(Can be conducted as a 12 week basic programme or a 36 week programme to address domestic abuse)

Session 1.  Our Wounded Hearts

God said He would bind up our broken hearts and set us, the captives, free.  Because He gave us this promise then we must recognise that somehow our hearts got broken, and we have been held captive.  This session looks at what our hearts were designed to enjoy and the various ways our hearts have been broken.  It then examines the promise of what God promises to do to bind them up and set us free.

Session 2.  God’s Family Plan

Since God created us for relationship with Him and with each other, He had a beautiful plan called the “family” in which we were to grow and to experience all that He knew we needed to live a healthy, godly life.  But the enemy has devised a plan to counterfeit God’s “Family” Plan.  Many of us, unknowingly, grew up in the enemy’s plan.  We suffered the pain, frustration and disillusionment of trying to find healthy relationships with God and others by following the only plan we had been taught.  In this session we explore both plans and begin to see how to move out of the enemy’s plan and into God’s plan for our lives.

Session 3.  Fear-Based vs. Love-Based Relationships

Because of the enemy’s plan we have ended up in “Fear-Based” relationships rather than the “Love-Based” relationships we were created to live in, enjoy and pass on to others.  What do these two antithetical types of relationship look like?  What drives each kind of relationship and how do the behaviours we see in ourselves and others reflect the type of relationship we offer and experience?

Session 4.  Taking Thoughts Captive

We are told in scripture to “Take our thoughts captive”.  But, do we even know what we think, let alone have a process that will help us to take those thoughts captive?  We are who we are and where we are because of how we think… about God, ourselves and others.  “As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he.”  Thus it is critical we explore this part of our life and begin to take authority in this area of our life.

Session 5.  Anger

Anger and its destructive use are the leading causes in the breakdown of relationships.  How can we “Be angry and sin not”?  How can we deal with anger in a healthy way and not experience and express rage?  Learning and applying the skills presented in this session will help people who struggle with this problem to gain some insights and begin to manage this emotion that was designed as a warning system but has become a destructive weapon.

Session 6.  Guilt and Shame

Guilt and shame are two of the most powerful tools of the enemy to keep us in bondage.  The Bible has a surprising amount of information and counsel in the Old and New Testament on both of these issues.  Looking at numerous texts in the original Hebrew and Greek, we see that God understands, is vitally concerned about each of these powerful driving forces in our life and has provided a way out of these painful places.  Participants who apply the material in their life can experience God turning their shame into glory as He has promised.

Session 7.  Headship and Submission

Sessions 1 through 6 discuss how our hearts were wounded and are in need of being bound up.  All of our childhood experiences and our childish ways of coping with those experiences are then brought into adult relationships, including marriage.  Our concepts of trust or the lack of it, our history in the enemy’s family plan, our experiences in fear-based relationships, our unconscious thoughts that control us, our anger, rage, shame and guilt are all brought into marriage.  And this history distorts the Biblical concept of headship and submission.  This session takes a hard look at those distortions and brings reality into this most intimate of relationships.

Session 8.  Forgiveness

With participants beginning to understand God’s plan for relationships and how they have actually participated unknowingly in the enemy’s plan, there is a recognition that there is much to forgive and much to be forgiven for.  Forgiveness is the doorway to healing broken lives and broken relationships.  In this session, by looking at what forgiveness is not and what keeps us from forgiving, participants can begin to see what forgiveness is and how to move into it in a healthy way without setting themselves up to be revictimised.

Session 9.  Grief and Mourning

Grief and mourning present us all with an opportunity to put the pain of the past behind and direct our minds and our energies to living in the present.  So often we stay stuck in the past because we are loyal to the pain of the past and the story that surrounds it.  Only by freeing ourselves through truly grieving and mourning the losses can we move into the promises that God has for us today.

Session 10.  Communication

Considering the many skills we need to develop in order to build healthier relationships, good communication is indispensable.  The Bible has much to say about communication.  God sets the example and the Bible sets out some very clear guidelines to help us to communicate in a way that is clear and effective.  Learning these skills takes practice.  Taking the time to listen and speak clearly to the other person is a clear message that who they are and what they think and say is important.

Session 11.  Conflict Resolution

The inability to resolve conflicts that arise in relationships is one of the leading factors in their breakdown.  Most of us have never been taught healthy ways to resolve conflicts with others, let alone the conflicts that war within us.  This session present a fresh approach from a Biblical perspective to dealing with the conflicts we face in everyday experiences.

Session 12.  Building Healthy Relationships

God created us for relationship with Himself and with others.  We are to reflect His glory to those we come in contact with day to day.  He has said that we are to love others in the same way He has loved us.  Using scriptural guidelines this session provides a year-long plan for us to contribute into relationships in a healthy, Godly way that makes a positive difference.  Participants who have used this plan have told us of the changes in their marriages, families, friendships and church families.