#FamilyStrong: Laying the Ax to the Root of the Family Tree

You don’t have to repeat what you were raised in.

In this unforgettable conclusion to our Family Strong series, Pastor Ivy Stanton delivers a bold, honest, and hope-filled word for every person ready to break generational patterns and plant something new.

From the gripping story of a movie character’s best and worst day being the same… to Ivy’s own family legacy of addiction, dysfunction, and heartbreak… this message hits deep. But it doesn’t leave you there. It shows you the way out.

Scripture: Luke 3:7–10

Big idea: You can lay the ax to the root of the family tree—and plant something stronger in its place.

What you’ll hear:

- What makes a truly functional family (straight from the life of Jesus)

- How dysfunction shows up in the areas of maturity, discipline, love, and control

- Why sowing any kind of seed—good or bad—always leads to a multiplied harvest

- What it looks like to repent, not just emotionally—but practically

- The moment Ivy took a spiritual ax to her own family patterns

Key themes:

- Identify unhealthy patterns in your family tree

- Renounce the lie that “being a Christian” automatically erases dysfunction

- Real repentance = change your thoughts + change your actions

- Raise your kids with intentionality—not default settings from your past

- Let Jesus' tree—the cross—be the place where your old family story ends and His begins

This isn’t a soft message. It’s a surgical one—meant to cut to the root so real healing can happen.

If you’re ready to say:

“It ends with me. It stops here.”

Then this message is for you.

There’s another tree. Another family. Another way.

Because of the cross, you don’t have to stay stuck in cycles.

You can build something brand new.