Read:Jn 1:12; Heb 12:1-2; I Cor 12:13; Jn 17:11, 14-16; Gen 18:19
Families of Faith:
In the world but not of the world, how do we as families of faith manage to live in the midst of a value system based on the pleasure principle, where the winner is the one with the most toys, while transmitting to our children eternal values which bind their hearts in selfless love and service to the well being of the planet and others?
Key Texts:
- John 1:12 – Some, however, did receive him and believed in him; so he gave them the right to become God’s children.
- Hebrews 12:1,2 – Let us run with determination the race that lies before us. Let us keep our eyes fixed on Jesus on whom our faith depends from beginning to end.
- 1 Corinthians 12:13 – In the same way, all of us, whether Jews or Gentiles, whether slaves or free, have been baptized into the one body by the same Spirit, and we have all been given the one Spirit to drink.
- John 17:11, 14-16 – I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world. They do not belong to the world just as I do not belong to the world. I do not ask you to take them out of the world, but I do ask you to keep them safe from the Evil One. Just as I do not belong to the world, they do not belong to the world.
- Genesis 18:19 – I have chosen him in order that he may command his sons and his descendants to obey me and to do what is right and just. If they do, I will do everything for him that I have promised.
Questions for Discussion:
- What do you see as the greatest challenges that living in the world, but not being of the world create for our families?
- How universal are the principles for Christian family living? How are we to relate to cultural differences in our efforts to be a global church?
- Adventists have tended to form communities of workers around educational and medical institutions. This has been for some a social-economic necessity. Has this been a positive or negative experience for Adventist families?
- What are the core family values that we need to pass on to the next generation? How do we go about doing that effectively?
- What positive lessons or values, that are a vital part of who you are, did you learn from your parents?
- Is there a relationship between core values and church standards? What would we consider standard for Adventist families?
- There are some among us who have children who have left the church. How can we relate to them in ways that encourage reconciliation and restoration?
- SDA college students were asked to develop a list of what they perceived to be the problems they experience with the church. Their number one concern was that they believed the church neither needed nor wanted them. In many different ways they had been told to be quiet, to stay out of sight, that someday they would be the church, but not now. What are the results of this perception? How can the perception be changed?
