What does the Bible say about family?

The Bible passages cited below can be used in sermons, prayers, pastoral care, or worship planning focused on family. 

Family in the Old Testament 

• In the primeval story recorded in Genesis, God created family by presiding over the marriage of Adam and Eve. Their one-flesh union is meant to result in children ("be fruitful and multiply," Genesis 1:28), and thus family becomes a cornerstone of human society.  

• Immediately after the fall into sin, we see how sin introduces brokenness into the family, as Adam and Eve feel shame before God and each other, accuse one another (Genesis 3:8-13), and their son, Cain, murders his brother Abel (Genesis 4). 

• Despite its inherent brokenness, God graciously uses family for redemptive purposes. God calls Abraham, promising descendants as many as the sand and the stars, and telling him that they will be a blessing to the whole world (Genesis 12:1-5). This promise is then signified in the covenant of circumcision. So, while we continue to see evidences of the family's brokenness in Abraham and his descendants, it is also being redeemed by its place in the purposes of God. 

• As God builds relationship with the covenant people of Israel, we see how family continues to play a prominent role. Israel is divided into clan and family units. Parents are enjoined to imprint their covenant obligations on their children at every opportunity in ordinary family life (Deuteronomy 6:6-8). 

• Throughout the Old Testament, there are many examples of families that fulfill this role, as well as many that utterly fail to do so. Large portions of the biblical Wisdom literature are devoted to teaching proper relationships in family life so that children might learn to fear the Lord (Psalm 34). 

Family in the New Testament 

• With the coming of Christ, we begin to see a subtle but profound change in the ways in which families are understood within God's purposes. Jesus himself, of course, grew up in what we may assume was a loving family. Yet at several points in his ministry he pointedly relativizes his family, and he taught his followers to do the same. When his mother and brothers come to take him home, thinking him disturbed or crazy, Jesus looks out at his crowd of followers and calls them his mother and brothers, adding that those who do God's will are his brother and sister and mother (Mark 3:34-35). Elsewhere he says that those who love their father, mother, son, or daughter more than him are not worthy of him (Matthew 10:37). God's family clearly takes precedence over our biological families. 

• Still, marriage and family continue to have a place in God's redeeming purpose. Once the church is established, families are still seen as a primary means by which faith is passed on. As Peter declares on Pentecost, God's promise is for the people, their children, and for all who are far away—everyone whom the Lord calls (Acts 2:39). God calls people through the family, as well as one by one in the church's mission. The practice of household baptism (Acts 10:23-48, Acts 16:33) also points to the place of family in the kingdom of God. 

• In their letters, the apostles have a great deal to say about how Christian families should operate, with advice for wives and husbands, parents and children. But the precedence of the kingdom over family is clearly maintained. Jesus displaces the relative position of the family within the coming kingdom of God when he says, "For when people rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage but are like angels in heaven" (Mark 12:25). 

Sermon ideas about family 

Rich blessing 

A sermon on family can explore many of the themes listed above. In particular, families are to be received thankfully as a rich blessing from the Creator. When they function according to God's will, they serve to pass the faith on from generation to generation. In the end, however, families serve an interim purpose, and will fade away when the kingdom arrives in all its joy and fullness, replaced by the redeemed people of God as the bride of Christ. 

Blessed and hurt 

A sermon on family can also acknowledge the pain that exists within human families. Most people have been both blessed and hurt in their family connections. Most families have some level of dysfunction or brokenness. Yet they also can give us a profound sense of identity, worth, and confidence as we enter the larger world.  

Ultimately, like everything else, families need redemption and renewal, and finally they must give way to our new identity as children of God and citizens of God's kingdom. 

Excerpts about family 

Following are sample excerpts from Zeteosearch.org sermon resources about family: 

• "So this family is holy because it is responsive to the demanding word of God spoken in the very trying circumstances of their daily lives. And that may speak to us today more than sentimental portrayals of the holy family. Certainly in a world where we are told there are 40 million refugees seeking to live decent family lives this Gospel may give hope and encouragement." Scripture Meditation or Sermon by David Sanders from Dominican Friars 

• "God does all of that, says the apostle, 'in love.' So God doesn't adopt Jesus' friends out of a sense of obligation or because God somehow feels guilty. God adopts people into God's family for no other reason than God's undying, unconditional love for us. God adopts us only because God so passionately loves us." Sermon Illustration, Sermon Preparation by Doug Bratt from Center for Excellence in Preaching  

Worship ideas about family 

Following are sample excerpts from Zeteosearch.org worship resources about family: 

• "Give us patience with our families this week. 
  When we would keep track of hurtful words, 
  call to mind the thoughtless words we have spoken. 
  When we would count the ways we have been neglected, 
  teach us to remember that we too overlook others." Prayer by Carol Penner from Leading in Worship