It has to be more than an intellectual understanding. We must strive to live it.
Pastor Steve Treash’s sermon at Black Rock - Long Ridge Congregational Church (North Stamford, Connecticut) was the last in a series on the practical application of Christian principles to family life.
Those sermons’ messages can be summarized under the headings of:
Love of God: Families must have a spiritual passion for God and godly life. They must converse about God and with God. They must pray together.
One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?” “The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ (Mark 12:28-30)
Love for Other People: Jesus continued: The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these. (Mark 12:31)
Christianity is a positive, not a negative and critical faith. Other people must see in us the positive effect of the Holy Spirit. A cold and critical manner is the opposite.
Within and outside the family we must be kind, loving, affectionate, and considerate of each other.
When Jesus encountered the Samaritan woman at Jacob’s well (John, chapter 4), he did not attack her religious beliefs, but led her gently to understand that salvation is through Him.
Desire to Please God: Especially within the family we must read God’s word, talk about it, and teach it to our children. Knowing the Bible is a main route to leading a life that pleases God. Our focus must not be on the sensual pleasures of the world, on what pleases us, but upon what pleases God.
Teach me to do your will, for you are my God; may your good Spirit lead me on level ground. (Psalms 143:10)
Readiness to Please God: Knowing intellectually what pleases God is not sufficient; we must act upon that knowledge. We must be obedient to God.
Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. (Ecclesiastes 12:13)
Above all, we must learn to listen for God’s directives in our lives and follow them.
Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of our spirits and live! (Hebrews 12:9)
Not only must we listen to, and obey, God. We must see to it that, in dealing with our children, we mean what we say and require our children to obey. Children who learn that they can with impunity ignore parents’ commands will grow up ignoring God.
Joyous Fullness : Experience the joy, the serenity, and comfort of living a life following God’s commands. In Jesus’s words:
As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father’s commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. (John 15:9-12)
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