Immediately upon the mention of the word honeymoon, most people picture a time of intimate romance and unrestrained physical affection between newlyweds. Our culture promotes such a concept. We think of that period of passionate ecstasy as the beginning of a marriage—the time between the wedding and the return to the responsibilities of life. There is nothing wrong with such a concept—except for what it implies: namely, that such a show of physical affection is brief . . . is only for newlyweds . . . and is necessarily temporary, passing away with the passing of time. But God’s plan is that married couples enjoy such delights without shame or reluctance until “death do us part.”
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February 2, 2016
In the previous message, we learned that God’s plan for remodeling a house into a home calls for some specific behaviors and attitudes which serve as bricks or building blocks for the relationship. Some of these bricks are contributed by the wife and some by the husband. Regrettably, both sets of bricks can be substituted with cheap imitations. These may seem to be adequate and acceptable at first, but over the long haul, they cause great damage.
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February 1, 2016
In the previous message, we learned that God’s plan for remodeling a house into a home calls for some specific behaviors and attitudes which serve as bricks or building blocks for the relationship. Some of these bricks are contributed by the wife and some by the husband. Regrettably, both sets of bricks can be substituted with cheap imitations. These may seem to be adequate and acceptable at first, but over the long haul, they cause great damage.
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January 29, 2016
Damage to a marriage can begin even before the vows. Among the greatest threats to a new union are the young bride and groom’s thoughts about what life with a new spouse will be like. Expectations often lead to broken dreams, as invariably, young couples fall into the trap of looking forward to a non-existent reality. On the doorstep of sealing their marriage bond, many people anticipate that after a few years of hard work and perseverance, they will settle into ideal marriages. However, there is no ideal marriage this side of sin. Instead, marriage promises a lifetime of two people striving together for maturity. Without this realistic perspective, a couple’s view of the foundation of marriage becomes fractured and in need of repair.
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August 27, 2013
Damage to a marriage can begin even before the vows. Among the greatest threats to a new union are the young bride and groom’s thoughts about what life with a new spouse will be like. Expectations often lead to broken dreams, as invariably, young couples fall into the trap of looking forward to a non-existent reality. On the doorstep of sealing their marriage bond, many people anticipate that after a few years of hard work and perseverance, they will settle into ideal marriages. However, there is no ideal marriage this side of sin. Instead, marriage promises a lifetime of two people striving together for maturity. Without this realistic perspective, a couple’s view of the foundation of marriage becomes fractured and in need of repair.
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August 26, 2013
Changes are never cheap. Remodeling a house is expensive . . . but restoring a home is infinitely more costly! No one ever worked through a difficult, hurting marriage without paying a very high price. This fact alone causes many partners to refuse the process. The pain of changing is, in the opinion of many, too great to bear. But for those who do change, how sweet it is! God declares that the husband-wife relationship is to portray the deep, close, loving relationship Christ has with His bride, the church. When a Christian marriage is dissolved, God loses one of the greatest theological seminaries in the world. How difficult it becomes to declare the love of Christ when marriages are destroyed!
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August 23, 2013
Changes are never cheap. Remodeling a house is expensive . . . but restoring a home is infinitely more costly! No one ever worked through a difficult, hurting marriage without paying a very high price. This fact alone causes many partners to refuse the process. The pain of changing is, in the opinion of many, too great to bear. But for those who do change, how sweet it is! God declares that the husband-wife relationship is to portray the deep, close, loving relationship Christ has with His bride, the church. When a Christian marriage is dissolved, God loses one of the greatest theological seminaries in the world. How difficult it becomes to declare the love of Christ when marriages are destroyed!
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August 22, 2013
When we think of institutions, we often think of places where delinquent, defective, or dependent people need help and a place to stay away from society. This could well describe the institution of marriage today—an arrangement to pair together delinquent, defective, and dependent people, not for a lifetime but merely for a time. For many marriages, this definition is all too true. But it doesn’t have to describe your marriage. The institution of marriage has fallen on hard times—divorce rates are soaring, men and women are testing the marriage waters by living together first, to say nothing about society’s attempts to redefine marriage to include same-sex couples. But marriage is a divinely designed institution, and if marriage is to thrive in an increasingly hostile culture, then we must first consult the architect of marriage . . . God.
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August 21, 2013
When we think of institutions, we often think of places where delinquent, defective, or dependent people need help and a place to stay away from society. This could well describe the institution of marriage today—an arrangement to pair together delinquent, defective, and dependent people, not for a lifetime but merely for a time. For many marriages, this definition is all too true. But it doesn’t have to describe your marriage. The institution of marriage has fallen on hard times—divorce rates are soaring, men and women are testing the marriage waters by living together first, to say nothing about society’s attempts to redefine marriage to include same-sex couples. But marriage is a divinely designed institution, and if marriage is to thrive in an increasingly hostile culture, then we must first consult the architect of marriage . . . God.
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August 20, 2013
When we think of institutions, we often think of places where delinquent, defective, or dependent people need help and a place to stay away from society. This could well describe the institution of marriage today—an arrangement to pair together delinquent, defective, and dependent people, not for a lifetime but merely for a time. For many marriages, this definition is all too true. But it doesn’t have to describe your marriage. The institution of marriage has fallen on hard times—divorce rates are soaring, men and women are testing the marriage waters by living together first, to say nothing about society’s attempts to redefine marriage to include same-sex couples. But marriage is a divinely designed institution, and if marriage is to thrive in an increasingly hostile culture, then we must first consult the architect of marriage . . . God.
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August 19, 2013