Introduction: How do we have a happy home? Sometimes it is not easy,
sometimes the members of the home make things difficult. But, like
everything else, God gives us directions for making our homes better
places to live. Let’s jump into the Bible and find out how to improve
our family life!
- Planned Peace
- Read Proverbs 12:20. What would you say is the first step
towards having peace in your home? How would you “promote
peace?”(You have to make a decision that you want to have
peace.) - How would you go about making that decision? Would
you call a family meeting and discuss whether peace
is worth pursuing? - What is the next step? (You have to do something. You
need a plan of action. Proverbs 12:20 tells us that
joy waits for those who promote peace. That means we
need to make a decision and then create a plan of
action.) - Read Ephesians 4:3. To what is peace compared?(A bond. If
you want to hold your family together, you need to have a
plan of action and then make an effort to have peace.) - Read Ephesians 4:2. When we use the term “bond,” we think
of something that ties us together – sort of like a rope.
What are the strands of the “peace rope” that holds our
families together? (Patience. Humility. Gentleness.
Bearing with each other in love.) - How do you think your family will react when you
explain that these are some of the elements of the
peace rope? Are they ready to be humble, gentle,
patient and loving? Or, is this just some sort of
fantasy? - Our text seems to suggest that love is the basic
ingredient which allows patience, humility and
gentleness. Can we just decide to be loving? Can we
just decide to be humble, patient and gentle? - Read Philippians 2:12-13. In the preceding verses of
Philippians chapter 2, Paul has just discussed how
humility promotes the goal of unity. How do we acquire
humility? (God works in us to do His will. If you have
trouble with the idea of waving a wand which suddenly
causes you to become humble, patient or gentle, Paul
suggests that it is God who can change our hearts. It is
the working of God that changes our proud, impatient,
harsh hearts into something else.) - Specific Advice.
- Read Proverbs 29:17. The Proverbs give us some specific
advice for achieving peace in the family. This text tells
us to discipline our children so that we will have peace.
What connection do you see between disciplining our
children and having peace? - Doesn’t it seem that imposing discipline creates
anger? - Notice the ultimate future conclusion to discipline:
delight to our soul! - Read Matthew 18:15. Would this apply to conflicts with our
children? - Have you heard parents publically complaining about
their children? - What impact do you think this has on our
children? - What direction does Matthew 18:15 give us on
this issue, if any? - Would this apply to “faults” between husband and
wife? - Have you heard wives (husbands) complaining to
others about their spouse? - Read Philippians 2:3. Give me some examples of how
husbands and wives can violate this Biblical advice? - Give me some examples of how they can comply with
this directive? - Read Colossians 3:12-14. Are these principles that should
apply in our homes too? - If so, what does it mean to “clothe” ourselves with
compassion, kindness, etc.? - What relationship does forgiveness have to wearing
compassion and kindness? - Notice that we are to “forgive as the Lord
forgave you.” How did Jesus forgive us? - Read Hebrews 8:12. Does this also apply to our
forgiveness? Or, is this an attitude that will
only apply in heaven? - Anger
- Read Matthew 5:22. In addition to anger, what else is
prohibited? - I remember speaking to a divorced lady and she said
one of the most difficult problems in her marriage
was that her former husband used to verbally attack
her intelligence and make her feel stupid. Would
that kind of treatment be prohibited by Matthew 5:22? - Read Ephesians 4:26-27. Is it okay to be angry for a
little while? Is anger only transformed into a “foothold
for Satan” if we let it boil for more than one day?
- Or, is this text saying something else?
- How can we reconcile Matthew 5:22 with Ephesians 4:26? One
says “don’t be angry” and the other says, “if you are
angry, don’t sin?” (It is important that Matthew 5 ties
anger to murder. Anger is a gateway to murder. The text
seems to say “Don’t let your anger get out of control.”) - Read Mark 3:1-5. The text plainly says that Jesus was
angry. Since Jesus did not sin, how do we explain this?
(Both this text and Ephesians 4:26 help us to understand
that some anger is okay. Being upset over violations of
God’s law is acceptable. Being upset over the violation of
our own space is something to try to reconcile before the
evening.) - Abortion and Abuse
- Read 2 Kings 16:1-3. What parallels are there between
sacrificing your child in the fire and abortion? (The
reason to sacrifice your child was to encourage the “gods”
to treat you favorably. The reason to sacrifice your child
to abortion is that you think life will be better for you.
The two are very similar.) - Is abortion a form of child abuse? (The ultimate –
you deprive the child of the opportunity for life.) - How could abortion cause harm to family life? (The
feelings of regret and remorse can create later
problems for the family.) - Often I hear about adults who abuse children who
themselves were abused as children. Why should this
happen? - If this is a temptation for you, consider the
enormity of the pain and sin that goes from
generation to generation. The time to stop the chain
of pain is right now. - Read Romans 1:26-27. Would this prohibition cover child
abuse? - Friend, a happy family does not just happen. It is an on-going project. Will you determine today to follow God’s
rules for happiness in your family? - Next week: Families of Faith.
