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Sermon Guide

Making Sense of Church
Week 4 | The Family

Teaching Text

John 1:12-13

Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God — children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.

Sermon Recap

This Sunday, Pastor Suzy Silk continued our sermon series, Making Sense of the Church, by unpacking the metaphor of the Church as the Family of God. Throughout the Bible, we see God making a way for mankind to be restored to relationship with Him, and that His pursuit is driven by a desire for a unified family of believers that will live in perfect union with Him and each other.

Pastor Suzy explained that as with any family, there are specific ways and qualifications to enter into God’s family, implications or benefits of being included, and expectations of actively participating. Entering into God’s family begins with receiving Jesus and confessing belief in His name. When we turn from self-directed living and follow Jesus’s ways, we are washed clean of our sins by His blood, reborn into new life through the Holy Spirit, and receive adoption into God's family from the Father. Pastor Suzy reminded us that through Jesus’ sacrificial death on humanity’s behalf, the invitation to become a child of God is available to everyone, no matter how they entered the world or how they have lived in it so far.

When we enter into God’s family, we receive the benefits of being counted as one of His children. Being born again in the Spirit gives us a new nature that is no longer dead in sin, but alive through Christ and attuned to God’s ways. We gain a new identity as God’s beloved children that belong to Him and with Him, unhindered access to the Father through the Holy Spirit living in us, and we get to share in Jesus’ inheritance of eternal life, being made holy as He is holy. Finally, we are not left alone, but receive a new family that is defined by faith in Christ instead of bloodlines or family of origins.

Once we are in God’s family, we are called to love God and love others in the family in specific ways. Loving God directly correlates to obeying Him and His good commands for our life. The life of Jesus teaches us what it looks like to obey the Father, and the Holy Spirit enables and leads us in living out God’s will for our lives. Loving others in the Family of God means embracing a new level of loyalty and responsibility over people as our siblings that exceeds even our biological family members. Caring for fellow believers is not a burden, but a blessing that we have the honor of participating in with the Lord.

All people have been created in God’s image and are able to enter into God’s family. The Church is called and enabled to function as a family by God’s choice, Jesus’ sacrifice, and the Holy Spirit’s power, and should be ready and willing to receive anyone and everyone who accepts God’s invitation to become His child.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

  • Who in your family has shown you significant, sacrifical care? Share with the group how this person's care for you has marked your life.

  • Ask someone in your group to read Romans 8:15-17 out loud. Then, ask the following questions:

    1. What words, images, or phrases stood out to you?

    2. What do these verses reveal about God?

    3. What do these verses show us about our identity as children of God?

LEAN IN | THE NINE DISTINCTIVES

Communitas

    • How would you describe the difference between community for comfort and community for growth/mission? Have you experienced a group of friends or believers that really pushed you closer to Jesus (share what that was like)?

    • In this group, what do you personally need to feel safe to open up? Conversely, what commitment from you will help build trust here? (For example: “I need confidentiality; and I commit to be honest and not hide.”) Discuss and perhaps draft a few agreed-upon values for your communitas.

    • Read Hebrews 3:12-13 and 10:24-25. What do these verses imply about the urgency and frequency of encouragement and accountability in Christian community? What dangers do they warn against if we don’t have communitas?

    • Are there any hesitations or fears you have about deeper accountability (such as confessing sins or being challenged)? Let’s talk about those openly. How can we cultivate both grace and truth so that this group isn’t about shaming but about freedom and growth (James 5:16)?

  • 1. John 3:6 says "Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit." What do you think it means to live in a Spirit-based identity, rather than an identity solely based in the flesh?

    2. What images or feelings come to mind when you think of God as your Father? What does Scripture teach about about what kind of a Father God is?

    3. Does loving God by obeying His commandments feel like a blessing or a burden to you? What does it look like for you to be led along by the Spirit into obedience, rather than striving to obey in your own strength?

    4. To love our siblings in the family of God means to care for them with loyalty and responsibility. What are the blessings of this kind of sacrificial love? What are the potential challenges?

  • Spend time as a group asking God for help to obey His commandments, and love our siblings in the family of God. Ask the Spirit if there is a specific commandment He is leading you to obey, or a specific person He is prompting you to care for more intentionally. Then, cover any prayer requests as time allows.

  • What is a shared mission or service that our group could undertake together in the next month or two? Brainstorm ideas (nothing is too small). How might engaging in that mission strengthen our bond as believers and friends?