The family is wonderful, but unless we understand the family in the context of the triune God who is magnifying and manifesting His glory in the world and painting the picture of it through this union that we call the family, then we are selling it short and we are not seeing it for what it really is and we are limiting our capacity to enjoy it and our capacity to glorify God through it as well.
Grace Quotes Personal Interview, 2016.
The family is supposed to be our training ground in this loving authority. It is a “ramping-up” place that God has given us to learn love, respect, honor, obedience, and trust, in order to prepare us for relating to others and ultimately to God Himself.
Nine Marks of a Healthy Church, Crossway, 2000, p. 228. Get this book!
Every Christian family ought to be a little church, consecrated to Christ and wholly influenced and governed by His Laws.
Farewell Sermon.
Remember always that your work or ministry or position dare never keep you from your family. If you fail them, you fail your greatest responsibility – and you are a failure in life.
The Making of a Christian Leader, Zondervan, 1976, p. 118. www.zondervan.com.
In God’s divine design, every “biological family” when converted to Christ becomes the “church in miniature”… And as these families mature and reflect the fullness of Christ, they become the strong building blocks of the church. In this sense, mature families automatically create mature churches.
Elders and Leaders, Moody, 2003, p. 126. Get this book!
Living in a time when the family is under attack, the real danger is idolizing the family. We hear “the family first” and may be tempted to say “amen.” But Jesus will have none of this. When the family is first, God plays second fiddle.
Family Traits, Tabletalk, March 2007, p. 14. Used by Permission of Ligonier Ministries.
The roles and responsibilities in a household according to Scripture – Fathers: Provide for family/children (2 Cor. 12:14) and ensure proper nurture and discipline (Eph. 6:4; Col. 3:21; Heb. 12:6). Mothers: Raising of children/motherhood (1 Tim. 2:15) and managing the home (1 Tim. 5:14). Children: Obedience to parents (Eph. 6:1-3; Col. 3:20) and care for parents in old age (1 Tim. 5:8).
God, Marriage and Family, Crossway, 2004, p. 123. Get this book!
God gave us family. And what a precious gift! But it is a gift, not the Giver. Jesus will not allow Himself to be demoted to High Priest in the Temple Of Family Values. When we come to Christ, we leave that Temple behind, never to return, and we spend the rest of our lives recruiting our families to worship Jesus.
The family was God’s first earthly institution. Before there was a government, and long before God instituted the church, He ordained marriage and the family as the basic building block of society. The destruction of the family we are witnessing today is, I believe, a harbinger of the ultimate collapse of our entire society. The more the family is threatened, the more society itself is in danger of extinction. We’re living in the last days, and nothing shows that more graphically than the deterioration of the family.
Successful Christian Parenting, 1998, p. 217.
It is difficult to see how Christianity can have a positive effect on society if it cannot transform its own homes.
Family is the divinely created institution for the formation of restrained sinners who by generations of morality, discipline, love, virtue, and obedience become a benefit to society, enjoy God’s gifts, and are grateful.
Who’s to Blame for the Riots. The sermon originally appeared at: https://www.gty.org/library/sermons-library/81-80/whos-to-blame-for-the-riots at www.gty.org. © 1969-2008. Grace to You. All rights reserved. Used by Permission.
An ideal Christian home ought to be a place where love rules. It ought to be beautiful, bright, joyous, full of tenderness and affection, a place in which all are growing happier and holier each day. There should never be any discord, any wrangling, any angry words or bitter feelings. The home-life should be a harmonious song without one marring note, day after day. The home, no matter how humble it is, how plain, how small – should be the dearest spot on the earth to each member of the family. It should be made so happy a place, and so full of life, that no matter where one may wander in after years, in any of the ends of the earth – his home should still hold its invisible cords of influence about him, and should ever draw resistless upon his heart. It ought to be the one spot in all the earth, to which he would turn first, when in trouble or in danger. It should be his refuge, in every trial and grief.
Homemaking, 1882.
Kent and Barbara Hughes suggest the following to built family affection:
1. “The best possible foundation for building affection: love for God…We are able to love God and others through the reception of God’s love. Loving God is what makes other loves endure. This discipline, the day-to-day empowerment to live out this love for people who aren’t always “lovable,” is what fosters the ongoing growth of affection.”
2. “It is essential, then, if a family is to develop the bonds of affection, that the children have the assurance of their parents’ love for one another.”
3. “An obvious place to enhance family affection is at the dinner table. That is the single best daily opportunity families have for all gathering together…We encourage you never to surrender that choice time, for it is an unsurpassed opportunity to build family life.”
4. “Family vacations were at the heart of building the Hughes clan’s affections…we made disciplined investment in family vacations…Sometimes brief, spontaneous mini-vacations can (also) have important results in developing family unity and affection.”
5. “Mutual interests builds affection…Wise parents know this and look for a common interest or adopt their children’s interests as their own.”
6. “Families that learn to appreciate their points of uniqueness and to chuckle at their idiosyncrasies pull together in affection rather than apart in irritation.”
7. “The home is the place to be sentimental, corny, even weird for the sake of affection.”
8. “Wise parents who wish to enhance familial bonds will do their best to keep up the communication with grandparents and spent time with them if possible. Few things can be more elevating to family than loving affection extended across generations.” (Kent and Barbara Hughes).
Kent and Barbara Hughes Disciplines of a Godly Family, Crossway, 2004, p. 30-42. Get this book!
We have experienced substantial joys in professional ministry, but nothing is quite so fulfilling as the personal joy of seeing family friends come to faith… The family is at the very heart of authentic ministry and evangelism. As ministry professionals, we hold the firm conviction that family is ministry and that the most effective spread of the gospel occurs through family. We are also convinced that we were never more effective in evangelism than when we had children at home (Kent and Barbara Hughes).
Disciplines of a Godly Family, Crossway, 2004, p. 86- 87. Get this book!
A vital element for building a family is instilling a healthy sense of heritage – an appreciation of family roots, both earthly and spiritual. Yet it is increasingly common in our world for children to have no such sense of continuity or regard for family history. Too many feel that they have come from nothing and are bound for nothing- and this goes for Christians, too. Family heritage is a subject of neglect that is in need of rehabilitation. It is one of the disciplines of a godly family (Kent and Barbara Hughes).
Disciplines of a Godly Family, Crossway, 2004, p. 21. Get this book!
The Christian family was the bulwark of godliness in the days of the Puritans; but in these evil times hundreds of families of so-called Christians have no family worship, no restraint upon growing sons, and no wholesome instruction or discipline. See how the families of many professors are as dressy, as godless as the children of the non-religious! How can we hope to see the Kingdom of our Lord advance when His own disciples do not teach His gospel to their own sons and daughters?
Only a Prayer Meeting, Christian Focus Publications, 2000, p. 12.
In the family, life is brought not only to our doorstep, but into our kitchens, bedrooms, and dens. In the family, life is happening all around us, and it begs to be questioned, evaluated, interpreted, and discussed. There is no more consistent, pregnant, dynamic forum for instruction about life than the family, because that is exactly what God designed the family to be, a learning community.
Age of Opportunity, P&R Publishing, 1997, p. 41-42, Used by Permission.
