United Church of God

To Nurture and Be Nurtured

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To Nurture and Be Nurtured

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To Nurture and Be Nurtured

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The human family unit functioning according to God's will is reflective of how God functions, which, by design, includes intrinsically the functions of motherhood.

Sermon Notes

In Genesis 1:28, we find that God blessed Adam & Eve, and by extension, all of mankind, to be fruitful, multiply, and subdue the earth. This blessing occurred in the form of a family, being a father, mother, and offspring, the cycle to be repeated over and over again to fulfill the blessing given by God...

We also learn clearly later on that God expected families to love Him and learn all of His ways, parents being diligent to use every available moment to teach God’s ways to their children.

Deu 6:4  "Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one!
Deu 6:5  You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.
Deu 6:6  "And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart.
Deu 6:7  You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up.

And it wasn’t just a one-way street. God reserved an entire commandment, the fifth, to command children to obey their parents.

Eph 6:1  Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.
Eph 6:2  "HONOR YOUR FATHER AND MOTHER," which is the first commandment with promise:
Eph 6:3  "THAT IT MAY BE WELL WITH YOU AND YOU MAY LIVE LONG ON THE EARTH." (Referencing Exodus 20:12)

We also believe that human life begins at conception. Mommy starts eating for two, naturally, but if Dad starts eating for two, it isn’t for the baby’s sake!

As Christians we learn that the human family unit is meant to reflect the qualities of the Spiritual Family of God. The Father was revealed to us by our Brother and High Priest, Jesus Christ, and we are further revealed to be the begotten children of the Father.

1Jn 5:18  We know that whoever is born (begotten) of God does not sin; but he who has been born (begotten) of God keeps himself, and the wicked one does not touch him.

Rom 8:16  The Spirit Itself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God,
Rom 8:17  and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.

So we have a Father and each of us who are repentant, baptized, and Holy Spirit filled are His begotten children, but where is Mom? Does an entity exist in our lives as Christians that is motherly?

I think maybe the most direct association with motherhood is found in Galatians...

Gal 4:26  but the Jerusalem above is free, which is the mother of us all.
Gal 4:31  So then, brethren, we are not children of the bondwoman but of the free.
Gal 6:16  And as many as walk according to this rule, peace and mercy be upon them, and upon the Israel of God.

(describe) Consider a student graduating from university... Alma mater = Nurturing Mother

Network of Brethren, the Church = Nurturing Mother
Yet, each person, being a part of the whole, which is the Church, is individually a begotten child of God nurtured in the womb of that same church.

Feature members of the church:
Age? How long baptized? Raised?
Mr. Hawk?
Schultz family (Devin, Tiffany, Malachi)?
Merlann?

No matter the unique personal qualities, each is the same, one person in the nurturing care of the church, that same person with a human spirit that has access to God’s Spirit. → Everyone else is the nurturing church.

For Malachi (son of Devin & Tiffany Shulz)

1Co 7:14  For the unbelieving husband is sanctified by the wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified by the husband; otherwise your children would be unclean, but now they are holy.

So, every person here today in this assembly, called the Church of God, if here by choice or here because a parent is here, is both part of the church in its motherly capacity, and is within the womb of the church in its nurturing care.

Why is that? Are our children and prospective members willful citizens of heaven? Not yet! But, are our children and prospective members citizens of the church? YES! How? The reason this is so is because of God’s Spirit. All of us have in common the human Spirit, and all of us, if being called by God, and that includes being set apart by God as children of at least one believing parent, are called by the Father by His Spirit.

God’s Holy Spirit is very versatile!

Reference: Exodus 31, 1 Samuel 10, Luke 1

God’s Spirit is in the Church of God witnessing to our spirit the things of God, and we, the Church must behave in a nurturing way toward each called out member of the Church. The church not only preaches the Gospel, but it also prepares a people to enter eternal life.

Church should always be a place of warmth and safety for each of its members, and it’s an ideal assembly for receiving the milk and meat of the word of God with proper guidance.

To reject our spiritual mother is to reject the fellowship of the saints who make up the body of the Church, and to reject these siblings is to reject our elder Brother, Jesus Christ, the Head of the Church, and to Reject Christ is to reject our Father in Heaven who calls us out of this world in the first place.

We are all very unique individuals with a common human spirit, all drawn to God by His Holy Spirit, so while the church endeavors to take on motherly, nurturing qualities of nourishment, comfort, and protection of each member, let every member take it upon themselves to appreciate, honor, and love one another.

Eph 4:1  I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called,
Eph 4:2  with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love,
Eph 4:3  endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
Eph 4:4  There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling;
Eph 4:5  one Lord, one faith, one baptism;
Eph 4:6  one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.

May God bless us all as one body that nurtures each member, and may each member honor the church where we are being formed into a new creation, to be born into the kingdom of God.