Families of the Bible A Bible Study Course for Adults by Steven L. Lange Leader s Guide Lesson One Made for Each Other............................ 83 Lesson Two Alone against the World.......................... 88 Lesson Three Blessed Is the Family That Puts God First.......... 14 Lesson Four Salt That Lost Its Saltiness....................... 22 Lesson Five Rivalry and Reconciliation........................ 28 Lesson Six Train a Child................................... 37 Lesson Seven Fallen, Yet Forgiven........................... 44 Lesson Eight Holding On While Letting Go..................... 50
Families of the Bible Leader s Guide Page 2 The material on this disk may be adapted, printed, and copied by the purchaser of this kit. However, the following notice must appear at the bottom of each page of the student lessons: 2007 Northwestern Publishing House. All rights reserved. Used by permission. Ownership of this material belongs to either a congregation or an individual, but not both. Purchase by a congregation: Purchase of this material by a congregation gives Bible study leaders of that congregation permission to adapt and copy this material for use in one or more groups within that congregation. (Dual parishes may purchase one copy for use in both congregations.) Purchase by a pastor or other Bible study leader: Purchase of this material by an individual gives the buyer permission to adapt and copy this material for Bible classes he or she teaches or supervises. The buyer has permission to use this material only in the congregation he or she is currently serving or attending. Scripture is taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved. The NIV and New International Version trademarks are registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by International Bible Society. Use of either trademark requires the permission of International Bible Society. Northwestern Publishing House 1250 N. 113th St., Milwaukee, WI 53226-3284 www.nph.net 2007 Northwestern Publishing House Published 2007 Printed in the United States of America ISBN: 978-0-8100-2045-0
Families of the Bible Leader s Guide Page 3 Lesson One Made for Each Other The Story of the First Family Worship ALL: Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. WOMEN: MEN: ALL: Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord. 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. Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her.... In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh. LEADER: This is a profound mystery but I am talking about Christ and the church. MEN: However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, WOMEN: And the wife must respect her husband. [from Ephesians 5] Heavenly Father, we praise you for the gift of marriage, in which you unite a man and a woman as a team. As we study the first married couple, lead us to see your continued will for our marriages and make us eager to follow your will. Amen. Introduction Carl and Lily were happily married. They loved each other and loved being around each other. Best of all, they complemented each other. Where one had a weakness, the other was strong. Carl couldn t balance a checkbook, but Lily knew where every penny was spent. Lily worried, while Carl trusted that the Lord would take care of everything. It was as if God had made them for each other. Do you feel that you and your spouse were made for each other? Why or why not?
Families of the Bible Leader s Guide Page 4 Part One: The Perfect Relationship In the beginning, God did create a husband and a wife precisely for each other: Adam and Eve. Their relationship shows us God s will for marriage. We see that even today God makes husbands and wives for each other. Imagine that you are an angel, witnessing God s activity on the sixth day of creation. He has already called into existence all kinds of animals, fish, and birds to fill the planet. Then, after a brief conference with himself, he forms a man out of the dust of the earth and breathes life into the man s nostrils. Everything looks perfect. You wait for God s pronouncement that everything is good. Instead, you hear God say something shocking: It is not good. What? Well, God s creation is not yet complete. God still wants to supply one missing element. Then everything will be very good. Read Genesis 2:18-25. Why did God say, It is not good for the man to be alone? Adam s life would have been very lonely without a human companion. Besides, he would not have been able to be fruitful and increase in number by himself (Genesis 1:28). Adam needed a helper to supply what currently was lacking in his life. How did God s assignment to Adam help Adam see his need for a suitable helper? Imagine what Adam must have learned as he named all the animals. Each animal that he named had other animals like it, and they all seemed to be grouped in pairs. Adam would have realized that he had no matching partner and that he desperately needed the helper that God was about to create for him. What do the details of Eve s creation suggest to us about the relationship God planned for this first couple? God created Eve to be a helper suitable for Adam. He wanted her to do for Adam what none of the animals could do. He even used one of Adam s ribs as the raw material for making Eve. He wanted Adam to understand that she was his perfect complement. AGREE OR DISAGREE? Adam s knowledge that God had made Eve just for him increased his love and appreciation for his wife. God was building in Adam a deep appreciation for Eve by showing Adam how much he needed a wife and by making it clear that this woman had been designed just for him. Who was the head of the house in Adam and Eve s family? God created Adam to be the head of the house and Eve to be his helper. Adam was created first. Eve was created for Adam and from a part of Adam. God brought Eve to Adam, not the other way around. And Adam received Eve as his wife. From the very beginning of this relationship, God established his will that the husband was to be the head of the family and his wife was to be his helper. Did Eve s role as Adam s helper mean that she was inferior to Adam? God s perfect creation wasn t complete until God created Eve. That s how important she was to Adam s happiness. Besides, the world would not have been very good if Eve s role diminished her in any way. Both Adam and Eve were supremely content in the relationship that God established for them.
Families of the Bible Leader s Guide Page 5 His Word in My Life List three areas in which your spouse s gifts match a need that you have. 1. 2. 3. A few weeks before her wedding, Lily was having lunch with a group of her friends. Julia asked about wedding vows: You re not going to promise to submit to him, are you? No, Lily replied, I don t have to promise to submit to Carl. I want to. Her friends were shocked. Marcy exclaimed, Haven t you heard: we re liberated? If you had been Lily, how would you have responded? Lily s friends believe that to submit means to be inferior. Lily seems to have been well prepared for Julia s question. Her answer was right on target. Unfortunately, many men act as if being the leader means that they are superior. But Lily knows how God wants a husband to act. Her husband will lead her as Christ led. He will be selfless and selfsacrificing. He will consult her and consider her feelings. He will put her needs and interests ahead of his own and never do anything to demean her. She knows they are to be equal partners with different roles. (See Ephesians 5:21-33.) Consider your personal relationship with Jesus. Does submitting to him diminish you? How does Jesus love for us help us understand how husbands are to love their wives? Our submission to Jesus is not a burden. It is not forced. Nor does it diminish us nor hinder us from using our gifts. Instead, our submission to Jesus is a joyful, willing submission to him who loves us so much that he was willing to die for us. A Christian wife submits to her husband in the same way that she submits to Jesus. A Christian husband loves his wife in a way that is selfless and self-sacrificing. He is willing even to die for his wife and family. He cares nothing for his own needs and desires and gives everything for the needs and desires of his wife and family. Part Two: Still Made for Each Other It doesn t take an angel to observe that the world God made is no longer very good. And the marriage relationship did not escape the corruption that came when sin ruined every aspect of God s creation. Read Genesis 3:1-7. Both Adam and Eve failed to fulfill their God-given roles. How did Eve overstep her role as helper and act as a leader over Adam? Eve took the lead in speaking with the serpent. She also took the lead in taking the fruit from the tree and eating it. Then she gave some of the fruit to Adam, and he ate it. What should Adam have done as a leader when he saw what Satan was doing? Adam did nothing and said nothing as Satan was deceiving his wife. As the leader of his family, Adam should have warned Eve and reminded her of God s command.
Families of the Bible Devotional Readings by Steven L. Lange
Families of the Bible Devotional Readings Page 2 The material on this disk may be adapted, printed, and copied by the purchaser of this kit. However, the following notice must appear at the bottom of each page of the student lessons: 2007 Northwestern Publishing House. All rights reserved. Used by permission. Ownership of this material belongs to either a congregation or an individual, but not both. Purchase by a congregation: Purchase of this material by a congregation gives Bible study leaders of that congregation permission to adapt and copy this material for use in one or more groups within that congregation. (Dual parishes may purchase one copy for use in both congregations.) Purchase by a pastor or other Bible study leader: Purchase of this material by an individual gives the buyer permission to adapt and copy this material for Bible classes he or she teaches or supervises. The buyer has permission to use this material only in the congregation he or she is currently serving or attending. Scripture is taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved. The NIV and New International Version trademarks are registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by International Bible Society. Use of either trademark requires the permission of International Bible Society. Northwestern Publishing House 1250 N. 113th St., Milwaukee, WI 53226-3284 www.nph.net 2007 Northwestern Publishing House Published 2007 Printed in the United States of America
Families of the Bible Devotional Readings Page 3 One Made for Each Other The Story of the First Family Day One Read Genesis 2:18,24. Rosa looked stunning as she sat at the table. A single candle illuminated her face. She seemed to glow, as the moon glows when it reflects the light of the sun. She was the most beautiful woman that Juan had ever seen. Juan was sitting across from her, holding her hand in the middle of the table. Rosa, he said, you have made the past year more wonderful than any other year of my life. I feel as if we were made for each other. We share the same faith. We share so many of the same interests. Your strengths complement my weaknesses. You are one of God s greatest blessings to me. Well, Rosa replied, I feel the same way about you. Every day I thank God that he has brought you into my life. I don t know what I d do if God ever took you away from me. I don t want us to ever part. Juan continued. I agree with what God said about Adam; it s not good for me to be alone. I m tired of being alone. I need a helper to be with me and share my life with me. I want you to be my helper for the rest of my life. Juan reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a small black box. He opened the box, revealing a sparkling diamond ring. Rosa, will you marry me? he said. Rosa was so excited she couldn t speak. All she could do was put her hands over her mouth and nod. I ll take that as a yes, said Juan. Yes! Rosa exclaimed, as Juan slipped the ring on her finger. Discussion What are some of the most important elements for a God-pleasing beginning to a marriage? What one solid piece of advice would you give a newlywed couple? Prayer Heavenly Father, thank you for the gift of marriage. Bless husbands and wives everywhere that they may always see their spouses as a tremendous blessing from you. Amen.
Families of the Bible Devotional Readings Page 4 Day Two Read Genesis 2:18-23. God saw that it was not good for Adam to be alone. Adam, however, didn t know that yet. So God had Adam name all the animals. Naming all the animals helped Adam realize how much he needed the woman. It made God s special gift of a helper even more meaningful. Discussion Make a list of ways in which you think you complement each other well. How could you demonstrate to others (especially your children, if you have children) that God has made the two of you complement each other? Prayer Heavenly Father, thank you for making husbands and wives complement each other. May we always work together and cherish each other as special gifts. Amen. Day Three Read Genesis 2:18-25. Discussion God made Adam and Eve to be the first family. Who was the head of the house in this family? How can you tell? Who is the head of the house in your house? Does this mean that one spouse is more important in the marriage relationship than the other? How do these roles in the marriage relationship carry over into the parenting relationship between a father and a mother?
Families of the Bible Devotional Readings Page 5 Prayer Heavenly Father, we praise you for the wonderful way in which you have ordered our family. May we always respect the roles of fathers and mothers, and may they always work together as you have designed them to do. Amen. Day Four Read Genesis 3:8-13. When Adam and Eve fell into sin, their relationships with God and each other changed drastically. Adam s leadership was flawed by a self-serving attitude. And Eve wasn t as willing to serve her husband with the same devotion she had before sin spoiled it all. Discussion How can you tell from the reading that Adam and Eve s relationship with God no longer was perfect, as it had been? How can you tell that Adam no longer loved or appreciated Eve as much as he had before? How has sin made it difficult for you to be the loving leader or the loving helper that God wants you to be? Why is it good to know that in Jesus all our sins are forgiven and we have strength to live as he wants us to live? Prayer Lord Jesus, forgive us for not always loving one another as you have loved us. Fill us with your love so that we may love one another more and more. Amen. Day Five Read Ephesians 5:22-24. In this section of Scripture, Paul encourages wives to submit to your husbands as to the Lord. Consider your relationship with Jesus. You submit to him willingly and with devotion.