Want to learn more about Family? Use these Bible Studies for personal devotion, group Bible studies, or teaching a church class. Below are links to the lessons in this 13-part series.
Seasons are something that I have been trying to avoid!
How is that? When I was young I lived in Michigan. We had four
seasons there. As soon as I could, I moved to the south where we
mostly skip the winter season. As I get old, I’m telling myself that
I’m pushing back the final season of life. So far it is mostly
working! Our new series of lessons is about the seasons of a family.
Let’s explore what the Bible has to teach us on that subject!
Many years ago, a distant relative was having a serious
conversation with me. I hardly knew him, but he was reviewing his
life and sharing with me that he had made many bad choices. He wanted
to know if I had the same experience. When I thought about it, I
could not think of a single major decision that I regretted. He could
not believe it. He was annoyed, and doubted my honesty. Friend,
having no regrets about major life decisions is a life goal. While I
am no longer as annoying as I used to be, I believe our lesson will
help us to reach the goal of making right choices in life. Let’s dive
into our study of the Bible!
One of the family stories my wife likes to tell is that
her mother stressed to her that she liked “sameness.” She did not
want any changes in her life. Six weeks later, she got married and
moved to a new residence. So much for “sameness.” Generally, people
fear change. Like my mother-in-law, they say they want “sameness.”
Let’s dig into our study of the Bible and see what it has to teach us
about changes in life and how we should evaluate them!
After thirty-three years of marriage, my work location
changed so that I was only home on the weekends. During the week, I
was free to eat dinner wherever I wanted, and go wherever I wanted.
No need to make a joint decision with my wife. At first it was fun.
After a while, however, I became lonely when eating out by myself.
Although I was not really alone because my adult daughter was living
with me, and I was working long hours, it gave me some idea of what
it would be like to be alone. Let’s explore what the Bible has to
say about the positive and negative aspects of being alone!
Families are under attack. The definition of marriage
and family is changing in the popular culture. The pressure of
culture has both spouses working hard so that “family time” is
limited. Even when the family is all together, they are often looking
at screens and not talking with each other. The idea is to pass
Biblical principles down to your children. How much time is spent on
that? Culture also promotes marital unfaithfulness. Let’s explore
what wise words the Bible has to protect families against the popular
culture!
One “family season,” is passion. That is how we get the
family, right? This week we study the pleasure and limits on passion.
What could be more exciting? Let’s dive into the Bible and see what
it has to teach us!
Do you believe that the family is the basic building
block of society? If true, then if the family breaks down, the nation
breaks down. Do you believe that your nation is breaking down? A
“key” is something that unlocks a door or a secret. Let’s open our
Bibles and see what the Bible teaches are the keys to unlock the
secrets to family unity!
I recently had a great moment in life. It was Mother’s
Day! My wife, daughter, and granddaughter were in the house. My
daughter was unhappy because of an interaction with my granddaughter.
It reminded me of when my daughter was unhappy with her mother (or
me) for very similar reasons. I had to chuckle. The irony was great.
Parenting is a grand opportunity for parents to better understand
their relationship to God and to instill in their children a love and
understanding of God. It is a limited time opportunity, and the
stakes could not be higher. Let’s dive into the Bible and see what we
can learn about parenting!
Have you ever thought that life is like a hill? As you
gain more experience in what you do, as your reputation and circle of
friends widen, things get better? What happens when you get to the
top of the hill and start looking down? For some people, life is a
series of hills and they have experience in repeatedly looking down.
Let’s explore what the Bible has to say about handling the trip down!
Are you harsh to those you love? My wife, a retired
church school teacher, used to tell me that parents would report how
well-behaved and kind their child was at school, but was something
quite different at home. Are members of your family more polite, kind
and longsuffering towards strangers than those they love? Why is
that? Is that the way things should be? Let’s dive into our study of
the Bible and see what it teaches about kindness to others!
Two weeks ago, we discussed the difficulty of facing
loss. One of the main problems with loss is that we face change, and
most people want to avoid change. What if change comes from a needed
improvement in our spiritual understanding? What if change comes
from a failure to understand or remember God’s will for us? Let’s
jump into our study of the Bible and learn more about how to make
positive change and avoid negative change!
Hezekiah was a great king! He followed God’s will and
turned his country away from idol worship. When he faced death, he
turned to God for help. In most ways he was faithful to God. But, he
lacked discretion and he struggled with pride. These problems brought
great harm to his country and his descendants. How about you? Does
your lack of discretion, your pride, or your lack of obedience
undermine your desire to advance God’s Kingdom? Let’s plunge into our
study of the Bible and Hezekiah to see what we can learn!
Last week a young man came into my office and told me
about how law school had matured his thinking. I knew what he was
talking about. He had been in my class a few years ago and was a real
“pain” because he was openly skeptical about my teaching on
constitutional law. Disagreement is part of learning. This was
something different. During law school he gave his heart to God, and
this year he has been one of my best helpers in an important
constitutional case I’m filing with the U.S. Supreme Court. God has
changed his attitude! Our lesson this week is about changing
attitudes and turning hearts to God. Let’s jump into our study of the
Bible!
