Reaching family & friends
Teachers
Lesson Summary
Jake Collins taught about the importance of expanding our understanding of outreach to include our immediate sphere of influence—particularly family and friends. He began by examining how God portrays His kingdom and church using family terminology: God as Father (Isaiah 63:16, Luke 11:12), Jesus as brother (Hebrews 2:10-13), Jesus as bridegroom (Ephesians 5:25-27), and fellow Christians as siblings (1 Corinthians 12:10, Acts 1:13-14). This biblical framework reveals that our closest relationships deserve intentional spiritual investment. Jake then presented two cautionary examples from Scripture. First, he examined 1 Samuel 2:12-15, where Eli's sons served as priests but did not know God. Despite their official role, they took unauthorized portions of sacrifices and used force to get what they wanted, leading Israel away from God's will rather than toward Him. Second, in 1 Samuel 8, even the prophet Samuel—who had brought Israel closer to God—could not get his own household in order, prompting the Israelites to request a king because his sons were not good leaders. Jake concluded by referencing 2 Peter 2:5-6 and the example of Noah, emphasizing that we must remain faithful to God's Word even when cultural pressure tempts us to compromise. The core message was that believers should make a concerted, purposeful effort to conduct outreach among those in their home and immediate circle of influence, rather than giving those relationships only the "weary leftovers" after engaging the wider world.
Key Scriptures
Now the sons of Eli were worthless men. They did not know the Lord. So the sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, serving as priests, they're serving as priests to God, but they didn't know the Lord. Continuing on, the custom of the priest with the people was that when any man offered sacrifice, the priest's servant would come while the meat was boiling with a three-pronged fork in his hand, and he would thrust it into the pan or kettle or cauldron or pot. All that the fork brought up, the priest would take for himself. This is what they did at Shiloh. Sorry. To all the Israelites who came there. The custom of the priest.