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The Lord’s Prayer
Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name.
Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts, As we forgive our debtors.
And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one.
For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.”
During May we are working our way through a series titled The Living Christ and Family Living, it is designed to strengthen and enrich family living.
Today we are talking about Ten Ways to Guarantee Unhappiness.
Prayer
Thank You, Father, for drawing us to this place of prayer and worship on this Lord’s Day.
Thank You for the presence of Your people who have come to praise you and to rejoice in Your goodness.
Help us this day to confess our sins.
Grant to us the joy of forgiveness.
Help us to give our lives totally to You as we bring tithes and offerings indicating our love for You and our desire that Your kingdom should come in the hearts and lives of others.
In Jesus name we pray.
Amen.
Text
James 4:17 NKJV
17 Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin.
Scripture Reading
James 4:13-17 NKJV
Do Not Boast About Tomorrow
13 Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit”;
14 whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away.
15 Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that.”
16 But now you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil.
17 Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin.
Introduction
As we think in terms of enriching family life, we should be on guard against the peril of neglecting the things that are of supreme importance.
Too many people are lost because they want for the big things but neglect the small things.
By neglecting certain basic ingredients, we can guarantee the breakdown of family values.
- Neglecting the Bible hurts the family.
Every family should have a Bible, and not just for display purposes.
The Bible should be read.
It should be loved and reverenced.
Its teachings should be obeyed by parents as they seek to set a good example for their children.
2. Neglecting prayer hurts the family.
Each day the family should be led in prayer together as well as each individual member praying privately.
These prayers should include adoration of God, confession of sin, expressions of thanks giving, and intercession for others.
3. Neglecting public worship hurts the family.
The best investment a family can make of its time is attending church.
No other investment of a similar amount of time will produce such rich dividends for the family’s well being, for God’s strength and guidance to come in the highest manner through public worship.
Parents should set an example by declaring their reverence for God and their love for the church.
Children should not be sent to church, they should be led to church.
4. Neglecting to build Christian friendships hurts the family.
“He who would have friends must show himself friendly,” said the wise man in the book of proverbs.
Each Christian family should put forth continuous effort to develop friendships with other Christian families.
This should be done for mutual helpfulness in times of stress and need.
Other families need the blessing that can come to them through you, and you may someday need the strength and help that can come to you through your Christian friends.
5. Neglecting our neighbours harms the family.
In many parts of the world a neighbour is considered to be a person who lives close by.
Jesus defined a neighbour as someone who is in need.
We act neighbourly the we show compassion for those who are suffering.
Family life can be enriched by meaningful relationships with those who live nearby, and family values will be increased if the family ministers to those in need.
6. Neglecting the opportunity to serve others hurts family life.
Jesus warned about the person who hears the Word but then lets the cares of the world and preoccupation with riches choke the Word so that it becomes unfruitful.
It is exceedingly easy in our materialistic and competitive society for parents to become so pressured by material values that they neglect to give time to their family.
Time for the church and community also suffers, which in turn has a negative impact on family values.
7. Neglecting to become a tither hinders family values.
Most believers who are exposed to the teachings of God’s Word learn that they are supposed to return to God a portion of their income.
Some families are so pressured by desire for economic security and possessions that they postpone becoming significant givers.
They do this to their own spiritual impoverishment and to their economic misfortune.
People were made to be givers.
Each of us needs to let God enter into our economic affairs by acknowledging God’s ownership and our trusteeship by giving a minimum of a tithe to the Lord’s work.
8. Neglecting to praise and thank God hurts family life.
A significant economic event took place in the life of a poor family.
The father was able to secure a loan, making it possible for him to purchase a home to live in.
At the first meal following this good news, the mother suggested that it would be appropriate to thank God and to praise Him.
It wasn’t the family’s custom to pray together, but the father mustered up the courage to offer thanks for the meal , the prayer became a regular part of the family routine, enriching the lives of the children as well as the parents.
9. Neglecting the Lord’s day hurts the family.
As one tenth of our income given to God indicates His ownership, so to the dedication of one seventh of our days for rest and worship emphasises our spiritual nature.
People were not made to live by bread alone.
The Lord’s Day should be special for God and for the family.
10. Neglecting to respond to the indwelling Spirit impoverishes family life.
Conversion to Christ brings with it the gift of God’s Holy Spirit as a personal presence and power in the life of each believer.
When there are Christians in the home, they need to make a proper response to the Holy Spirit so that all of family life might be lived under the grace and guidance of God.
To neglect the Holy Spirit is to live an impoverished life.
Conclusion.
This message has been negative in emphasis.
It has pointed out some dangers to family values.
I hope that you can make a positive response to a negative emphasis.
It is said that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.
A conscious and continuous effort must be put forth by each family against the peril of neglecting the basic essentials that produce happiness in the family.
Until next time
Stay in the Blessings
I really want to encourage you to be diligent with your Bible study time, because God has so much more for us than we can get from just going to church once or twice a week and hearing someone else talk about the Word.
When you spend time with God, your life will change in amazing ways, because God is a Redeemer.
Theres nothing thats too hard for Him, and He can make you whole, spirit, soul and body!
You’re important to God, and you’re important to us at www.refinerylife.org
When it comes to prayer, we believe that God wants to meet your needs and reveal His promises to you.
So whatever you’re concerned about and need prayer for we want to be here for you! Or even if you just want to say Hi, you can contact us
2022 IS A YEAR OF REPENTANCE AND BLESSINGS
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