GIVE

Sermon Guide

God Comes Where’s He Wanted: Home

Teaching Text

Judges 6:11-14, 24-26

The angel of the Lord came and sat down under the oak in Ophrah that belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, where his son Gideon was threshing wheat in a winepress to keep it from the Midianites. When the angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon, he said, “The Lord is with you, mighty warrior.”

“Pardon me, my lord,” Gideon replied, “but if the Lord is with us, why has all this happened to us? Where are all his wonders that our ancestors told us about when they said, ‘Did not the Lord bring us up out of Egypt?’ But now the Lord has abandoned us and given us into the hand of Midian.”

The Lord turned to him and said, “Go in the strength you have and save Israel out of Midian’s hand. Am I not sending you?”

So Gideon built an altar to the Lord there and called it The Lord Is Peace. To this day it stands in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.

That same night the Lord said to him, “Take the second bull from your father’s herd, the one seven years old. Tear down your father’s altar to Baal and cut down the Asherah pole beside it. Then build a proper kind of altar to the Lord your God on the top of this height. Using the wood of the Asherah pole that you cut down, offer the second bull as a burnt offering.”

Sermon Recap

This Sunday, Pastor Keithen Schwahn continued our sermon series, God Comes Where He’s Wanted, with a teaching on the altar of the home, drawing from the story of Gideon in Judges 6 and the words of Jesus in Matthew 18. In a culture shaped by individualism and fear of commitment, Pastor Keithen challenged us to acknowledge the brokenness of the altar of the home in our culture, and to lean in and take responsibility for the next generation of youth in NYC.

Throughout Scripture, God works through families and calls His people to form a community that hosts His presence. Judges 6 marks a tragic turning point, where an entire generation grows up not knowing the Lord: a warning of what can happen when vision fades or intention is not matched with action. While we are beginning to see a reversal in the pattern of generational decline in the church, we must not grow complacent, but continue to cultivate holy urgency on behalf of future generations.

In Judges 6, Gideon begins in fear, anger, and cynicism, yet God restores his identity and invites him into partnership. Before God would move, the altars to Baal and Asherah had to be removed from the home. God desires fully integrated lives, not compartmentalized hearts that excuse idols. The idols of Gideon’s day mirror many of the modern idols that still find a place in our homes: wealth, power, sexuality, and personal comfort. God calls us to tear them down, no matter the cost.

In Matthew 18, we see how deeply Jesus values and fiercely protects the next generation. Pastor Keithen urged us to adopt the same posture and resolve to fight for the future of our church. Regardless of season of life or family structure, we are all invited to take responsibility by blessing young people, breaking generational cycles of sin and brokenness, and intentionally sharing the gospel with the next generation.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

  • How does your family describe what you were like as a child? Do you feel your personality has mostly stayed the same, or has it changed significantly over the years?

  • Ask someone in your group to read Matthew 18:1-7 aloud. Then ask the following questions:

    1. Are there any words or phrases Jesus uses that stand out to you in a new or fresh way?

    2. What do Jesus’ words reveal about the heart of the Father?

    3. How do Jesus’ words shape the way we should view young people in the church? What role are we being called to play in their lives?

  • 1. Which idols do you think are most likely to find their way onto the altar of your home in NYC? Wealth or power (Baal) or sexuality or personal comfort/“safety-ism” (Asherah)?

    2. How is God inviting you to respond to this teaching? Is He calling you to disciple young people, rethink how you view them in the church, break generational sin patterns, share the gospel with youth in your life, or adjust habits and priorities in your family?

  • Spend time praying over the season of life you are in, asking the Lord where He is calling you to invest in the next generation. Ask the Holy Spirit if there is a specific young person He is leading you to engage with more intentionally. Then, as time allows, share and pray over any additional requests within the group.