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Andy Richmond

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Good morning and welcome to another week of church here at the Bridge. I am so glad that we can join together and worship this morning. It is the first Sunday after Christmas and I am so thankful this morning for the coming and celebration of Jesus entering into this world. This time of year is so often marked by family. It is a time of year that we celebrate with loved ones and family. One of the beautiful things about the idea of family is that it is a very fluid idea. Family is not as simple as a parent and children. Family is really about people bonded with a common point.

Bonded together

Family is bonded together in a lot of different ways. It can of course mean the traditional understanding. It can also be adoptive family, it could be aunts and uncles, grandparents, friends, co-workers, step parents etc. It is a term that we can use to create a lot of different interpretations and understandings. In fact the simple fact that we are all here in this room together makes us family. The common bond that we share this morning is the love of God and the desire to worship him. This Bond is deepened even further if we profess to believe in him and have come to faith as Christians.

Families are a great thing. I mean every family is absolutely perfect and we never have to worry about any trouble with family. Right?!

Family Unity

I remember growing up with my family and by brothers and sister. It was amazing we always got along with each other. We never fought one bit. Do you believe me?

Alright, the truth is that us four kids would often fight with each other as siblings often do. I would say that no one did more than me and my older brother Dan. Dan is two years older than me. Two boys close in age and growing up together we would often fight over a variety of things. I remember at times thinking i would never like my brother. How could i possibly like him as a brother or a friend. That is what defined a lot of our relationship growing up. Now though we get a long a lot better and my brother is my friend and i love my brother a lot. I am thankful for my brother and i look forward to seeing him. Family changed and dynamics changed over time.

Family though is important and is something we value. It is this love that we have for one another that had me thinking about this mornings passage.

Colossians 3:12–17 NIV

12 Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. 13 Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. 14 And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. 15 Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. 16 Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. 17 And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Belief Adopts us into the family

That first line is so important.

“Therefore, as God’s Chosen People”

This one statement from Paul is an important one because it helps us see that we are connected. This connection extends beyond biological borders and is the common thread that we share with each other in our belief of God. It is important to recognize that when we choose to believe that we are a part of the family of God.

Ephesians 2:19–20 NIV

19 Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, 20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone.

This passage helps us see that connection that we are a part of God’s people no matter where we come from we all belong t his household if we choose to believe. This is why i am always looking forward to Sunday because i get to see my family.

Family’s interact

Now i was looking for the right word to put on this slide for awhile because i wasn’t sure how i wanted to say this part. At first i wanted to put down family’s love each other. Than I paused because i thought that might be a little difficult for people. Than i thought we care about each other and i thought of similar problems. Then i thought well families interact with each other for better or worse we do interact with each other.

Think of my brother for a moment i shared earlier that we didn’t always get along but now our story has changed and we care about each other. The way we interact has changed through our lives. Yet, this isn’t the norm for everyone. Sometimes family interactions aren’t always a positive thing. It is always a struggle for us as humans that we have strange and at times difficult family dynamics.

As Christians though we are suppose to work to change how we approach the world and this in turn should affect how we interact with our family including all aspects of our family.

Colossians 3:12–14 NIV

Christian Family

Our Christian family and really in all aspects of our lives we are called to live out these couple of verses. We are called to teach each other with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. It always amazes me when i read passages like this because if i am honest this is a difficult task. These ideals we are called to as Christians when we deal with each other. Yet, we all know that many times we may fall short of this. We are reminded than the importance of the next verse which calls us to

Bear with Each other and Forgive.

Mistakes are going to happen people fall short we are called to forgive and live with each other even in spite of our short comings. This is the foundation of love that we share with each other through our relationship with God.

Christian Family Learns together

It is important to note that we are also called to learn together in our faith.

Colossians 3:16 NIV

16 Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts.

We are called to let the word of God to dwell among us to live in it richly. This is important for us to allow the message of Jesus to be a part of our lives and inform everything we do. I can’t emphasize this enough that the message of Christ, the Gospels and really the entire Word of God is something that we need to make a part of our lives and let it inform our lives each and every day. This can be a difficult thing for many of us if we are honest because we often find ourselves busy.

Yet, we are called to try and to pursue this goal. Not only are we to let it be a part of our lives but we are called to learn together. To engage the word to talk about it with each other and grow together as we explore what it means and how it impacts our lives. This does within the confines of a healthy family can sometimes be challenging and also grat opportunity for deeper growth as we work together to explore the word.

Conclusion

Often in our Christian life we talk about the things that we can’t do. We look at the faith in a negative light. We see things like limitations on living as a negative. Yet, here we have a passage that doesn’t limit us but calls us to a better way of living. I look at this list of things that we are called to and i have to say this are positive things and these are things that we should be working on. Though they are at times difficult to commit to they are important for us to adhere to. I can’t think of anything negative about the idea of loving, forgiving, caring, and growing together. These things are aspects that we gain as a part of the family of God and need to encourage more and more

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