Faith Begins at …………………?

Where does faith begin? Well, yes it begins when a person puts their trust in Jesus, but where does it begin locationally (Wow, what a word!)?

Where do we live out our faith?

Let me answer a little bit of the question for you by saying that it's not a church. If faith is lived out at church then what happens to our faith the other six days of the week? The number one reason why non-Christians struggle with Christians is because so many Christians have a one day a week faith (Sunday). The Church is not the place where you live out your faith, it is where you are encouraged in the faith and the people with whom you are equipped with in the faith through worship, discipleship, fellowship and the other essentials of faith.

So where should faith begin? If you really want to know read on.
Do you have a home? Is your house full of kids? Are you married our single or living in the so called "empty nest?" If you answered "yes" to any of the above then I have news for you. The home--your home--is where faith gets lived out. It's where faith wears shoe leather. This is the way that author and pastor Mark Holman, one of the speakers during the the Focus on Parenting Simulcast describes it. The Biblical word that we use for where faith begins is incarnate, which means "takes on flesh." Otherwise as, the home is where a faithful person becomes a fruitful person. It is where the single person honors God in how they spend their time, the media that they expose themselves to, the things that they do when no one else is looking. Its where the husband not only does the same but also loves his wife "as Christ loves the church" and sets a Godly example for his wife and children. Its where the wife lives out respect for her husband and encourages her children to grow physically and spiritually. Its where children learn to honor their parents and make good choices. And so on...

It also where we are the most vulnerable because the home is the place where we are who we are, if you know what I mean. It is where we lose our tempers and say things that we wouldn't say in public. It's a lot more difficult to live out our faith at home than it is around the church because we can't put up appearance as easily at home.

So what can we do?

We can (You can) GET HELP FROM GOD.

1. Find encouragement in his Word, the Bible. Read his word reflectively and with the purpose of applying it to your life. If you're a parent or grandparent a great passage to start with is Deuteronomy 6:1-19. Actually, its a great passage for anyone regardless of the situation.
2. Spend daily time in prayer. Pray for each one of your family members (especially if they have not yet connected to Christ). Pray for daily wisdom and strength, that you can live out your faith at home, at work and in the public arena.
3. Spend time in confession. In what ways have you fallen short in your faith. Confess it to God.
4. Repent. (It means turn around) If you have gone the wrong direction, so to speak, then turn around and get back on track.

What about starting a daily time (personal) and or a family time (with your spouse and kids) of seeking God? Easy ways to do this:

• Pray before meal times. This is a 3 time a day connection time with God to thank him for both the food and friends he gives us. Families should try to eat together at least 1 time a day. Families can use the time to talk about daily events and parents can use these times to help kids connect with God.
• Activities. Plan a daily activity to help you live out your faith. What about sitting down with someone daily to talk about your work, life and or thoughts. How would you like to grow in your  faith or lived out your faith in each of these areas? For those who are married talk about this together and then commit to praying for each other.
• Finally, get connect to a more extended group of believers through a small group. (We really need to kick off a couple more of these.)

If there is anyway I can encourage you in all of this please let me know.
In Christ,

Pastor Bryan