THE MEANING OF MARRIAGE The Mission of Marriage (Part 2) THE - PDF document

Meaning of Marriage 3/26/2017 4b. The Mission of Marriage THE MEANING OF MARRIAGE The Mission of Marriage (Part 2) THE MEANING OF MARRIAGE God’s Chisel Have you ever seen this kind of love modeled in your earthly relationships? Grace Lutheran Church Winter Haven, FL 1

Meaning of Marriage 3/26/2017 4b. The Mission of Marriage THE MEANING OF MARRIAGE A Message for Our Culture • “Your spouse has got to be your best friend, or be on the way to becoming your best friend, or you won’t have a strong, rich marriage that endures and that makes you both vastly better persons for having been in it.” THE MEANING OF MARRIAGE A Message for Our Culture • “Screen first for friendship. Look for someone who understands you better than you do yourself, who makes you a better person just by being around them. And then explore whether that friendship could become romance and a marriage.” Grace Lutheran Church Winter Haven, FL 2

Meaning of Marriage 3/26/2017 4b. The Mission of Marriage THE MEANING OF MARRIAGE Top 10 Must Haves Marr Marria iage & f & family ly Go Good at talk at talking and and Co Comforta table g giving and and minde mi nded listening. liste Receivi ceiving a g affect ction ion Willin lling t to share share se sexu xual Han Handle les st stre ress & & Can Can alw always cou count on for t on for desires/unde de sires/underst rstanding nding fru frustratio tration/ n/matu turity rity suppor pport Express f Express feeli elings gs in Respo esponsible/finance sible/finances A mature way A mature way. Mu Must st f feel el de deep eply in Know Knows righ right fro t from wron wrong love love/attrac ttracte ted t to Ha Handle ndle Emot otional ionally h y heal althy & y & pa partn rtner setbacks/ backs/pat patient ent, able to shar ab to share life life stead eady ma manner nner Ho Honest nest/st /strong e ong enough ough Find hum Find humor r in in any any to to d do th the rig right th thin ing sit situatio ion There f There for yo r you u throug ugh h trials & tria & trib tribulations Gen Gentle and le and kind kind Em Emotio ionally lly ava availab lable & e & able to ab to dea deal/past hurts t hurts THE MEANING OF MARRIAGE Top 10 Can’t Stands Unreliab Unrel able/flaky le/flaky Lies Lies, esp , especia ially lly to m me Uses es illegal/recreati illeg tional drugs dru Engag Engages i es in sex o x outside ide Ye Yells, s, s scream ams, l loses es com committe tted relatio relationship ip contro control Co Couch Potato h Potato Has a Has a deviou devious s nature/ nature/mean t n to ot others hers Ta Take kes a s advant vantag age e of people/ peop le/manip ipulative ative Is unfaithfu unfaithful (inf nfide idelity) ity) Can’t m Ca n’t manage ang anger, r, bottle bottles it it up up Is lazy Is lazy Belittlin Be littling, imp impatie tient or t or Is n Is not t clean Continually Con lly unha unhappy y hateful t ha teful to people people ab about life t life Grace Lutheran Church Winter Haven, FL 3

Meaning of Marriage 3/26/2017 4b. The Mission of Marriage THE MEANING OF MARRIAGE The Priority of Marriage • “Your marriage must be more important to you than anything else. No other human being should get more of your love, energy, industry, and commitment than your spouse. God asks that a man leave his father and mother, as powerful as that relationship may have been, to forge a new union that must be an even more important and powerful force in his life.” THE MEANING OF MARRIAGE Case Study: Group Discussion • Read through the four case studies on your journal pages. • What is the misplaced priority in each case study? • What is the consequence? Grace Lutheran Church Winter Haven, FL 4

Meaning of Marriage 3/26/2017 4b. The Mission of Marriage THE MEANING OF MARRIAGE Pseudo-Spouses • “You have failed to leave your parents if you are more driven by their wishes and expectations than by your spouse’s. But you can also fail to leave your parents if you resent or hate them too much.” THE MEANING OF MARRIAGE Pseudo-Spouses Quoting a counselor, “The best way for you to be a great mother to your daughter is by being a great wife to your husband. That is the main thing your daughter needs from you.” Grace Lutheran Church Winter Haven, FL 5

Meaning of Marriage 3/26/2017 4b. The Mission of Marriage THE MEANING OF MARRIAGE Journal/Personal Reflection • What are the most likely things in your life to slip into that “pseudo-spouse” seat, and why do they present such a threat to your marriage? • If you are not married and want to be, what priorities in your life do you expect will have to change to keep them from turning into pseudo- spouses? THE MEANING OF MARRIAGE The Power of Marriage • “Marriage is so much like salvation and our relationship with Christ that Paul says you can’t understand marriage without looking at the gospel.” Grace Lutheran Church Winter Haven, FL 6

Meaning of Marriage 3/26/2017 4b. The Mission of Marriage THE MEANING OF MARRIAGE The Power of Marriage • “…the key to giving marriage that kind of priority is spiritual friendship.” • “Spiritual friendship] is eagerly helping one another know, serve, love, and resemble God in deeper and deeper ways.” THE MEANING OF MARRIAGE The Power of Marriage • “When Jesus’s love, wisdom, and greatness are formed in us, each with our own unique gifts and callings, we become our ‘true selves,’ the persons we were created to be.” Grace Lutheran Church Winter Haven, FL 7

Meaning of Marriage 3/26/2017 4b. The Mission of Marriage THE MEANING OF MARRIAGE The Power of Marriage • “If you come to understand what holiness is, you come to see that real happiness is on the far side of holiness, not the near side. Holiness gives us new desires and brings old desires into line with one another. So if we want to be happy in marriage, we will accept that marriage is designed to make us holy.” THE MEANING OF MARRIAGE At home discussion: Marriage Plan • In this marriage plan you are going to write out a profile for who you see God making your spouse into—a specific description of their great horizon. Answer the following questions about your spouse and then have a conversation with him/her this week about what you wrote: • I see the love of Jesus on display in your life when you __________. (This is where you see the gospel alive and at work in your spouse.) • God has clearly gifted you in __________. (This is where you see your spouse really flourishing.) • As believers, we are promised a future glory—freedom from all our sins and agonies—where we encounter Jesus face to face. What particular kind of joy, redemption and freedom do you envision for your spouse? Grace Lutheran Church Winter Haven, FL 8

Meaning of Marriage 3/26/2017 4b. The Mission of Marriage WE’LL SEE YOU NEXT WEEK! Loving the Stranger (Part 1) Grace Lutheran Church Winter Haven, FL 9