What does the Bible say about BEING Married?
These materials were put together during an adult Sunday School class on Marriage at Chapel Hill Presbyterian Church, Lake Stevens, Wa., in the fall of 2000. We surveyed various Bible Passages related to Marriage and discuss a variety of topics related to Married life including: the Marriage Triangle, five ways of loving, knowing one another, differences, Love Talk and communication skills, needs and expectations, stress and change, anger, conflict, encouraging, honoring and serving one another, headship and submission, romance and intimacy, confession and forgiveness, children, and the home as a place of ministry.
Key Biblical Passages: Genesis 1:26-31; 2:18-25; 3:1-24; 4:1. Proverbs 24:3,4;
Ephesians 5:22-33; I Cor. 7, 13; Song of Solomon, 1 Peter 3:1-12; Proverbs 5:1-23; Hosea; Hebrews 13:1-3; 4,5-6; 1 Tim 5:1-16; Matt 5:27-32; 19:1-15; Luke 16:18; plus plenty of others!
Topics: Introduction - Marriage Books List
- Week # 1 -Marriage as God intended it: The Marriage Triangle. (pdf)
- Week # 2 - Why all marriages have problems: the fall and its effects. (pdf)
- Week # 3 - "Knowing" each another in more than a "biblical" sense. (pdf)
- Week # 4 - The five kinds of Loving. (pdf) Chapman's Five Kinds of Loving Quiz
- Week # 5 - Love Talk - Let's Communicate! (pdf)
- Week # 6 - Servanthood - the art of ministering to one another. (pdf)
- Week # 7 - What I need and what I expect! (pdf)
- Week # 8 - Who's really in charge: Headship and Submission (pdf)
- Week # 9 - How conflict works for a relationship. (pdf)
- Week # 10 - Anger meets Confession and Forgiveness. (pdf)
- Week # 11 - One Flesh? (blush) - Romance and Intimacy (Part 1) (pdf)
- Week # 12 - Keeping the Romance Alive (Part 2) Outline of Romantic Lovers (pdf)
- Week # 13 - Commitment vs. immorality and divorce (pdf)
- Week # 14 - The home and family: God's place for ministry. (pdf)
Our Texts:
- Strike the Original Match, by Chuck Swindoll
- Love Life for Every Married Couple, Ed Wheat
Suggestions for couples reading books together:
- Have "His" and "Her" bookmarks. Play Leap Frog if you like
- Have a regular time to read aloud together - taking turns reading to one another - and sharing thoughts as you change readers.
- Use a system of marking in the margins, such as
"Most of the time we do not read together. Since one of us is an early riser and the other a late night person, we each have our quiet times at different hours. We read the same book, same article, but individually. As we read, we mark: A candle means new light. Something we had never noticed before; a fresh thought An Arrow means "this hits me where it hurts. I'm getting nervous, I need to talk." A question mark means ";I don't understand" Sometimes one of us writes "me" in the margin. We never write "him" or "her". In matters this delicate, we find it best to extend to each other the dignity to decide what should be shared."
From Charles and Martha Shedd
- Have different color highlighters or pens for each spouse
- Keep individual journals with reflections on what you have read - noting your insights, questions and things you would like to discuss or pray over.
- Set aside a private time to talk together about what you have read. Preferably one that is relaxed and free of distractions. If necessary, do it walking or shopping together.
There is probably a lot more we would have liked to cover than we had time for,
so along with Reading "Suggestions" in Strike the Original Match by Chuck Swindoll
and Love Live for Every Married Couple by Ed Wheat,
there were be plenty of Handouts and some Worksheets for couples to utilize as well. Each individual in the class was asked to get a three ring notebook to hold handouts and worksheets. The worksheets are printed in pink for the ladies and blue for the gents. These are intended to be filled out separately and then shared and discussed by the individual couples. Worksheets deal with private matters and are not intended for class discussions.
There is a Web site of recommended books on a variety of Marriage topics for you to explore.
Since these two excellent books do not follow the class outline, I have tried to connect relevant chapters to the class topics. If you feel more comfortable starting at the beginning and reading to the end of either book, please feel free to do so. Suggestions given under each topic should be read the week preceding the class discussion of the topic. Here are the week by week assignments, as well as other material which will be distributed: