Shelbyville Community Church

How do you define family? How you answer that question will affect the way you live. How you answer will show you your priorities and motivations. How you answer will show you what you believe the Bible says. How you answer will drive your expectations of what Family Ministry looks like in a local church. Waving the white flag? Please don’t. We all have different views and backgrounds because so many of us have been affected by how others have defined family. Then you walk into different churches, though there is much similar, there is still a lot different for Family Ministry. This Sunday we’re going to look at why Family Ministry is so important. The funny thing is I had it all planned to go a certain way, and then God said, I have a different plan for this Sunday. I was going to try to share with you and “sell” you on Family Ministry at SCC, but God wants me to show you what Family Ministry looks like in the home. We have a lot good happening, and lots of good planned for the future within the Family Ministry at SCC, so please stay tuned as we grow our Kids and Student Ministries, and add more parent/guardian moments to enhance the home over time. With that being said, here is what you can look forward to this Sunday: • Family was God’s first ministry model • Parents are the primary disciple-makers • Families form faith that lasts • Families can strengthen the whole church • Families can reflect the gospel We are never too late to learn and grow from where we currently are. My hope and encouragement for all of us is that this Sunday we can come worship our Father, the head of our house, and walk away knowing how to help make our homes a spiritually healthy place for kingdom impact.

I remember hearing the story of 4 people that were sitting across from each other in a little stall on a train. On one side were a college basketball player and his coach. On the other side was a beautiful college-aged girl with her grandma. It was clear that there was an attraction between the basketball player and the young woman, as they exchanging flirtatious glances at one another. Then suddenly, they go through a short tunnel, and for a few seconds it is totally dark on the train. During this darkness, two distinct sounds were heard by everyone. There is the smack of a kiss and then the immediate slap of a face. The girl thinks “I am sure glad he kissed me, but I wish my grandma hadn’t slapped him.” The grandma thinks “I can’t believe he had the audacity to kiss her, and I’m so glad that she slapped him.” The coach, who is rubbing his face, thinks, “I can certainly understand why he kissed her, but I think that girl slapped the wrong guy.” The basketball player thinks, “Awesome! I got to kiss that girl and slap my coach.” That is the power of perspective, and we are going to see Sunday that sometimes the Biblical writers noticed and emphasized different things as they observed the events leading up to the cross. We’ll see that they observe the same event but pay attention to slighty different things, depending on their personalities and their purpose in writing. And then, we’ll put the whole thing together. Join us this weekend as we discuss the punishment of Jesus for us and the invitation that flows from that.

One of my first experiences with betrayal happened when I was about 13 years old. A woman hired a friend and I to clean out her garage, and had told us that anything we found in her garage we could keep. As we were rummaging through her junk, my friend found the stock or the handle of what looked like a very old rifle of some kind. It would turn out to be the stock of a gun used during the Civil War. A little later, I found the barrel of this gun. It was easy to see how the pieces fit together, and we were able to make that gun whole again. But when we took that gun home to show to our families, his father took the gun and eventually mounted it over his fireplace. When my friend and I told him that the gun was half mine, that I had found the barrel of the gun, he literally laughed and said, “Well it’s mine now!” I wish I could tell you that was the worst experience of betrayal I’ve had during my lifetime, but that wouldn’t even be close to the truth. Maybe you can relate. Truth is, we all know what it is like to be betrayed, but we also know what it is like to betray someone else. When Jesus was betrayed, it was by someone in His inner circle. And His betrayal wasn’t just random. His betrayal was for me. He was betrayed for you. Join us this weekend as we discuss the pain of betrayal, why Jesus needed to be betrayed, and how His betrayal equipped Him to come alongside you and I.

We all need a fresh start, and a new year usually brings that opportunity. So, what do you want 2026 to look like? What’s one thing you want to do differently? How do you want to act? Will you take a relationship with God into the new year? If you have a relationship already, will you grow more in that relationship in the coming year? The truth is, there are moments in life when the ground under us feels unstable – when circumstances shake us, relationships disappoint us, or fear creeps in like an unwelcome guest. With a new year coming, we can decide what ground we want to put our feet on. In Psalm 62, David centers his soul. He anchors himself not in changing circumstances but in an unchanging God. This Sunday we’re going to get a real picture of who God is and what can come from seeing Him. Ultimately, we learn to trust Him and pour out our hearts to Him. There are other things we’ll see in the text to help us understand why we can trust Him and pour out our hearts to Him. Join us as we learn more together and prepare ourselves for the new year.