Sunday Morning Worship
Series: “Family Road Trip”
Today: “Memories”
February 24, 2013
Scripture: 1 John 4:7-12 NLT Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God. Anyone who loves is a child of God and knows God. 8 But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love.
9 God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. 10 This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.
11 Dear friends, since God loved us that much, we surely ought to love each other. 12 No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us, and his love is brought to full expression in us.
Intro: When families take road trips, one of the unavoidable results is the creation of memories .
A. Coming to Christ will bring us back to the value of relationships.
B. If we don’t work at making positive memories, we rob ourselves and our children of the best part of life’s road trip!
I. FIGHT DISTINATION DISEASE.
A. Jesus challenges us to slow down and enjoy each day.
Matthew 6:27 Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?
Matthew 6:33-34 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
B. Fight the tendency not to live in the present.
James 4:14 Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.
II. DEAL WITH THE BIG ROCKS FIRST!
A. The Apostle John is telling us: love is the big deal.
1 Corinthians 13:1-3 NLT If I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels, but didn’t love others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 If I had the gift of prophecy, and if I understood all of God’s secret plans and possessed all knowledge, and if I had such faith that I could move mountains, but didn’t love others, I would be nothing. 3 If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it;[a] but if I didn’t love others, I would have gained nothing.
B. Rules and regulations are not the big rocks in parenting, they are pebbles .
1. Pour your energies into building relationships .
2. Be a coach , not a commander.
3. Verbalize your love more than your rules .
Conclusion: If you have kids, you’ve signed up for a tough task. Why not jump in, learn to do it well!