It has been said: ‘As the family goes, so does the nation…’ As the family is able to navigate changing times, as the family is able to thrive in the midst of crisis, so is the nation able to navigate uncertain times and thrive in changing circumstances. What could we conclude about the health and resilience of our nation as we look at families at this time? Some families are thriving as they find a new found purpose in rearing children into competent and confident adults who can overcome life's difficulties. Some are embracing the togetherness that this crisis has brought. Many are struggling as they fight to stay upright themselves on foundations that are shifting. Some families are living out the law of exposure which says that our minds absorb and our lives reflect that to which we are most frequently exposed, with frightening and destructive consequences. So how do we navigate the new terrain we find ourselves in and thrive as families change? How do we thrive through the changing stages of family life as we move from dependency to growing independency and everything in-between? Joshua gives us some insight today. He not only led a nation, but his own family though times of crisis, discovering the one that enables families to thrive in any crisis and change.
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THEME VERSE
But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.” Joshua 24:15b
REMEMBER THIS WEEK
In a world filled with options and choice, choose C every time. For the Creator, the Chief Cornerstone and Counsellor is the foundation that supports, empowers and enables thriving families through all the changes and crises of life.
FAITH TALK:
What is your family motto, or if you could choose a motto for your family, what would it be?
UP WORDS FROM THE SERMON:
But listen up. Let me give you a heads-up, because it won’t be easy to fire up. When God said that he’ll join us up, it won’t always add up, and you’ll need to buckle up. We all have hang ups, we all stuff up. When things begin to pile up, and you mess up, or foul up or muck it up, or there’s a blow up or a dust up, or a break up or crack up and you feel like giving up or going belly-up, or selling up, and you want to pack up and you’re fed up, and your life seems screwed up, and you feel cut up, or maybe a relationship has broken up, and your heart ices-up, and things foul up, and love dries up, you can’t speak up, and you want to throw up and sell up and pack up, and you think there’s no back up, and you want to even up, or cover up, don’t give up. Buck up. Cheer up. There is a back-up, or a pick-me-up, and a leg up, and a hand up. We will need a check-up, and be reassured that God shows up! He rolls up. And He will follow up! He wants your heart to soften up, for you to ‘fess up, and open up, so don't pass this up and be stuck up. God wants you to wake up, move up, and make up, and man up, and perk up, and grow up, and loosen up. God wants you to join up, and wise up, and pump up, and belt up, and cheer up, so you people, in your lives, lap-it-up, and fire up, and light up, and step up, and talk-it-up, so you can be filled up, to live-it-up,‘ cause God never lets up.
So here’s the lowdown. We have a God who comes down. He’s a God who comes to us. A God who comes down when we’re run-down, or there’s been a put-down, and helps us calm down, and makes sure we won’t be let down. If you’re down cast, he doesn’t look at the down side. The times we break down, or fall down, and our world turns up-side-down, and there’s a meltdown, and we need to shut-down, and go into lock-down, Jesus comes down. He’s the down load.