Elephant in the Living Room

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Elephant in the Living Room

• Ignore it It will go away
• Sunday, May 1, PM

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(No Transcript)
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Introduction

• We use other phrases
• Skeletons in the closet
• The King has no clothes
• Shady family tree
• Ignore it It will go away

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Introduction

• Many try to pretend a problem does not exist
• We hope the problem will just disappear.
• Are there elephants in your life?

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Grecian Widows

• Apostles were busy
• Preaching, teaching, baptizing
• Doing the command of Jesus
• Greek speaking widows were neglected, ignored
• They were an elephant in the early churchs
  living room

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Achans Elephant

• Joshua 710-11
• Achan stole gold, silver, garment from Jericho
• The spoils belong to God
• Achan hid the goods under his tent

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Achans Elephant

• Achan pretended that everything was OK
• The next day Israel lost 36 men is a battle
• Why? There is sin in the camp
• There is an elephant under the tent

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Elephants in the Church

• Doctrinal Issues
• Salvation baptism
• Worship Music, Communion, Giving
• Fellowship with error
• Moral Issues
• Abortion
• Homosexual issues

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Elephants in the Church

• Internal Stress
• Long-term grudges
• Personality clashes
• Strong Opinions

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Home / Family / Marriage

• Are there any elephants in your living room?
• Every family has a horse theif in the family
  tree
• We say, Skeletons in the closet

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Home / Family / Marriage

• Today there are family elephants
• Wild Teens Drugs, Stealing, Truancy,
  Fornication
• Parents Argue, Alcohol, Violence, Sexual Abuse
• Marriage On the rocks

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Repentance

• Matthew 1817 - And if he refuses to hear them,
  tell it to the church. But if he refuses even to
  hear the church, let him be to you like a heathen
  and a tax collector.

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Repentance

• Matthew 1817
• If he refuses to hear you - -
• They are ignoring the elephant
• If he refuses to repent - -
• He has an elephant in the living room

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Salvation

• Some think they dont need salvation
• Im a good person
• Hebrews 23a - how shall we escape if we neglect
  so great a salvation?