You Belong in the Family

This weekend at Eastbrook Church we began a new four-week series entitled “Family Portrait.”

My message this weekend focused on understanding God’s people as a family adopted as children of God through Jesus Christ. I built the message chiefly around Matthew 12:46-50, Galatians 3:26-29 and Revelation 7:9-10.

You can listen to my message at the Eastbrook web-site here. You can also follow the RSS feed for Eastbrook sermons or follow Eastbrook Church on Twitter or Facebook. The message outline is included below:

Family Beginnings

• Family at creation (Genesis 4)
• Family in Torah (Deuteronomy 6:6-9)
• Family: a calling from God, not merely self-fulfillment or a moral expectation

Jesus’ Radical Family (Matthew 12:46-50)

• Jesus’ physical family
• Jesus’ radical opening of the definition of family
• Jesus’ family and the will of God
• Family: a community of those who do the will of God

The Early Church as a Family

• Paul and singleness (1 Corinthians 7:1-16)
• The expectation of intergenerational community (1 Timothy 5:1-16;
• The radical opening through Jesus (Galatians 3:26-29)
• Family: those adopted by God through Jesus Christ

God’s Multi-Everything Family (Revelation 7:9-10)

• The radical welcome of God’s family
• The diversity of God’s family
• Family: a multi-everything expression of God’s mission in Jesus Christ