God’s creation is very good: Exploring the Good Family.
Text Genesis 6:9-18; 1 Samuel 3:11-14
When God created the world, everything was perfect ( Genesis 1:31). For this reason, we can easily tell when things are not working well. However, most people don't know what the ideal life should be like and what to do when things are not working well. For these reasons, many people remain miserable all their lives.
Aim:
Understand what a good life is in God's view and learn what to do when things are not working well. We shall break the sermon into series: the good family, Personality, Wealth/money, Religion and spirituality, Work/labour, and Sex and emotional needs.
The good family life according to God’s principle (see Mark 3:31-35)
Characteristics: Fear God and obey God. Children are God’s property because parents have trained them for God.
E.g., Noah's Family (Genesis 6:9-18; 9)
Abraham’s family (Genesis 18:16-18)
Failed family
E,g, Cain’s family (Genesis 4:17); Eli's family ( 1 Samuel 3:11-14; 4:12-22); Ahab and Jezebel (1 Kings 21).
Lessons
Parents who refuse to train their children in a godly way suffer a lot in life because of their children.
Ungodly parents who become financially successful, like Cain, produce ungodly children the enemy uses to cause havoc to humanity.
Children who were not trained to fear God must search for God themselves.
How to get a good family (it is a process):
Teaching your family God’s word, to love God (Deut 6:4-9)
Follow God’s arrangement for the family as a team: the man submits to Christ, the woman submits to the man, and the children submit to the parents ( 1 Cor 11:3; Eph. 5:21-33).
Use a Godly approach to solving family problems (e.g., 1 Peter 3:1-7).