2. God Made Everything Good This includes the marriage relationship. (Genesis 2:18-24) The devil always tries to cast doubt on what God said. (Gen. 3:4-5) Marriages can succeed; but when sinful choices are made, society is corrupted (Gen. 6:1-7); the church lacks qualified elders (1 Tim. 3:1ff); and marriage is held in dishonor and many souls will be condemned. (Hebrews 13:4)

3. God Made Everything Good If you are married, God has joined you and your mate together for life (Matthew 19:6)… …which provides companionship (Gen. 2:18), …love (Eph. 5:25ff), …trust (Proverbs 31:11) and ….security if we will listen to God’s wisdom. (Proverbs 1:33) What will help you to have a successful marriage?

4. Be Faithful to the Lord and Your Vows I promise to love, honor, and cherish you in sickness and in health, in prosperity and adversity, from this day forward until death do us part. God is a witness to your vows and has joined you together. Don’t deal treacherously with your spouse by divorcing them. (Malachi 2:14-16)

5. Be Faithful to the Lord and Your Vows Enjoy life with the spouse whom you love… (Ecclesiastes 9:9) …and you won’t be tempted to stray. (Proverbs 5:18ff) How tragic it is that Christians and even some gospel preachers, elders, and their wives have not kept their vows! Keep your vows!

6. Pray Together The family that prays together, stays together is still true. If you love life and want to see good days, praying will help prevent you from insulting your spouse in anger but instead be kindhearted and sympathetic to their needs. (1 Peter 3:8-12) When we don’t show honor to our wives as fellow heirs in the grace of life, our prayers are hindered. (1 Peter 3:7)

7. Pray Together Praying together will help you overcome worry and have the peace that passes all understanding. (Philippians 4:6-7) “Take time to be holy, speak oft with Thy Lord”. Have you made prayer a habit in your life?

8. Read, Listen to & Study God’s Word Together How can we say that we love God and want to be blessed by Him, if we don’t delight in meditating on His word day and night? (Psalms 1:1-3) We should treasure God’s word in our heart so that we won’t sin against Him. (Psalms 119:9-11)

9. Read, Listen to & Study God’s Word Together Reading God’s word will help keep your heart pure and think on things that are excellent. (Philippians 4:8) Have the conviction to turn off the TV and be renewed daily (2 Cor. 4:16; Rom. 12:2) with the words of eternal life (Acts 20:32).

10. Sacrifice for One Another Christ gave husbands and wives the perfect example of sacrifice and submission as He gave Himself up for the church. (Ephesians 5:22-25) We should sacrifice for our spouses and not desire to have our own way all the time. (Philippians 2:3ff) Husbands, do you know what your wife’s favorite restaurant is and take her there?

11. Sacrifice for One Another Wives, do you know what your husbands favorite food is and cook it from time to time? Are you always asking your spouse to do something for you, but don’t reciprocate and do something for them? “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” (Acts 20:35) Don’t be selfish, sacrifice for your spouse.

12. Say I Love You & Compliment Each Other More than likely we did this when we dated but how often do we forget this after we have been married awhile? “I promised her my love on the day we married and if I change my mind I will let her know.” (Not complimentary) Praising your spouse will help their physical and spiritual health. (Proverbs 16:24; 17:22)

13. Say I Love You & Compliment Each Other Tell your spouse I love you often, apologize for your failures, thank them for being faithful to the Lord, for all the sacrifices they make for you (checkbook, meals, cleaning, yard, etc.) How easy it is to get angry and criticize and insult the ones we say we love the most? We all need kind words of encouragement from time to time.

14. Conclusion Don’t let the devil destroy your marriage. Be faithful to the Lord and your vows. God is watching! Pray with one another and for one another. Read, study, & meditate on God’s word together.

15. Conclusion Say I love you and complement one another often. Sacrifice for one another. God designed marriage for success. For it to work, we must practice these principles!