WEBVTT 00:00:00.160 --> 00:00:02.160 Well, happy Sunday from my family room. 00:00:02.240 --> 00:00:07.120 If you didn't pick up during the greeting, we are in my family room in my house. 00:00:07.360 --> 00:00:14.960 And the reason why we're in here is because this morning and the next couple Sundays are almost like family chats, like church family chats. 00:00:15.199 --> 00:00:17.920 This week I'll speak from Galatians 5. 00:00:18.079 --> 00:00:24.879 Next Sunday, Pastor Scotty Smith will speak from Galatians 5 again to us as a church family. 00:00:25.839 --> 00:00:28.640 Now, this room behind me, this is our family room. 00:00:28.800 --> 00:00:30.000 This is where it all happens. 00:00:30.079 --> 00:00:34.799 I mean, this is the rug that my children sit on and they watch movies and they spill food all over the place. 00:00:34.960 --> 00:00:38.479 This is the rug they practice all their cartwheels and their back bins. 00:00:39.359 --> 00:00:40.880 I lay on the couch behind me. 00:00:40.960 --> 00:00:42.159 I watch too much television. 00:00:42.320 --> 00:00:43.039 I love television. 00:00:43.280 --> 00:00:50.079 While I watch television, Christy sits in the chair just over that way, and she falls asleep while I watch TV. 00:00:50.960 --> 00:00:52.399 And this is our family room. 00:00:52.479 --> 00:00:54.560 This is where we are a family. 00:00:54.719 --> 00:01:15.840 And so I wanted us to be in this room this morning as we talk about what does it mean for us to be a united, loving family of faith in this season, where this season has us in a place where society's reopening and there's different filters and views and behaviors that all of us are practicing? 00:01:16.799 --> 00:01:18.159 What are the implications? 00:01:18.319 --> 00:01:19.120 Here are the questions. 00:01:19.280 --> 00:01:25.120 What are the implications of the gospel as our society reopens and we all make different decisions? 00:01:26.319 --> 00:01:32.079 What does faith expressing itself in love look like today? 00:01:33.439 --> 00:01:38.159 So Galatians 5, verse 6 and verses 13 and 14. 00:01:38.640 --> 00:01:48.480 For in Christ Jesus, neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love. 00:01:49.120 --> 00:01:50.079 Verse 13. 00:01:50.319 --> 00:01:52.319 For you were called to freedom, brothers. 00:01:52.480 --> 00:01:55.359 And we say, brothers and sisters, you were called to freedom. 00:01:55.599 --> 00:02:02.799 Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. 00:02:03.200 --> 00:02:05.599 For the whole law is fulfilled in one word. 00:02:05.760 --> 00:02:09.919 So if you want to know what you're supposed to do as a Christian, the whole law is right here. 00:02:10.240 --> 00:02:14.080 You shall love your neighbor as yourself. 00:02:14.960 --> 00:02:16.879 This is always an amazing passage. 00:02:17.039 --> 00:02:18.159 You probably heard it before. 00:02:18.240 --> 00:02:19.120 It's an amazing book. 00:02:19.199 --> 00:02:31.680 This letter of Galatians, Paul writes to this church is struggling with this difficult thing because a group of them had received the gospel, this one-way love from God to us in Jesus, where in the work of Jesus all of our sin is forgiven. 00:02:31.919 --> 00:02:33.680 We are given his righteousness. 00:02:33.840 --> 00:02:37.439 That is the work of the cross, and our status is secure with him. 00:02:37.680 --> 00:02:42.960 And then this group within that church, this group says, you know, let's add performance back into that equation. 00:02:43.120 --> 00:02:47.280 We really do need to perform and fulfill certain laws in order to be right with God. 00:02:47.439 --> 00:02:54.800 And so there's this division, and Paul is writing this letter to these people to ground them in the freedom they have in the gospel. 00:02:54.879 --> 00:03:00.639 And by the end, by chapter five, Paul's saying, hey, what are the implications of that freedom? 00:03:01.759 --> 00:03:15.280 And so I want to share with you what I think are four implications for us, Redeemer Marietta, of our freedom in the gospel to be a united, loving family of faith in this season. 00:03:15.439 --> 00:03:19.120 Number one is this to start out by just saying, we're a family of faith. 00:03:19.199 --> 00:03:21.680 That's what we are as the church. 00:03:21.919 --> 00:03:23.520 We are a family of faith. 00:03:23.680 --> 00:03:36.639 There's times in the room behind me where I sit in the chair right here, our land the couches in my two spots, and I hold the remote control, and I am king of the room, and I'm basically deciding between what nerdy fishing show to watch. 00:03:36.800 --> 00:03:40.639 Now, those are times where I'm in the room by myself. 00:03:40.800 --> 00:03:41.759 You guessed it, right? 00:03:41.840 --> 00:03:48.400 Because if anybody else is in the room, if Christy's in the room with me, or the girls are in the room, that is not what's going on. 00:03:48.479 --> 00:03:49.840 They will not put up with that. 00:03:50.000 --> 00:03:57.439 So my individual and personal desire has to yield to the communal or the family desire. 00:03:58.400 --> 00:04:01.680 And this is what we see happen over and over again, right? 00:04:01.759 --> 00:04:14.000 And this is what's going on right now for us is there is a shift from individual consideration to family or communal consideration. 00:04:15.039 --> 00:04:22.560 Many of us in the last two months, we've we've been living so isolated that we've had to give little thought to communal behavior. 00:04:22.639 --> 00:04:34.480 Really, I mean, outside of maybe like we go to Kroger and we don't know most of these people, but when we're starting to come into actual community and family of faith, this is a different level of consideration of the other. 00:04:37.120 --> 00:04:39.279 We're not the lone wolf anymore. 00:04:39.600 --> 00:04:42.399 Our family isn't the isolated island. 00:04:43.680 --> 00:04:48.480 We exist, I know it doesn't feel like it, it hadn't felt like it for a couple months. 00:04:48.639 --> 00:04:51.600 We exist as a family of faith, as a community. 00:04:51.839 --> 00:04:56.160 And that means that we exercise our freedom for the good. 00:04:56.319 --> 00:05:01.120 We exercise our freedom for unity, we exercise our freedom to love the other. 00:05:01.360 --> 00:05:03.920 So that's the first, just starting out, we're a family of faith. 00:05:04.079 --> 00:05:08.079 Number two, we get to view interruptions as invitations. 00:05:08.240 --> 00:05:11.120 That's what this room's all about, viewing interruptions as invitations. 00:05:11.199 --> 00:05:13.680 I mean, forget taking a nap on that couch. 00:05:13.920 --> 00:05:26.560 As soon as you fall asleep, I mean, there is a daughter busting through that front door, performing a cartwheel, thinking you wanted to see it while you're taking a nap, or the UPS man knocking on the door, letting me know there's a package there, right? 00:05:26.720 --> 00:05:28.160 I mean, the dog starts to bark. 00:05:28.240 --> 00:05:30.720 It's interruption after interruption, right? 00:05:30.800 --> 00:05:35.199 It can drive you crazy, but every interruption does invite you into something. 00:05:35.279 --> 00:05:37.680 The UPS man saying, hey, there's a package out here. 00:05:37.759 --> 00:05:39.920 I'm inviting you into the to come get this package. 00:05:40.079 --> 00:05:42.959 My daughter's inviting me into whatever playfulness she has. 00:05:43.120 --> 00:05:46.079 My dog is inviting me with that bark to say, what's outside? 00:05:46.160 --> 00:05:47.439 Maybe you need to take a look. 00:05:47.600 --> 00:05:50.639 Every interruption is an invitation. 00:05:50.879 --> 00:06:01.120 These Galatians did not plan on having a segment of their people forming this new belief or reverting back to this old belief of their need of law and performance. 00:06:01.519 --> 00:06:03.279 But they had to deal with it. 00:06:04.079 --> 00:06:27.759 And it became an invitation in a way because out of that they received this letter, this amazing letter that has grounded Christian faith for so long about the lavish love of God, the freedom we have in Jesus, and what that freedom causes inside of our hearts to have a free heart that can love another person without needing that other person to justify us. 00:06:30.000 --> 00:06:31.759 Interruptions are invitations. 00:06:31.920 --> 00:06:34.959 I know your spring got interrupted. 00:06:35.920 --> 00:06:38.000 You had plans and they didn't happen. 00:06:38.480 --> 00:06:41.040 But I wonder what you were invited into. 00:06:42.319 --> 00:06:46.240 And I I know your summer, some stuff has been interrupted, hasn't it? 00:06:47.519 --> 00:06:51.519 You had certain plans, and maybe even your fall has been interrupted. 00:06:52.319 --> 00:07:04.079 I I certainly didn't plan on preaching in my family room, and I didn't plan on walking the rows of our empty sanctuary during worship over and over again. 00:07:05.519 --> 00:07:08.399 But interruptions are invitations into something. 00:07:08.800 --> 00:07:11.199 And I wonder what it has been for you. 00:07:11.279 --> 00:07:14.240 I I wonder what it's gonna be for our church. 00:07:14.399 --> 00:07:23.680 My thought is it's gonna be a deeper and greater appreciation of community and gathering and worship than we've ever had before. 00:07:24.879 --> 00:07:32.160 Point number three is this we receive the lavish love of God and lavishly we give the love of God. 00:07:32.399 --> 00:07:34.879 We receive love and we give love. 00:07:36.160 --> 00:07:39.439 So the room behind me, this is where we do our family meetings. 00:07:39.600 --> 00:07:43.040 I feel like we have a family meeting probably every three months. 00:07:43.199 --> 00:07:48.959 We're not big family meeting people, it's more like once we hit a point of crisis and breakdown, we'll have a family meeting. 00:07:49.120 --> 00:07:51.680 Every family meeting is almost identical. 00:07:51.839 --> 00:08:04.879 And it's us sitting down as a family, and basically I lay out two rules because what we have found over and over again, if there's two rules and these things are heard and followed through, everything works. 00:08:04.959 --> 00:08:10.639 And the first rule is you have to listen to mom and dad and follow through. 00:08:10.800 --> 00:08:11.759 That's number one. 00:08:12.000 --> 00:08:14.160 So much works well when that happens, of course. 00:08:14.240 --> 00:08:15.360 I believe that I'm the dad. 00:08:15.519 --> 00:08:19.439 Number two is treat each other with kindness. 00:08:20.160 --> 00:08:29.519 And it is amazing when we do those two things, how great our family works, and if any of those break down, how quickly our family breaks down. 00:08:30.639 --> 00:08:33.120 And I think there can be a breakdown. 00:08:33.360 --> 00:08:35.840 A lot of churches are going to experience a breakdown. 00:08:35.919 --> 00:08:37.200 I don't want that to be us. 00:08:37.360 --> 00:08:39.039 We don't have to be that. 00:08:39.360 --> 00:08:43.519 But we have to know sort of what some dangers are, what some possibilities are. 00:08:43.600 --> 00:08:48.159 And I think number one is it'd be easy for us to forget the family. 00:08:48.639 --> 00:08:58.080 It'd be easy for us not to be steadfast, to isolate even more, to choose entertainment over community. 00:08:59.519 --> 00:09:14.399 And in that, in that ease, because that could be so easy, to be entertained more, to escape more, to isolate more rather than to find increasing ways to find community, even while it's more difficult than ever. 00:09:17.679 --> 00:09:19.840 There's gonna be a lot of loneliness. 00:09:20.000 --> 00:09:21.360 There's already loneliness. 00:09:21.440 --> 00:09:27.039 That's the unspoken epidemic inside of this pandemic is loneliness. 00:09:27.440 --> 00:09:38.159 And as people step outside of the family and outside of community of faith, so where they are known and they're being known, more loneliness will occur. 00:09:38.720 --> 00:09:40.480 It doesn't have to be us. 00:09:41.840 --> 00:09:51.120 Even this summer, we're working on a summer group study that you're gonna hear about through email in the coming weeks, and that's something that could be for you. 00:09:52.080 --> 00:09:55.440 To step into that, to be known and to know people. 00:09:55.600 --> 00:09:56.399 Number two is this. 00:09:56.559 --> 00:09:57.840 What would be so easy for us? 00:09:57.919 --> 00:09:58.639 A danger. 00:09:58.799 --> 00:10:05.600 Number two is this is to act like a bratty sibling, to act like that bratty sister or that bratty brother. 00:10:05.759 --> 00:10:09.840 Maybe you grew up with that one, or maybe you were that one, I'm not quite sure. 00:10:10.080 --> 00:10:13.919 But we do that out of self-justifying our behavior, don't we? 00:10:14.080 --> 00:10:20.960 We act bratty or judgmental because if they are wrong, it makes us feel even more right. 00:10:21.279 --> 00:10:23.600 But we have to remember Galatians 5. 00:10:23.919 --> 00:10:26.879 For you were called to freedom, brothers and sisters. 00:10:27.039 --> 00:10:36.320 Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another, for the whole law is fulfilled in one word. 00:10:36.720 --> 00:10:40.000 You shall love your neighbor as yourself. 00:10:40.879 --> 00:10:46.240 Listen, we're gonna have different views on face mask and when and where and how, what they do, and whatever. 00:10:46.480 --> 00:10:48.399 We have different views on play dates. 00:10:50.559 --> 00:10:59.759 Gonna have all sorts of different beliefs on some of these things, but they cannot create dissension amongst us who are one in Jesus. 00:11:00.399 --> 00:11:05.840 I once saw an Alabama fan inside our church hug an Auburn fan. 00:11:05.919 --> 00:11:08.879 That's how united we are in Jesus. 00:11:09.039 --> 00:11:10.000 That happened. 00:11:10.159 --> 00:11:17.200 We have existed for seven years as Georgia fans and Auburn fans and Alabama fans. 00:11:17.360 --> 00:11:24.320 I've even seen an LSU fan in our church, and we are a community of love and faith. 00:11:25.039 --> 00:11:26.639 Because of Jesus. 00:11:27.600 --> 00:11:31.039 I think, I think we can handle face masks. 00:11:32.399 --> 00:11:37.919 And here's what we're gonna do, and I stole this from another pastor, but it's so good, I'll steal it. 00:11:38.240 --> 00:11:38.799 Three things. 00:11:38.879 --> 00:11:39.919 We're gonna do three things. 00:11:40.080 --> 00:11:47.440 We are going to trust in God's sovereignty, we are going to act wisely, and we are gonna love each other. 00:11:47.679 --> 00:11:53.200 And that is how we will make it through this reopening as long as it takes. 00:11:54.639 --> 00:12:02.799 As much as we plan for it and the plan doesn't work, and we scale back or we scale up, whatever that looks like, that's how we're gonna make it through. 00:12:02.960 --> 00:12:07.039 We're going to trust in God's sovereignty over our church. 00:12:07.200 --> 00:12:11.200 We are going to act wisely, and we're gonna love each other. 00:12:11.440 --> 00:12:17.519 Last point you can trust God is faithful with you and for you. 00:12:17.679 --> 00:12:22.320 You can trust God is faithful, he's with you and he's for you. 00:12:23.440 --> 00:12:28.879 For the first two months of the pandemic, I felt a pretty low amount of anxiety. 00:12:28.960 --> 00:12:30.399 I don't know how much you felt. 00:12:30.480 --> 00:12:35.440 I know a lot of you felt a lot of anxiety because of economic reasons or job reasons. 00:12:35.679 --> 00:12:42.000 Praise God, thank you for your continued giving that our church has done pretty well so far. 00:12:42.159 --> 00:12:45.039 That's an amazing thing of your generosity. 00:12:46.320 --> 00:12:48.879 So I felt sort of in control in some way. 00:12:49.039 --> 00:12:54.320 I mean, I could stay home, I could avoid people, I could wash my hands a lot, I wiped down a lot, I did that. 00:12:54.559 --> 00:13:01.360 And in the past two weeks, I've noticed just an increase of anxiety and this reopening. 00:13:02.399 --> 00:13:02.799 Right? 00:13:03.039 --> 00:13:13.039 I'm working on this plan, and the elders are gonna review it, and we're gonna vote on it, this phasing plan of phase one and two and three and four, of what it means for us as a church to reopen. 00:13:13.120 --> 00:13:21.039 And as I look at this plan and all these different, you know, like criteria and different parts of our church that can do what, when, and how they'll open and when. 00:13:21.120 --> 00:13:22.639 I mean, all that kind of stuff. 00:13:22.799 --> 00:13:29.120 I'm just realizing that you know this anxiety is building up because I don't know how you will react to this plan. 00:13:29.279 --> 00:13:31.279 I don't know if I'll even like this plan. 00:13:31.440 --> 00:13:32.799 I don't know if this plan will work. 00:13:32.879 --> 00:13:36.799 I don't know if this plan is gonna have to be super flexible or we can hold to it. 00:13:37.039 --> 00:13:44.000 I don't know how the COVID cases in our county are gonna go next week or the next week or next month or in the fall. 00:13:44.240 --> 00:13:47.039 I don't know who in our city is gonna get sick. 00:13:48.559 --> 00:13:53.039 I don't even know if you've been laughing at my bad preacher jokes. 00:13:53.120 --> 00:13:54.320 I don't know that. 00:13:54.720 --> 00:14:00.799 I can only suppose you're fast forwarding through parts of the sermon because I'm fast forwarding. 00:14:02.879 --> 00:14:10.080 I mean, could you imagine, you know, 10, 15, 20 years ago, the gift of fast forwarding through church? 00:14:10.480 --> 00:14:12.240 Oh, you imagine that as a child? 00:14:12.320 --> 00:14:12.960 What a gift. 00:14:13.039 --> 00:14:15.039 Maybe the biggest gift of Corona. 00:14:15.360 --> 00:14:17.679 You fast forward through church. 00:14:18.639 --> 00:14:23.600 So I said we're gonna do three things as a family, and the first one is I said we're gonna trust God. 00:14:24.559 --> 00:14:26.480 It feels so hard. 00:14:27.679 --> 00:14:29.120 Trust is brutal. 00:14:29.519 --> 00:14:34.159 Trust is brutal because it means we release control. 00:14:35.360 --> 00:14:40.240 It means we release control of having to know everything to move forward. 00:14:43.120 --> 00:14:51.440 Moving into the summer and to the next school year, and your job and your family, and all the many decisions you will have. 00:14:51.600 --> 00:14:56.000 There's gonna be the question: will I trust the Lord with this also? 00:14:57.519 --> 00:15:02.799 Or will I only trust the Lord with the things I already have under control? 00:15:04.879 --> 00:15:07.440 I was reminded of Proverbs 3, 5, and 6. 00:15:07.519 --> 00:15:11.759 This is one of the first verses I memorized in high school. 00:15:12.480 --> 00:15:23.279 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding in all your ways, acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. 00:15:24.000 --> 00:15:26.080 What a calling and what a promise. 00:15:26.399 --> 00:15:32.559 I love that verse, and I know even as I read it, I will not trust him perfectly. 00:15:33.519 --> 00:15:35.200 The calling is still good. 00:15:36.000 --> 00:15:46.240 And I'm so thankful for Jesus and this good news that God is faithful to me even when I don't trust perfectly. 00:15:47.919 --> 00:15:50.320 He's always been with us as a church. 00:15:50.639 --> 00:15:56.960 From the very beginning, when we started in a dentist office, and 20 or so of you were with us. 00:15:57.600 --> 00:16:03.600 And when we moved into the Walker Preschool, remember there were primary colors everywhere. 00:16:03.759 --> 00:16:09.039 It was a distraction everywhere, and then we bought our building, we didn't have enough money to renovate the building. 00:16:09.200 --> 00:16:14.399 Then we get in the building, we're starting to have cash flow issues, and an anonymous gift pays off our mortgage. 00:16:14.639 --> 00:16:22.399 God has been with us always, and he will be faithful to us as a church, but also to you. 00:16:23.840 --> 00:16:32.639 He's with you now, and he's with you in all your moments of great trust, and he is with you in all of your weak ones as well. 00:16:32.960 --> 00:16:37.200 This is what makes him trustworthy. 00:16:38.080 --> 00:16:39.039 Let's pray together. 00:16:40.000 --> 00:16:45.759 God, thank you that you are faithful to us, and this is why you are worthy of our trust. 00:16:46.639 --> 00:17:03.360 Thank you that our relationship with you is not based on the level of our faith, the strength of our faith, the level of our trust, the strength of our trust, but is based on your faithfulness to us, and in that we place our trust. 00:17:04.720 --> 00:17:07.440 And in the great work of Jesus, we find our freedom. 00:17:07.599 --> 00:17:18.559 Help us to know in the coming weeks what it means for us to exercise our freedom in Jesus to love each other, to freely love. 00:17:20.160 --> 00:17:23.440 Thank you for the great work of Jesus for us. 00:17:23.680 --> 00:17:25.920 May our lives be shaped by Him. 00:17:26.160 --> 00:17:32.559 Holy Spirit, would you do your work in us personally and as families, relationships, and as a church? 00:17:32.720 --> 00:17:35.039 Holy Spirit, would you create new life? 00:17:35.200 --> 00:17:41.440 Would we hear the invitation into something new where we have seen and heard only interruptions? 00:17:42.960 --> 00:17:44.480 Thank you that you will do this work. 00:17:44.640 --> 00:17:46.400 You are a resurrecting God. 00:17:46.559 --> 00:17:48.079 In Jesus' name we pray. 00:17:48.480 --> 00:17:49.119 Amen.