Family Seminar

 

 

Jay Adams, Nouthetic (admonish, warn, instruct; 2 Tim. 3:16, 2 Pet. 1:3) Counseling, all non-organic problems are hamartiagenic.

 

Use integration in counseling (because all truth is God’s truth)

 

 

Marriage

 

Most people spend more time planning their wedding than they do their marriage; use God’s manual for life; unbelievers can benefit.

 

Gen. 2:24 (law of first mention):  A man shall leave his mother and father and cleave unto his wife, and the two shall be one flesh (emotionally, physically, mentally; three types of relationship); children were not yet created, yet God said “It is good.”--this points to the fact that the Husband-Wife relationship is most important in home, not the Parental relationship (airlines want the parents to don masks first).

 

Marriage representative of God and Israel/Christ and the Church

 

Selfishness is what usually breaks up a marriage (Dating and Marriage bank; the Good Wife); men like to conquer and move on (be a challenge to him); 7 problem areas:  sex, 1 Cor. 7:4-5 (a Man’s guide to Women; My wife said, “You’re not supposed to understand me!”)

 

Bridegroom exempt from 1 year of military service (Dt. 24:5)

 

2 Cor. 6:14, not unequally yoked; but, 1 Cor. 7:12-16 and 1 Pet. 3:1

 

Eph. 5:22-24, The man should love his wife as Christ loved the church (a woman wants to know her husband sacrifices things on her behalf; he ought to make a big deal out of things she is interested in; he ought to remember special dates—the best way for a husband to remember his wife’s birthday:  forget it once) and the woman should submit to her husband (hupotasso); Three styles of leadership:  Authoritarian, Passive, and Authoritative; Power struggle, Gen. 3:16/4:7; God’s four institutions each have a leader; 1 Pet. 3:7, the success of a marriage falls on the shoulder of the husband (he has the responsibility)—giving honor to the wife may imply a great deal of humility and self-sacrifice; in any marriage over five years, almost any problem can be attributed to something either the husband is doing or not doing.

 

1 Cor. 7:32-33, A wife needs a man who is the spiritual leader (Gen. 18:19); she will follow him anywhere; women are responders

 

1Cor. 13 (action words); Romance is passive; 5 Love Languages

 

Communication:  Pr. 15:1/18:19; use “I” statements, do not say “always” or “never”, cool off before communicating, no “strong silent types” are permitted, use speaker/listener technique, know/say/get what you want.

 

Admire your husband; people are attracted to those who admire them, and repelled by those who belittle them

 

 

Family

 

God gave children to you for a short period to train them up—He trusts you to do that

 

Be an example; 1 Kings 2:3, positive; Gen. 13:10-11 and 19:12, negative

 

Born with a sin nature, selfish; must be saved later (2 Sam. 12:23; Jon. 4:11; Dt. 1:39)

 

Dt. 11:18-20, taught the Word of God; “Give us a child until the age of 6, and we’ll have him for life”; theological sieve work

 

Discipline (Dt. 21:18-21, we don’t do that today; B. F. Skinner, behaviorist:  “Behavior which achieves desirable results is more likely to recur”; we set new standards all the time); Prov. 13:24, 19:18, 22:6, 22:15, 23:13-14, 29:15

          Never give a command unless you intend for it to be obeyed

          Provide a warning

          Provide choices

          Make punishment realistic to the world we know

          Be consistent

          p. 219 in GKGW, chastisement

 

Why chastisement sometimes fails to work

          Parents use the wrong instrument (the rod should be somewhat flexible, not stiff or unbending)

          Parents swat hard enough to get the child upset, but not hard enough to outweigh the pleasure of sin

          Parents chastise through clothing that is too thick

          Parents talk too much, hoping to persuade by logic

          Parents are inconsistent

          Parents fail to establish clear boundaries (but children crave structure and boundaries—it is there they feel safe)

          Parents are afraid the child will not love them

 

Children always ask the question, “Who is in charge?”; kids become “Mommy deaf”