Becoming One | Week 2 | Show Some Love
Becoming One
Marriage comes from God.
1. Marriage Is Sacred
“Then the Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper as his complement.” So the Lord God formed out of the ground every wild animal and every bird of the sky, and brought each to the man to see what he would call it. And whatever the man called a living creature, that was its name. The man gave names to all the livestock, to the birds of the sky, and to every wild animal; but for the man no helper was found as his complement. So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to come over the man, and he slept. God took one of his ribs and closed the flesh at that place. Then the Lord God made the rib He had taken from the man into a woman and brought her to the man. And the man said: This one, at last, is bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh; this one will be called “woman,” for she was taken from man. This is why a man leaves his father and mother and bonds with his wife, and they become one flesh. Both the man and his wife were naked, yet felt no shame.”
Genesis 2:18-25 HCSB
God created marriage as a loyal partnership between one man and one woman.
Marriage is the firmest foundation for building a family.
God designed sexual expression to help married couples build intimacy.
Marriage mirrors God’s covenant relationship with His people.
2. Love in Marriage Requires Intimacy
Book recommendation: Love and Respect by Dr. Emmerson Eggerichs
The Book In Three Sentences
1. “Wives are made to love, want to love, and expect love. Husbands are made to be respected, want respect, and expect respect”.
2. “When a husband feels disrespected, it is especially hard to love his wife. When a wife feels unloved, it is especially hard to respect her husband”.
3. “Often, we focus on our own needs and simply overlook the needs of the other person”.
Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.
1 Peter 4:8
And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.
Colossians 3:14
3. Love in Marriage is Commitment
Top three reasons for divorces are incompatibility (43%), infidelity (28%), and money issues (22%).
4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
1 Corinthians 13:4-7
4. Love in Marriage is Oneness
"Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate."
Mark 10:9
"Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish. In the same way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church, ..."
Ephesians 5:25-33
Strategies to move toward one another in oneness.
Focus on your spouse’s strengths rather than their weaknesses.
Encourage rather than criticize.
Pray for your spouse instead of tearing them down.
Say your sorry/Don’t curse at one another/Don’t use the D word
When your spouse is troubled ask “How can I join you”
Clarity is kindness…don’t expect mind reading…be clear about what you need
Learn more about what love really is from a biblical perspective