smorgasbord of activities.
a) Commitment to church is harder now. Lots of competition.
b) Jesus' family was committed, and attended Passover
every year, though most didn't. Luke 2:41
c) Like any habit, the most benefit comes from consistency.
2) For families that are atomizing, church commitment can
connect us with ourselves and others.
IV. Have real faith, not canned variety.
A. Outward religion is not enough.
1) Many abandon faith because church doesn't seem genuine.
a) Parents may have been religious, but harsh and unloving.
b) Christianity becomes something you do, not something
you are.
2) Integrate your faith with real life.
B. Be real - don't make faith yucky.
1) Our family can tell when we really believe something and
when we are giving lip service.
2) Be conscious of our own sin.
a) Religion is easily manipulated to gain our own ends,
make us look good.
3) Weigh things from God's perspective.
From a "Calvin & Hobbes" cartoon a few years ago:
Calvin: Dad, can you get my ball out of the gutter again?
Dad: This is the third time this afternoon!
I thought I told you to play out back!
Calvin: Relax, Dad. It's just a ball in the gutter.
It's not as if I've been embezzling money or
killing people, right?
Aren't you glad I'm not stealing and murdering?
(Dad walks away. Calvin turns toward the reader.)
Calvin: I always have to help Dad establish the proper
context.
#2297
C. Exhibit Biblical virtues in your home.
1) Model forgiveness, truthfulness, faithfulness.
a) Don't just talk about it, show it.
b) The home is the hardest arena, but if we cannot live
our faith there, then our faith isn't genuine.
2) The greatest virtue is love.
John Stevens writes:
"Biblical love creates an environment of security in which
problems, differences, and mistakes can be worked
through and overcome.
It creates homes in which each member of the family knows
that whatever happens, acceptance, forgiveness, and
love will never be withheld from him or her."
#2338
a) Love them even when they deny faith, or you.
V. Divided families.
A. Few families will be wholly given to God. Matt 10:34
1) It can even cause great conflict, according to Jesus.
2) Divided families make great mission fields.
B. Paul says a Christian has a sanctifying effect on EVERY
relationship. 1 Cor 7:14
1) Godliness has real power.
2) Pray for them, set a good example. 1 Pet 3:1
3) Jeanne Stewart prayed 40 years, and Jim accepted Christ.
C. Godly grandparents have a special role. 2 Tim 1:5
1) Even if your kids stray from faith, you can have an impact
on grandkids.
2) Neighbor sent her grandson to our V.B.S.
He is not involved in a church, and yet was talking
about God all week long.
Neighbor was excited, and hoped her daughter would
get the hint.
3) Grandparents can influence, but not demand.
a) Nurture and concern are more effective.
b) Guilt works, too.
VI. From generation to generation.
A. Most of us have had some form of Christianity in our family
for centuries.
1) Is your faith stronger than theirs was?
2) Is your life more consistent?
B. No matter how strong their faith was, it cannot save us.
1) Only a personal commitment to Jesus can.
Copyright © 2024 by Rev. David Holwick
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