Posts belonging to Category Marriage



Sunday Morning SoundBytes – 6/24/2018

Sunday’s message in the Samson: Strong Man Gone Wrong series was called Marriage Gone Wrong, taken from Judges 14. Here is a brief outline of the message:

Biblical principles for those getting married:

1) Marry another Christian (1-2)
   – Deut 7:3-4; 1 Cor 7:39; 2 Cor 6:14

2) Seek your parents’ blessing (3-4)
   – Deut 5:16; Judges 17:6, 21:25; Proverbs 1:8-9

3) Pay attention to God (5-6)
   – Hebrews 12:10-11; 1 Peter 5:8

4) Do things God’s way (7-9)
   – Proverbs 3:5-6, 4:25-27

5) Beware of pride (10-14)
   – Proverbs 16:18; James 4:6

6) Practice unity, love and respect (15-18)
   – Genesis 2:24; Ephesians 5:33

7) Beware of anger (19-20)
   – Proverbs 22:24, 29:11; James 1:19-20

Note: Click on the Sermons tab at the top of the blog for this and other messages.
 

Sunday Morning SoundBytes – 5/27/2018

Sunday’s message in the Hot Button Topics series was called Divorce and Remarriage: Covenant, commitment, grace and forgiveness, taken from Matthew 19:3-9. Here is a brief outline of the message:

1) Biblical definition of marriage:
   – created by God (Matthew 19:4)
   – a sacred, covenant relationship (Matthew 19:5; Eph 5:32)
   – between a man and a woman (Genesis 1:27, 2:24)
   – based on a public vow of lifetime faithfulness (Matthew 19:6)

2) Two ways to break the marriage covenant:
   – Adultery breaks the covenant of sexual faithfulness (Ex 20:14)
   – Divorce breaks the covenant of lifetime commitment (Mal 2:14-16; Matt 19:7-8)

3) You can be divorced and still married in God’s eyes
   – Only God can separate what he has joined (Matthew 19:6)
   – In this case remarriage would constitute adultery (Mk 10:11-12; Lk 16:18; Rom 7:2-3)

4) When are divorce and remarriage allowed?
   – in the case of marital unfaithfulness (Matthew 5:32, 19:3,9)
   – in the case of an unbeliever divorcing a believer (1 Cor 7:12-16)
   – Otherwise, you should stay married, remain unmarried or be reconciled (1 Cor 7:10-11)

5) What about abuse?
   – No abuse of any kind is ever acceptable in marriage or any other relationship (verbal; physical; emotional; sexual)
   – A person in an abusive situation should: 1) Call the police; 2) Get away from the abuser; 3) Get long-term help
   – Scripture does not give clear grounds for divorce and remarriage in the case of abuse. All agree you should separate from the abuser and put your safety and the safety of your children first.

Note: Click on the Sermons tab at the top of the blog for this and other messages.
 

Sunday Morning SoundBytes – 5/20/2018

Sunday’s message in the Hot Button Topics series was called Living Together: Dishonoring those you love the most, taken from Hebrews 13:4. Here is a brief outline of the message:

I. You dishonor God
   – Genesis 2:24-25; Hebrews 13:4

II. You dishonor each other
   – Proverbs 14:12; Ecclesiastes 3:1,5; 1 Corinthians 6:18; Galatians 6:7-8; Hebrews 13:4; 1 Thessalonians 4:2-5

III. You dishonor your family
   – Genesis 39:9; Exodus 20:12; Proverbs 10:1; Proverbs 17:25

Living together without sex:
   1) The problem of temptation
   2) The problem of testimony
   3) The problem of trivialization

Note: Click on the Sermons tab at the top of the blog for this and other messages.
 

8 Things You Need to Know About Gay Marriage and the Supreme Court

One week from today, the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments about gay marriage. Here’s what you need to know.

  1. There simply is nothing in the U.S. Constitution that requires all 50 states to redefine marriage.
  2. The question before the Court is not whether government-recognized gay marriage is good, only whether it’s required by the Constitution.
  3. The Constitution is silent on which vision of marriage is correct, so We the People have authority to make policy.
  4. The Constitution does not require a new vision of marriage.
  5. Everyone is in favor of marriage equality. Disagreement is over what consenting adult relationship is a marriage.
  6. Marriage exists to bring a man and a woman together as husband and wife to be father and mother to any children.
  7. Redefining marriage to make it a genderless institution fundamentally changes marriage.
  8. There is no need for the Court to “settle” the marriage issue like it “settled” abortion. Allow democracy to work on the best policy.

 
From Ryan T. Anderson at The Daily Signal. (Click here to read Ryan’s elaboration on each of these points.)

Unemployment Prompts Large Increase in Living Together

Regular readers at this blog know that I get a steady stream of comments on my Living Together Before Marriage Series. Many of the comments come from people who agree in principle that living together before marriage is not right, but who then offer reasons why they feel it is okay for them. Now add a bad economy and unemployment to the list. From The Christian Post:

The number of unmarried couples living together rose 13 percent from the previous year, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

This year, there are 7.5 million opposite-sex unmarried couples living together – up from 6.7 million in 2009, reported the bureau on Thursday. The year before had witnessed a two percent drop after a five percent rise in co-habiting couples between 2007 and 2008.

Demographers say a poor job market is likely a factor in the rise of co-habiting couples in 2010.

According to 2010 data, unmarried couples who recently began living together usually have one partner unemployed. Only 49 percent of cohabiting couples this year are ones where both partners are employed. This figure is down from 59 percent in 2008 and 52 percent in 2009.

As I try to share with people in the comments section, if you will trust God and put Christ first in your situation, I believe God will always open up another option for you. If you or your boyfriend/girlfriend are unemployed: check with family, check with friends, check with your local church, and see what living arrangements you can find. But please don’t make the mistake of moving in together before marriage. You can read more about why in the articles below.

Living Together Before Marriage Series:
    ● Statistics on Living Together Before Marriage
    ● Scriptures on Living Together Before Marriage
    ● Living Together Without Sex
    ● What If We Already Lived Together Before Marriage?

When Does Marriage Begin?

I love these paragraphs from Walter Wangerin on “When does marriage begin?” and the significance of the marriage vows:

Marriage Begins with the Vow

Listen: marriage begins when two people make the clear, unqualified promise to be faithful, each to the other, until the end of their days. That spoken promise makes the difference. A new relationship is initiated. Marriage begins when each vows to commit herself, himself, unto the other and to no other human in this world: “I promise you my faithfulness, until death parts us.” That vow, once spoken, once heard, permits a new, enduring trust: each one may trust the vow of the other one. And that vow forms the foundation of the relationship to be built upon it hereafter.

A promise made, a promise witnessed, a promise heard, remembered, and trusted — this is the groundwork of marriage. Not emotions. No, not even love. Not physical desires or personal needs or sexuality. Not the practical fact of living together. Not even the piercing foresight or some peculiar miracle of All-seeing God. Rather, a promise, a vow, makes the marriage. “I promise you my faithfulness, until death parts us.”

Here is a marvelous work, performed by those who are made in the image of God — for we create, in this promise, a new thing, a changeless stability in an ever-changing world. We do the thing that God does, establishing a covenant with another human being: we ask faith in our faithfulness to that covenant. We transfigure the relationship thereafter, transfiguring ourselves, for we shape our behaviors by the covenant. A new ethic has begun for each of us. We have called forth a spiritual house in which each of us may dwell securely. Whether we know it or not, it is a divine thing we do, and it is holy.

From Walter Wangerin, As For Me and My House, pp. 18-19.
    • Click here for As For Me and My House at Christianbook.
    • Click here for As For Me and My House at Amazon.

Related posts:
    ● Statistics on Living Together Before Marriage
    ● Scriptures on Living Together Before Marriage
    ● Living Together Without Sex
    ● What If We Already Lived Together Before Marriage?

Marriage and Cohabitation in the United States

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (CDC/Centers for Disease Control) just released a new study on marriage and cohabitation in the United States. The study defines cohabitation as “a man and woman living together in a sexual relationship without being married.” The findings confirm what earlier studies have reported — that couples who live together before marriage are more likely to divorce. As The New York Times reports:

Couples who live together before they get married are less likely to stay married, a new study has found. But their chances improve if they were already engaged when they began living together. The likelihood that a marriage would last for a decade or more decreased by six percentage points if the couple had cohabited first, the study found …

The survey found that about 28 percent of men and women had cohabitated before their first marriage and that about 7 percent lived together and never married. About 23 percent of women and 18 percent of men married without having lived together. Women who were not living with both of their biological or adoptive parents when they were 14 years old were less likely to be married and more likely to be cohabiting than those who grew up with both parents.

For more information on the effects of living together before marriage, I encourage you to visit my series on the topic. Click on the following links to access the series:

Living Together Before Marriage Series:
    ● Statistics on Living Together Before Marriage
    ● Scriptures on Living Together Before Marriage
    ● Living Together Without Sex
    ● What If We Already Lived Together Before Marriage?

10 Ways To Do Your Husband Good

Just in time for Father’s Day, here is a great list of 10 ways to do your husband good (from Nicole at GirlTalk).

10 Ways to Do Your Husband Good (Proverbs 31:12)

  1. Write him a love note and place it in his sock drawer.
  2. Take an entire evening to enjoy his favorite hobby with him.
  3. Show up at work with a special drink or take him to lunch.
  4. Encourage him for demonstrating a specific godly trait—in front of friends.
  5. Arrange a datenight at his favorite restaurant.
  6. Pray for him today and tell him you are doing so.
  7. Surprise him with his favorite dessert after dinner.
  8. Greet him in an extra-special way when he comes home from work.
  9. Lead the children in a time of honoring him.
  10. Ask him: “What is one way I can be a better wife?” Then do it!

What are some other ways wives can do their husbands good? We husbands want to get as many ideas out there as possible!

Related post: 20 Minutes to Change Your Marriage

20 Minutes to Change Your Marriage

Who wouldn’t take twenty minutes to change his marriage for the better? Mike Seaver points out the 20 crucial minutes in a man’s day that can really bless his wife and improve his marriage. “If a man would think through these specific times and ask his wife what blessed her during these times, he would be setting a trajectory for a successful marriage. Here are the specific times.”

  • The first 5 minutes when you wake up in the morning
  • The last 5 minutes before you say goodbye for work
  • The first 5 minutes when you walk in the door from work
  • The last 5 minutes before you say good night

        –from a Davis Carman seminar

Let’s hear from the women on this one. What are some things we husbands could do during these twenty minutes that would be a blessing to you? Husbands, remember these are other wives’ ideas. You will need to ask your own wife what would be most helpful to her.

You Might Be a Pastor’s Wife If …

Here is a follow-up to yesterday’s post on You Might Be a Pastor.

You might be a pastor’s wife if …

  • Every summer you counsel at teen camp for your vacation.
  • You have shaken as many hands as a politician.
  • People think your husband works only three hours a week.
  • You can teach Sunday School and nurse your baby at the same time.
  • You can sincerely pray for someone’s dog!
  • You spend more time visiting in hospitals than doctors do.
  • People consider you a walking phone book for church members.
  • You sing in the choir, teach Sunday School, and host a missionary family all in the same day.
  • You’re expected to be a piano player … actually, a “spiritual gift!”

Source: You Might Be a Pastor’s Wife If, by Kathy Slamp

Related posts:
    • You Might Be a Pastor If …
    • The Pastor’s Dog

Marriage for a Lifetime Contest

A nonprofit organization is offering a $10,000 prize to an engaged couple that will agree to abstain from premarital sex — and no one has entered the contest!

“Someone asked me, ‘Is anyone going to respond?'” said contest organizer Phillippia Faust, director of an abstinence education program for Rockdale, DeKalb and Newton counties. “In our society, it is going to be hard to find [a couple who has not had premarital sex]. … But the standard is the standard.”

The prize also includes free flowers, invitations and other bridal goodies. I am sure there must be some eligible Christian couples who have already taken a stand on this issue. But if you want to enter, you had better move fast. The deadline is October 31.

CONTEST DETAILS

  • What: Marriage for a Lifetime wedding essay contest
  • Requirements: Bride and groom must agree to undergo premarital education. Must agree not to serve alcohol at reception. Couple either agrees not to have premarital sex or at least acknowledge it’s preferable not to. At least one of the couple must live in DeKalb, Newton or Rockdale counties.
  • To apply: Submit 600-word essay to the Mature Project, Rockdale Medical Center, 1412 Milstead Ave., Conyers, GA 30012. Deadline: Oct. 31
  • More information: 770-918-3659

Related posts: Living Together Before Marriage Series

How to Make Your Wife Treat You Like a King

A public lecture was once advertised under the title, “How to make your wife treat you like a king.” The lecture hall was absolutely packed out, with men from all sections of society waiting to hear where they were going wrong. Finally, the speaker stood up to address the packed and expectant gathering. “Gentleman,” he said to them, “the answer to the question being posed is every simple. If you want your wife to treat you like a king, there is one thing you must do: treat her like a queen.” (J. John, Ten, p. 118)

HT: Unashamed Workman