May 5, 2018
1. Discuss in your group the origin of the concept of “The Family”.
Is the Trinity the first family with God being Jesus’ Father and Jesus being His Son? What about the Holy Spirit? Is there aspects of The Trinity which are the same as a family eg:
• Their unity. “They are One”, John 17:22.
• Multiple persons but share one name. Matthew 28:19.
• Each member of the Trinity has a specific role, and those three roles interrelate. The Father creates a plan Galatians 4:4-5, Jesus Christ implements the plan John 6:37-38 and the Holy Spirit administers the plan John 14:26, John 16:8.
Can you think of others?
2. God’s Family- The Church.
Discuss the following:
How do we become part of God’s family?:
• What did Jesus say to Nicodemus? John 3:1-7.
• What did John say in John 1:12-13.
• How would you explain this to non Christians who think they are God’s children through other means eg: just because they are human beings (automatically born one) or through following one of the religions of the world, etc.
Being chosen. Eph. 1:4, John 15:16, Rom. 8:29-30.
What adoption means? Eph. 1:5, Rom. 8:15.
Our new identity and future as God’s children. 1 John 3:1-2, Eph. 2:17-22.
What we share with our fellow Christian brothers and sisters. Eph. 4:4-6.
Read Matt. 12:46-50. What is the point Jesus is making?
Our responsibilities as to how God calls us to live:
• How do we “lead a life worthy of our calling” Eph. 4:1, see also Rom. 12:1-2, Eph. 4:2-3.
• Our testimony as we interact with the world around us. Matt. 5:16, Phil. 2:14-15.
3. Our Earthly Family and Marriage.
Discuss Daniel’s following comments from Sunday’s message:
A Christian family is one that follows Biblical principles, and where each member follows their God given role.
The family was not designed by man, it was created by God for the benefit of man. Whether the husband or wife, children, uncles, aunts, cousins, or grandparents, each member is a part of that family for life. There is an emphasis on the husband and wife being committed for life, but the principle can be applied to any member of the family. God hates divorce, and I’m sure that would apply to any member of the family breaking that bond.
On the roles of the family; the husband is to provide spiritual leadership, the wife is to respect her husband and willingly submit to his leadership, Children are to honour their parents their father and mother… These roles do not denote differences in value for the different members; both man and woman were created in the image of God, and therefore are equally valuable in His eyes. This equality does not mean that their roles are the same; men and women have strengths in different areas, generally, and more specifically every individual has their own strengths and weaknesses as well. It is up to the family to work together in unity.
Ideally, a Christian family will have all members committed to Christ and His service. When a husband, wife, and children all fulfill their God-appointed roles, then peace and harmony reign in the home. But, if we try to have a Christian family without Christ as Head or without adhering to the biblical principles the Lord has lovingly provided for us, the home will suffer.
Do you think the family is under attack? If so give reasons for your answer.
As the western world turns further away from God we see this also reflected in God’s model and family values in our own society. Are there opportunities for us to stand out? How do Christians ensure they don’t get influenced by the world and go the same way?
Discuss the value of parents today following God’s teaching to the Israelite’s 1,000s of years ago. Deut. 6:4-9.