Family Life

This series, Family Life, offers a thoughtful and practical look at how God’s Word shapes the relationships within our homes and ecclesias. Drawing lessons from scripture and real-life experience, these classes show that strong families are built not on human wisdom but on divine principles. From marriage and parenting to the challenges of adolescence and the wider support of the ecclesia, the studies remind us that every part of family life is meant to reflect God’s love and purpose.

The Divine Perspective

The opening class sets the foundation by showing that the family unit is not a human invention but God’s design from the beginning. Marriage and parenthood were ordained so that godly character might develop and so that a “seed for God” would be raised. The lesson encourages us to see family life not just as personal fulfillment, but as a spiritual calling to raise children in hope and to strengthen one another in faith.

Exhortation to Husbands

This session explores the scriptural teaching that the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the ecclesia. Far from granting privilege, this headship brings responsibility: to love with selflessness, to lead by example, and to guide the family in the Word. Husbands are urged to avoid bitterness, to act with gentleness, and to take seriously their role in helping their wives grow in faith and hope of eternal life.

Exhortation to Wives

Turning to passages from the pastoral epistles and Proverbs 31, this class highlights the virtues that the Spirit emphasizes for wives: prudence, reverence, discretion, love for husband and children, and diligence in the home. The lesson encourages wives to view these qualities not as outdated ideals but as timeless strengths that build stability and honor God. The portrait of the virtuous woman serves as both inspiration and challenge in a world with very different values.

Raising Children in the Lord

The fourth class focuses on parenting. Children are to be raised not merely with good habits, but with the goal that they might love God wholeheartedly and serve Him faithfully as adults. Parents are encouraged to work as a team, to make spiritual lessons part of daily conversation, to encourage questions, and to provide consistent instruction in God’s Word. Grandparents, aunts, uncles, and all members of the ecclesia are reminded that they too can play a positive role in nurturing young lives in the Lord.

The Teen Years Can Be Pleasant

While adolescence often brings challenges, this class shows that the teenage years can be rewarding for both parents and children. Teens face physical and emotional changes and seek independence, but with loving guidance they can become companions and contributors in family and ecclesial life. Parents are urged to keep spiritual priorities clear when guiding choices of education, career, and friendships, and to patiently answer difficult questions of faith. Properly handled, the teen years can strengthen family bonds and prepare young people for a life of discipleship.

The Extended Family of the Ecclesia

The final session broadens the view of family life to include the ecclesia as a spiritual household. Just as husbands and wives work to save one another, and parents work to save their children, so too the whole community shares in the responsibility of nurturing faith. By offering support, encouragement, and guidance, the ecclesia becomes an extended family where love and godliness grow. The lesson closes with the reminder that our ultimate goal in family life is to help one another be part of God’s eternal family in the kingdom.

This description has been generated by AI and lightly edited.