Hope for GOD’S FAMILY Hope for GOD’S FAMILYhope for today Please click to watch the intro video for this section located at:

hope for today KEY TEXT: Genesis 1:26-28 “Then God said, Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness.... So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. Then God blessed them, and God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply....’ ” SECTION 1 The Family in Heaven and the Family on Earth Hope for GOD’S FAMILY

hope for today KEY TEXT (continued): Matthew 12:46-50 “Who is My mother and who are My brothers?.... Here are My mother and My brothers! For whoever does the will of My Father in Heaven is My brother and sister and mother.” FURTHER STUDY: Ephesians 1:3-14 SECTION 1 The Family in Heaven and the Family on Earth Hope for GOD’S FAMILY

hope for today CONSIDER: God the Father, Jesus the Son, and the Holy Spirit created a family in Eden in Their image - - man and woman and, potentially, children. The family whose members love God and one another, and who are longsuffering, forbearing, and kind, is a symbol of the heavenly family. DISCUSS: When and why was the human family created? Should not every family on earth be a symbol of the family in heaven? Hope for GOD’S FAMILY SECTION 1 The Family in Heaven and the Family on Earth

SECTION 2 Marriage in the Family hope for today KEY TEXT: Ephesians 5:25-32 “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her,... So husbands ought to love their own wives as their own bodies;... For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. ” Hope for GOD’S FAMILY FURTHER STUDY: Matthew 19:6; 1 Corinthians 7:14; Matthew 9:15

hope for today CONSIDER: Paul uses the relationship that should exist between husband and wife to explain the relationship between Jesus and His bride, the church. DISCUSS: Why was marriage instituted? How does that relationship mirror the role of Christ to His church on earth? What was the significance of taking a rib rather than a bone from the foot or head? What instruction does the Bible give concerning marriage? Hope for GOD’S FAMILY SECTION 2 Marriage in the Family

SECTION 3 Children in the Family hope for today KEY TEXT: Ephesians 6:1-4 “Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. Honor your father and mother, which is the first commandment with promise: that it may be well with you and you may live long on the earth. And you, fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord.” Hope for GOD’S FAMILY

hope for todayHope for GOD’S FAMILY FURTHER STUDY: Proverbs 22:6; I Samuel 1:19-28; Luke 2:40 SECTION 3 Children in the Family

hope for today CONSIDER: Children from the same family may make opposite choices. Note Cain versus Abel or Esau versus Jacob. Godly families mentioned include Noah’s, Abraham’s, and Joseph and Mary’s. Reverence, awe and gratitude marked their attitude as they led their families in worship of the Creator. Hope for GOD’S FAMILY SECTION 3 Children in the Family DISCUSS: What relationships should be present between parents and children?

INVITATION hope for today As you experience the love and compassion of Jesus, won’t you extend the same love and compassion for each member of your immediate and extended family? Resolve in your heart to make Joshua’s historic choice: “For me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” Hope for GOD’S FAMILY