Around the Table
Now that we’ve had a church family conversation around the communion table, let’s go back to the kitchen table. Jesus talks about the issues of marriage, divorce, sexuality, and singleness pretty rarely—about as often as we do at First Baptist. We covered a lot of material Sunday, and I encourage you to watch the sermon video, or download the podcast.
The most important conversations that we will have are around the kitchen table. In Acts 15, the early church provides one such model for those who are under our roof. They developed a compromise where people could abstain from promiscuity and participate in the fellowship and communion with the body of Christ. Paul continued to share the gospel the rest of the way in Acts and reached all kinds of people.
Each household needs to continue this conversation. For households with children, one way to talk about these matters is to watch movies together and to discuss them as a family at age-appropriate times. Talk about how Jesus changes your perspective and how it is the same or different from what they see on the screen. Great movies to spark this kind of discussion can be found in Michael Gurian’s “What Stories Does My Son Need?”
Second, talk about the characters in scripture—their struggles, God’s work, and his redemption. As much as David and Jonathan were models of friendship, David is not a model for Christian marriage and family relationships. He’s still called “a man after God’s own heart.” Scripture tells the whole story of people’s lives and challenges us to do the same. Share these stories with your family.
Third, if you desire to work on the needs of your own life, our pastoral staff are prepared to meet with any person privately and confidentially or refer any person to a pastoral counselor who can address specific issues.
I’ll see you Sunday as we celebrate First Love and follow the Great Commandment.