This lesson is a teaching on God's plan for the family.

1. God‛s Plan
A VISUALIZED LESSON ON THE FAMILY AND EMOTIONAL HEALING
By Hope Mulder, ICMI 1998
Edited by Maria Arnold
1. (visual 1) This story is about God’s plan for you and your family. God’s desire is for daddies and
mommies and children to live together with love, unity, joy and peace.
2. (visual 2) God made the earth for families to live on. The Bible says that even before God created the
earth, He thought of you (Eph. 1:4). Did you know that you are so special to God that even before He
made the world He knew you and your family?
3. God created the sun & stars, the trees & flowers, the birds & animals. Then God said, “It is good.”
Then God created people! Gen. 1:27 “So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He
created him; male and female, He created them.” (visual 3) God created the very first husband & wife,
Adam & Eve. The Bible says He created them in His image, like a picture. That means that people
are made in the likeness of God. Gen. 1:31 “Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed,
it was VERY good.” His creation, the family, was something that God thought was VERY GOOD!
So He put Adam & Eve in a beautiful garden where they could live happily as a family with God. God
planned from the very beginning that one husband & one wife were to live together and love each
other. The family is not something people made up. It is God’s design.
5. Gen. 1:28a “Then God blessed them and said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply, fill the earth and
subdue it’…” (visual 4) God commanded them to have children. He wanted a husband & wife &
their children to be together as one, a three-fold cord, in strength and unity. Why is the family so
important to God? Because it is a picture of our relationship to God. The Bible often speaks of family
relationships as examples of how we should relate to God.
a. Husband & wife = Rev. 22:17 Jesus is the Bridegroom & we are the bride.
b. Father & child = Rom. 8:15-17 God is our Father and we are His children.
c. Brothers = Jesus is like a brother to us (all “sons” of God).
d. Eph. 5:25 When a husband loves his wife, it is a picture of how Jesus loves the Church.
e. Eph. 5:22 When a wife honors & submits to her husband, it is a picture of how the church submits
to Jesus.
f. Luke 11:13 When a father cares for & protects his children, it is a picture of how God cares for
us.
g. Eph 6:1 When a child obeys their dad & mom, it is a picture of how we should obey God.
God’s Kingdom is like one big family! This is God’s plan. When a family is functioning as God
designed, it is an example of the family of God and how we related to Him.
5. The Bible says (John 10:10) that Satan is a thief who comes to steal, kill, and destroy. It says (1Pet.
5:8) that he walks around seeking to devour people. Satan hates families and tries to destroy them. If
he can cause problems in the family, it spoils the perfect picture of our relationship to God. Then we
do not really understand God and His love for us.
(visual 5) Satan came into the garden and deceived Adam & Eve. He lied to them and they disobeyed
the one law that God had given them. Their disobedience was sin. Before they even had children,
Satan was trying to destroy the unity between husband & wife, something that God had put together.
Satan, our enemy, wants to destroy everything good. That is when bad things happen and people get
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2. hurt.
6. Adam & Eve both sinned. They had to leave the garden and were separated from God and His love.
(visual 6) After some time, Adam & Eve had two sons named Cain & Abel. Because there was no
longer the pure love that God had first put in the family, there were problems between the children. In
the end, there was so much jealousy, anger and hate, that Cain murdered his own brother Abel. Sin
had destroyed the pure love that God intended for families. Now the family was damaged and many
people were hurt.
7. Today sin is still in the world. When we choose to disobey God’s word, sin separates us from God’s
perfect love. Satan is still seeking to steal, kill and destroy. (visual 7) He tries to separate daddies
& mommies. Sometimes one parent will leave the home. Maybe if your mommy & daddy are not
together, your heart is hurting. Maybe you have a new daddy or mommy. Maybe your daddy &
mommy live together, but act like they are separated. They often argue and fight. Everyone is hurt.
Satan wants to separate the family because he knows that together they are stronger. But this is not
how God wants it to be. He wants one husband and one wife to stay together and love each other. God
will always be there for us. The Bible says (Josh. 1:5) that He will never leave us or forsake us. (Ps.
27:10) When our father or mother forsakes us, the Lord will take care of us.
8. Satan also tries to separate parents from their children. He has many very mean ways of doing this.
(visual 8) Maybe someone is always mean to you. They say bad things that hurt inside and make
you want to cry. Maybe they shout a lot or call you bad names. They may say, “You’re ugly. You’re
stupid. You’ll never become anything good. You are a bad boy/girl. I hate you. I wish you were never
born. You are a burden to me.”
Nobody should ever say those types of things. This is not what God thinks or says about you. He
thinks you are special (Ps 139:14-17). His thoughts toward you are precious. He says you are beautiful
because He made you. He says you can do or become anything through Jesus (Phil 4:13). He says you
are a gift (Ps. 127:3). (Wrap a gift with a mirror inside.) Open this gift. What is inside? You! You
are a gift from God!
9. (visual 9) Maybe you get ignored. Your mommy or daddy will not even talk to you. You have so much
to tell, but they don’t want to listen. Maybe you want to tell them something, but you are afraid of
what they will do or say. You might ask them something and they don’t answer. Maybe they are too
busy and do not take time for you. This can make you hurt inside. You fee sad, lonely, and rejected.
Satan wants you to think this is how God is. The Bible says that God’s ear is not deaf that He cannot
hear (Isa. 59:1). God is always ready to listen. He wants you to tell Him everything. You can trust
God and come to Him any time.
10. (visual 10) Sometimes you are physically hurt. Maybe you get hit or kicked. Some boys and girls
get hit often. Sometimes they get hit even when they didn’t do anything wrong. This does not only
hurt outside, but also inside. Maybe you feel scared. You don’t want to make any mistakes because
you are afraid you will get hit or kicked again. Satan wants you to always be afraid. He wants to hurt
people. But it is not God’s plan to let you get hurt or be afraid. He says, “Fear not, for I am with you.”
(Isa. 43:5)
11. (visual 11) Maybe someone touches you in a way you do not want to be touched. Maybe they touch
you (in a private place) and you feel so ashamed. You are scared. Maybe they tell you not to tell
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3. anyone, or else you will get in trouble. Maybe they say that you have to keep it a secret. They might
even say it is ok to touch you in those places, but you still feel ashamed. You feel embarrassed and
guilty.
This, also, is not God’s plan for you. Satan wants you to live with shame, guilt and fear. God did not
plan for these bad things to happen. He made our bodies, but He also made clothes to cover them.
12. God does not want daddies & mommies to be separated.
God does not want you to be shouted at or mean things to be said about you.
God does not want you to be ignored or rejected.
God does not want you to be hit or kicked
God does not want you to feel ashamed or scared.
God does not want your heart to hurt inside!
None of these things are God’s plan for you. God made families to be a safe place of love and joy, just
like His family is. If your family is not a happy place to be, then God has another plan for you. (visual
12) He wants to be your Daddy. He wants you to be a part of His family. Then you can run to Him
when you feel scared. If you feel like crying, you can, He understands. You can tell Him how much
you hurt inside. If you are angry about the bad things that happen, tell Him. God always has time for
you. He will always love you. God will NEVER hurt you.
13. Ministry:
a. Salvation – Let them become children of God.
b. Forgiveness – Help them understand that in order to be healed they must first forgive those who
have hurt them.
c. Minister God’s love and healing power to hurting children! Reveal the Father heart of God to
people who don’t know Him as Father.
d. Minister healing within families (forgiveness and prayer).
Other scriptures to study:
Heb. 4:15 – God understands.
Jer. 29:11-12 – God has a good plan for you.
I Pet. 5:7 – God cares for you.
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