The Apron & The Mantle: Mallory Church of God · 1990 Huff Creek Highway, Mallory, WV · Every Sunday at 11:00 AM · Pastor Shaun

The Big Idea

The faith that saved you did not begin with you. It was forged in a previous generation's furnace - and the God of your ancestors is demanding to be the God of yours. I. The Chain Begins at Home - Not at Church Your kitchen table is a more powerful pulpit than the one on this platform. The church plays catch-up to what you are - or aren't - doing at home. The Greek word enoikesen means "to take up permanent residence." Lois and Eunice didn't just believe in God - they let faith settle into every corner of home life. Remember this: A Hotel Faith visits God on Sundays. A Homeowner Faith moves in and rearranges the furniture. II. Forging the Link - The Chinuch of Consecration Spiritual formation is an atmosphere, not a curriculum. What does your home 'smell' like spiritually - obligation or wonder? Chinuch is the Hebrew word for dedication - making something sacred the very first experience. Ancient mothers placed honey on scripture so a child's first taste of God's Word was sweet. Remember this: You don't just teach children about God. You make God feel like home to them. III. The Weight of the Mantle - When the Chain Falls You are not responsible for the generation that dropped the mantle. You are responsible for what you do now that you're standing over it. When Elisha picked up Elijah's mantle, he didn't ask "Where is Elijah?" He asked, "Where is the God of Elijah?" He went past the man to the God behind the man. Remember this: Don't build a museum with the mantle. Take it to your Jordan and strike the water. IV. The Mishkan Mother - Weaving the Sacred Space Most mothers are never named in the record the world keeps - but their hidden prayers are the architecture of the next generation's sanctuary. The women who wove the goats'-hair curtains of the Tabernacle are never named in Scripture. But the curtain they wove was the threshold between the ordinary and the holy. God remembered every thread. Remember this: Your ordinary, faithful, unnamed work is woven into the curtain that separates the holy from the common. Follow Along