Family Matters

A Bible Study on Family Relationships

Leader's Guide by Rev. Dr. Amy Little

The nine-session Bible study, "Family Matters", focuses on the first generations of God's people - Abraham and his descendants. It looks at how God's covenant promise sustained them as they navigated family relationships. People like Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Rebekah, Jacob, and Esau are very much like us! They were real and down-to-earth individuals trying to live by faith, each with their own struggles, seeking to get along with their lives and with each other.

Families are curious organisms. Many times the family is a joyous union of people related by blood and just as often it is filled with difficulties and struggles. As brothers and sisters in Christ, we are brought together in the Church by water and the Word of God, gifted with the Holy Spirit, formed and forgiven at the Holy Supper, and nutured in faith in the midst of community. The family of God is a place where where relationships are both joyous and difficult. But just as God was with the family of Abraham, God is with us on our family's journey, every step of the way.

In addition to the primary study of Scripture, the series also gives a little introductory look at some of the concepts from Bowen Family Systems Theory, showing how family dynamics we see in Scripture are just as real for us in our modern-day families, as well as in our congregations as the family of faith.

Click LEADER to see the introduction and first chapter of the Leader's Guide

Table of Contents

1)    “You Want Me to Do What?”:  Answering the Call of God - Genesis 12:1-9 
2)    There’s a Little Bit of Deception in All of Us: Facing Our Own Deceptive Streak - Genesis 12:10-20
3)    Triangles are Not Just Geometry: Taking Responsibility for Self - Genesis: 16:1-15                
4)    “Dad Always Liked You Best!”: The Pain of Sibling Rivalry -  Genesis 25:19-34
5)    There’s One in Every Family: Jacob, The Problem Child - Genesis 25:24-34
6)    Need It, Want It, Gotta Have It: Our Basic Need for Blessing - Genesis 27:1-45
7)    Living Up to Our Reputation? The Legacy of the Family History - Genesis 27:46 - 28:17
8)    Ripples in the Pond: The Larger Effects of Dysfunction - Genesis 29: 1-35
9)    Ecclesiastical Birds and Bees: Conflict and Infertility - Genesis 29:31 - 30:23