I am planning to write a sermon Galatians 4:4-7. Does anyone know of
any good resources or illustrations using the "adoption" imagery in
this text. Thanks. Anne
What about picking up on the story of parents who adopt a child.
When the child is about 4 years old, they wanted to explain to him
about the fact that he was adopted. but they wanted him to feel ok
with the fact that he was adopted. So they told Curtis that he was
very special. Some children are born into a family, but he was
brought into this family because he was chosen. Mommy and Daddy
chose him above all children because he was especially loved. it
seems to me that is our story. God adopted us because he loved us so
much, and brought us into God's own family as the chosen children.
glad in IL
I am interested in finding out how we can talk about this passage in
relation to the coming millenium. for instance, we are now free from
the slavery of the law. We have been slaves to other things in the
past, just like the Israelites were slaves to their "golden calves".
We have been slaves to jealousy, hate, etc. In the new millenimu we
need to figure out how not to be slaves anymore. I am not impressed
with my lack of depth here. Please help. Thanks.
I am caught by the phrase"in the fullness of time." at just the
right time..or when the time was right...in what ways is this the
fullness of time ? Just when we need it most God responds..VMRT in
CT
Anne,
I too am struggling with this "adoption" imagery, but for a
different reason. Glad in Il offered some good advice, but in my
congregation it could be volitile. One of my parashinors is grieving
the recient death of her adopted son. Althought there was more than
enough love for him in his own family, he never got over the
feelings of rejection with the knowlege that some woman, for some
reason, choose to give him up. For his entire life the feeling that
he was "rejected" by his birth mother and "was not good enough" for
her and depended on "someone else to be the mother that rejected
him" was a demon in his life. The resulting depressions lead to drug
and alcohol abuse, and ultimately that lead to his death as a
middle-aged adult.
According to this woman, this problem is common with many adopted
children. The feeling of rejection by the birth parents becomes a
destructive force that often overshadows the love and accptance of
the adoptive parents.
Is there any adive on how to pastorally deal with this issue in the
context of this text?
Peace,
DWR
I also am focusing on "the fullness of time" and am hoping to
contrast the Greek words of Kairos and Chronos - looking at God's
time Kairos "fullness in time" vs. our marking of time - chronos. I
hope it will be "timely" given the intense focus on time with end of
the century, etc.upon us. If anyone has any thoughts or
illustrations or good quotes please pass them on!
Pastor Patty
I don’t know if this comment will help with the imagery of adoption,
or will just muddy the waters.
In the congregations where I serve one church averages between 60
and 70, the other around 12. I am serving in rural East Texas and
the town and churches has been incredibly warm and welcoming;
however, the smaller church has been in mission to the nursing homes
in the community, the larger church in mission more to its own
members and (as far as I can tell) neither church has a track record
of mission beyond the community.
This January, I will be taking a group of about 10 members of the
larger church to Matamoros, Mexico to deliver items collected for a
children’s home. The principle family that will be going on the trip
is a husband and wife -- along with their two teenage children, who
were both adopted as infants.
While I am still trying to let this sermon rattle around in my head
(but only for a few more hours), I believe where I will start is NOT
with adoption, but with redemption. The Biblical images of
redemption deal with redemption of land, the first born (both animal
and human), and of slaves. After exploring the Scriptural setting, I
plan to move to the current context of slavery in the Sudan. For
info, see www.csi-int.ch/message.html. Then I plan to explain about
a fifth grade class in the Denver area that is doing something about
the slavery, these kids are REDEEMING the slaves, most of which are
other children.
But redemption alone will only create the environment for the
poverty and slavery of these children to other masters, including
poverty, so now the class is raising money to support and care for
those whom they have freed. God has done the same things through our
redemption, and then our adoption. Salvation is not just about the
wonder liberation from sin and death, but also the adoption as God’s
very own children. Caring for us when we are incapable of caring for
ourselves. Caring for us when our parents are incapable of caring
for us.
I believe the use of the adoption imagery is valuable, but in this
text, it is also tied inexorably to that of redemption. I plan to
develop the latter image (which I doubt many of us are familiar
with), in order to better understand the imagery of adoption.
I don’t know if this will help, but I believe it is a message my
congregation need to hear. It is not the direction I had planned to
go with this relatively short text, but I guess the Holy Spirit may
have had other plans. I pray that I am listening to God’s direction,
rather than trying to work all of this into an extended promo for
the upcoming mission trip!
Grace and Peace, Charley
I don’t know if this comment will help with the imagery of adoption,
or will just muddy the waters.
In the congregations where I serve one church averages between 60
and 70, the other around 12. I am serving in rural East Texas and
the town and churches has been incredibly warm and welcoming;
however, the smaller church has been in mission to the nursing homes
in the community, the larger church in mission more to its own
members and (as far as I can tell) neither church has a track record
of mission beyond the community.
This January, I will be taking a group of about 10 members of the
larger church to Matamoros, Mexico to deliver items collected for a
children’s home. The principle family that will be going on the trip
is a husband and wife -- along with their two teenage children, who
were both adopted as infants.
While I am still trying to let this sermon rattle around in my head
(but only for a few more hours), I believe where I will start is NOT
with adoption, but with redemption. The Biblical images of
redemption deal with redemption of land, the first born (both animal
and human), and of slaves. After exploring the Scriptural setting, I
plan to move to the current context of slavery in the Sudan. For
info, see www.csi-int.ch/message.html. Then I plan to explain about
a fifth grade class in the Denver area that is doing something about
the slavery, these kids are REDEEMING the slaves, most of which are
other children.
But redemption alone will only create the environment for the
poverty and slavery of these children to other masters, including
poverty, so now the class is raising money to support and care for
those whom they have freed. God has done the same things through our
redemption, and then our adoption. Salvation is not just about the
wonder liberation from sin and death, but also the adoption as God’s
very own children. Caring for us when we are incapable of caring for
ourselves. Caring for us when our parents are incapable of caring
for us.
I believe the use of the adoption imagery is valuable, but in this
text, it is also tied inexorably to that of redemption. I plan to
develop the latter image (which I doubt many of us are familiar
with), in order to better understand the imagery of adoption.
I don’t know if this will help, but I believe it is a message my
congregation need to hear. It is not the direction I had planned to
go with this relatively short text, but I guess the Holy Spirit may
have had other plans. I pray that I am listening to God’s direction,
rather than trying to work all of this into an extended promo for
the upcoming mission trip!
Grace and Peace, Charley
I guess what I was trying to say in my own muddy way was that born
under the law seems to be according to the laws of nature. We are
all born in that way into a family, some families loving and caring,
others which are tragic. Some families even give us up. But when
Jesus came it was to transform that birth into a new birth. God's
adoption presents us with a love that transforms our lives as we let
God be the wonderful parent that parents us, provides for our needs
and loves us. glad
