Restoring the FamilyThe conclusion to our 18 week series on vocations

L This is the day which the Lord has made;

C let us rejoice and be glad in it.

L From the rising of the sun to its setting,

C the name of the Lord is to be praised.

L Return to the Lord, your God, for He is gracious and merciful,

C slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love, and repents of evil.

L Jesus said: If any man would come after Me,

C let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me.

L Christ was wounded for our transgressions.

C He was bruised for our iniquities.

L From the rising of the sun to its setting,

C the name of the Lord is to be praised.

C Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit;

as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.

The children of your servants shall dwell secure;    their offspring shall be established before you.18Let this be recorded for a generation to come,    so that a people yet to be created may praise the LORD:19 that he looked down from his holy height;    from heaven the LORD looked at the earth,20 to hear the groans of the prisoners,    to set free those who were doomed to die,21 that they may declare in Zion the name of the LORD,    and in Jerusalem his praise,22 when peoples gather together,    and kingdoms, to worship the LORD.

Psalm 102

The children of your servants shall dwell secure;    their offspring shall be established before you.23 He has broken my strength in midcourse;    he has shortened my days.24 “O my God,” I say, “take me not away    in the midst of my days—you whose years endure    throughout all generations!”25 Of old you laid the foundation of the earth,    and the heavens are the work of your hands.26 They will perish, but you will remain;    they will all wear out like a garment.You will change them like a robe, and they will pass away,27     but you are the same, and your years have no end.The children of your servants shall dwell secure;    their offspring shall be established before you.

L Blessed Lord, You have caused all Holy Scriptures to be written for our learning. Grant that we may so hear them, read, mark, learn, and take them to heart that, by the patience and comfort of Your holy Word, we may embrace and ever hold fast the blessed hope of everlasting life; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives on reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

C Amen.

Collect for the Word

1 Corinthians 7 Live as You Are Called

17 Only let each person lead the life that the Lord has assigned to him, and to which God has called him. This is my rule in all the churches. 18 Was anyone at the time of his call already circumcised? Let him not seek to remove the marks of circumcision. Was anyone at the time of his call uncircumcised? Let him not seek circumcision. 19 For neither circumcision counts for anything nor un-circumcision, but keeping the commandments of God. 20 Each one should remain in the condition in which he was called. 21 Were you a bondservant when called? Do not be concerned about it. (But if you can gain your freedom, avail yourself of the opportunity.) 22 For he who was called in the Lord as a bondservant is a freedman of the Lord. Likewise he who was free when called is a bondservant of Christ. 23 You were bought with a price; do not become bondservants of men. 24 So, brothers, in whatever condition each was called, there let him remain with God.

Luke 12Not Peace, but Division

49 “I came to cast fire on the earth, and would that it were already kindled! 50 I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how great is my distress until it is accomplished! 51 Do you think that I have come to give peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division. 52 For from now on in one house there will be five divided, three against two and two against three. 53 They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.”

C You shall have no other gods.

You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God.

Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.

Honor your father and your mother.

You shall not murder.

You shall not commit adultery.

You shall not steal.

Ten Commandments

You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.

You shall not covet your neighbor’s house.

You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.

Ten Commandments

CreedFirst Article

I believe in God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth.

Second Article And in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord,

who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,

born of the virgin Mary,

suffered under Pontius Pilate,

was crucified, died and was buried.

He descended into hell.

The third day He rose again from the dead.

He ascended into heaven

and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty.

From thence He will come to judge the living and the dead.

Third Article I believe in the Holy Spirit,

the holy Christian Church,

the communion of saints,

the forgiveness of sins,

the resurrection of the body,

and the life everlasting. Amen.

C Our Father who art in heaven,

hallowed be Thy name,

Thy kingdom come,

Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven;

give us this day our daily bread;

and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us;

and lead us not into temptation,

but deliver us from evil.

For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever. Amen.

Lord's Prayer

Sermon-Restoring the Family

Why are we having so many problems in our society today concerning marriage?

It is not 2 sides contending with each other, rather it is vast confusion on all sides.

Christians don’t know why we believe, only that it’s what we’ve always believed

Non-believers in our post-modern world believe there is no absolute truth, they are lead to believe in our senses alone and everything is permissible as long as it does not impede others’ quest for happiness.

We have no framework for addressing some very basic and urgent questions

Why get married before sex?

Why get married before having children?

Why stay together if we don’t love each other anymore?

Why can’t we each seek our own fulfillment/enjoyment as we see fit?

Family dysfunction leads to cultural dysfunction. Our culture is struggling to socialize the children

and transmitting values Christians are in a great position to set the family

right again To recover the meaning of marriage

To recover parenting skills

Cannot do this simply by imposing laws and following rules.

Transformation must start on the inside Romans 12:2

The gospel of Jesus Christ

Learning how that faith can be lived in love and service

The Family The Christian must remember, life is always about Jesus and the

gospel of forgiveness of sins through His atoning death and resurrection.

This is why Jesus can and does say that He came not bringing peace but a sword. Our world only wants peace, but the gospel is divisive, the Word cuts to joint and marrow, there are no fence sitters.

But! The gospel not only transforms lives, it can also transform families 1 Corinthians 7:16

Faith sees: Christ in marriage

The Father in parenthood

The Son in childhood

This world’s course of personal fulfillment is at odds with the corporate nature of marriage and parenthood.

Family is not a human construct, but rather a gift from God and He will defend those families with His power and presence.

The Family Wars Through History Premodern – Vocations of worker was closely tied to the

vocation of family What your father did (in and around the home) you grew up and

did. Joseph was a carpenter – Jesus would’ve grown up learning that

trade while Mary helped out around the home, possibly working as sewer, candle-maker, baker, etc… while also teaching and training the children.

Christianity did not change the external workings, but it did change the internal

The Roman families knew only the ‘absolute rule’ of the head of household – what he said was law.

Paul’s teachings on reciprocal duties (wives submit, husbands give themselves up, children obeying, fathers not provoking) was non-existent in the family culture.

Marriage rarely had to do with love, but rather were matches that benefitted the families

Romantic love flowed out of this which usually meant an adulterous relationship

It did not help that the church taught that “passionate love of a man’s own wife is adultery”

If a man can commit adultery with his own wife…why not go after someone he romantically loves?

The doctrine of marriage restored the spiritual significance of marriage and channeled romantic love into marriage. This is part of Luther’s legacy – introducing love as an essential element of marriage.

Notice…love is channeled in….romantic love does not MAKE marriage. Society has made marriage all about romantic love, but when this “drunken love intoxication

wears off, then comes the real marriage love”

However, society now says, “I don’t love you like I used to” is justification for divorce as is “I’m in love with someone else”

Building marriage upon romantic love with no sense of being called to this person no matter what is simply a foundation of sand.

It is not your love that sustains a marriage, but rather the marriage that sustains your love.

Modern Family Household and workplace are now separated.

The home became a place of refuge from the demands of work/world

Wife/Mother presided over the home, ensuring the morals and love

Woman became upset with their lack of involvement in the world

So, should women work outside the home?

Christian women are often torn over this question.

But…God’s calling to each individual is unique and personal

We consider:

1. Being a mother IS a vocation

a. Is work more important than raising the next generation of children? (I bet there is some psychology involved in a multitude of teachers being women)

b. Work, however, may be important for providing for the family and this is an act of serving.

2. We have multiple vocations – it isn’t a matter of “balancing” them or making rigid priorities – when vocations conflict, they are resolved by attending to the neighbor with the greatest need.

3. Modernity may have fragmented our lives, but Christian vocation can bring the faith into an otherwise meaningless world.

Postmodern Family We assume that truth, morality, and culture (family included) are all

nothing more than “constructions” that we need to deconstruct and reconstruct in a better way based upon what we know now (unlike the past which didn’t know any better).

Adolescence has been constructed – in past were married/adult by the age of 18, supporting family/household. Now they are still under parents house, considered children, lots of freedom – culture really aims at this 18-25 youth culture. The 1960’s gave rise to the youth culture of rebellion and premarital sex which now infest our popular music, TV, movies, video games, etc…

We now “long for” this state of perpetual adolescence, at the expense of mature relationships and responsibilities.

Marriage is no longer assumed to be necessary for sex/parenthood…all that remains for marriage is romantic love

Therefore, who are we to stop two people in love from marrying?

If marriage is a social construction, we can make it what we want, or even say it’s not necessary at all!

God’s design is not so easily thwarted

We worked hard during the Reformation to rightly give the state authority over marriage for marriage is not JUST for Christians therefore it has to do with the temporal affairs of the world for which God gave us government (Rom. 13) and rules.

The church’s business is proclaiming the gospel, not making laws for the state.

The church blesses weddings, but the license is issued by the state which regulates.

The Reformers wanted the church to have less political power and rule less than it had under the pope.

The state, however, does not have authority or the ability to overturn what God has ordained, therefore it does matter what laws are passed (King Canute)

God builds family, present in family and protects family…We don’t need to defend Him, we need Him to defend us!

Our compulsion to marry and have kids springs from God’s command

While many have abandoned the blessings on family, God is still blessing through family – giving gifts not because of our understanding or work but because He loves His Son and all who have been adopted through Him.

Restoration To Revive the family in culture we must first start with our own marriage,

parenthood and extended family. We must start viewing members of our families as gifts of God, even as masks of God.

This becomes the catalyst for the restoration of families in our culture…recovering the right doctrine of vocation – teaching it to children and throughout the church so that we Christians will understand how and where to live out our faith, making an impact through loving and serving. Transforming each individual with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

L In peace let us pray to the Lord:

C Lord, have mercy.

L For the gift of divine peace and of pardon, with all our heart and with all our mind, let us pray to the Lord:

C Lord, have mercy.

L For the holy Christian Church, here and scattered throughout the world, and for the proclamation of the Gospel and the calling of all to faith, let us pray to the Lord:

C Lord, have mercy.

Prayer

L For this nation, for our cities and communities, and for the common welfare of us all, let us pray to the Lord:

C Lord, have mercy.

L For seasonable weather and for the fruitfulness of the earth, let us pray to the Lord:

C Lord, have mercy.

L For those who labor, for those whose work is difficult or dangerous, and for all who travel, let us pray to the Lord:

C Lord, have mercy.

Prayer

L For all those in need, for the hungry and homeless, for the widowed and orphaned, and for all those in prison, let us pray to the Lord:

C Lord, have mercy.

L For the sick and dying and for all those who care for them, let us pray to the Lord:

C Lord, have mercy.

L Finally, for these and for all our needs of body and soul, let us pray to the Lord:

C Lord, have mercy. Christ, have mercy. Lord, have mercy.

Prayer

L O Lord God, You led Your ancient people through the wilderness and brought them to the promised land. Guide the people of Your Church that following our Savior we may walk through the wilderness of this world toward the glory of the world to come; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

C Amen.

Collect of the Day

C I thank You, my heavenly Father, through Jesus Christ, Your dear Son, that You have graciously kept me this day; and I pray that You would forgive me all my sins where I have done wrong, and graciously keep me this night. For into Your hands I commend myself, my body and soul, and all things. Let Your holy angel be with me, that the evil foe may have no power over me. Amen.

Evening Prayer

Blessing

L Let us bless the Lord.

C Thanks be to God.

P The almighty and merciful Lord, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, bless and preserve you.

C Amen.