IMPROVING FAMILY RELATIONSHIPS
ONE VOICE
Adam and Eve walked and talked with God in the cool of the evening
Everything was good as long as they listen to God
THE IMAGE OF MAN
Genesis 1:26-27
Then God said, \”Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.\”
So God created man in his own image,
in the image of God he created him;
male and female he created them.
WE WERE MADE FOR WORK
Genesis 2:15-16
The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it
GOD CREATED A PLACE FOR MAN
Genesis 2:8-9
Now the Lord God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there he put the man he had formed.
THE NEEDS OF MAN
Genesis 2:18
The Lord God said, \”It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.\”
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Genesis 2:22-23
Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man.
23 The man said, \”This is now bone of my bones
and flesh of my flesh;
she shall be called \’woman,\’ for she was taken out of man.\”
UNITY
Genesis 2:24
For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh.
MAN TO PROVIDE A HOME
Genesis 2:24-25
For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh.
A marriage should not have interference from other people
A man and his wife should be so netted together that there is no room
For the opinions of others about there relationship.
INDEPENDENT DECISIONS
Genesis 2:24
For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh.
A marriage couple must make decisions together about their life.
Independent thinking requires Holy Spirit Guidance
John 14:26
But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you
Everything you need to know about marriage
Everything you need to know about relationships
Everything you need to know about children
PRAY TOGETHER DAILY
1 Thessalonians 5:17-19
Pray without ceasing.
18 In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.
James 5:16
Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.
The first person to discuss your faults with is with your spouse.
If you don’t recognize your faults, you can’t deal with them.
FAMILY ORDER
Ephesians 5:22-29
22 Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord. 23 For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. 24 Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything.
The divine order of the family
Jesus
Husband
Spouse
Children
LOVE IS KEY TO FAMILY UNITY
25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her 26 to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, 27 and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. 28 In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself.
THE DAMAGE CAUSED WHEN THERE IS MORE THAN ONE VOICE
What happens when there is more than one voice is confusion and sometimes
Loss of fellowship with the Lord.
The first example of more than one voice in the family is in the Garden of Eden
Genesis 3:1-3
3 Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, \”Did God really say, \’You must not eat from any tree in the garden\’?\”
2 The woman said to the serpent, \”We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, 3 but God did say, \’You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.\’\”
Adam went along to get along. Eve ate first from the tree and then Adam
Adam was in charge of the Word for the household.
God gave Him the command. Adam was in charge of the prayer meeting.
He failed.
What happen was a loss of fellowship with Lord and then a loss of their home
In the Garden of Eden.
Adam and Eve had to start over again outside the Garden of Eden
The introduction of sin into mankind changed everything.
Genesis 3:16
To the woman he said,
\”I will greatly increase your pains in childbearing;
with pain you will give birth to children.
Your desire will be for your husband,
and he will rule over you.\”
- Pain in childbearing
- A desire for a man
- From being equal to man to being ruled by man
Genesis 3:17-19
To Adam, he said, \”Because you listened to your wife and ate from the tree about which I commanded you, \’You must not eat of it,\’
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\”Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat of it
all the days of your life.
18 It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field.
19 By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground,
since from it you were taken;
for dust you are and to dust you will return.\”
1. Sin changed the approach to the Lord; a blood sacrifice required
2. Sin changed the landscape of the earth; from soft to hard
3. Sin placed a struggle in our work; from easy to painful
4. Sin changed the vegetation of earth; from a garden to thorns and thistles
5. Sin changed the body chemistry, from no sweat to producing sweat
6. Sin caused eternal death; from heaven to hell
Failing to follow God’s commands can have damaging effects on our children
The first family had two sons. Cain killed Able. Cain had some physiological
Problems that didn’t get dealt with by the parents.
God had a counseling session with Cain when he was grown.
Genesis 4:2-9
Now Abel kept flocks, and Cain worked the soil. 3 In the course of time Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering to the Lord. 4 But Abel brought fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock. The Lord looked with favor on Abel and his offering, 5 but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favor. So Cain was very angry, and his face was downcast.
6 Then the Lord said to Cain, \”Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? 7 If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it.\”
8 Now Cain said to his brother Abel, \”Let\’s go out to the field.\” And while they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him.
Did the parents have conversation when Cain was a child? We don’t know. But we know the effect of the first disobedience.
The second example of more that one voice is the story
Of Jacob and Esau.
Esau was the oldest and should have had the inheritance
But the mother decided Esau’s didn’t deserve the inheritance
Rebekah cook up a lie to the father, Isaac, to deceive him in to believing
That Jacob was Esau.
That lie cost Jacob 20 years of his life; 20 years away from
His mother and father.
You never know how division between the mother and the father
Will affect the children.
Once disobedience takes hold in the family it can get out of control
1 Peter gives us another look at the same order of family
1 Peter 3:1-10
3 Wives, in the same way be submissive to your husbands so that, if any of them do not believe the word, they may be won over without words by the behavior of their wives, 2 when they see the purity and reverence of your lives. 3 Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes. 4 Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God\’s sight. 5 For this is the way the holy women of the past who put their hope in God used to make themselves beautiful. They were submissive to their own husbands, 6 like Sarah, who obeyed Abraham and called him her master. You are her daughters if you do what is right and do not give way to fear.
7 Husbands, in the same way be considerate as you live with your wives, and treat them with respect as the weaker partner and as heirs with you of the gracious gift of life, so that nothing will hinder your prayers.
SIN OF ANY KIND DAMAGES FAMILY RELATIONSHIPS
I would be willing to bet that marriages end in the divorce because the two never
Become one flesh. When there is disobedience to God’s command for marriage,
there will be trouble.
When there is more than one voice in the family, the children are confused and can use the two voices against the parents.
Never allow the children to hear you argue. Your arguments creates tension
When the structure of the family that God has set breaks down, there will be family dysfunction.
Ephesians 6:1-4
Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. 2 \”Honor your father and mother\”-which is the first commandment with a promise— 3 \”that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth.\”
Where will they learn this important principle? It\’s not the Pastor\’s Job.
When should we teach this principle?
As soon as children are able to understand, Family Bible Study should begin and continue .
Discipline is God’s rule not your option
TRAIN UP A CHILD
Proverbs 22:6
Train a child in the way he should go,
and when he is old he will not turn from it.
No two children are alike. Each is uniquely created by God.
Each will have different desires and gifts
Each will have different personalities
Know your children and promote their gifts.
DISCIPLINE WITH LOVE
Ephesians 6:4-5
Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.
Never discipline with anger. Discipline with compassion and love
Don’t fail to discipline.
Proverbs 22:15
Foolishness is bound in the heart of a child; but the rod of correction shall drive it far from him.
Proverbs 29:15-16
The rod and reproof give wisdom: but a child left to himself bringeth his mother to shame.
Sometimes its not what got in the child, but what you fail to put
In the child.
Parents must be on the same page with instructions to the children
If there is any division, Satan will use to destroy what you are
Building.
GRAND CHILDREN
Where do we fit given God’s command
Genesis 2:24
For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh.
We give advice. We give wisdom from our years of experience
We give them our history of what we did wrong.
Assist when you can, but don’t take over
WHAT THE WORLD SHOULD SEE
1 Peter 3:8-13
8 Finally, all of you, live in harmony with one another; be sympathetic, love as brothers, be compassionate and humble. 9 Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult, but with blessing, because to this, you were called so that you may inherit a blessing. 10 For,
\”Whoever would love life and see good days
must keep his tongue from evil and his lips from deceitful speech.
11 He must turn from evil and do good; he must seek peace and pursue it.
12 For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous
and his ears are attentive to their prayer,
but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.\”
Our attitude and actions should be pleasing to God in the house and
When we step outside the door.
Rev. M. Mitchell
