CREATING STRONG
FAMILY BONDS:
Part 1: The Family God Intended
Rev. Can. Dr. John and Dr. Ruth Senyonyi
Marriage and Family Seminar
GAFCON, NAIROBI, KENYA
OCTOBER 2013
Foundation..
“If the foundations are
destroyed,
What can the righteous do?
The LORD is in His holy temple;
The LORD’s throne is in heaven;
His eyes see, His eyelids test, the
children of men.”
(Psalm 11.3-4).
Family Foundation
Rebuilding the Family requires
reconstructing the foundations for the
Family. Think of this characterization
of modern marriages:
“The state of marriage today is
Matrimony, Acrimony and then
Alimony.” Anon.

Hotel collapses ..

Bwebajja, Uganda, Sept. 4 2004
“The death toll from Wednesday's hotel collapse in
central Uganda rose to ten Saturday as police
removed five more bodies from the building debris.
The three-storey hotel was still under construction in
the village of Bwebajja, about 18 kilometres south
west of Kampala, when it collapsed Wednesday
morning.
Rescue work continued Saturday as a stench from the
decomposing bodies still trapped beneath the rubble
filled the air.
Rescue teams including the police, workers from
private construction firms and the Red Cross were
using heavy machinery to remove the concrete debris.
Authority of Scripture
 What
do you understand by
“the authority of God’s Word”?
 The testimony of the Bible:
2 Timothy 3.16
2 Peter 1.20-21
Romans 15.4,
Authority of the Bible
 If
all truth is God’s truth, = all
truth wherever it is found
should be consistent with
Scripture.
 “God’s Words are the
ultimate standard of
truth”. Grudem (1994)
The sixth article of Faith of the “Thirty-Nine
Articles of Religion” states
“VI. Of the Sufficiency of the Holy Scriptures
for Salvation.
“Holy Scripture containeth all things
necessary to salvation: so that whatsoever
is not read therein, nor may be proved
thereby, is not to be required of any man,
that it should be believed as an article of the
Faith, or be thought requisite or necessary
to salvation. In the name of the Holy
Scripture we do understand those Canonical
Books of the Old and New Testament, of
whose authority was never any doubt in the
Church.”
What was/is God’s purpose for
Marriage and Family
To worship Him.
 Genesis 2.16-17: “And the Lord
God commanded the man, saying,
‘You may surely eat of every tree
of the garden, but of the tree of
the knowledge of good and evil
you shall not eat, for in the day
that you eat of it you shall surely
die.’”
 Fellowship with God: Genesis 3.8-9.

The Bible on Family
Genesis 2.18-25;
 Song of Songs,
 Malachi 2.13-16;
 Proverbs 5, 6.20-7.27;
 Ephesians 5.21-33;
 Colossians 3.18-4.1.

Genesis 2:18-25
 The
story of the first
family.
 God’s
purpose in creating
Woman for man?
The story…vs. 18
 Marriage
is God’s gift to man
– an initiative to meet man’s
need.
 Man needed a “helper (??)”
 “Suitable” means ‘a perfect fit’
The story….vs.19-20
Woman different with from other
creation: God “formed (the animals and
birds) out of the ground”
 All the animals and birds of the world
were not “suitable helper” for the man.
(bestiality)
 Man named the creatures plainly
without emotional or erotic sentiments,
and no marital attachment.

The story…vs 21-23





Woman was created out of man’s very
nature.
God took one of “man’s ribs” and from it
formed woman
Man composed a poem/song when he saw
the woman.
He named her – a special ‘name’ for a
wife,
God’s deliberate creation of Woman for
Man:
The Pillars of Marriage
…vs 24
1.
2.
3.
4.
LEAVE – all other human relationships
assume secondary priority
CLEAVE – to be glued, commitment of
heart, mind and soul. Deeper than
emotions. Divorce creates wounds . Be
faithful till death.
ONE FLESH – Sex is the original plan of
God, it was intended, to be enjoyed.
FULLSTOP –Defines completion of that
which is (without children, wealth, good
Quotes..

“If a child of God marries a child
of the devil, the said child of God
is sure to have some trouble with
his father-in-law.” Anon.

“Marriages may be made in
heaven, but man is responsible
for the maintenance work.”
Changing Times.
MARRIAGE:
COVENANT RELATIONSHIP
 “God
was witness between
you and the wife of your
youth..your wife by
covenant.”
Malachi 2:14-15
 We make vows to enter this
covenant relationship
The East African Revival Heritage
 Walking
in the light –
I John 1:7
“ ...if we walk in the light as he is in
the light,, we have fellowship with
one another, and the blood of Jesus
cleanses us from all sin.”
The East African Revival Heritage
 Repentance
–
1 John 1:9-10
“If we confess our sins, he is
faithful and just to forgive us our
sins and to cleanse from all
unrighteousness. If we say we have
not sinned, we make him a liar, and
his word is not in us”
The East African Revival Heritage
Brokenness:
Psalm 51:17
“A broken and contrite heart , O God
you will not despise”
Psalm 34:18
“The Lord is near to the brokenhearted
…”

The East African Revival Heritage
 Putting
right:
Exodus 22:5-6,Leviticus 5:16;
Numbers 5: 7-8.
“..he shall make full restitution for his
wrong..”