Relationships Series Part One Lesson Three Siblings

RELATIONSHIPS: PART ONE- LESSON THREE TEACHER COPY      JSL
Siblings
Group discussion question: What do you think are Biblical roles that siblings should fulfill?

Some examples of siblings in Gods word: Murderer- Cain Genesis 4
Defiler- Amnon 2nd Samuel 13
Thief/Deceiver- Jacob Genesis 27
Haters- Joseph's brothers Genesis 37
Distributor- Joseph Genesis 47:12
Fellow laborers- James and John
                                                Matthew 10:2 Simon and Andrew

Siblings ought to be a blessing from God, although we do not find specific New Testament commands regarding our blood siblings like we do regarding our fathers and mothers; we do find many examples of siblings both good and bad, which we can learn from.

Siblings ought to be:

• Best friends- you live at the same house, go to the same places, have the same opportunities and often the same experiences, and your stuck with each other, why not be friends? Proverbs 27:17
• Encouragers- One area where many siblings fail is in the encouragement department, often siblings seem more annoyed of each other than encouraged by each other. Ecclesiastes 4:9-10
• Accountability- Sometimes mom and dad do not know as much as brother or sister about what's going on in the life of a sibling, not a good thing but when that happens the siblings ought to keep each other accountable. 
• Partners in ministry- Teamwork gets the job done (game). Mark 13:4-37 the audience is just one third of the disciples, the two pairs of brothers. Aside from Judas and in some cases Thomas, most people would recognize Peter, James, and John as the three most prominent disciples of Christ, james and John being brothers and Peter being a man whose brother brought him to Christ and was a fellow disciple. John 1:40-42
• Protection- Siblings ought to direct their brothers/sisters away from trouble, physically and spiritually and toward serving God. Whatever squeaks past the mom/dad radar should be stopped by the sibling. Davids brothers are among those who would not stand up for God against Goliath so he stepped in for them, 1st Samuel 17:28-29
• Challenger- Push push push, compete, compete, compete! Better each other! Caleb and Joshua push their brethren the children of Israel to trust God and take the promised land. Numbers 14:1-9

Placing Mom, Dad, and God above each other- Ephesians 6:1- lying for your sibling is WRONG.
Siblings can be a great help to each other or a great hinderance, they can give good advice or bad, set a Godly example or a wicked one.

What kind of sibling are you?

Assignment: If you have a sibling make a list of things that you think God could use them to do, and a list of ways that you can help them accomplish those things. If you do not have a sibling, write the same list but for your parents and ask them to write one up concerning you. Give your lists to your siblings.