Sermon notes, Fourth Sunday of Lent

INTRODUCTION
Every family lives between the sometimes contradictory demands of the past and the future. Every family also lives between the sometimes contradictory demands of the “inside” and the “outside.” Families have to develop their own distinctive “culture,” but also have to interact with other families and the wide culture. This too is part of family life on the cross.

THE TEXT
“This is the history of the heavens and the earth when they were created, in the day that the LORD God made the earth and the heavens, before any plant of the field was in the earth and before any herb of the field had grown . . . .” (Genesis 2:4-25).

GUARDIAN
According to Genesis 2, Adam was created outside the garden and then placed in it (vv. 6-8). Within the garden, he had a double task, to “dress” (Hebrew, abodah ) and to “keep” (Hebrew, shamar ) it. The latter word is better translated as “guard.” Adam was placed in the garden as its guardian, and once Eve was created he was to guard her as well. Adam’s failure is precisely at this point: When the serpent comes, he uses Eve as a shield, who takes the force of Satan’s attack while Adam stands by and watches (Genesis 3:8).

Every man is set at the threshold of his garden-home in order to prevent anything unclean or dangerous from entering. Husbands and fathers are to ensure the integrity and vitality of the “inside” of family life.

COMMON SPEECH, COMMON TABLE
For Christians, the model family is God’s family, the family of the church. God’s family sets a pattern for how each family should operate. How does God cultivate the unity and cohesion of His family? He spends time with us, gathering His family each week in worship. He cultivates the “inside” of His family by telling us stories about His works in the past (in Scripture and preaching), by teaching us a common speech, and by inviting us to a common table. The inside of the family is nurtured in the same way: Parents and children must spend time together. The notion of “quality time” is Gnostic, since it implies that time itself is irrelevant. Parents encourage the development of the family “inside” by cultivating a common store of speech and stories and sharing regularly in a common table. God is the master of revelry, inviting His people to come before Him to eat, drink, and rejoice; wherever Jesus went during His earthly life, joy broke out. Fathers, does that describe your effect on the family?

COMMON SONG
Singing is one of the most effective ways of cultivating group cohesion. When we sing, we not only speak the same words, but we become a single complex voice (cf. 2 Chronicles 5:13; Romans 15:6). When singing, we breathe-together and vibrate together. Singing is one way God unifies His people, and when families sing together they are also building family cohesion. Prayer is also one of God’s means for unifying His family. As in song, so in prayer, many become one, our many voices become one voice.