No Regrets Marriage
Romans 7,8; Col 3:16-17; Rom 12:1-2
Connect:
Share how you have seen God in the Highs and Lows of your week.
Prayer:
Pray that God would lead your discussion time and bring fresh insight, conviction, and hope through your time together.
Read:
Context: Work as group to put together a picture of what the cultural understanding of appropriate husband-wife relations looked like in Paul’s time:
o Men often seen as not only leaders but also inherently superior in culture of the day
o Women had growing influence (Lidia had her own business selling purple cloth, Jesus Himself did ministry supported by wealthy women in the area, many women active leaders in the church of the time)
o Context is to instruct new and mature believers with an honorable standard of relating
Read the first passages (Rom 7:18-19, Rom 8:2-3) out loud together.
Reflect:
Have you ever felt like a marriage is ‘hopeless’ (your own or someone else’s)? Why or why not?
Be Realistic: In our spirit we desire to keep our promises; in our flesh, we seldom do so perfectly;
o What role does “promise-making” play in our pursuit of holiness in marriage? (Rom 7:18-19, 8:2-3)
o If there is “no perfect marriage”, why keep trying to be faithful to that initial promise—what would give us the courage/ will/ power to persevere in that promise? (Rom 8:1-11)
Be Patient: Scott warned against marrying someone with the assumption, “They’ll change”. Discuss how patience before marriage strengthens patience in marriage (Prov 19:2)
Be Together: Describe the impact of a marriage characterized by the “full message of Christ” (Col 3:16-17)—how would doing that impact a marriage over time?
Be Resilient: Romans 12:1-2 talks about taking our every day life and making it an offering to God. How would this affect the ability for a marriage to “bounce back” to health despite conflicts and challenges?
Respond: (Divide the group into pairs)
o Wherever you are in terms of a marriage relationship (unmarried and looking for a spouse, married with a strong or challenging relationship, etc) take time to pray for the Holy Spirit’s presence, conviction, and power to make your married/relational life an offering to God!
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