11/13/2020 - Family Friday

uh but uh today i know it's been a while uh since we've done this but uh today is uh family friday now family friday i know what our family fridays it's uh well how to apply our faith uh to to the family uh to marriage uh to parenting and how that application uh through the word of god uh gives us a new insight on how to proceed in the vocation that god has given to us so family friday um it's so important uh sorry i'm still coughing uh but it's so important that we uh continue to dwell upon uh the word of god and uh the catechism and and and to know full well that it all connects in a sense of how we continue to live move and have our being but also uh how to joyously serve which kind of coincides with our sunday text with the parable of the talents which i'm not going to talk about today but you'll probably hear it on sunday not probably you will lord willing if i'm there you will hear it on sunday but uh why don't we begin with a word of prayer visit oh lord the homes in which your people dwell and keep all harm in danger far from them grant that we may dwell together in peace under the protection of your holy angels sharing eternally in your blessings through jesus christ our lord most gracious god we give you thanks for the joy and blessings that you grant to husbands and wives assist them always by your grace that with true fidelity and steadfast love they may honor and keep your their marriage vows grow in love towards you and for each other and come at last to the eternal joys that you have promised through jesus christ our lord almighty god heavenly father you've blessed us with the joy and care of children give us calm strength and patient wisdom that as they grow in years we may teach them to love whatever is just and true and good following the example of our savior jesus christ our lord gracious father your son grew in wisdom and stature and in favor with god and all people bless guide and govern the children and young people of your church by your holy spirit that they may grow in grace and in the knowledge of your word grant that they may serve you well and usefully developing their talents not for their own sakes but to your glory and for the welfare of their neighbor protect and defend them from all danger and harm giving your holy angels charge over them through jesus christ our lord amen amen all right so today family friday parenting marriage what what are we going to talk about now as we parent uh and in our marriage uh i guess the question would be is uh do you recite and confess the apostles creed uh at home um do you do you confess this um in the morning do you confess this at night do you recite these words you know as you're doing the laundry or washing the dishes or are you are you meditating upon the meaning or do you see yourself doing that throughout the day and uh i think as i as i ask you that question it's i think the reason why i think you know for for me i know uh at night before the children sleep we always we always confess the apostles creed and as we confess it um it it definitely reminds us of uh of who is who is in charge uh who is above us who is caring for us um and uh this week um i think uh when we talk about family friday i really wanna delve into unity what that family unity is all about according to the apostles creed now i tell people all the time read your catechism it's not just some you know it's not just some recitation where we're robotically and mechanically reviewing no read your catechism because there you will find the jewels uh the treasure of of how to apply i always call it the spiritual rolodex right how to apply uh uh who we are into the vocation that god has called us to be and when we talk about family unity uh you know it's it's really we are quick we are very quick to kind of go down that path of um how what can we do right what what can we do to unify our family or how can we have better unity and oneness within our family uh uh through methods or or through you know or through stages or or you know what i'm talking about right steps uh if you just do these things your family will be better and and that's a very common thing i think if you go to your local bookstore you'll probably see the uh the the myriad of of books on how to have a better marriage or how to have a better family you know parenting in this millennial or this generation z age uh and they're all out there but what is according to the faith uh family unity and as we dwell upon the apostles creed it kind of dawned on me quickly that family unity is is passive right it's passive does that make sense like family unity is rooted in passiveness uh that at the end of the day it's not about us but it's about the one who has given us all things now i say this because when we talk about parenting or marriage a lot of times it's it can become very uh you know that tug of war that that uh you know uh who's doing better or who deserves this or because they did that they'll get this or because they didn't do that well then now we have a division and schism and we have conflict in the family now going back to the apostles creed uh i believe in god the father almighty maker of heaven and earth now when we say those words is where and i encourage you highly to do this to read your catechism and go over the explanations where there you will realize this psalm 139 it reads you form my inward parts you knitted me together in my mother's womb jeremiah 1 5 before i formed you in the womb i knew you now when we talk about i believe in god the father almighty maker of heaven and earth and we look at ourselves our own being right we thank the lord uh for all that he has done as he brought us into the world right when you start from that starting point knowing that in this life of faith that god has brought us into the world that by his creative power he he brought us into existence each and every one of us in all of our unique traits right and boy are we all unique right so when we talk about the just chew on the reality thank you lord for all that you have given me because without your creative power i wouldn't be here right so this is who this reminds us of uh the passive life that we have knowing that uh we praise god uh to whom all from from whom all blessings flow right and when that translates what is it as we look at that explanation i believe that god has made me and all creatures that he has given me my body and soul eyes and ears and all my members and my reason and all my senses and he still takes care of them next paragraph says he also gives me clothing shoes food and drink house and home wife and children and all that i have he richly and daily provides me all that i need to support this body in life see so when we say i believe in god the father almighty you've seen my catechism studies where i'm talking about the wavelength all the time it reminds us that well when i say those things it really puts that eye of faith in a sense of well god made me and god gave me all that i have including my spouse and lord willing my children right for those that have children but this is all part of god's creative power and there it reminds us as it says right here in the conclusion of the first article it says for all this it is my duty to think and pray servant obey him so for children for parents for married folks our response of faith right when we when we realize in this faith that everything comes from god it is our duty to think praise servant obey him it is out of that joy that we look at each other and say yes god has placed you in my life god by his creative power has put you in this world right uh and when i look at my own kids they're all unique in the in the best of ways right they're all unique but because god made them that way i i didn't control that right i didn't tell them what personality they're gonna have i didn't tell them uh uh uh what uh what talents they were gonna do i can't necessarily mold that right rather it is by their natural gift that god has formed them in the womb that you know they live move and have their being as well so when we talk about family unity and yes our flesh gets in the way time and time again our sinful nature right but the the dynamic there is when our flesh takes over we this this whole uh when we talk about our life of faith in the apostles creed it all has this cascading effect where it just all kind of falls falls to pieces as our uh not our passive life in christ who has given us all things when in fact our human nature takes over wants to be uh uh the head honcho and we live by our own fleshly eyes and soon enough when there is division when there's strife when there's disagreement among marriage folks or parenting and children um it's almost like we're trying to fight a battle right with human flesh but you know when we when we're in that conflict with the human flesh flesh on flesh it's just a gobbly group of of continued uh what's it uh continued conflict and never-ending uh oh good morning mary sorry i just finally saw that uh that that never-ending affliction right but when we go back and just you know as we're walking around the house or walking our dogs or or you know as we're sitting on the porch mary or or sitting in um you know having our cup of coffee this morning and we just dwell upon the apostles creed again earlier i said so important that you know what that means we don't just say these words from the apostles creed as if they're just what we do but rather this is what we believe and what we believe is that well god has given me all things and therefore when we speak of those around us it's in that life of faith that we think prays serve and obey him that unity comes knowing that god is the one who provides and gives us all things now are we sinful yes do we fall short yes do we fail to see and do we fail to give thanks and praise serving and obeying our lord yes and this is the constant battle right it's a constant battle for everyone on all sides whether you're married folks or the children uh children not listening to the adults adults not caring for the children it's all back to our understanding in this life of faith of apostles creed article one and for parents teach your children this right teach your children what this is all about when they come to church and say the apostles creed explain to them right explain to them what this all means and and um if you if you have if you have questions or or trouble explaining it you could always ask me i'm always here for you but you can always read your catechism and soon enough as this as the word illuminates your hearts and minds there you see through not your own fleshly eyes but through the life of faith through the word of god and there we have that passive unity in the family now when we do fall short second article of the creed and we're gonna i'm not gonna uh be too long today so don't uh don't think it's gonna be a while but uh um you know uh we we talked about the second article of decree that i believe in jesus christ you know his only son our lord who was conceived by the holy spirit born of the virgin mary suffered under pontius pilate was crucified died it was buried you descended to hell the third day who rose again from the dead right you send to the right hand of god to father almighty make her uh then she will come to judge sorry the living and the dead right so so the second article gets us back to when we do fall short in our duties right we go back to christ of course and what he has done for us that we are that we are uh lost and condemned people right that the lord redeemed us and purchased and won for us not by uh silva or gold but by his precious blood right again passive this is not something that that that you did or that we merited but it's rather christ's merits who has gained us did you see that it's all passive so when we talk about falling short to our neighbor yes we ask for forgiveness but that forgiveness is rooted in the passive gift that god has given to us by his grace in christ jesus and through his forgiveness we we we we know how to forgive joyously because christ forgave us first and that is where our unity is right beginning in the reconciliation that god has given to us through his son that we know what that true oneness is with god and in that oneness with god uh what does it say in the catechism uh why does jesus do this so that i may be his own and live under him in his kingdom and serve him in everlasting righteousness innocence and blessedness just as he is risen from the dead lives and reigns through all eternity this is most certainly true right so again because of what he has done for us we live the life of the redemption we live the life of forgiveness and in that great victory we are his own all by the passive uh all by the uh work of christ as we passively receive this gift as as we are are forgiven and we have the keys to eternal life and salvation is ours that now we serve in everlasting righteousness innocence and blessedness because the burden has been lifted the freedom of a christian uh is certainly free because we have been set free by the body and blood of jesus and therefore when we serve in everlasting righteousness the righteousness that is christ innocence covered by his blood and blessedness yes indeed the victory of this life in christ jesus family unity always begins in the passive for once when we start to take charge in a sense where we forgo god and the vocation that he has given to us and the understanding of the creative power and the redemption that he gives we soon face the flesh on flesh and i think for children as parents out there teach your children this uh painting the the faith picture of what is really happening it's not just you know rewiring things metaphorically of course our children aren't robots but it's not like we're just rewiring things hoping that everything comes together no we teach them right we teach them what is really going on who they are in christ who they are as god has created them and what this means for them as they continue to grow we talked about our prayers here right it says right there in one of our prayers that uh that you would use the children developing their talents not for their own sakes but to the glory and welfare of neighbor right even in their studies to show them this you are god's handy work ephesians 2 10 and there you go studying hard for the sake of your neighbor and for um in this love of christ as he has called you in these talents and vocation so again this is all passive right it all begins in the one outside of ourselves who who gives to us uh this uh this life of significance of great significance as we live under god's care and it begins in the apostles creed and you gotta know the apostles creed we don't just say this creatures because right it's not just like a perfunctory you know yeah we all say it on sunday no we should apply it what does this really mean go through your catechism and apply it in your marriage in parenting and soon you'll see your spouse in a different way it'll all be passive right god has given me this spouse to love and serve right you look at your children they might be unruly they might be stubborn as we are too right but it's not a moment of how do i deal with this but it's actually a moment of prayer and teaching and and showing the kids look this is what it's all about but it begins um it begins in that faith in a sense of how to apply the apostles creed um within the family right um no no worldly bookstore book will teach you this it's all rewiring it's all behavior modification it's all uh kind of these methodical steps uh according to the human flesh now for us uh we know that um there is the the spiritual reality the spiritual realm and soon enough you realize that it was never about you it's never about me but this is god right it's all it's all about what he has done and continues to do as he still takes care of us so family unity is passive and as we uh go through this today hopefully that was made clear to you if not i'm sorry but i tried uh but yeah it definitely changes your eyes of faith it definitely makes you see things differently in a sense of everything flows from our lord and through what he has done we continue under his name in his care to think praise serve and obey him and to live under his kingdom serving him in everlasting righteousness innocence and blessedness we're able to do that right we're able to do this in the life of faith as it really begins in what god has done for us this is the life of faith so remember that family unity is passive family unity is passive family unity is passive teach teach and teach pray pray and pray recite the creed with your children recite the creed with your spouse together and slow it down and meditate and chew upon the reality of what this means according to god's word and there you will look at all the things in your life as god has set them before you right loving and serving in his name all right all right why don't we uh why don't we pray uh when we close uh with the word of prayer almighty a most merciful god lord in all things grant us wisdom in this faith but bless our households bless our marriages lord uh grant us great joy in this gospel to love and serve according to your word lord if there is division in our lives we pray that you may reconcile us to those individuals bless us in your grace to see to rest in your body and blood for the forgiveness of our sins and grant to us uh the joy to love and serve in this life of faith bless our uh bless all those around us bless our children lead them and guide them and grant them faith to meet the days ahead and lord grant us your peace and unity lord for all these things who are thankful we pray this in jesus name amen amen all right well mary thank you for hanging in there god's blessings to you mary and everyone else hopefully my mic was working today check one two three check one two three i hope it was but if not i don't know what to tell you because it's just not working so uh have a blessed rest of the day love you all praying for you all uh make sure to watch us online on sunday for service 9 a.m live 10 30 a.m not recorded or anything but we will have service here at church uh and um communion hours of course 11 30 to 12 30 for those online viewers to come to church to get convenient so um so god bless you to this day and god bless your family and if you ever have any questions about this stuff just let me know and i'm here for you all right until next time pastor zhang faith lutheran church in sunny moore park california god bless you this day and may christ keep you as he leads you in his peace okay enough enough enough goodbye friends adios and have a wonderful day you

Channel: Faith Lutheran Church

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Keywords: lutheran, christian, sermon

Id: HGEaKiInwjA

Length: 24min 35sec (1475 seconds)

Published: Sat Nov 14 2020