Jesus said, “There is no one who has left house or wife or brothers or parents or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God, who will not receive many times more in this time, and in the age to come eternal life.” That’s a promise that no one should ever feel they’re alone. God has connected us through the cross as one big family. When we care for each other we’re proving the truth of what Jesus said.
There’s probably no place that call was ever displayed with more beauty and pain than on the cross in Jesus’ words to the Apostle John and his mother, Mary. Through the cross, Jesus redefined their relationship, just as he redefines ours.
As with the other sermons in this series, I had originally preached this one in 2009. It was amazing to see how little I needed to add and change with this one. I added the illustration about the news that Jesus had a brother (that’s some news) and the story about my text from Andy. Other than that, I updated my scripture references and tweaked the conclusion a bit.
The amazing part was just how timely the sermon was. There have been some issues about caring for one another and recognizing our need for each other lately. The sermon addressed them perfectly. I’ve been told there have been several “are you ok?” messages sent out over the past day or so.
The text message illustration provided something simple and concrete for them to do with the message. It was almost like giving them permission to care for each other.
I’m looking ahead to next week’s message: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” With it the shift will go from practical relationships with one another to their relationship with the Heavenly Father. It will be an interesting transition.
