Family Worship Guide
Text(s) for Study: John 15:18-27, Acts 7:54-8:3, Acts 22:3-24
Preparation for Worship:
We have examined the Model for “being hated by the world”. According to John, we know that we are hated just as Christ is hated by the world.
Read Acts 7:54-8:3
- Consider Stephen’s experience. He was hated by those who were being taught the law of Moses. He was persecuted and killed by those who heard Christ’s teachings. But they hated Stephen, just as they hated Christ.
- Pay specific attention to Saul’s role in all of this. Saul was a part of the world, hating Christ and therefore hating Stephen.
Read Acts 22:3-24
- Saul, the hater, becomes the hated. He begins following Christ, and is therefore hated by this world.
- Saul, the hater, was standing at the side of Stephen as he died. Saul played a key role in Stephen’s death. Knowing that he was the “ring leader” of the haters, and knowing how God used that to bring Saul to Christ, what does that encourage us to do when we are hated by the world? (There is encouragement here that we need to deal with those who hate us with love, grace, and HOPE! Consider Christ’s words from Matthew 5, “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.”)
Everyday Conversations (LOOK FOR opportunities to revisit the preached Word and the foundational truth(s) taught):
As Ecclesiastes says, there is a season for everything. Your child may not be able to talk, much less be hated by the world. Or you may be in the midst of teaching your child how to respond to the hatred of the world that’s happening in their class. Either way, we need to all be sober-minded as we approach our children about being hated by the world, regardless of their current situation. Consider these words from Everyday Talk by John Younts:
The birth home is not a permanent place for children. In God’s design, only the relationship of the husband and wife is permanent. Children are a vital part of that relationship, but their presence in the home is only temporary. Children are passing through. You job, as we learned earlier, is to create a temporary greenhouse for your children to prepare them for the time when they will be on their own. Your job, parent, is to equip your children.
Take time to equip your children with a response to the world’s hatred. In love. In mercy. Forgiving, as God in Christ forgives us. In HOPE.
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