Message Title: This Is us | Family
Series: Week 2
Scripture: Romans 8:14-17
Bottom Line: We are family! We are children of God.
Other Scripture References:
Deuteronomy 10:18 - God defends the cause of the fatherless
Deuteronomy 32:6 - first example of God described as “Father” in scripture
Psalms 68:6 - God sets the lonely in families
Psalms 146:9 - the lord watches over foreigner and sustains fatherless
John 1:12 - He gave the right to become children of God
Galatians 4:5 - that we might receive adoption
Galatians 3:26 - you are all sons of God through faith in Christ…
2 Corinthians 6:18 - I will be a Father to you…
Group Check in:
How is it with your soul?
Prayer Request? Praises?
How has God shown up in your life this week?
Ice Breaker:
Share one of your favorite childhood memories.
What does the word, family, mean to you?
Overview:
Jody’s story revolves around her connection to her biological family for the first time. She talks about God’s work that was protecting her throughout a tumultuous upbringing and broadening her view of what ‘family’ means because so many people cared for her in childhood.
Ultimately, the Gospel story is an adoption story: God, the Father, adopted us, His children, and claimed us as His own. This defines our relationship to the One who made us and to our brothers and sisters who belong to the same family.
Bet'ab - the basic unit of Israelites' culture. This person defined your means of provision, protection, role in life, future prospects, ect.
Jesus wants us to be part of His family. We can become the family of God through Jesus Christ.
Paul puts an exclamation point at the end of Romans 8:14. ("you have received the Spirit of adoption"). Paul writes about the exchange between slavery for childhood (freedom).
We become heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ. Our inheritance is the Kingdom of God.
Our adoption fundamentally changes our relationship with God- once we weren’t family, but now, by God’s grace and through the work of God’s son, we have become members in the family of God
Reminder: If our relationship with God the Father is fundamentally changed by the fact of our adoption into His family, then our relationship with each other is also fundamentally changed. We are now siblings in the family of the Father.
Discussion Questions:
What does the word "adoption" mean to you?
What do you think it means to be "lead by the Spirit of God" (Romans 8:14)?
God could have picked any way to make us part of His family, yet he chose to make it happen in the imagery of adoption. Why do you think He did this? How does this help explain our relationship with God?
God has adopted you as His child. How does this make you feel?
How should knowing our identity as children of God change our attitudes and actions?
How has God's family, your brothers, and sisters in Christ, helped you come to know God better and love Him more?
How should our adoption into God's family influence how we think about bringing other people into ours?