Today’s Spotlight: What are/aren't families? (05.10.20)
Welcome
WelcomE: It’s good that you’re here.
If this is your first time with us, here’s our simple, five-part Spotlight framework so you know where we’re headed for the next 90 minutes:
Welcome > Worship > Learn > Serve > Farewell
Watch this video for an overview of what we will be talking about in this series of Spotlights.
01. Check In: Let us know you’re here
No family is perfect - every family has some things that are working well and some that aren't. We might call them "functions" and "dysfunctions." Let's tap into the collective wisdom of the Spotlight audience for what "functions" and "dysfunctions" look like using the forms below.
Dysfunctioning Families
https://www.menti.com/g921v6gc7r
Functional Families
https://www.menti.com/ygh7u98jyg
Please check in using the form below. (It’s the best way you can help us serve you well.)
02. Watch: Family as a Bad word
Worship
03. Listen & Interact: orphaned
Wait, what? A choose-your-own-adventure module? Yes. Indeed.
We have two songs, you get to pick one as you go through the Spotlight for the first time and get to save the other for another day. We are confident both of these songs are great for helping you access the idea that we are all orphans in need of family. The song "City of Orphans" is a little more rock, a little more high-concept, and a little more depressing. The song "Orphan Girl" is quieter, a little clearer, and has a few more glimmers of hope. Enjoy!
Orphan Girl
Here are three questions to think about while you listen to the song "Orphan Girl." Pro tip: read the questions before starting the song, so you know what you're looking for.
The situation of this orphan is tragic. How does the songwriter illustrate that in verse 1?
Verses 3 & 4 are clever - they setup a solution that seems far away, and then give one that is right here right now. What are those two solutions?
What do you think the songwriter is reminding you of by bringing back the line "I am an orphan girl" at the very end?
If you'd like to read the lyrics while you listen, you can click this link for a PDF.
Here's the song:
One closing thought:
This song has obvious Christian ideas in it, but it wasn't written by a "Christian artist." As you heard in the introduction, Gillian Welch is a renowned songwriter. This song, as many of her songs do, shows us something very true about the human condition. We were born separated from family. That's what it's all about.
City of Orphans
Here are three questions to think about while you listen to the song "City of Orphans." Pro tip: read the questions before starting the song, so you know what you're looking for.
The stories of Jenny & Kevin in Verses 1 & 2 are tragic. Chorus 1 explains why. What would be bad about belonging to the "city of orphans" as they're described in Chorus 1?
The Channel, Chorus 2, and Chorus 3 explain why the "city of orphans" can't get better. What are the obstacles listed in those sections?
"We take all the good and the heaven around us and turn it to hell." Why is this a good description of the human condition?
If you'd like to read the lyrics while you listen, you can click this link for a PDF.
Here's the song:
One closing thought:
This song was written about Seattle, Washington, but it just as easily could have been about Fredericksburg, Virginia or Rock Hill, South Carolina. You could replace Capitol Hill with College Heights or the Riverwalk. You could replace Streamline with ____ or Legal Remedy - it would still be true. More than that, though, this song is about the world. It's about being human. We are born orphans - without guidance, without truth, without selflessness. We are born separated from family. That's what this song is all about.
04. Watch: familied
05. interact: kids’ module
06. Read & interact: family when it’s convenient
Use the > arrow on the right to move through the presentation.
07. Watch: Family when it’s inconvenient
08. Listen (& Sing along): Grace Alone
Learn
09. interact: The Venn Diagram of familial connection
10. Read & interact: Dysfunctional families
Here are the words you submitted describing "functional" and "dysfunctional" families.
For the results of the "functional family" survey, categorize what was submitted into categories that come from a section of God's word that describes the Christian family in a beautiful way, Acts 4:32-35. Again, the great value of this exercise is in explaining why you chose the category you chose!
All the believers were one in heart and mind.
No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had.
With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus.
And God’s grace was so powerfully at work in them all that there were no needy persons among them.
For the results of the "dysfunctional family" survey, categorize what was submitted into two categories: the younger brother and the older brother (from the Prodigal story we meditated on earlier.) Explain why you've chosen the category you have.
11. Watch: KNOWN connections
Serve
12. Watch: widows & orphans
A quick riff on how God calls us to react when the family unit itself becomes incomplete.
12. Do: family = connections
Look at the list of people you wrote in Part 6.
Plan how and when you'll connect with each of them.
Feel free to use the chart below to give you direction.
Then after you've planned...follow through and connect!
Farewell
13. P.r.a.y. & Give
Our prayer today will follow a commonly used structure called P.R.A.Y. - Praise, Repent, Ask, Yield. You can do this aloud in groups, having someone take each letter, or have one person pray on behalf of everyone.
PRAISE: Begin by praising God for the genius of binding us together through our known, shared connections - and in doing so, building the whole world together.
REPENT: Pray that God would forgive us - as individuals and as a whole - for the ways we have not cared about those we are connected with as much as we could have.
ASK: Pray about any special prayer requests those in your group might have.
Then join together in praying the Lord’s prayer:
Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us.
Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours, now and forever. Amen.
YIELD: Finish your conversation with God by thankfully yielding all you are and have to him. We are stewards of his bounty, so this is a good time to consider using what he's given you to support his work through your church.
You can do just that by clicking one of the buttons below, or you can also mail an offering to:
Illumine Church
1262 Riverchase Blvd.
Rock Hill, SC 29732Illumine Church
11051 Phinney Ave N
Seattle, WA 98133.
THANK YOU!
