God loves us so much that He created us to be in a loving relationship with us. Our sin separated us from that same loving God. Therefore, Jesus was sent as a perfect sacrifice to pay for our sins once and for all. Ever since the original sin of Adam and Eve, God has been on a nonstop mission of bringing His created humans back into a loving relationship with Him. That is His number one desire…our hearts turned to his forever. He the loving father, and us His loving children.

The often overlooked, main effort that God has created and commanded us to do to best help fulfill that nonstop mission is home discipleship. From Genesis to Revelation, you will see commandments about the importance of home discipleship, and tactical ways to make it happen. Satan knows this too. That is why he often attacks marriages, parent-child relationships, sibling relationships, uncle/aunt-niece/nephew relationships, and so much more. To cause havoc in the family is to stop the advancement of the gospel of Jesus Christ and therefore the redemption of humans to a loving God who created them.

• Genesis chapter 1: God creates a man and woman and commands them to “be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth” (create families).
• Genesis chapter 5: The sin of man had gotten so bad (the worst ever in the history of mankind) that God wiped out everyone. But who did God call on the save mankind? No, not Noah. It was Noah’s FAMILY. Building the ark, surviving on the ark, and then when they got off God said “move, go out, be fruitful and multiply”.
• Genesis chapter 18: God makes a promise to Abraham that one day his descendants would fill the earth. Again, God is seen accomplishing His ultimate plan of redeeming His people through FAMILY.
• Exodus 20: This is the chapter with the 10 commandments. The first 4 commandments are vertically focused (on God), the next 6 are horizontally focused (on our behavior and relationships with others). The 5^th commandment is the first one focused on the horizontal…and it is “honor your father and mother, that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.” Interesting that this comes before don’t murder, don’t commit adultery, don’t steal, etc. Why? Because it focuses on the FAMILY and it is the first moral decision a human has to make…how to treat their parents.
• Deuteronomy 6:5 “You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.” God commands us to teach our FAMILY about His way.
• Psalm 78:4-8 “We will not hide them from their children, but tell to the coming generation the glorious deeds of the Lord, and His might, and the wonders that He has done. He established a testimony in Jacob and appointed a law in Israel, which He commanded our fathers to teach to their children, that the next generation might know them, the children yet unborn, and arise and tell them to their children, so that they should set their hope in God and not forget the works of God, but keep His commandments.” God is instructing parents to teach their FAMILY, and it will have an impact on their kids, their grandkids, their great grandkids, and their great great grandkids.
• Malachi 4:5-6 God promises to send a prophet who will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers.
• Luke 1:12-16 The first event of the New Testament is the angel Gabriel speaking to Zechariah about his unborn son, and that he will turn the hearts of God’s children to their father. (His son is John the Baptist)
• Psalm 8:2 “Out of the mouth of babies and infants, you have established strength because of your foes, to still the enemy and the avenger.” Yes, when CHILDREN speak and worship God, it DEFEATS THE ENEMY!
• 3 John 4 He writes “There is no greater joy than hearing my children are walking in truth.” Yet, John doesn’t have children. He is talking about his spiritual children. It isn’t the job only for parents. It is the job of everyone to make an impact on home discipleship.