Teaching and Modelling Marriage OH 1.

5 (Screen read version)

Parents ought to be both teachers of God’s truth What Genesis 1-3 Teaches about Marriage
and examples to their children, Having Children:
modelling goodness in the home as best they can, by the grace of God. Children in the Service of God
To Discuss Children are to be desired and welcomed
because bringing up children is one of the most clearly distinctive ways
• Why is it necessary to do more than simply bring up children as in which a married couple can serve God.
nice persons and responsible citizens?
Children a Blessing
• What more should Christian parents be doing? The Bible consistently affirms what it poetically calls
Training Gardeners “the blessings of the breasts and of the womb.” - Gen 49:25
It is not enough that baby “gardeners” are born. Unlike their contemporaries,
We are to work, teach, discipline, and pray the early Christians refused to accept either abortion or infanticide,
that they will grow into adult actual “gardeners”, Every child is a gift from God.
who will learn to love God and care for his world.
The Purpose of Marriage: Procreation?
Nurturing children involves teaching both law (right and wrong)
and grace (trust in Jesus Christ). Assumption:
Unless we teach them about grace and forgiveness in Jesus, The purpose of having male and female,
right and wrong will simply be burdensome impositions to be resented.
the reason for the. existence of sex
Limits of Responsibility and the essential role of marriage,
Parents cannot live their children’s lives for them. is the creation of children.
They are responsible to God for loving them,
teaching them, caring for them, disciplining them An important mandate given by God to Adam and Eve:
and praying for them as they are able. Multiply! (Gen.1:28)
But they are not finally responsible for their children’s response. ¨But is procreation the ultimate purpose of marriage?
Rather than being the purpose of marriage and sexual intimacy,
To Discuss children should be seen as a wonderful blessing.
• Are we more concerned about getting our children’ into To claim that procreation is the main purpose of sex and marriage
good schools and their achieving success in exams, is an insult to all of those who are not blessed in such a manner.
than about how they grow in faith and godliness? It questions the validity of marriages that do not produce offspring.
• What can we do about this? Gen 1:28
God blessed them (the male & the female) BLESSING
Next Session and said to them,
“Be fruitful COMMANDS
The Reversal of The Fall and increase in number;
fill the earth
Rather than God being in charge, with the man, helped by the woman, ruling and subdue it
creation for him, a complete reversal takes place of the roles assigned by God to Rule over the fish… birds… every living creature.”
the man and the woman.
 As with meeting the needs of loneliness so the procreation and rearing of children
To Discuss must be seen in the context of the task given to man.
• In which account of creation does the mandate to have This pro-creational element is not the ultimate goal,
children occur? since it serves the larger purpose of carrying out the task of
• What does the context tell us about why we should bringing the earth under God’s control.
Marriage (including its sexual aspect) for every godly couple
expect to have children? is first and foremost about serving God together in this great task.
Clue: is the context The Purpose of Marriage: A Family of “Gardeners”!
•Adam’s loneliness, Godly couples do not wish for children simply for themselves,
•Adam and Eve’s common task, or but because begetting and nurturing children in faithful commitment to God,
is part of their God-given task to look after the earth
•Adam’s delight at their union? and bring it under God’s control or rule.
1st Passage 2nd Passage The next generation, brought up knowing God, is required for this task.
Then God said, The Lord God said, ¨Having children is part of serving God: i.e. producing a family of gardeners!
“Let us make man “It is not good for the man to be alone.
The Creator entrusts to married couples the awesome privilege and responsibility
in our image, I will make a helper suitable for him.”
in our likeness, and Now the Lord had formed out of the ground
of pre-creating (creating on his behalf) potential gardeners to join his team
let them rule over the fish of the sea all the beasts of the field First Caring for God’s Garden,
and the birds of the air, and all the birds of the air. Now Extending His Kingdom
over the livestock, He brought them to the man
over all the earth to see what he would name them,.. Today we are no longer asked to care for a garden;
and over all the creatures Now there is a whole world to care for and bring into God’s Kingdom.
that move along the ground.” But for Adam We pray and work for God’s rule to be realised on earth.
So God created man no suitable helper was found.
in his own image, Then the Lord made a woman To Discuss
In the image of God
he created him;
from the rib he had taken out of the man,
and he brought her to the man. • What are some common reasons why couples have children?
male and female he created them. The man said,
“This is now bone of my bones,
• Which of them fit the purpose of child-bearing that we find
God blessed them
and flesh of my flesh; in Genesis 1?
& said to them,
“Be fruitful she shall be called ‘woman’
for she was taken out of man.”
• When should a wife resist pressure from her mother-in-law
& increase in number; to have children?
fill the earth . For this reason
a man will leave his father and mother Children are not to be sought
& subdue it
Rule over the fish… birds… and be united to his wife. because the in-laws put pressure to produce a son,
every living creature.” and they will become one flesh. or to increase the future economy of the family,
or the parent has a desire to be needed, or is looking for care in old age.
Marriage More than Having Children
Training Children for God’s Service
Children are indeed a blessing if they come!
But marriage and sex is not all about having children, Genesis 18:19 expresses the will of God for Abraham in terms of
Marriage (including its sexual aspect) for every godly couple ‘charging his children and his household after him
is first and foremost about serving God together. to keep the way of the LORD by doing righteousness and justice’.
Prov.1:8 & Eph.6:1-4 exhort a couple to bring up their children to serve God.