Bible Text: Mark 3 | Preacher: Rev. Dr. Lou Saldiveri | Series: Sunday Morning Worship

— Pastor Lou Notes —
Intro: If you look at the 12 men Jesus called to be His disciples, you quickly find out that these men came from different backgrounds, family, education levels, politically, economically, financially, and vocationally. This means that Jesus needed to deal with different personality types, opinions, and aspirations. Even with a small group of people, this can be a difficult task. Some have equated it to try the herd hundreds of cats.

This is the same issue evangelical churches face today. In our churches we have many different people from many different backgrounds. This type of diversity can be a good and productive thing when it is focused around several crucial factors with Christ at its center.

Please remember, the Pharisees were trying to discredit and trap Jesus. Some were are accusing Jesus of being Satan or that His miracles were from the devil. I believe Jesus wanted to illustrate that the church will not be a place where there will be evil, but a place where love will conquer evil through the love and fellowship of the saints e.g. the Christ followers in the church.

First, we need to understand what Jesus was not saying in this passage. Even Jesus own family thought He was perhaps mentally fatigued and confused. Jesus was teaching in a house and they send word to Him that His family wanted to take Him home. Jesus doesn’t want us to ignore our family of origin or treat them with disrespect. He used this instance to teach His followers about what true fellowship and family relationship would and should look like in a church.

Jesus is saying is that a Christ follower becomes part of a church family. It is important for the church family to be united in love and God’s purpose. We might ask how is this possible? After all, most of us are not blood relatives of one another? How is Christ able to unite a rag tag bunch like us who come are vastly different?

It took some time for Jesus to bring His diverse group of disciples together. In this passage, Jesus gives us some great insights about the factors that help a group of Christ followers be a family for the glory of God.

1. We Are United in Our Savior

1. Jesus calls us to follow Him by faith

1. Forgiven, adopted, redeemed, unconditionally loved, new life and new purpose, therefore, we can share a common experience
2. Everyone who is a Christ follower has a testimony
2. We Are United in God’s Greater Purpose

1. Illus..: Being part of a team e.g. sports, military, service organization
1. The Holy Spirit gives us a desire to learn more about Jesus
2. The Holy Spirit helps us grow in grace to be more like Jesus e.g. a common goal

1. We grow to learn to love each other even in our diversity
2. We have an increasing burden to share the love of Christ with the unsaved
3. The Holy Spirit helps us point unbelievers to God’s saving grace in Jesus Christ

1. The Holy Spirit gives us spiritual gifts to minister to both believers and unbelievers
3. We Are United in Loving Obedience to Christ

1. Loving obedience is never a burden, but an honor to serve the One greater than ourselves
1. Part of being a family of God is to share our experiences
2. Part of being a family of God is to edify and encourage one another in our journey with Christ
3. Jesus wants us all to finish this life well

Closing: The main question this morning is, are you part of the family of God? Have you received Christ as your personal Lord and Savior by faith? Once we are adopted into the family of God through faith in Christ, then we, you and I are family. When you and I loving obey Christ, when we as a church family walk in unity of our faith and exercise our spiritual gifts for the glory of God, God will do great things in and through our church family,