A persecuted home is a blessed home! That is what Jesus tells us in Matthew 5:10.
We usually don’t include persecution, ridicule, & pain in our list of blessings, but Jesus teaches us something important here. Jesus teaches that we will be persecuted, not for doing the WRONG thing, but for doing the RIGHT thing.
Here are 3 steps that you need in a persecuted home.

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Expect it

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Endure it

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Embrace it

“if you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God that you bear that name.” – 1st Peter 4:16

Bless this Home 4: Persecuted Home – Redemption Church Plano Tx from Redemption Church on Vimeo.
 
 
Bless This Home 4 – A Persecuted Home
Sermon notes by Sarah Fluitt
Redemption Church Plano Tx
Bumper VIDEO4:
Pastor Chris Introduction.
Bless this Home
Hey Redemption Church and everybody watching online! I’m so glad to get to be here with you today and get to actually preach to you today. This is our 4th and final week of our Bless this home series. Over the past 3 weeks we’ve been looking at the teaching of Jesus in Mathew, chapter 5, in a section called the “beatitudes” where Jesus gave us 8 different qualities of those who would be blessed, and although Jesus was talking to everybody, what we’re doing for the purpose of this series is applying his teaching to a much smaller group… our family. Because the reality is, if you look around today at so many homes where we live, most people wouldn’t say, “Man, they’re really blessed. They have a blessed marriage, their kids are so blessed.” So, we’re asking God to teach us to live according to his word so that He would bless our homes.
Do you remember the key phrase we’ve been using each week as a shift in how to think about faith in our families?
We are not just a Christian home. We are a Christ-centered family.
Some of you may not have been here for the previous 3 weeks and are asking yourselves “what’s the difference? What is different about being a Christian home and a Christ-centered family?” Unfortunately today, the word “Christian” doesn’t mean what it used to. In fact, where we live, to be a Christian seems to be a default decision. There are tons of people who, if you asked, “Hey, what are you when it comes to your faith?” They’d say “well, you know, I guess I’m a Christian. My parents are Christians and I’m not anything else, so yeah, I’m Christian.” This type of cultural Christian makes up a large portion of the population of Christians in our country.
About 80% of the people in our country claim to be Christians, but by looking at their family and lives you might not really see any evidence that suggests that they are. Let’s change it up a bit and say “we’re not just a Christian home in the cultural sense, but we are Christ centered in all we do.” This means that Jesus in NOT just a convenient part of our lives, the guy we call (or blame) when things are going wrong, or just going to church on Christmas and Easter because it is tradition. This means that He is truly the center of our life and there will be evidence of this to those who look on. Our values will be different, the way we raise our kids will be different, the way we use our resources, our time, our money, it will all be different. The way we treat people will be different because Jesus isn’t just a part of our lives, he is our lives. We are Christ centered in all we do.
Now, our key thought for today, if you’re ready for some fun…
If you are a Christ-centered family, you will be persecuted.
“Well awesome! That is just what I came to hear today! I can tell I’m so glad I’m spending my day off of work to come and hear this message!” But it is true. If you are a Christ-centered family, what you need to understand is that people will mock you, make fun of you,