Disciples Take Their Faith Home

Well, good morning. If you were here last Sunday, I think those probably were the verses from last Sunday. So I'm really glad you guys got two doses of them. So I'm going to read through our sermon text this morning, which is second Timothy's 1 1 through 14, and it says from Paul an apostle of Christ Jesus by God's will to promote the promise of life that is in Christ Jesus the Tennessee my dear child grace mercy, and peace from God the father and Christ Jesus our lord. I'm grateful to God whom I serve with good conscience as my ancestors did. I constantly remember you in my prayers day and night. And when I remember your tears I long to see you so that I can fulfill be filled with happiness. I'm reminded of your authentic Faith which first live in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice, and I'm sure that this faith is also inside you. Because of this I'm reminding you to revive God's gift that is in you through the Wayne of my hands. God didn't give us a spirit that is coming. But one that is powerful loving and self-control. So don't be ashamed of the testimony about the Lord or of me his prisoner instead share the suffering for the good news. Depending on God's power. God is the one who saved and called us with a holy calling. This wasn't based on what we have done, but it is based on his own purpose and Grace that he gave us in Christ Jesus Before Time began now, his grace is revealed through the appearance of our savior Christ Jesus. He destroyed death and life and morality into clear Focus through the good news. I was appointed messenger and a possible future of this good news. This is also why my suffering the way I do but I'm not ashamed. I know the one whom I place my trust I'm convinced that God is powerful enough to protect what he has placed in my trust until that day. Hold on to the pattern and sound teachings that you have heard from me with the faith and love that are in Christ. Jesus protect. This good thing that has been placed in your Trice the Holy Spirit who lives in us, let us pray. Almighty God as we reflect upon your word. May you open our hearts and our minds to be more like you in Christ's name we pray. Amen.

Disciples take their faith home is a sermon this morning.

And we're going to talk a little bit about our Legacy. What is a legacy and so as you know, and I love history. I love any time. I can go on a vacation. I would love to just go to a museum and read and read. It's a it's a problem that I have. And so this past week we had one of those. Listening listening post at someone's house and our ice breaker was put something on a piece of paper that nobody else knows about you and it was with the widows and widowers of the congregation. So thank you for those that came out and two dots house. Thank you. And Richard for for hosting that and somebody put on there. They went skinny-dipping in the Swanee River. Which was great. I won't tell you who it is. You want to find out but the other person put that they love to do genealogy research. And so do I so we did that DNA test, you know, Amanda and I both and I'm really boring like 73% I'm from England and then Amanda here is all over the map. She's a lot more interesting than me and you could tell on the probably can't read it too. Well, but it says additional communities. That's all the agents so she can't deny her Cajun ISM from south Louisiana, but I love doing research on my family and for some people that's really boring but it tells a story for me from the simple farmers and my family I had a Uncle Bob and Uncle basil they were Iowa Farmers corn and soybeans. To my fourth grade grandfather that was a spy in the Revolutionary War, you know, and so all of that family has come down to where I am today. I inherit their struggles and their success and their Joys and their concerns and as we hear stories from our family members some of those that came before us when I was a teenager. I love to sit with my grandma Jo who passed away and I think 2015 And we would sit at her dining room table and I would hear stories of the family members that came before our family had a Photoshop and Roseville Illinois. And so we had this trunk of old photographs I dating back, you know over a hundred years and so you would hear how God bless these people and how God work through their lives as Christians. Are we going to have a story and I'll put these in the wrong order. So here we are. We have Jesus who dies and 3380 at least that's the perspective that I see the 30 or 33. And since 3380 we has the Christian church have had a legacy. And often we forget our Legacy, so we have all the apostles all the early church fathers who passed along to us what it means to be a Christian. And so this morning we're going to hear a little bit from Hall as he talks to Young Timothy. But we also want to talk about this morning how we as the church today can pass along the Christian Legacy to our children and grandchildren and my hope is to give you some practical ways in which we as the body of Christ can do that because for the church the reason why the church is still here is the passing along from generation to generation. So I'm an advocate for infant baptism and one of the reasons is and the early church when someone would come to know Christ as our Lord and savior. They baptize the entire family. It was a family Act. And so our first point this morning, we are called to teach Faith to the Next Generation you are word and deed. I'm grateful to God whom I serve with good conscience and my ancestor as my ancestors did. I constantly remember you in my prayers day and night. We already hear what Paul is doing. Paul is praying for young Timothy Day and Night. And when I remember your tears I long to see you so that you so that I can be filled with happiness. I reminded of your authentic thing which first live and your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice. And I'm sure that this faith is also inside of you because of this. I'm reminding you to revive God's gift that is in you through the laying on of my hands. God didn't give us a spirit. That is timid. The one that is powerful loving and self-control.

So what are some ways in which? We can pass along our faith to the Next Generation. I do kind of wonder where is the father in the story from Paul? You know, you look at the church today. It's one of the reasons I get so frustrated, I don't I don't know where everybody stands on this issue. But when We don't support women and Leadership of the church. Women have a vital role. I mean Jesus goes to the women first that the church in South America is growing that the largest church in the world is in Korea and it's all led by women and here we are Paul in the New Testament. Talking to Young Timothy and saying remember the faith that your mother and grandmother showed you. Women are vital in the role of the church. So the first thing is we have to be realistic. We have to read our bibles if we want to know and be close to God with a next-generation. We have to know the word our self and we have to be able to give that to our kids and grandkids and one simple way. Is sharing the stories of the Bible? when your kids and grandkids so I know you really can't see probably the at least I would my glasses the names underneath but this is called the big God story and when Amanda and I worked in children's ministry in St. Louis, we use this curriculum called true the big God story. And what it shows is is how God from Genesis to Revelation is the same God and how were a part of that story. And so I just encouraged us even if it's 15 minutes a day a week, whatever you need to do to start off. Teach the Bible to your kids and grandkids. Teach God's word. There's good stuff in there, right? We have to be realistic. Not all of us went to Seminary and that's okay and packed. I kind of struggle with that because sometimes it was Messi when I was a youth pastor, they would expect me to be the hired expert and they forgot and all I'm not jumping around they forgot that they were the primary disciplers other kids. Yeah, I went to Seminary, but I only see I might have only seen these kids 2 hours a week compared to 168 hours during the week. You are as parents grandparents great-grandparents. You have an insight into your family that I do not that Delilah does not and I just encourage you to be realistic to share God's word. We have to see family discipleship as a way of life and not a program. From 20 to $6 Us train children in the way, they should go and when they grow old they won't depart from it. No. I think again this goes back to reading our Bible. In the time of the Torah the Old Testament Jewish people knew the scriptures. They memorized the scriptures. And somehow as the church progressed. They said no the clergy will tell the lay people what the Bible says, right and we had this thing called the reformation and in the Bible was printed into English for the modern person. My point here is know your Bible. We have to know the scripture we have to be able to live into the scripture as I say here by a living example. And so don't know your bi but you have to know your Bible and you have to live by its words and get we're not going to be perfect. But it's not a program that you go to. It's not out curriculum that you're teaching. It's the way you live your life as a living example to your kids. I keep your work clothes in my heart so that I won't send edentia.

We have to keep God's word in our hearts. We have to know the Lord.

And we have to focus on Jesus.

Austin the church can become more or Christianity can become the place where we get moral correction right where we learn how to be good. People know if I'm not if maybe I'm alone in that. But for me when I was growing up, I was not Christians acting and behaving certain way and and that's what was more important. But really it's more than just good morals. It's about Jesus and what Jesus did for us and what Jesus did on that cross with Jesus there when he rose from the dead. And there's so many I'm trying not to the move ahead. There are so many movements within the church today that. Doesn't matter anymore. We have to teach our kids and grandkids that Jesus is the focus and faith. It's not about our good works. It's not about what we do. But again, I'm in agree with the Book of James here where when were Believers we do good deeds because of our faith. It's this balance trying to figure that out.

And we must be a guide. Not a general.

It's a job. Koreana II Peters for us chapter 1 verse 3 by his divine power. The Lord has given us everything we need for life and godliness through the knowledge of the one who called us by his own honor and Glory so as parents and grandparents. We have to be really careful that we are guiding our children to the knowledge of Jesus. We're not forcing it on them. We're not telling them, you know, you know what you had to go to church which I agree make them under church, but why? Not because that's what you're supposed to do know, but because we love the Lord we guide our children and grandchildren into the faith. If they have questions, give me crazy as a young kid in church when I would ask Sunday school teacher why and they would say well that's just the way it is anybody else have that and I despised it and I was really happy when my home Pastor got a pointed to our church and I could go ask him the hard questions and you know, what if you didn't know the answer to it, we would look it up together. We would explore the Bible together. That's just the type of guy who was we have to be willing to do that with our kids and grandkids.

Wikipedia angra So I am an advocate for education. I love to learn I continue to to learn. And I believe the best teaching comes from what we're learning when we when we give that to our kids and grandkids. So I learned something in class. I bring it to the pulpit and I hope to share it, right. If we are not feeding our knowledge of the Lord, how can we ever expect to feed our kids and grandkids? We have to be in the word of God all the time. You're my grandpa before he basically had dementia, but when I was growing up, he was an honoree old guy, you know, but he always it was in the word of God. He knew the Bible. In fact, you probably could quote much of it from cover to cover. It's his grandparents told him it was important. And when the rest of my family at one time became Mormons, he didn't convert to Mormonism. And because he knew the word of the lord, we have to feed our own minds our own hearts with the word of God. We have to be in the in the study of his word. I really want to see this church captivated by the word of God. I know we have a Sunday school program going on. I don't know if that's the answer if we need to grow that program if we need to have more small groups and people's homes, but we need to be studying his word for ourselves another original founders of a movement. They knew the word of God. The original founders of the church 2000 years ago new the word. Do we have to feed our growth?

You don't retire from your faith. You don't say I'm 65, 70 80 years old and I'm retired and I go back Amanda smiling because when I got into her family and I was talking to her papa one day and I said, you know, mr. Carroll. Why don't you go to church? And he says I'm retired. I don't have to go to church and he really meant that he really meant it and we can I really struggle with that but there are some people at a certain age you just retire your obligations are done and I really commit to those guys in the church who are like 70 and 80 who are crawling up and doing work around the church for trustees and Methodist men because that's hard work. You have shown your not retired from the church. So thank you, but no matter how old you are. Until the Lord calls you home. You have a job. You have a responsibility to the body of Christ.

We have to teach by example.

Titus 2:7 doesn't everyway offer yourself as a role model of good actions show integrity and seriousness. We have to do Faith with our actions not just our words very simple. We can't say we believe in Jesus and then get the car and curse everybody in front of us, especially in front of our kids and grandkids right and let me tell you that. I don't know how many of you are so birds so I apologize in advance. But when I live in West Palm in the snowbirds are coming to town and they will go 50 in a 65 mile-an-hour speed zone. I got really mad at my father especially tells me this every week. He is mad every time he's delivering mail on the snowbirds are slowing him down. But we have to shar pei through hours. We got to connect. Our kids and grandkids to a church. I don't care if it's a church. I don't care if it's another church in the community if they go off to college, they should be in some type of church or campus ministry. That's something that I am a big advocate for is campus ministry. We volunteer to the Wesley Foundation in Fort Myers. It was a wonderful experience when I was in Monroe. I supported that campus ministry in and it doesn't makes me so excited when I see some of my youth who are now in college who are at Wesley Foundation or campus ministry of some sort. It's exciting to see that their faith continues. We have to commit them. We have to connect them to a local church.

As we go on to the next few versus here. Faith is hard. And we can't be this honest about that. Because of this I'm reminding you to revive God's gift that is in you is Elaine on of my hands. That God didn't give us a spirit that is timid. The one that is powerful loving and self-control. So don't be ashamed of the testimony about the Lord or of me his prisoner. Instead share the suffering for the good news. Depending on God's power.

Bass is hard. And I'm going to just share this. Having a hard time reading it from up there, but this article from USA Today and it says I was a pastor when I nearly died by Suicide. Churches should look more like psych words.

Amazon top maybe it's time to pull the a group out of the basement and into the sanctuary. By including mental health struggles and regular conversations. We can fight the stigma that persist in many churches. This keeps us from telling a lie, when the church sign says come as you are and this is hitting me really hard. You know, I continue to see member of the clergy and staff members and churches. We had a 52 year old man with young kids this week. And on my home Conference of Louisiana commit suicide after there's a stigma in the church, and I'm just going to quote one of my colleagues here cuz I think he says it more better than I would he says we as clergy feel the need to show people we have her act together. This puts the shame same feeling on the members of the church in the same way. Aren't Christians people that you have to have it completely together. That's the image we give. Isn't the screening by the annual conference are talking about the mental evaluations. I do on us and a forest by the cabinet designed to weed out those who might have mental health issues. The whole system seems to scream and act like you have to have it together or fake it really well.

We as the body of Christ. have a problem here and And I believe what takes place is when we fake that were perfect that we have it all together. It is carried onto our kids and grandkids. I have had numerous Pastoral Care Counseling where people just taking up I can't be as faithful as my Grandma and Grandpa. I just can't do it. And yes, there are some people that I've met that are just Saints of the church that are wonderful men and women, but I can tell you even the Saints and had struggles have had hard times and so it's time for us to be open and honest with the next Generation on even though I'm a Christian. I struggle with XYZ my family. We had a different culture. You know, I grew up. I went to AA meetings with my parents. I'm with the island on I went to a Gamblers Anonymous. I went to all these different meetings. We have generational Addiction in our family. And so guess what we are open and honest with each other. A my dad am I made a mistake? They were honest about it. But not everybody has that environment and I'm not saying that's right or wrong. That's just what I grew up with.

But the point here from the scripture as I'm kind of focusing on the last verse that says instead share the suffering for the good news. Depending on God's power. We as the church have to be honest with the world around us. I helped bring a church at My Life Church on our campus called recovery sure to talk to that it maybe once or twice before and one of the things that I really loved about then was when you went to church on a Thursday night. It felt real the Mustang this doesn't but when you go into the church people were just open and honest with everything that was going on in their life then try to hide it and then again, I don't know what's going on in the lives of everyone in this church. But this should feel like a place that you could be supported loved and cared about. No matter what's going on in your life. You should be able to come here and be open and honest with people and and feel that the body of Christ is around you. But I am as a member of the of the clergy I continue to be sad that so many feel that they need to hide their struggles. I'm just be honest if I'm struggling in this way. I'm going to be open and honest.

We must share sound featuring kind of our last verse for this morning. Clemson versus 13 and 14 hold on to the pattern of sound teaching. That you have heard from me with the faith and love that are in Christ. Jesus protect. This good thing that has been placed in your trust the Holy Spirit who lives in US

Track out there. But the hard part of our history as a church in the 1700 when our church was being established in this church was established by Circuit Riders. We didn't have a book of what we believed. The first book that the Methodist Church Without was a hymnal. And it was based on bartoons. They took bar tunes and they created I have known and that was our thing of our views and beliefs of the church. We don't have a catechism know when the church merged in 1964 with the United brethren. We had a cataclysm and it's found in the book of discipline, which is our church book on what we believe. We don't really teach it. I'll talk confirmation for years and very seldom. Do we go to that part of the book? But we do have if we kind of wonder what what is Christianity all about we have really three Creed's but I believe are really simple this morning. We read the one called the mop and affirmation and for me that really talks about us bringing God came to the Earth. And again, I know this is hard to read but we have the Apostles Creed the Nicene Creed and the one that nobody likes to talk about the athanasian Creed Wesley didn't like the athanasian Creed because it's very blunt. It says if one does not believe in Jesus Christ where they go and Eternity. But we could turn to any three of these historic Creeds and we learned a few things we learned that Jesus is both Flash and both divine. You know how many churches and and movements today in the Christian church teach. That is not the case. How many people have said you know, Jesus really wasn't flesh. catalysis in this Creed that he was born of the Virgin Mary it tells us that he suffered under Pontius Pilate. It tells us that he rose from the dead that he fulfilled the Old Testament the Covenant. all of the basics of the Christian faith our kids and grandkids are going to be exposed to things that are not truly Christian and they have no training. How are they ever expected to know the difference? And Amanda and I for very committed to Christian education. We believe that we have to educate children from day one on what it means to be a Christian. So from birth to death. We are learning every single day. And it hurts me when I see Christians. Who are 80 or 90 years old? And have had no training and the Bible and Christianity is a whole. You know, I never will forget I had a I did a sermon series on the Apostles Creed like 4 weeks and I had a member come up to me and say so Jesus is God. Jesus is god let's and then they had to go to the pastor that came before me that was there 30 years and say as he preaching Christianity. I thought I was a heretic. Didn't know that Jesus was God. Maybe the church for 30 years. We have to educate our folks are people in the what the faith truly is. As Wesley and we kind of have this unique approach. God first fruits scripture Right and then we look at these three different layers. We have tradition of the church, which I my opinion comes second. Do we have reason and then we have experienced the reason this is important is nothing trumps the Bible. Not the scripture is first always and and we have personal feelings about stuff. I know we do but God gave us a brain. That's why it's important to have reason we come together with other believers when we look at the word together and we say, you know, what does this make sense? But we don't have New Revelations that take the rest of the Bible and throw it away. And then God gives us experience. God will speak to you. Is there something that you don't understand? He will speak to you need to pray to him and he will speak to you.

this morning kind of our take away is lick your face home. Don't leave it at church. The Christian you are here is a Christian you are at home at this Christian you are at work. And again, this might be everybody in this church may do exactly this and if so, that is incredible, but I can tell you I've been guilty of it. There was times I didn't take my faith to Seminary. Where I became an academic Adventure, right? And that's a lot of seminarians. Let me tell you you start digging into the word of God and dealing with history and and what people think it really questions. in your soul who God is we have to take our faith home. Ephesians 4 verses 4 through 12 through 15 for the work of serving and building up the body of Christ. So his purpose so God. Let's think about this. God gave us the church. On the on the 12 apostles he gave us the church. So his purpose the church was to equip God's people for the work of serving and building up the body of Christ.

Until we all reach Unity of faith and knowledge of God Son. Not to me. That's what matters we got 20,000 and nominations in the United States what really matters is that we have unity in the knowledge of God son to become mature adults. To be fully grown and measured by the standard of the bonus of Christ. As a result we aren't supposed to be in defense any longer. Who can be tossed and blown around by every wind that comes from teaching with deceitful scheming and the tricks people play deliberately mislead others instead by speaking the truth, but love let's grow in every way in the Christ. So our job as the church is to equip parents grandparents uncles aunts foster parents new ad on TV talking about all these foster kids that are in the system. Our job is the church is the equip all of these people to bring up the Next Generation and faith. We do this by taking our faith home today. We do this by knowing who Christ Us by living his word.

And being the example that he teaches us to be. This morning if we take anything away from this message that I know I've been long-winded on. It is to bring Faith bring the Christian faith. So this next generation of kids that need it. This next generation of grandkids that need you Grandma and Grandpa as Great Grandma and Grandpa the show them what faith in Christ is all about put Jesus first. Let us pray. Almighty God as we reflect on Paul's words this morning. Timothy's Grandma Lois and his mother Eunice God help us is the body of Christ be like them. three examples of authentic faith to the Next Generation How about you pass along a Christian Legacy?

I got us a a life that is built upon your words because we have put your words in our heart. Help us be better examples for all those we come in contact with.