Set Free from Family Flaws

Study Notes

What Is Your Name?  Set Free from Family Flaws

Genesis 26:1-11

     When I used to visit my Dad at his retirement home, I would walk into the senior center and immediately people would say, “Oh, you’re Charlie’s son – you walk just like him, smile just like him, etc.”  People could quickly see the family traits passed down to me.  Then, earlier this year, when I went to Oregon to visit my son Brandon, I walked into the university where he teaches, and a group of students and faculty members said, “Oh, you must be Professor Waybright’s father.  You look alike, walk alike, gesture alike, etc. 

     Our lives are affected deeply by our families.  Some of what we get passed down to us is beautiful or is fun.  But, some of it is not.  Ever since people walked away from God, family after family has passed on not only the positive distinctive traits of our families but also the broken parts, the tendencies toward anger, racism, unfaithfulness or deceit.  This is such a reality in this imperfect world that God spoke of it both when gave the Ten Commandments in Exodus 20 as well as when God made his name known to Moses in Exodus 34.  Here is a part of what God said:

I, the Lord your God… visit the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but show love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.

                                                                                    Exodus 20:5-6; cf, 34:6-7

     That Bible passage has troubled people for centuries.  But, in my mind, it merely speaks to the way things happen in our world.  Some versions translate the Hebrew word, “paqad”, that I’ve translated as “visit” as “punished”.  But, the word originally referred to something that is deposited, something that will come back and be present later.  God was saying that the effects of a person’s sin will be present in future generations too.  And, I imagine most of us know that this is true. I think most of us will admit that we see a lot of our parents’ characteristics in ourselves – and that we see a lot ourselves reemerging in our children’s lives.

     Sometimes, we see this and wonder whether things can ever be different. “There is a pattern that has been present in my family for generations.  I see it in me.  Am I therefore trapped?  Am I a victim of my own heritage; of my genetic make-up?”  That’s what I want us to consider briefly today.

     In this message, I want you to know that one thing Jesus came to do is to set us free from that kind of bondage and to the hopelessness it brings.  That’s why I’ve called my message, “Set Free from Family Flaws.”

     I can only introduce this huge topic in one message – but, I think there is some value in a brief introduction.  Sometimes, we simply need to get big issues like this out into the open so that we can begin seeking wisdom together from God’s Word about it.  As we turn today to Genesis 26, we see an insight-filled story that opens up this topic for us.  You will see that Jacob’s father Isaac’s story sounds a lot like his father’s story. You might even feel like you’re experiencing a movie sequel.

Genesis 26: Patriarch II: Son of Abraham -- There was a famine in the land—besides the previous famine in Abraham’s time—and Isaac went to Abimelek king of the Philistines in Gerar.  The Lord appeared to Isaac and said, “Do not go down to Egypt…  Stay in this land for a while (26:1-2).”

     It’s hard to miss how similar this story of Isaac is to the story of his father Abraham as recorded in Gen 12:10-20 and 20:1-18.  It’s not the same story though because the biblical narrator makes sure, in v. 1, that we know this will be the report of a different famine in the land involving a different set of characters. 

     Let’s see the kinds of traits and experiences that father Abraham and his son Isaac shared:

• The Stress-filled Decision – So, a famine had hit Abraham and his family – and then the same happened to Isaac. Their desires to save their families drove them to migrate, a point made often in the Bible. Most people love their homelands and don’t want to leave – but things happen that make them feel they have to migrate in order to survive.  This happens a lot in Genesis and Exodus.  And, throughout their history, God would often remind the people of Israel of this when “strangers” migrated into Israel.  He would say, “Remember, you were once strangers and sometimes slaves.  So, welcome the stranger.”  This insight might help us as we navigate similar issues in our own day.
• The Faith-filled Obedience – When God told Abraham to leave his country, he obeyed out of faith. After that whatever else Abraham would ever do, God commended and blessed his obedience and faith.  So, in v. 2, God commands Isaac not to go to Egypt -- and Isaac obeys.  When you read the whole of Gen 26, God blessed Isaac’s act of faith too.
• The Blessing-filled Promise –Using similar language as God had used with Abraham, God reasserts that Isaac is in the line of blessing that will ultimately result in all the nations of the earth being blessed (26:3-4). All this is to say that there are positive things being passed down in this family.
• The Sin-filled Flaws -- The flaws of the father recur in the son too. What is the foundational family sin visited on Isaac?  We see in both generations a tendency to lie and deceive when under pressure. 

     On two separate occasions in Abraham’s life, he lied to save his own neck.  In Genesis 12, when Abraham was in Egypt, he thought he might be killed by the Egyptians because he thought they would want to take his beautiful wife, Sarah.  Abraham said to her in 12:12-13, “The people in this land will see you and see you are beautiful and then they will kill me but let you live!  So, let’s say you are my sister so that I may be treated well.”  So, that’s what they said and, let me simply tell you this: The deception did not go well. 

     But in spite of that, in Genesis 20, Abraham moved his family to the land of the Philistines and did exactly the same thing!  He told the Philistine King Abimelech that Sarah was his sister because he was afraid that the Philistine king would kill him in order to have her.  Well, that lie didn’t go well either.

     So later, when Isaac felt he had to get his family out of their homeland to survive the famine, he does the same thing as his father Abraham had done.  Isaac’s wife was a ravishing beauty.  Indeed, the name Rebekah means “captivating.”  When Isaac took his family into the same Philistine country where his father had earlier taken the family, he did the same thing, in the same city and for the same reason as his father had -- he told the king and his men that Rebekah was his sister.  But, then, the king saw Isaac carrying on with Rebekah in an unbrotherly way and he knew this was no sister.  This rather upright pagan king said in v. 10, “What is this you have done to us?  One of the men might have slept with your wife, and you would have brought guilt upon us.” 

     Do you see it?  The sin of the father was being visited on the son.  And, in coming weeks, we will see the same pattern in the next generation, in Jacob, as well as in the generation that would follow him.  It was a strong pattern of the sin of one generation visiting the next.  It makes you wonder whether this kind of pattern can ever be broken.

My Question Today:  Does this Ancient Story Have Any Relevance to You?

     When I was with a group of our pastors and staff studying this story last Tuesday, I read the passage and then asked, “Should I speak about the generational aspect of the story?  Does it have any relevance to any of us and our families?”  And, there was silence.  So, I said, “Oh, I guess not.  Maybe I should talk about something else.”  Immediately everyone said, “Our silence isn’t saying that!  It’s a very personal subject though.  This is a very deep and personal issue – but we need to talk about it.”  So, I am.

     As I have talked about this issue in a variety of settings over the years, I’ve learned that people often go quickly to blaming others – and, please know that if we look for flaws in our families, we all will find them.  There is a lot of blame to go around.  And, as I’ve said, the patterns that we see in ourselves, that we also see in our parents and grandparents, often are deeply engrained in us.  The stories I’ve shown you this morning are powerful reminders of that.  You might think that the messes that Abraham’s deceptions had brought about would have been enough to have scared his son Isaac out of doing the same things.  But, we quickly, and almost instinctively, act out what we’ve seen modeled in our homes.

     I often read the pre-Jesus stories like those of Abraham and Isaac and how they recur throughout the Old Testament and am reminded of how Jeremiah 31 owned up to the fact that, though the people of God had been given God’s laws, they had been unable to live for God no matter how hard they tried.  So, Jeremiah prophesied of a day when God would enter into a new covenant with his people, one written on our hearts – one that would offer a new hope for our lives to be different.  That’s what Jesus came to bring about.  Jesus says he is able to set us free, even from family flaws.  Quite simply, he started by living the life no one else had been able to live, life as God intends it to be lived, i.e., without sins like deception and lying.  Then he died the death we all deserve but he died in our place.  So, he offers all who trust him forgiveness and a new beginning.  When we place our faith in him, we are “born again” – born into a new family, the family of God.

     Then, after his death and resurrection, Jesus gave us two gifts, given for our re-making: 1) the gift of the Holy Spirit, and 2) the gift of the church.  The Holy Spirit offers us the power that raised Jesus from the dead – and he can raise us up out of our old family patterns so that we can begin to be like our Heavenly Father.  And, within the family of God, we should find the kind of community that will facilitate our growth in Christ.  All this starts when you trust Jesus and make a commitment to life in his church. 

     But, how then do we get from where we are to where Jesus promises we will be, i.e., freed from family flaws?  We’ll be talking more about this in coming weeks.  Today, I offer two words: 1) insight and 2) skills.

To Take Home:  Gain Insight; Gain Skills

Gain Insight – Identify specific areas of generational failure.

     The stories of Isaac and Jacob point out a specific area of vulnerability that came through the sins of one generation visiting future generations.  For them, it was the tendency to lie and deceive.  Today, I encourage you to take time and prayerfully consider where you might be vulnerable as well.  Ask God for insight into this.  It might be lying, unfaithfulness, pornography, anger, etc.  Please, don’t do this so that you can say, “Well, my Dad had this problem so it’s his fault that I’m like this!”  No, it’s not all his fault. You ar emaking real decisions when you do what he did.  And, remember that he too was a product of generations of generational flaws. 

     So, dentify the problem and then take personal responsibility for your actions.  You’re made in God’s image.  You make real choices that aren’t forced on you in spite of what’s gone on before.  So, don’t adopt a victim’s mentality.  Yes, your family affects you.  But, your family is not you!  I’m not saying you should excuse the sins of your forefathers.  They are serious.  Isaac placing Rebekah in a place of danger was serious.  But, you can be a part of the solution.  With the power of the Holy Spirit operating in you in the context of the life of the church, you can change. You no longer have to be a slave to fear, anger or deceit.  You are now a child of God.

Gain Skills – Utilize the resources God provides to develop skills to live differently.

1. One God-given resource is supposed to be the life of the local church. Paul said that in church we are to experience the love of our Father in such a way that “we become filled to the measure of the fullness of God (Eph 3:14, 19).”  I encourage you to continue to come regularly to our gathered worship services.  When we’re together opening our Father’s Word, we hear him speak to us.  I pray he is speaking to you today.  I encourage you to find a small group – and I pray it will be a very open and grace-filled group of people.  All of us are still being re-made.  None of us is fully Christlike yet.  I pray that, more and more, in our LAC small groups, we’ll be able to talk about thigs like generational problems, pray together for God’s help, ad hold one another accountable for holiness.
2. Prayer Support – Each time we meet in worship, we offer prayer at the end of the service. Please don’t dismiss the importance of this.  My view is that some of the generational bondages we face have to do with the fact that our struggles are not just against flesh and blood.  There are many kinds of forces that lead to evil in our world. Often, prayer is the place we must start if we will find freedom.  And, often, you need your church family to pray with you, prayer to be set free. When God speaks to you about such matters, be sure to draw upon your brothers and sisters in Christ to pray with and for you.
3. Books – A sermon like this cannot begin to address all the questions you might have or knowledge you might need. Let me suggest two books: 1) For those who come from “extended family heritages” (which is almost everyone other than those whose heritage is from North America and Western Europe), I suggest Following Jesus without Dishonoring Parents.  For those of us who come from “nuclear family heritages”, I suggest Unlocking Your Family Patterns: Finding Freedom from a Hurtful Past by Henry Townsend.
   
4. Referral – You may need some one-to-one help from Christ-centered counseling professional. We will seek to help you locate one if you will call 626.844.4794.

     I conclude by taking us back what God revealed about himself:

I, the Lord your God… visit the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation… but show love to a thousand generations of those who love me.

     I want you to leave with a newfound hope today.  Notice the way that the visiting of sins goes only to the 3^rd and 4^th generations – but the love of God goes to a thousand generations.  The love and grace of God is greater than human sinfulness.  Our heavenly Father binds the wounds of the brokenhearted and sets free those imprisoned in darkness. So, call out to Him as your Father, and pray for his renewing grace to be at work in you and your home.   Trust in His love for you and never give up. Our Father sent His only Son to die and rise again to forgive your sins, to heal what is broken, and to set you free – even from family flaws. 

Chinese Study Notes

“你的名是什麽”系列講道：從家族的缺陷之中得自由

創26：1-11

                  從前，每當我去養老院看我父親的時候，一走進老年中心，就會有人對我說：“你一定是查理的兒子，你走路和你父親一模一樣，笑起來也一樣，等等。”人們很快就看到一些遺傳到我的家庭特征。今年年初，我去俄洛崗州看我的兒子布蘭登，我走進他教書的大學校園，就有一群學生和教職員說，“啊，你肯定是Waybright教授的父親，你們倆長得很像、走路、動作都很像。”

                  我想，大部分人都無法完全接受家庭所帶給我們的某些深刻的影響。有一些家庭傳給我們的特征是美好的、有趣的，但是有些並非如此。自從人類偏離了神之後，無數的家庭所傳下來給後代的，不再只是正面的特征，也包括許多破碎的部分，包括憤怒，種族歧視，不忠或者欺騙。神曾兩次說到這件事，一次在出埃及記20章中，祂賜下十誡的時候，另一次是在出埃及記34章中，祂將自己的名字啟示給摩西的時候。神說： “我，耶和華你的神……恨我的，我必追討他的罪，自父及子，直到三四代……愛我，守我誡命的，我必向他們發慈愛，直到千代。” 出20:5-6；34:6-7.

                  這一段經文困惑了人們許多個世紀。但是，在我的腦中，這段經文只是說出了世上的一些事實。和合本將希伯來原文中的“paqad”這個詞翻譯為“追討”，有些經文將它翻譯為“懲罰”。但是，這個詞的原意是，有最初的原因，後來必有其後果。神的意思是，一個人的罪也會存在於他的後代之中。大家可能都會同意這一點。我想我們很多人都會承認，在我們自己身上，我們能看到許多父母的特征，也能看到我們自己的許多特征存在於我們下一代的生命之中。

                  作為牧師，我能夠看到，許多人都會絕望地這樣想：“在我的家族中，有一個固定的模式，我也在自己身上看到了它。我是不是陷在其中無法自拔？我是不是我自己家族、基因的犧牲品？”我想讓大家一起來思考這個問題。

                  在這篇信息中，我想讓大家知道，耶穌來到世上的其中一個原因，就是要讓人們從如此的捆綁、以及它所帶來的絕望之中得到自由。也正是因此，我將這篇信息命名為“從家族的缺陷之中得自由。”

                  我只能用一篇信息來介紹這個廣博的話題，但是我相信，這個簡短的介紹會對大家有一些幫助。有時候，我們需要思考一些像這樣的問題，這能讓我們一起在神的話語中尋求智慧。當我們一起來看創世紀26章的時候，我們看到這樣一個充滿了啟示的故事，它向我們敞開了一個在幾代人之間延續著罪與缺陷的家族，使我們去思考這個問題。在關於雅各的系列中，我們一起來看看他家族的遺傳。你會看到，雅各的父親以撒的故事，正像他父親的故事一樣。你可能會覺得自己好像在讀一個續集，因為其中有太多的相像之處。

 

創世紀26章：家族之父II：亞伯拉罕的兒子 ----在亞伯拉罕的日子，那地有一次饑荒。這時又有饑荒，以撒就往吉拉爾去，到非力士人的王亞比米勒那裏。耶和華向以撒顯現，說，你不要下埃及去，要住在我所指示你的地（26:1-2）。

                  每一個猶太人與基督徒的聖經學者都會註意到一個問題，就是以撒的故事和創12:10-20以及20:1-18中所記載的他的父親亞伯拉罕的故事非常相像。這是兩個不同的故事，因為聖經作者在第一節裏很確定地說，這個饑荒是涉及到不同人物的另一次饑荒。

                  我想讓大家知道，在猶太拉比之中，普遍認為，這個故事反應了祖先們如何影響後世子孫。讓我們來看一看亞伯拉罕和以撒的故事有哪些相似之處：

• • 充滿壓力的決定 ---- 饑荒臨到了亞伯拉罕和他的家族，以撒也是同樣命運。他們為要拯救家族而被迫遷居，聖經中常出現這樣的情況。許多人愛他們的家鄉而不願離去，然而所發生的狀況使他們為了生存卻必須遷居。這樣的事情在創世紀和出埃及記中曾多次發生。並且在他們的歷史之中，每當“陌生人”遷移進入以色列的時候，神都會提醒他們這件事。祂會說：“你們要記得，你們也曾經是陌生人，也曾經為奴，因此，要接受陌生人。”但願這也能幫助我們面對當今同樣的問題。
• • 充滿信心的順服---- 當神告訴亞阿伯拉罕要離開他的家鄉時，他僅僅靠著信心而遵行了。在那之後，無論亞伯拉罕做什麽，神都獎賞與祝福他的順服和信心。因此在第2 節，神命令以撒不要去埃及，以撒也順服了神。讀完26章，你會發現，神也因著信心而祝福了以撒。
• • 充滿祝福的應許----神使用了祂對亞伯拉罕說話的相似語言向以撒宣告，他是得蒙祝福的家族，最終，神要因著他的家族而使地上萬族都蒙祝福（26:3-4）。這一切都說明，在這個家族中，有一些積極的特征在傳給後代子孫。
• • 充滿罪的缺陷----父親的缺陷在兒子的身上反復出現。這個家族的一個罪也在以撒身上出現：我們看到，兩代人在面對壓力的時候都會說謊和欺騙。

以撒在順服神的命令不去埃及之後，他很快就陷入了他父親所犯的罪的同樣模式之中。在亞伯拉罕一生中，有兩次不同的場合，他都為了自救而撒謊。在創世紀12章，當亞伯拉罕在埃及的時候，他認為埃及人可能會為了想要他美麗的妻子撒拉而殺死他，於是在12:12-13中，他對撒拉說：“埃及人看見你必說，這是他的妻子，他們就要殺我，卻叫你存活。求你說，你是我的妹子，使我因你得平安。”這就是當時的對話。簡單地說，這個欺騙行為並不順利。

但是在這之後，在創世紀20章，亞伯拉罕帶領全家搬到非力士人的地方，在那裏又做了同樣的事！他告訴非力士王亞比米勒說，撒拉是他的妹子，因為他害怕非力士王為要得到撒拉而殺了他。可是那個謊話結局也不好。

因此後來，當以撒覺得他必須要帶領家人離開家園才能度過饑荒時，他做了和他的父親亞伯拉罕同樣的事。以撒的妻子異常的美麗。她的名字利百加的就是“迷人”的意思。當以撒帶著家人進入從前他父親帶領家人進入的同一個非力士國家的時候，他在同一個城市、以同樣的原因做了和他父親同樣的事，他告訴國王及其手下，利百加是他的妹子。但是，當國王看到以撒與利百加互動的方式並不像兄妹時，他知道，他們不是兄妹的關系。在第10節，這個相當正直的異教國王說，“你向我們做的是什麽事呢？民中險些有人和你的妻子同寢，把我們陷在罪裏。”

你看到了嗎？父親的罪也臨到了兒子。並且在接下來的幾周裏，我們也會看到下一代有著同樣的模式，包括雅各和他的後代。我們在亞伯拉罕與以撒身上看到的說謊和欺騙的模式，會導致雅各受到說謊與欺騙的引誘。這是一代人的罪性臨到下一代人的模式。你會懷疑，這種模式究竟能否被打破。

今天的問題是：這個古老的故事是否與你有關？

                  上周二，我和教會的幾個牧師與同工們一同學習了這個故事，我讀完了這段經文後問大家：“我應不應該從輩分的角度來講這個故事呢？它與我們和我們的家庭有什麽關系？”大家都沈默了。於是我說，“我猜我不應該講吧？也許我應該談其他的問題。”每個人都立刻說：“我們的沈默不是這個意思！盡管這只是一個很私人的問題，它也是一個非常深刻的 個人問題，我們需要談這個問題。”所以我今天就分享給大家。

                  我過去幾年來在各種場合與大家探討過這個問題，我發現，人們常常會很快速地責怪別人，如果我們想要找到家人的缺點，都可以很容易地找到，都會發現他們有很多可以責怪的缺點。正如我前面所說的，我們在自己身上看到的模式，在我們的父母、祖父母身上也能看到，它們往往是根深蒂固地置於我們的頭腦之中。我們今天早上一起讀的故事就有力地證明了這一點。你也許會覺得，亞伯拉罕的欺騙所帶來的混亂局面，應當足以讓他的兒子以撒不敢再做同樣的事情。但是事實是，我們即刻就會在家中照此而行。

                  我經常閱讀耶穌降生之前的故事，比如亞伯拉罕和以撒的故事，以及這些故事如何在舊約中重現，這一切都提醒著我們耶利米31章中所提到的一個事實，那就是，盡管神將律例典章賜給祂的子民，然而他們無論如何努力，都無法為神而活。因此，耶利米預言，有一天，神要與祂的子民立一個新約，一個刻在我們心中的約，一個將新的希望帶給我們生命的約。這就是耶穌降世為人所帶給我們的。耶穌說，祂可以讓我們得自由，甚至包括使我們從這些家族的缺陷之中得自由。簡單地說，祂經歷了一種沒有人能經歷的人生，就是神所喜悅的人生，是沒有諸如說謊與欺騙等罪的人生。然後祂代替我們，經歷了我們都應得的死亡。因此，祂將赦免與新的開始賜給凡信靠祂的人。當我們信靠祂時，我們就得到了“重生”，就是在一個新的家庭----神的家庭之中的重生。

                  接著，在耶穌受死與復活之後，祂賜給我們兩個禮物，為要更新我們的生命：1）聖靈；2）教會。聖靈將耶穌死裏復活的大能賜給我們，祂也可以賜給我們力量，使我們擺脫舊的家庭模式，使我們開始像我們的天父。而且，在神的家中，我們應當尋找有助於我們在基督裏成長的教會。當你信靠耶穌並委身於神的教會之時，這一切就會開始。

                  然而，我們如何才能從我們現今的狀況到達耶穌所應許我們的境況呢？例如從家庭的缺陷中得自由？在未來的幾周裏，我們會繼續探討這個問題。今天，我們要談兩個詞：1）洞察力；2）能力

                                                                                                            培養洞察力與能力

培養洞察力 ---- 洞悉家族缺陷的具體領域

                  以撒和雅各的 故事指出了他們家族代代相傳的罪所帶來的一個具體弱點，就是欺騙，尤其是當他們承受巨大壓力的時候。今天，我鼓勵大家花一些時間禱告並思考，你的弱點在哪裏。求神賜給你這樣的洞察力。可能是說謊話、不忠、色情、憤怒等等。在你這樣做的時候，請你不要隨便說：“我的父親有這個問題，所以我像今天這樣都是他的錯，”不是的，這並不完全是他的錯。請你記住，他也是世代缺陷的犧牲品。

                  要找出問題，然後為你的行為承擔個人責任。你是按神的形象所造的。無論以前發生過什麽，你所作出的選擇並非出於強迫。所以，不要有受傷害的心理。是的，你的家庭影響了你。但是，你的家庭畢竟不是你！我並不是說你應該為祖先的罪找理由。他們的罪很嚴重。以撒將利百加置於危難境地是很嚴重的事。但是你可以成為解決辦法的一部分。靠著運行在你心中的聖靈的大能與教會的生活，你可以改變。你不再需要做恐懼、憤怒或是欺騙的奴仆。你現在是神的兒女。

獲得能力 ---- 利用神所提供的資源，拓展你的能力，過不同的人生

第一，神所賜予的其中一種資源，應該是教會的生活。 保羅說，在教會裏，我們將以這樣的方式經歷天父的愛：“神一切所充滿的，充滿了我們（弗3：14,19）”我鼓勵大家持續不斷地到教會來崇拜。 當我們一起打開天父的話語，我們會就聽到祂對我們說話。 我祈求祂今天對你說話。 我也鼓勵你找一個屬靈小組，一個非常開放和充滿神恩典的團體，我們所有的人都仍然在被重造的過程中，沒有一個人完全像基督一樣。 我希望在我們教會的小組中，我們能越來越多地一同探討家族世代的問題，一同求神幫助，為了“成聖”而彼此扶持。

第二，用禱告扶持 ---- 每次當我們在主日崇拜中相聚時，我們都會在崇拜結束時為大家禱

告。 請不要忽視這一點的重要性，我的觀點是，我們所面對的一些世代相傳的捆綁，不僅僅是與我們向自己的肉體軟弱和血氣之間的爭戰。在這個世上，還存在著很多導致邪惡的力量。我們若要得到真自由，必須從禱告開始。你也常會需要教會與你一起禱告，使你通過禱告得釋放。當神將各樣的問題曉瑜你時，你一定要讓弟兄姐妹在基督裏為你禱告、也與你一同禱告。

第三，書籍----一篇講道無法涉及到你可能遇到的所有問題或你所需要的知識。 我想推薦給你幾本書：寫給來自延伸家庭的人（包括了除了來自北美與西歐的所有人）；另一本書是：在跟隨耶穌時，不要使你的父母受羞辱。https://www.amazon.com/Following-Jesus-Without-Dishonoring-Parents/dp/0830813586#reader_0830813586。對於來自“核心家庭”的人，我建議你讀這兩本書：解鎖你的家庭模式；亨利湯森寫的“從痛苦的過去中尋找自由https://www.amazon.com/Unlocking-Your-Family-Patterns-Finding/dp/0802477445/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1527874779&sr=8-

1&keywords=unlocking+your+family+patterns#reader_0802477445

第四，推介 ---- 如果你需要專為基督徒提供的個人心理輔導服務，你可以打電話給626-844-4794，我們可以幫助你尋找。

                  最後，讓我們回來看看神是如何向我們啟示祂自己的：我是耶和華你的神……我必追討他的罪，自父及子，直到三四代……愛我，守我誡命的，我必向他們發慈愛，直到千代.

                  我希望今天大家離開的時候，都帶著新的盼望。請留意，這裏說神追討人的罪直到三四代，然而神的愛卻直到千代。神的愛和恩典比人的罪更大。我們的天父醫治破碎的心靈，使被囚的與在黑暗之中的人得自由。因此，向祂呼叫阿爸父，祈求祂更新你的生命和你的家庭。相信祂對你的愛。永不放棄。我們的天父差遣祂的獨生愛子，為我們死而復活，為要赦免我們的罪、醫治我們的破碎並讓我們得自由。

榮耀歸給神，

Greg Waybright 博士

主任牧師