April 15 th : Crazy Love April 22 nd : Broken Vessels April 29 th : Friends or Lovers? May 6 th : The Devil Made Me Do It May 13 th : Prayer & Spiritual Intimacy May 20 th : Thunder & Lightning May 27 th : Mosquito Bites June 3 rd : Guest Speakers June 10 th : Learning to Love

I. WHY GET MARRIED?

Wedding Day… I. WHY GET MARRIED?

No.10 Marriage Makes You Live Longer No.9 Marriage Increases Your Earning Power No.8 Marriage Gives You A Platform To Build Your Bloodline No.7 Marriage Prevents You From Dying Alone No.6 Marriage Makes You More Attractive No.5 Marriage Brings Financial Benefits No.4 Marriage Means More Sex No.3 Marriage Means Better Sex No.2 Married People Are Happier No.1 Marriage Makes You A Better Man (“AskMen” Magazine) I. WHY GET MARRIED?

Do you believe a good marriage is an unfolding process? Or a product you purchase? Do you believe there is 1 person “right” for you? What do you think of when you see a “happy” couple? How did they get there? Marriage goes against the odds – like swimming upstream- in the storm- both ways… Yet: most get married

Toughest assignment ever... Pledge heart, soul, strength to her, over and again, all the days of your life. Nothing will be harder. Nothing will be richer. It can be done, and it is worth it. POINT 1: Marriage is fabulously hard... For everyone I. WHY GET MARRIED?

What stories, songs, movies or moments have wakened the deep desires of your heart? What are your desires and dreams for the marriage? Do you believe you can have the desires of your heart today? What if God could give you the desires of your heart? POINT 2: Change begins with desire II. DESIRES OF THE HEART

Do you remember your first big fight? Or, the moment you knew “the honeymoon was over”? III. A SETUP FOR CONFLICT

Has your marriage felt hard at times? Did that shock you? Surprise you? Dishearten you? What has been your reaction to the awkwardness of marriage? When it becomes hard, we often think we made a mistake or we blew it- has that happened to you? III. A SETUP FOR CONFLICT

Women ask, "this what I hope for" Men ask, "what is required of me?“ How are you and your spouse different? III. A SETUP FOR CONFLICT

“When asked his secret of love, being married fifty-four years to the same person, he said, "Ruth and I are happily incompatible.“ Billy Graham III. A SETUP FOR CONFLICT

POINT 3a: We are fabulously different… set up for conflict from the beginning… and God has designed it this way (!?!?) POINT 3b: Asking a marriage to flourish without God is like asking a tree to grow without sunshine III. A SETUP FOR CONFLICT

We all walk into marriage with wounded hearts… What are the “heart” issues of your marriage? IV. ISSUES OF THE HEART

Marriage is the sanctuary of the heart: you have been entrusted with the heart of another. Loving and defending this heart is a your calling in marriage... As God loves and defends your heart IV. ISSUES OF THE HEART

2 Tasks in Our Marriages: Tending to or caring for wounded hearts Welcoming the shaping my heart IV. ISSUES OF THE HEART

POINT 4: Missing issues of the heart in a marriage is like rearranging deck chairs on the titanic IV. ISSUES OF THE HEART

Confusion, misunderstanding, disappointment, struggle in marriage is usually a result of not understanding what God is up to V. PURPOSE OF MARRIAGE

Without you, your spouse will not become the man or woman that God intends him or her to be and the kingdom of God will not advance as it is meant advance. Your spouse plays the most vital role in your life. You play the most critical role in your spouse’s life. No one will have a greater impact on your spouse’s soul than you. No one has greater access to your spouse’s heart than you. This is an enormous honor. Do you treat it as such? Do you treat your spouse as such? Why not? V. PURPOSE OF MARRIAGE

Phil. 2 Eph. 5:15-33 God lures us into marriage, then uses it to transform us 1. Companionship & 2. Sanctification V. PURPOSE OF MARRIAGE

God is going to use your marriage to get to issues in you wants to address... POINT 5: Happily ever after is centered on character transformation V. PURPOSE OF MARRIAGE

DO SOMETHING Write down your desires and dreams. Is there a scene in a movie that captures what you want in your marriage? What about the scene grabs you? What would you like to talk to your spouse about? Watch a movie together- one that you identify with – that captures something of your heart’s desire for your marriage Look at your wedding pictures together – talk about the time- notice the desires for your marriage together you had then- Are they the same?