THE CHRISTIAN HOME - WHAT IS ITS PURPOSE?
INTRODUCTION
A. From the beginning the home has been part of our life Gen 3:16
B. Of all the organizations designed by God the home has been around
the longest.
C. "Homes are the building blocks of civilization" - Arnold J. Toynbee
D. Christian homes are the building blocks of a sound Church - DLH
E. What makes a home? What makes a Christian home?
F. What is the purpose of the Christian home?
DISCUSSION
I. WHAT IS HOME?
A. Is it the place we grew up? Is it where our parents and grandparents
lived? Is it the house you own?
1. Pliney said, "Home is where the heart is."
2. Webster defines "home" as:
a. (1) One's dwelling place; abode of one's family
b. (7) The social unit or center formed by a family living together
c. As an adverb: to the place where it belongs
3. Quote from God's way for Man by Carroll C. Trent:
Home is the place where a world of strife has been shut out and a
world of love shut in. Home is where the great is small and the
small is great. Home is the place where faults are hidden and
virtues are exalted. Home is where our stomachs get three meals a
day and our hearts get a thousand. Home is the place where we
complain the most and have the greatest blessings. Home is the
father's kingdom, the mother's world and the child's paradise.
Homes are vestibules of heaven.
B. Home as we want to look at it tonight means the family unit and the
relationships that are associated with that unit. I believe that is
how Paul uses the word home in 1Tim 5:4 and the phrase "his own
house" in 1Tim 3:4-5
II. WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY MAKES UP A HOME?
A. Man and his wife Gen 2:18; 3:16
B. Children Gen 18:17-19
C. Things that are your own John 20:10
D. Friends also involved Mark 5:19
III. WHAT ARE THE RESPONSIBILITIES OF THOSE THAT MAKE UP THE CHRISTIAN
HOME?
A. I want to concentrate on man, his wife and children and influence in
and out of the home
B. Husband wife relationship Gen 2:18-24
1. God demonstrated to Adam his need for a suitable mate with the
parade of the animal kingdom.
2. God knew it was not good for man to be alone in life
3. The husband wife relationship is the closest of all bonds
4. Each partner has responsibilities to the union
a. The husband's responsibilities Eph 5:23-29
b. The wife's responsibilities Tit 2:3-5 Gen 3:16
5. Each one is blessed when both join to form that perfect union of
man and woman intended by God from the beginning.
C. Home begins with husband and wife
1. Man has distorted this throughout the ages. Modern immorality has
tried to destroy the home.
2. A home cannot exist with two mothers or two fathers.
3. A home is not complete with only a single parent.
a. I do not agree with many politicians but Dan Quayle was right
and Murphy Brown was wrong. The morality of our nation has
shrank to the point that this situation is considered normal
b. It is sad to see children being raised in single parent and
unwed mother situations. An unwed mother used to be looked upon
in shame. Now she is glorified and championed as a hero.
4. Man and woman were made to be together. Gen 2:23-24
D. Parent child relationship Gen 18:17-19
1. Parents must bring up children in "nurture and admonition of the
Lord" Eph 6:4
2. Parents are to know the Word of God and teach it to their children
a. Israel Deut 6:6-7; 11:18-21
b. Moses' faith began with parents' Heb 11:23-27; Exod 2:1-10
c. Timothy's faith began with grandparents' 2Tim 3:14-15; 1:5
3. Parents can give a child a foundation of faith that will not fail.
4. Parents must teach discipline
a. It is thru the home that authority and submission is taught.
b. A child that has seen his mother subject to father without
belittlement will understand that he can subject himself to
others and not be 'less of a man'. Teacher, Police, Elders, Etc.
c. A child that has been properly disciplined will be obedient to
those in authority. Teachers, Police, Elders, Etc.
5. "What children learn from their parents will stay with them always
- what parents fail to teach their children can never be taught by
someone else." From Family Circus comics
6. R. L. Whiteside, Commentary on Romans, p.45
Not many things break down the morals of a country more quickly
and cause more lawlessness than disrespect for parents. If
children disrespect parental authority, they will disrespect all
authority. If they have no regard for their parents, they are not
likely to have regard for anything. But when such conditions
prevail, parents are not blameless. Obedience and respect are
matters that have to be learned. "Though he was a Son, yet learned
he obedience by the things which he suffered." Parents that do not
try to train their children in right principles and good habits
care very little about them.
7. You have to be with a child today to be in his memory tomorrow.
a. Parents fail their children when they do not follow God's plan
for the home. Eph 6:4; 1Tim 5:14
b. Mothers are to be keepers at home (Lit. Homemakers) Tit 2:4-5
c. Fathers are to teach their children the way of the Lord.
8. Children must obey their parents Eph 6:1; Luke 2:51-52
9. Ultimately the responsibility lies on parents to instill these
values in the hearts of their children by example. To raise
children, who shun the world, you must shun the world yourself.
a. Moses learned from his parents that the king was not to be
feared. Heb 11:23-27
b. Timothy knew the Scriptures because his mother and grandmother
showed to him their importance. 2Tim 1:5
IV. WHAT MAKES A CHRISTIAN HOME?
A. Judge George Edwards: Six things essential to good family life
B. Six secrets of strong families as compiled by Reader's Digest
Nov. 1987 pp. 132-135
These charts modified for a Christian family. (DLH)
C. One thing necessary for a Godly home.
CONCLUSION
A. We must realize home is basic building block of Church, civilization
B. When home does not function as God intended Church will suffer.
C. We as parents must decide as Joshua in Josh 24:15
D. Does the Lord know you as he did Abraham Gen 18:19
E. We must teach our children as God instructed Israel Deut 11:19
Daniel Lee Henderson Buckhorn, MS 2/17/98 12:40:13 PM
From an outline by Jerry L. Henderson
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