Breaking the Power of the Past. All of us have emotional baggage. We have to deal with that (go back) before we can be healthy (go forward).
Frank. The story of Frank and his marriage. There are 2 Biblical truths that relate to the need to deal with the past before we can move forward.
- Family issues from the past effect us.
- Discipleship requires us to to put off the sins of our families we have inherited and relearn how to do life in God’s family
The Power of Family. The are multiple references in the Bible to the sins of a family to be inherited for generations.
Frank and—The Challenge Before Them. Both of them have imprints from their families. Not matter what our past, we are imprinted with how we were raised.
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. These three families illustrate the point.
The Ten Commandments of Your Family. A set of possible commandments that might have been part of a family’s unwritten code. A common deadly commandment is, “You must achieve to be loved.”
Compartmentalization. It is easy to ignore the past. “Looking to the past illuminates the present. But make no mistake about it; it is painful.
The Painful Fruit of a Disconnected Spirituality. More about Frank.
The Great News of Jesus Christ. Ou biological family does not determine the future. God Does. The past is not my destiny. We are adopted into the family of God.
The author’s family. The story of his family and how it impacted him.
The Present is a Window into the Past. Family dynamics are the same for all cultures, etc.
The Beaver System Model. five levels of a healthy family.
- The Family in Pain.
- The Borderline Family
- The Rule-Bound Family
- The Adequate Family
- The Optimal Family
Joseph—Modeling How to Go Back to Go Forward. Joseph’s youth was a recipe for a dysfunctional adult life. Yet, he overcame it. How?
- Joseph had a profound sense of the bigness of God. He believed that “God mysteriously leads us into his purposes through darkness and obscurity."
- Joseph admitted honestly the sadness and looses of his family.
- Joseph rewrote his life script according to the scriptures.
- Joseph partnered with God to be a blessing.
One Final Word: Our Need to Be Alone Together. Going back needs to be done with a trusted companion.