Paul
God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen
Holy Is The Lord God Almighty (We stand and lift up our hands)
O Come All Ye Faithful
15th of December is the kids big show
Christmas Eve we’re doing something a little different
Doing a joint service with Peninsula Community Church (the other church I lead worship at)
There will be a 5pm and a 7pm, I recommend the latter as the former is usually packed
First Sunday of Advent
Christmas isn’t something that sneaks up on us, we wait for it and anticipate it
Chris
Isaiah 2:1-5
Paul
O Come, O Come, Emmanuel
Beautiful Things with O Come, O Come Emmanuel riff at the end
Jon
…
Jesus entered a house. A crowd gathered again so that it was impossible for him and his followers even to eat. When his family heard what was happening, they came to take control of him. They were saying, “He’s out of his mind!”
His mother and brothers arrived. They stood outside and sent word to him, calling for him. A crowd was seated around him, and those sent to him said, “Look, your mother, brothers, and sisters are outside looking for you.” He replied, “Who is my mother? Who are my brothers?” Looking around at those seated around him in a circle, he said, “Look, here are my mother and my brothers. Whoever does God’s will is my brother, sister, and mother.”
Mark 3:20, 21, 31-35 CEB
Intercalation – story within a story
First century Jewish family
It means you are God’s chosen people, His chosen race
Connected to God, nation, and family
Also loyalty and reputation are big factors in the Jewish community
Family solidarity, the fact that you’re born into this, is sacred
If you’re faithful to the pillars of the Jewish community, you’re faithful to the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob
Kinship was the axis of the social world
Verses 34 and 35 are so shocking to His audience
He keeps tearing down the pillars that are so sacred to the Jewish community
Born in 1968, son of Ernie and Loretta, in Tulsa Oklahoma, then moved to Royal Oak Michigan (suburb of Detroit)
Woodlawn Church of God
Largest Protestant church
Grew up in the Christian sub cultures of the 70s and 80s
Dad was best friends with the Catholic priest and they hung out all the time
I grew up being “Ernie’s son”, I wasn’t just Jon
10 year old boys don’t know how to flirt, so I was making fun of a girl behind her back
And one of the elders caught me and said, “You’re the pastor’s son, you should know better, you should be ashamed of your behavior”
As parents, we know that our kids are a reflection of ourselves
Meltdown in the grocery store, and one reaction is that “Get it together kid, you’re making me look bad.”
There’s even an expectation of college kids leaving at 18 so that they can start to understand who they are
But first century Jewish families never moved away!
So Jesus changing who His family is is a big deal
In Mark chapter 1, He’s calling people away from their families, naming them, renames them, gives them a new identity, and takes them up the mountain
Playing little League for Ed Sullivan and Son, the local funeral home
One season we went 1 and 15
We laughed it off and just didn’t dedicate ourselves to the name
Okay, we’ll own it, we suck, laugh it off
New coach Emmett Smith
He didn’t just name us as World Series champions, he committed to helping us
That year we made it to the World Series, but we didn’t win, but we celebrated our development as players and how Emmett had helped transformed us
We’re followers of Jesus! That means a lot!
The things I do and say represent Him
I want to be obedient out of pure love and pure motivation
Follow Me and you will experience healing
Looking back at v. 20 we see that the intention of Jesus’ mother and brothers is like political detainment
Loyalty to the family equaled loyalty to the God of Abraham, isaac, and Jacob
Think about how empowering it would be to have God in the flesh say “You are My mother, My brother, My sister.”
I’ve gone to other places in the world and felt a deep connection with other brothers and sisters in Christ
I’m no longer just the son of Ernie
I don’t see Jesus rejected His blood
I see Him inviting everyone to be a part of it
For My sake, lose it. Serve.
Sometimes I replace kingdom of God with kinship of God
Become a part of His family
Come to the table tonight when you’re ready, partake of the body and the blood