Marriage: 6 Commitments Lesson 5 "Whose Kingdom"

Housekeeping

-Class Picnic Today!! Matheson Park

-Jonathan McKee visit

September 19th 10:30 and 5pm

-Praises/Prayer Requests

Prayer

Finishing Chapter 2

What Does a Marriage Rooted in the Worship of God Look Like?

Galatians 5:14 CSB

14 For the whole law is fulfilled in one statement: Love your neighbor as yourself.

“At the foundational level, the difficulties in our marriages do not first come because we don’t love one another enough, They happen because we don’t love God enough; and because we don’t love God enough we don’t treat one another with the kind of love that makes marriages work.”

1. A marriage of love, unity, and understanding will flow out of a daily worship of God as Creator.

We try to “recreate” our spouse into something we can better relate to instead of celebrating the blessing of how He created our spouse.

2. A marriage of love, unity, and understanding will flow out of a daily worship of God as Sovereign.

Uncontrollable situations

The list of ‘givens’, expectations, roles, responsibilities....all are things that are not immediately or continually shared by your spouse.

At this point you either Worship God as sovereign and celebrate the differences or dishonor God by attempting to rewrite His story.

How will you choose to celebrate the sovereignty of God?

3. A marriage of love, unity, and understanding will flow out of a daily worship of God as Savior.

Must be driven by Worship

We are in need of His Grace

Find joy in being a part of God’s Grace towards your spouse.

Creator-Sovereign-Savior

Question #5 on page 365

“How will worshipping God as Creator, Sovereign Lord, and Savior give you reason to continue when marriage is hard? How can you put it into practice this week?”

Closing

750 Engaging Illustrations for Preachers, Teachers and Writers 773: Worship

In Touch and Live, George Vandeman writes:

A young stranger to the Alps was making his first climb, accompanied by two stalwart guides. It was a steep, hazardous ascent. But he felt secure with one guide ahead and one following. For hours they climbed. And now, breathless, they reached for those rocks protruding through the snow above them—the summit.

The guide ahead wished to let the stranger have the first glorious view of heaven and earth, and moved aside to let him go first. Forgetting the gales that would blow across those summit rocks, the young man leaped to his feet. But the chief guide dragged him down. “On your knees, sir!” he shouted. “You are never safe here except on your knees.”

My prayer is that we each stay safe on our knees in prayer, worship and humility to the One True King. We place our Worship of Him the priority in our marriages.

As Tripp writes at the bottom of page 43

(Read that highlight)

Begin Chapter 3

2 Corinthians 5:14–21 CSB

14 For the love of Christ compels us, since we have reached this conclusion, that one died for all, and therefore all died. 15 And he died for all so that those who live should no longer live for themselves, but for the one who died for them and was raised. 16 From now on, then, we do not know anyone from a worldly perspective. Even if we have known Christ from a worldly perspective, yet now we no longer know him in this way. 17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has passed away, and see, the new has come! 18 Everything is from God, who has reconciled us to himself through Christ and has given us the ministry of reconciliation. 19 That is, in Christ, God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and he has committed the message of reconciliation to us. 20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, since God is making his appeal through us. We plead on Christ’s behalf, “Be reconciled to God.” 21 He made the one who did not know sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

With that scripture in hand and heart, let’s get started with the life of Gwen and Barry....

Thoughts on this couple as a whole?

Kerry and I decided to approach h this chapter a tad different.

Let’s truly go through the questions and see how this picture of “Whose Kingdom Do You Serve?” speaks to each of us as a husband and a wife.

Questions from page 365

1.  What was the number-one thing that first attracted you to your spouse?

Long Blonde Hair and Texas Accent. Blue Eyes that stopped time! A Smile that really did stop my heart.

2.  Tripp writes, “What we actually want is for our spouse to love us as much as we love ourselves, and if our spouse is willing to do that, we will have a wonderful relationship.” Think of the last conflict you had with your spouse. In what ways were you wanting your spouse to love you as much as you love yourself or to serve your kingdom of one? How could you have diffused the situation by sacrificing your own desires?

Was the one on physical intimacy. How I feel that you will say things to shut me up for the time being with no intentions of truly making a change.

It could have been diffused by realizing that it’s my own selfish desire to be physically intimate with you. Your heart’s desires should be mine.

3.  “It is when attraction wanes, flaws show, and the dream dies that real love has its best opportunity to germinate and grow.” How have you seen this to be true in your marriage?

Having children and the challenges we experienced together as parents. We truly had to become One or would would be forever divided.

4.  What is required of an individual if true love and kingdom-of-God priorities are going to reign in a marriage? Is this a sacrifice you are willing to make?

Humility. Placing my selfishness towards wanting to be physical with you last. No longer a want. I personally do not want to make that sacrifice; however, over the past years, nothing else has worked, so this must happen.

5.  How would your marriage change if you viewed the troubles you face as tools of God’s grace to shape you into the person he wants you to be?

To stop and embrace God’s plan for our marriage, even in the times of trials would be a game changer for our marriage. Trials-Endurance-Marturity James 1:2-4