Friday, January 28, 2011

What is the Family?

Genesis 1:27-28 "God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. God blessed them; and God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply..."

This is the first command given by God to human beings. He said to be fruitful and multipy! Go and be a FAMILY! The family is ordained by God as worshipers! This might be the family in a home or the family that meets together in church.

United together, striving together, Growing together, & Worshiping together!

F.A.M.I.L.Y.
First And Mostly I Love You!

What's on this Site?

So when you look at this site, we hope that you see options, possibilities and simplicity!

<<<<<<<< On the LEFT column you will find 'links' that you can click on. By clicking on the white words, you will go directly to that web page.

>>>>>>>> On the RIGHT column you will find some helpful Bible study helps, books, apps, and podcasts.

My recomendation: If you are going to purchase one of the books or study helps, go to www.half.com This site will allow you to buy new or used items much cheaper than if you went to Lifeway.

How this Works?









As a parent you are helping your family bridge the gap between what the Bible writers said thousands of years ago and what is going on in your family today.  Then you are teaching them to apply that into their daily lives.  "Simple 5 Min. Devos" is just one tool to help you teach your family.

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This Prep card is designed to give you a quick reference and a reminder of things to think about when preparing to L.E.A.D. a home Devo.

Step 1: Pray, listen to what God is saying to you.

Step 2: Examin the Scripture passage, be that a chapter of Proverbs or one of the Gospels. Examin your self, how does this passage touch me? Finally, examin your student, what might they pull from this passage?

Step 3: Ask a question that will cause your family to think. Check out the 'question' tab at the top of this site for sample questions.

Step 4: Give your family a task. If the passage was on service then challenge them to go serve is a specific way. If the passage was on joy, challenge them to go and make someone's day. Then make sure you come back later on and talk about what everyone did. Use this time as a celebration as well as a, "get to know you more!"



The 'Devo' card is a reference that you can use when you are actually sitting in front of your family. Never should you just read off of this card but simply write one or two words on it to keep you on track.

Step 1: Everything should start with prayer, it's all about God!

Step 2: Write down what passage you are looking at so that you can call it out quickly and have everyone turn to it. (Everyone should have a Bible for devotions. Encourage them to underline or make notes of verses that speak to them.)

Step 3: Tell a testimony from your life or a story you have heard that relates to the Scripture. Remember just because you understand what the passage is about, your family may not and they may need clarifying through a story. Also if you tell a testimony then this will open you up to your family.

Step 4: Ask your question and allow everybody to talk about it for a minute. Be careful not to correct them as much as you try to get them thinking. Often it is good to greet their incorrect answer with another question that will point them or get them seeing a different side of things.

Step 5: Challenge your family with the task. Make sure that everyone understand the task, especially the younger children. This is not over their head, often it is the children that understand the best of all.

Step 6: Make sure you talk about how your challenge went. This doesn't have to take long but don't miss this opportunity to hear of the victories, struggles, and devine moments!


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One path you can take when studying for a Devo is to start with what does the words mean.  Then move on down the path, verse, passage, chapter, book, person, location, Testament, Bible as a whole, and life today.  Rember the main point is to keep God's truth TRUE!


What's the Next Step?

What is the end goal? What is it that God is wanting to do with home devotionals?
Matt. 28:19-20 says, "Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age."
God desires us to grow in Him, and learn of Him. As parents we are to lead our families, making disciples of them and teaching them to follow God in all things. Satan, evil, sin and the world are not going to show mercy to our children, therefore we need to help raise up our families to fight the good fight, to stand strong, never bending, and capable of handling the Word of God! Fighting for our families starts at home!

So the next step could be a variety of options:
1. Ten min. Devos, 15 min. 30 min...
2. Children or Student led Devos. (Everyone rotating and taking a turn leading)
3. Multi family worship.
4. Reading through the Bible in a year.
5. The sky is the limit! Follow God!

We were made for worship, together as a family!