“The Wisdom for Marriage” - Proverbs 2:16-17
Sermon series: Navigating Life with Proverbs
Sermon Title: The Wisdom for Marriage
Scripture: Proverbs 2:16-17
Introduction:
In today’s culture, marriage is commonly viewed as an old social custom centered around happiness and fulfillment. This newer view of marriage has also consequentially made divorce more common practice and acceptable.
However, in the Bible, God designed marriage for the ultimate purpose of glorifying Himself. Marriage is a holy act between two partners and in today’s sermon we’ll look at 2 essential attributes that constitute this sacred practice.
Overview:
A covenant is a legal, binding agreement between two or more parties. In the Bible, a covenant is the most solemn, most binding, and most intimate contract you can make.
Marriage is a covenant modeled after God’s covenant keeping nature.
The heart of a covenant marriage is a desire to love, encourage, and cherish one another while placing Christ at the center steadfastly and faithfully.
Marriage is patterned after God’s relationship to his church.
Because a covenant is a promise to God and to each other, a Christ centered marriage lays a strong foundation for couples going through difficult times.
Understanding of biblical marriage helps us find our satisfaction in Jesus Christ rather than seeking unrealistic expectations from our spouse.
Marriage is a Friendship
The word partner in the passage is the same as “close friend”. Though marriage is a covenant, friendship helps us enjoy the long relationship rather than merely enduring the relationship.
“Better to live on a corner of the roof than share a house with a quarrelsome wife.” Proverbs 21:9 (it goes both ways).
Applications:
How can we build great friendship in our marriage?
Laughter and fun are foundational to building a friendship with your spouse.
Participate in activities your spouse enjoys though it may not interest you.
Reminisce about your early relationship.
Work to please your spouse and build them up.
We are called to approach this relationship with each other’s needs and benefit in mind. Rather than seeking a relationship prioritizing our own interests, we are called to approach godly relationships by putting others first.
Sermon reflection questions:
Have you seen a marriage in your personal life that glorified God? If yes, what about that marriage sticks out and makes it different from other marriages?
These days, marriages (and relationships) heavily emphasize fulfillment of our own desires and strong romance. Why do you think this view has prevailed in the world? How does Jesus call us to see our relationships differently?
How has God's purpose of marriage (to glorify Himself) changed your view of marriage? If not married, how has it changed your approach to entering an intimate relationship?
