Rebuiliding Relationship between Two Generations

1. How can an individual rebuild the relationship between two generations?

a. Spiritual reconstruction:

i. Confess your wrongdoings
ii. Draw upon family affection in Christ
iii. Forgive your parents in Christ
iv. Confess and pray for them
v. Deal with family curses
vi. Pray with them
vii. Reestablish the spiritual status of the other party
viii. Pray for the brokenness caused by the other party

b. Behavioral reconstruction:

i. Admit your mistakes to your parents
ii. Spend time with them
iii. Pay for household expenses
iv. Pay attention to the tone and content of your words
v. Learn to get along with other elders
vi. Care for lonely elders

c. Cognitive reconstruction:

i. Continue to learn about your parents' history
ii. Understand the needs of your parents at different ages
iii. Understand the Bible's teachings on parents and elders
iv. Understand that you may also grow old
v. Set an example for the next generation

d. Emotional reconstruction:

i. Recall the good moments
ii. Creatively design some gifts
iii. Love each other with God's love

2. How does the church rebuild two generations?

a. Church model in the Bible:

The New Testament often mentions "church in the home": see Acts 2:44, Acts 2:46, Colossians 4:15, 2 Timothy 4:19, Acts 8:3, Romans 16:5, 1 Corinthians 16:19, Philemon 1:2.
Why is the church in the home?

i. It is always a family that believes in the Lord, because if the elders believe, others will follow.
ii. There is no more suitable place, such as offices, restaurants, shopping malls, etc.
iii. Without a synagogue, the home becomes a stable focal point for building a church.

Summary: It is natural for a family to believe in the Lord. The family becomes a place to gather the group, and it becomes a home church, and the people in it become elders, supervisors, pastors, teachers, evangelists, etc.

b. Family model in the Bible:

Scripture

Principle

Genesis 2:24: Therefore, a man shall leave his father and mother and cleave to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.

Parents are the core of the family, not children.

Genesis 27:19: Jacob said to his father, "I am Esau, your firstborn. I have done all you have commanded me. Please get up and sit down, eat my game, and bless me."

Blessings are made by the father, not by the son. The elder blesses the younger. There is order between the elder and the younger.

Hebrews 11:20: By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau concerning the future.

Father takes on the work of a prophet.

Genesis 22:13: Abraham looked up and saw a ram caught by its horns in a thicket. Abraham took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son.

Father works as a priest.

Ruth 1:16: Ruth said, "Do not urge me to turn away from following you. Where you go, I will go; where you lodge, I will lodge; your people will be my people, and your God my God.

Faith is familial.

Psalm 145:4: One generation will praise your deeds to another, and will proclaim your mighty acts.

One generation will bear witness to God to another.

Joshua 4:15: As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.

A family serves the Lord, and the father is the head of the house.

2 Timothy 1:5: I am reminded of your sincere faith, which first dwelt in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice, and I am persuaded that it is also in you.

Pastoral function.

Proverbs 1:8: My son, listen to your father's instruction, and do not forsake your mother's teaching.

Didactic function.

Summary: Parents become the core of the family, have spiritual authority, and serve as priests, teachers, and pastors to preach the gospel. If we are parents and do not do what we should do, who will do it for us?

c. Conflicts between the church and the family today

Scripture

Principle

1 Timothy 3:5: If a man does not know how to manage his own house, how can he take care of God's church?

Take care of your own house first, then take care of God's house.

1 Timothy 3:15: But if I linger long, you will know how you ought to behave in God's house. This is the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of the truth

One's own house is temporary, perishable, and must be saved. God's house is eternal and the foundation of the truth.

i. Characteristics of urban churches: groupings resulting in better relationships and support among the same group, but no multi-generational family atmosphere. Lack of awareness of family unity.
ii. Polarization of personal savior theology: When children believe in the Lord, their elders feel disrespected, and that the church snatches their children away. It is even more difficult for parents to believe in the Lord.
iii. The gap in family cultural value system: novel and incorrect values are attributed to the church.
iv. Elders have a complex about everything introduced from the West: This is a foreign religion. My father told me not to believe in it before he died. I can't control whether you believe in it today. They are hostile to the church.
v. The problem of economic improvement and having fewer children: The church is taking away my son.
vi. Others: The church asks for donation, and takes away my hard-earned money.

d. The way out for the integration of church and family today

i. Function of the group: Are you leading people to rebuild or tear down the family?
ii. Form of activities: Does the activity form welcome people of different ages to join? Does the activity takes care of the family members? Do the group members welcome people of different generations to join?
iii. Function of worship: Establish family-style worship to balance or only have one form of worship?
iv. Function of ministry: Promote activities that help the group to win parents successfully.
v. Reflection of the church: How to divide the pastoral zones? Age-based? People-based? Diversified development?

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Rebuilding Relationship between Two Generations