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* - 1Therefore if there is any encouragement in Christ, if there is any consolation of love, if there is any fellowship of the Spirit, if
any affection and compassion, 2make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent
on one purpose.




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 to Christ, Community, Church ʹ if we all belong to these things, there must be a common factor͙and Paul encourages this
factor, namely, that we can S differently than the world! And by seeing differently (the natural result) is that we walk differently
(in the newness of life).


Paul desired the hesian Christians to understand what great wealth they had in Christ. Paul knew of their faith and love toward
men, and in this he rejoiced.
**The Christian life has two dimensions: faith toward od and love toward men, and you cannot searate the two. èut Paul knew
that faith and love were just the beginning.

He doesn͛t ask od to give them what they don͛t have, but rather rays that od will reveal to them what they already have. And
that the S ing of this would change everything!
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. Ñ o nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than
yourselves; 4do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. 5Have this attitude in
yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, 6who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to
be grasped, 7but [a]emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. 8Being found in
appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.




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-Christian Submission is not about being a oormat
-Christian Submission is not about over-the-top politeness
-Christian Submission is not about the lowest common denominator
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-Christian Submission flows out of Strength, not weakness.
-Christian Submission must come in Relationship
-Christian Submission is about Sacrifice
-Christian Submission is about Honor
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 - 10so that at the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE WILL BOW, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
11and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

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Though exressed in many ways, essentially, Christ͛s urose was to declare and establish His Kingdom (
uke 4:43) and to build u
His Church (Mt 16:18). hesians resents the Church as the focal oint of dislaying od͛s glory forever ( hesians 3:21) and Paul
exresses that the urose of the Church is that the wisdom of od would be made known ( hesians 3:8-11).

In Paul͛s letter to the Christians throughout hesus, he clearly exosed the contrast between Christ's Kingdom and the kingdom of
the world. Whether talking about dark and light, old and new, self or selfless, he made the oint that Christians are to live under a
different value system and for a different urose than all others. ur urose is the magnification of Christ, and we are to be
articiators in building u His Kingdom; and all of our values should align with that as our aim. In short, "it's not about me". This is
the theme of Paul's writing, and it matches the examle Christ gave - "came to serve, not to be served...that My Father be glorified".
hesians 4:1-12 is a call to live u to the calling of Christ-likeness.

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But I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you shortly, so that I also may be
encouraged when I learn of your condition. ^ For I have no one else of kindred spirit who will genuinely be concerned for your welfare.
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For they all seek after their own interests, not those of Christ Jesus. ^^But you know of his proven worth, that he served with me in
the furtherance of the gospel like a child serving his father. ^
Therefore I hope to send him immediately, as soon as I see how things
go with me; ^and I trust in the Lord that I myself also will be coming shortly. ^But I thought it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus,
^
my brother and fellow worker and fellow soldier, who is also your messenger and minister to my need; because he was longing for
^
you all and was distressed because you had heard that he was sick. For indeed he was sick to the point of death, but God had mercy
^
on him, and not on him only but also on me, so that I would not have sorrow upon sorrow. Therefore I have sent him all the more
^
eagerly so that when you see him again you may rejoice and I may be less concerned about you. Receive him then in the Lord with
all joy, and hold men like him in high regard;
because he came close to death for the work of Christ, risking his life to complete what
was deficient in your service to me.

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Paul didn͛t have the wife and kids story͙he really didn͛t even settle down long enough to have a home. Paul͛s family was
made u of eole that he resonated with along the way͙S this isn͛t just about husband, wife, and kids (if that͛s not your
situation)͙it͛s about whoever you consider your family.

These men were art of Paul͛s family. !"# (his siritual son) here: [no one else of kindred sirit {SIHT}͙genuinely
concerned for you {ATTITUD }͙seeks after Christ/kingdom driven {PURPS } = has been led well by Paul].  "!$
(whom they had sent to minister to Paul while in jail): [brother and fellow worker and fellow soldier {SIHT,
PURPS }͙minister to Paul͛s need͙and was worried about others worrying about him {ATTITUD } even when he was actually
very sick.]

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That͛s what we͛ve been discussing and learning over the ast few weeks͙how to live on earth as it is in heaven͙living by
kingdom rinciles͙in the way of Christ.

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When we talk about having Siritual SIHT, an ATTITUD of Christian Submission, and od͛s mission as our PURPS , we͛re
not just learning to do church; we͛re learning to do life.

Why FAMI
 For all of us, our families are our first calling ʹ and I think we often run danger of giving the actual good stuff to
other eole.

What I mean is that I have seen many of the eole that I͛ve astored over the ast 10 years lead incredible bible studies, lead
others in dee exeriences of worshi, set-u / clean-u, build, reair, comfort, counsel, lead Hs, serve on ministry teams,
go on mission tris͙but not lead their own family in a siritually way. For the first 3-4 years of our marriage, I struggled with
this immensely. The èible even deems the erson who cares for others, but not his own as ͞worse than an infidel͟ (1 Tim 5:8
KJV). [Don͛t you love the KJV!]

ne of the biggest challenges for any discile is family life. Incarnational families don͛t come easy. I say ICARATIA
,
what I mean is that we take-on-the-flesh of Christ.
et me share a icture of this:

èob Roberts Story ʹ nce when his son èen was 10, he took him to Hanoi, Vietnam for some meetings. He had warned èen
that there would be food that was unusual, but that he would need to eat it and smile.  2 from The Multilying Church,
age 169, aragrah 3, starting with ͞ne day͙͟.

**S when today I want us to focus on how our families are affected by these kingdom rinciles that we have been
discussing, the question is of what the culture of your home is going to be. What is Christian Culture (Kingdom Culture) in the
home I don͛t think that it is enough just to say a rayer together or read a bible story together. $
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I wanted to handle our time today a little differently ʹ I want us to build on what we learned in the assages that we͛ve been
studying (I have some simle outlines for you as a reminder)͙how we can live these out in front of our families consistently in
normal life͙and how we can involved them and shae them by the exerience. I have with me a large bowl, filled with
Normal Opportunities in which we must begin to look at through these Kingdom lenses. I͛m going to bring the bowl
around͙each table will ull an oortunity out of the bowl and have 5 minutes to discuss the situation.

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ach week, on the way to Sunday worshi service, your family asses the same homeless guy
on the street corner.

This ast December we articiated in the concet and movement of the Advent Consiracy.
How can you re your family for Advent Consiracy for next year

our neighbor͛s dog has chewed u, torn u, and lowed through the wood fence between
your houses͙and they don͛t seem to notice or care. What changes if it͛s your dog doing the
damage?

ne of your neighbors has a child that is handicaed. The dad has recently lost his job, and
the mom is working extra hours at night to hel make ends meet.
our Home rou has a great rhythm and great chemistry. ou love the eole in your grou,
feel safe with them, and look forward to being with them. A new family has started visiting
the grou. They let their kids run wild; he constantly dris sarcasm; and she has a negative
attitude.

our child is icked on at school, and he/she constantly comes home uset. How do you
resond and react How do you console and encourage your child How do you direct them
to act

A coule in your Home rou left your grou to join another. ou hear ͞through the
graevine͟ that they are sharing details and attitudes from your Home rou with their new
grou.

our child͛s teacher is not a Christian. ou hear that her husband found out he has cancer.

Mom feels called to her 3rd Sain mission tri; dad feels called to vacation in Florida. [The
budget does not allow for both tris]

Mom feels called to her 1st Sain mission tri; dad feels called to the annual vacation in
Florida. [The budget does not allow for both tris]

How can your rayer life with your family shae them in regards to their SIHT, ATTITUD , and
PURPS 

How can dinner time be used to shae your family

How can you use your own struggles to shae your family

our dad recently got remarried. His new wife is not a Christian. She doesn͛t want you to be a
art of their family at all; and she treats you very oorly when you are around.
our child just befriended another child who has a very rough home life. The arents are
constantly fighting with each other, and it seems as though they neglect their child.

our arent/grand-arent is in a nursing home near to your own home. She is bed-ridden and
very lonely͙the only others around her are in her same condition or are nurses on rotation.