Family

Intro: How many brothers and sisters do you have? how old are they?

Study

  1. Ps 115:3, Is 55:8-9 God has placed everyone of us in a family, we have no choice of who is in our family, but God has his purposes.
    1. Gen 1:27-28, Josh 24:15 God’s intent for family is that family would be a place of support, encouragement and a place to grow in God.
      1. Rom 5:12-13 Because of sin, not everyone has a good family experience, many people have been hurt by their family.
      2. Eph 4:31-32 Many people, even many Christians have bitterness and unforgiveness towards family members who have hurt them.
    2. Psalms 27:10 Many times this hurt can cause people to turn from God even causing us to have a wrong image of who God is.
  2. Rom 8:28, Gal 4:6 When we surrender to God he can heal all our hurt, and use our experiences as tools in ministry to reach other people.
    1. Matt 18:26-35, Col 3:13 God has called us to forgive those who have hurt us,remembering that he forgave us for way more.
      1. Rom 3:23 We need to remember that we haven’t been perfect either, and we need to repent of what we have done wrong.
      2. Rom 10:13-15 Many times Christians rightfully evangelize the world, but forget to share Christ with members of their own family.
    2. Acts 1:8, Eph 4:31 God is calling us to let go of any bitterness, or hurt we may have against family members, and share Christ with them, looking for opportunities to bring them to salvation as well.

Discussion

  1. Has anyone here ever struggled with bitterness or hurt towards someone in your family? Have you surrendered it to God?
  2. Why can it be difficult at times to share Christ with family members?
  3. Does anyone have an example of a time when they led someone in their family to Christ?
  4. Do any of you have family members who don’t know Christ? What is your plan to reach out to them?

End: Pray for any who have hurt or unforgiveness towards family members, pray for unsaved family, then take prayer requests.