Brendan Anderson – January 5, 2020What does Scripture say about family?Church FamilyBig Question: What do I need to know about God’s family? Main Scripture: Ephesians Free YouVersion Bible app events search “Element Church WY”19 So now you Gentiles are no longer strangers and foreigners. You are citizens along with all of God’s holy people. You are members of God’s family. We are God’s familyRomans 20 Together, we are his house, built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets. And the cornerstone is Christ Jesus himself. Christ is our exampleMark 31 Then Jesus’ mother and brothers came to see him. They stood outside and sent word for him to come out and talk with them. 32 There was a crowd sitting around Jesus, and someone said, “Your mother and your brothers are outside asking for you.” 33 Jesus replied, “Who is my mother? Who are my brothers?” 34 Then he looked at those around him and said, “Look, these are my mother and brothers. 35 Anyone who does God’s will is my brother and sister and mother.” John  25 Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother, his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. 26 When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to her, “Woman,here is your son,” 27 and to the disciple, “Here is your mother.” From that time on, this disciple took her into his home.“There can be no stronger testimony as to the importance of faith over all other worldly considerations than this decision of our Lord. In our own scale of priorities, some of us would put family first in such situations (the principle of “blood being thicker than water”). Others would consider the material aspects: “Who could best provide for her?” John was not family. John was poor (and no doubt poorer than Jesus’ brothers, for John had been unemployed in the worldly sense for the past three years, living off of donations along with Jesus and the other twelve). Our Lord was clearly more concerned with His mother’s spiritual welfare than with either family considerations or economic welfare (and letting His brothers take care of her would have been better on both of these other two counts). For our Lord was concerned that His mother continue in an environment of faith, her eternal life and spiritual growth being even more important to Him than her physical life and financial security. If we really love someone, we should live by this example and put their spiritual welfare ahead of all other considerations. For even if we see to it that they are happy, healthy, and know no financial want, if they are suffering spiritually because of our focus on these other issues – far subordinate in God’s eyes to maintaining healthy faith, growing in the truth, and drawing closer to Him and His Son – then we have made a poor bargain indeed.”-Dr. Robert Luginbill21 We are carefully joined together in him, becoming a holy temple for the Lord. 22 Through him you Gentiles are also being made part of this dwelling where God lives by his Spirit. We are now his temple