Sunday School Lesson #2:
Strengthening Families
by Josh Hunt

Notes to the teacher:

• Questions are ready-to-use, out-of-the box lessons. Footnotes are explanations to you as to what I am getting at.
• Don't feel an obligation to ask all these questions. I have intentionally provided more questions than you can use.
• Get to the last questions. Push for application.
  

Introduction

1. By way of introduction, I'd like to ask you to open the book of Proverbs to the chapter that corresponds to the day of the month you were born. Look for any verses that speak to home life. Share with the group what you find.⁽¹⁾
   

The Value of Peaceful Home Life

Proverbs 17:1

1. Look at Proverbs 17:1. When is a dry crust of bread better than a steak dinner?
2. On a scale of one to ten, how would you rate the home that you grew up in, where one is full of strife and ten is peace and quiet?
3. How valuable to you is a home with peace and quiet? Why is it important to you?
4. Besides peace and quiet, what else goes into a really great home?
5. Do you think there is an implication in this verse that peace and quiet and "a dry crust" tend to go together? In other words, do poorer homes tend to have more peace and quiet?
6. What would you say is the cause and effect relationship between having money and having peace and quiet? Would you say that money tends to add stress, that lack of money tends to add stress, or is there any relationship at all?⁽²⁾
7. What are some lessons you have learned about maintaining peace and quiet in your home?
   

Avoid Destructive Actions

Proverbs 6:32

1. One way to keep a happy family life is embodied in the phrase, "Just don't do anything stupid." Without telling me any names or anything, how many of you have known someone who threw away a good life by doing something stupid?
2. Proverbs 6:32 teaches that the man who commits adultery lacks judgement and ends up destroying himself. Let's talk about lacking judgement. What is the person thinking who gets himself (or herself) involved in an extra marital affair?
3. Imagine a man and woman standing of the alter staring into each other's eyes. They express deep love and commitment to each other. Fast forward the tape seven years. Now he is in the arms of another woman. How does this happen? What are the steps from A to Z?
4. How can we absolutely guarantee that this will not happen to us?⁽³⁾
5. What are the best steps we can take to prevent an affair?
   

Cultivate Constructive Actions

Proverbs 20:7; 31:10, 11, 28

1. As we read these four verses, look for adjectives that describe the righteous person.
2. Do you think people who live a righteous life are generally happier than those who do not?
3. What are the benefits of living a righteous life?
4. What are the disadvantages to not living a righteous life?

Basic Training

Proverbs 4:3 - 4; 22:6; 29:17

1. Do you tend to parent your children as you were parented, or differently from the way you were parented?
2. Proverbs 4:4 suggests that we should teach our children the Bible. What are some practical ways we can do this?
3. Do you think Proverbs 22:6 is a guaranteed promise, or is it a proverb-- a statement of what normally happens?⁽⁴⁾
4. What is your biggest frustration as a parent?
5. What are some methods of discipline that are effective with your children?
   

Overview/ Application

1. Why do you think so many homes are in such trouble today?
2. What advice would you give to a young couple considering starting a family?
3. If your spouse could change anything about you, what would they change?
4. Let's pray and ask God to empower us to be better husbands, wives, and parents. I'd like to ask several of you to voice a prayer.

1. You might point out that there are 31 chapters of Proverbs. This makes a nice daily reading plan to read one chapter a day that corresponds to the day of the month.

2. There is a tendency to read this verse and assume a relationship that does not necessarily exist. All things being equal, I think lack of money tends to be more stressful than having money. The Bible does not teach that lack of money and peace and quiet necessarily go together; he is only pointing to the value of peace and quiet. How much better if you can have both money and a peaceful home.

3. There are no guarantees. The best assurance begins with the humility that, "This could happen to me." The next most important thing is to keep a great marriage. A great marriage is the best protection from adultery.

4. James Dobson and I think it is a Proverb. That is, this is what normally happens. There are cases when people do everything right and their children still turn out bad kids. This is called living in a fallen world. Normally, however, you give children the right training and they stay on the path.

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