1. Don’t Forget: -Family Night Out -Friends/Family Day
Church of Christ
at Hebron

2. The church as the Family
Love
Fidelity
Friendship
Security

3. Pillars of the church Family: Fidelity
Fidelity in the Physical Family
Fidelity in the Spiritual Family

4. Fidelity in the Physical Family
Trustworthiness is Assumed
Genesis 2: And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh…
I Corinthians 7:3-5 Let the husband render unto the wife due benevolence…defraud ye not one the other…

5. Trustworthiness is Assumed
Proverbs 31:11 The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her, so that he shall have no need of spoil.
One who cannot be trusted in even the smallest matter should not be married

6. Destruction of trust prompts separation
Matthew 19:9 And I say unto you, Whosoever shall put away his wife, except it be for fornication, and shall marry another, committeth adultery: and whoso marrieth her which is put away doth commit adultery.

7. Destruction of trust prompts separation
Hosea 2:2 Plead with your mother, plead: for she is not my wife, neither am I her husband: let her therefore put away her whoredoms out of her sight, and her adulteries from between her breasts

8. Trust Takes Time to Rebuild
Hosea 3:1-3 Then said the Lord unto me, Go yet, love a woman beloved of her friend, yet an adulteress...And I said unto her, Thou shalt abide for me many days; thou shalt not play the harlot, and thou shalt not be for another man

9. Keys to Maintaining Trust:
Stay away from compromising situations
Keep the lines of communication open
Reciprocate trust

10. Fidelity in the Spiritual Family
Trustworthiness Should be Assumed
God’s end of the contract can be trusted
3 types of contracts:
Equal parties (Gen.26:28-29)
One dominant, one weaker party, dominant benefits (I Sam.11:12)
One dominant, one weaker party, weaker benefits (God’s with man)

11. Trustworthiness Should be Assumed
II Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness…
Hebrews 6:18 That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation…(Titus 1:2)

12. Trustworthiness Should be Assumed
Can our trustworthiness be assumed?
We should give the benefit of the doubt (I Cor.13:5)
But repentance must precede conversion (Acts 3:19)
Even the little matters (Luke 16:10; I Timothy 3:7, 10)

13. Destruction of Trust Prompts Separation
Between us and God
Isaiah 59:1-2 Behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear: But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear.

14. Destruction of Trust Prompts Separation
Among each other
Matthew 5:13-16; Rom. 12:17
“Can I trust the person beside me to represent my congregation?”

15. Trust Takes Repentance to Rebuild
Luke 5:11-32—the prodigal son
II Corinthians 2:6-8

16. Keys to Maintaining Trust:
Stay away from uncompromising situations (I Thess.5:22; Gen.39:7-12; Rom.14:16)
Keep the lines of communication open (James 5:16; I John 1:7-9)
Reciprocate trust

17. Are You Trustworthy?
Before God?
Before each other?

18. Consider During the Lord’s Supper:
Matthew 26: And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body. And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it; For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.