MODELING THE MISSION

We trust today’s message encouraged and guided you in your journey of following Jesus. These notes are meant to help you remember and reflect on the message, help you go deeper into study on the subject, or be used for a sermon group discussion.

Sermon Title: MODELING THE MISSION

Main Scripture: DEUTERONOMY 6 and 11

If you’re going through this discussion with a community group this week consider taking the time to read the provided scripture to catch everyone up!

Summary:

Pastor Coon continues the Family Blueprint series by discussing the importance of families modeling the mission. He shares his own personal experience of a dysfunctional lifestyle and the changes God made to bring him to his calling as a Pastor. We learned that even in difficult times God works through parents and guardians to raise up the next generation of believers. Our children and the youth are watching, let us lead by example.

Notes:

Deuteronomy 6. Those things you see in this chapter that we should be doing and teaching are for what?

1. Family togetherness.
2. The development.
3. Children would know what to face.
4. Children would know what to live and be like.

Deuteronomy 11. The First 6 verses were about what their children didn’t know because they weren’t taught those things.
Verse seven said what they did see as parents

So here’s the question, what do you know about God and his work over the years? What have you seen and experienced? What have your children seen and heard through you? What have other seen and heard?

For what you know or what you don’t know, is what is being passed on to your children. Talk about what you are learning and experiencing in God. Let your children see and hear you apologize to one another, prefer one another, serve one another, etc.

Definition of atmosphere: it is “surrounding environment or influence”

What was modeled in our home growing up was what we learned as to how we should live our lives.
“Better caught than taught.”

Examples: The kind of music, the TV shows, the Bible in plain view, the Bible being seen read in front of us children, the subject of Jesus being discussed in the home, seeing mom and dad resolving conflicts which taught us how to have an argument and still get along, showing affection in front of us, not hearing a parent lie on a phone call, having devotions as a family, modeling chores being done in front of us, getting ready for church on a regular basis and looking forward to going.

This just mentions a few of the elements that make up an atmosphere or influence that impacts a child’s life. This doesn’t even include the philosophical or psychological aspects in the home.

This happened in our home

My parents were there. By that, I mean there in the moment. Present mentally, emotionally, not just physically.

There are three things a parent needs to know and pay attention to:

1. Children hear things.

2. They see things.

3. The hard one, they feel things, even when they are smiling and appear to be ok.

As parents, we need to evaluate our conduct in conversations to determine what our children may be feeling based on our behavior.

Now let’s go deeper. Again, as I am as a parent, so my children tend to become.

• My reactions

• My beliefs

• My expressed feelings. My attitudes.

• My overall lifestyle becomes my child’s understanding of life and God. Whether positive or negative.

• If I’m too stern, it can turn them off to God

• If I don’t live what I preach, it can confuse them.

• A father is the first representative of our heavenly father. How our children perceive their father makes a lasting imprint on their view of God.

MY PERSONAL EXAMPLE:

Here we go, my parents were dysfunctional in many ways, and had low self-worth and insecurities.

• Because I had grown up in it, I had become accustomed to the way they related and thought it was normal.

• Dysfunctional – thinking becomes pattern which becomes obstacles to seeing your life, clearly, causing you to jump to conclusions, assuming the worst and distorting the facts.

• Dysfunctional emotions – dysregulated they may react in an emotional exaggerative manner to environmental and interpersonal challenges. (Burst of anger, crying, accusing, passive-aggressive behavior, or by creating conflict)

  Dad spent a few years in a youth detention home incarcerated because of his street life in Detroit, Michigan. He spent 18 years in prison in Jackson, Michigan. 5, 5, 5, and then 3 years. 18 years total. He was considered a habitual criminal. Got saved his last three years in prison. I visited my dad as a child in prison.

• He came out a hard man. Harsh, controlling, his way or the highway, stubborn, and prideful because of insecurities.

  Guess where that harshness and influence impacted itself?? On us children.

• Mom was raised in a dysfunctional home and never went past seventh grade in junior high school. Her dad was stabbed to death in a bar fight and her mom was an alcoholic. It was a very unstable home, which created a lot of fear in her.

  Where do you think that dysfunctional lifestyle went?? To us children.

  One beautiful thing, and all this dysfunctional influence was that we knew we were loved.

Now, are you ready for how we could feel loved in the middle of the crippling influence in our home? God!

• Mom and Dad had a relationship with God. They pursued Him, read the Word, and prayed. They worked at obeying the word.

• Mom and Dad told us they loved us.

• They showed it – took care of our needs, did things with us, fishing, games, family activities

• Devotions

That’s where from prisoner to preacher took place. My dad was the prisoner and I had become the preacher. We wanted to write a book together entitled FROM PRISONER TO PREACHER.
The result of this dysfunction was that I grew up thinking I couldn’t do anything good enough in life.
I was riddled with low self-worth and insecurities.

As my parents grew in the Lord and I saw changes in their life and it helped me because of all those changes in our home they worked hard to raise us in the things of God. In other words, MY PARENTS WERE THERE IN THE MOMENT.

• Paying attention

• Going to church

• Helping the poor by even bringing the poor and needy into our home to live

• Working in the church through ministries

• Visiting nursing homes and homes of the sickly

• Having family devotions on a regular basis

• Home groups

• Prayer meetings

• Giving missionaries their brand new bikes for the mission field

• Giving their clothes away to the needy

Now, what do you think this influence with the overall atmosphere in our home did to me growing up?

Because my parents were there in the moment, modeling their relationship with God, and being missional, I learn to:

Grow up in the work of God in and out of our home. They made it a priority, and so it became a priority to me.

• I went to church

• I prayed and I had my own devotions beyond our family devotions

• Learn to go to church on a regular basis

• Went to church on Sunday morning, Sunday night, and Wednesday night prayer meetings during the week

• Would pick up the coat hangers…

• Pick up the seats in the sanctuary…

• Would go to nursing homes

• Would go door to door with our Sunday school director inviting kids to church and when they would pick them up

• Became an officer in our youth group and even the president at one time. And held planning meetings with the team.

• Was in the sanctuary choir

• Would work on projects in the church

• Was on the Bible quiz team in state competition

• Ran our high school Bible club before school started

• Witnessing at school

• I learn to be honest, hard worker, dependable, good character, and serve others.

• I wasn’t perfect but learning through mistakes and grew from what I learned.

Why was all this possible? It was because my parents were there in my life doing their best to raise us in the understanding of who God was.

With all the dysfunction in their lives, they grew and became Godly People

In the middle of my low self-worth and dysfunction, God showed me how much He loved me as I was, and changed my life.

This does not mean that everyone is called into the ministry but for me I was

The things He called me to do that I never thought I could, He made sure that I could

No doubt we had some hair-raising days in our home growing up, but we also had God!!

Close:

I close with God’s plan for your family

Ephesians & Colossians are sister books

Each book deals with the following:

1. The beginning chapters deal with the individual and how they should live.

2. Then it moves into the marriage relationship.

3. Then it moves into the conversation of family life.

4. Then into one’s vocational life.

Know what this is?? God’s divine order for life. If we are not walking in God’s divine order for life then our family can’t walk in divine order.

So parents where are we?

For me, thank God, my parents were there!!

Discussion:

• What did God use in this sermon to speak to your heart or situation?

• In what ways did this message help you understand the purpose of a missional family?

• What areas does your family struggle to be missional?

• What areas do you feel your family is succeeding in being missional?

• What other notes did you highlight or write down that you would like to share?

The most important decision you will ever make!

Are you ready to experience salvation and be transformed? We encourage you to process this decision with a strong believer and when you’re ready say a simple prayer like this from your heart: Dear God, I acknowledge and admit I have sinned. I see my need for Jesus Christ. I believe in Jesus as my Lord and Savior. I believe I am forgiven and cleansed of my sin by His death. I also believe I have eternal life because of His resurrection from the dead. I repent, I turn away from my old ways and I choose to live my life to worship you and follow Jesus, amen!

We would love to know if you made the decision to accept this wonderful gift from God. Let us know here.

Pray Together

We hoped you found this AFTER THE SERMON discussion helpful for your walk with Jesus. We pray you can find ways to apply it this week!