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• Big Idea: In the same way that Jesus relates to the father, and he and the father relate to us, we are to relate to one another.
• Illustration: May cites census statistics to illustrate how rare the nuclear family is before saying, “Whatever family situation you find yourself in right now, he wants to help you be the strongest family you can possibly be.”

• John 10:27
• The biggest obstacle in personal communication is the inability to listen as the other person says what’s on his or her mind.
• Illustration: May quotes Stephen Covey: “Many people do not listen with intent to understand. They listen with intent to reply.”
• Proverbs 18:13
• Illustration: May tells the story of a father whose sons told him they liked youth group because the leaders listened (and Dad didn’t), so the father changed his habits to reap the blessings of listening to his sons and rebuilding their relationships.

• Illustration: May points out how little parents know about their children by telling the story of asking parents to identify their children by lists of favorites (color, food, musician) and the inability of the parents to do so.
• Illustration: May contends that the TV show Frasier became popular because people could relate to the storyline of a father and son forced to live together as adults and not truly knowing one another.
• John 10:27
• Our relationship with God is personal.
• Illustration: May uses the example of his relationship with his sister to explain how knowing one another helps them stay connected across the miles.

• Teaching children obedience a case of the whole family being under the authority of Christ and living by his rules.
• John 10:27
• Illustration: May uses the example of coaching Little League to illustrate how his children learn more from watching him live under the lordship of Christ than hearing him preach the lordship of Christ.

• John 10:28
• If your children don’t learn spiritual values at home—if they don’t learn to live with an eternal perspective—they will not be prepared to face the world as an adult.
• Illustration: May tells the story of a Christian young man who maintained his spiritual values despite attending a morally troubled college to illustrate the importance of imparting those values at home.

• John 10:28
• Children need to hear the message: “There is nothing you could do that could make me stop loving you...You are, and will always be, an important part of this family.”

• John 10:30
• When a family pursues common interests they are strengthened in unity.
• Illustration: May tells the story of a man whose crumbling family found new life when the family began working together in a family business.

• The relationship between Jesus and his father, and their relationship to us, are our examples of how we’re to live as families.
• The message of the gospel is that God is committed to us; the hope of the family is that together we remain committed to him and committed to one another.