PROTECTING YOUR MARRIAGE

Pastor Dennis Clanton

Woodland Church

Sunday, September 25, 2022

(Hebrews 13:4–6, NLT) “Give honor to marriage, and remain faithful to one another in marriage. God will surely judge people who are immoral and those who commit adultery. Don’t love money; be satisfied with what you have. For God has said, “I will never fail you. I will never abandon you.” So we can say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper, so I will have no fear. What can mere people do to me?”

1. GREAT MARRIAGES THRIVE NOT SURVIVE.

“There is no more lovely, friendly, and charming relationship, communion, or company than a good marriage.” – Martin Luther

(Ephesians 5:18–20, NLT) “Don’t be drunk with wine, because that will ruin your life. Instead, be filled with the Holy Spirit, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, and making music to the Lord in your hearts. And give thanks for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

2. BE FAITHFUL TO GOD’S DESIGN FOR MY MARRIAGE.

a. Be a builder.

(Proverbs 24:27, AMP) “[Put first things first.] Prepare your work outside and get it ready for yourself in the field; and afterward build your house and establish a home.”

b. Be connected.

(1 Corinthians 2:11, Message) “Who ever knows what you’re thinking and planning except you yourself?”

(1 John 1:3, NLT) “We proclaim to you what we ourselves have actually seen and heard so that you may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ.”

(Song of Solomon 5:16, AMP)  “This is my beloved, and this is my friend, O daughters of Jerusalem!”

c. Be intimate.

(1 Corinthians 11:11, CEV) “As far as the Lord is concerned, men and women need each other.”

(1 Corinthians 7:3, NLT) “The husband should fulfill his wife’s sexual needs, and the wife should fulfill her husband’s needs.”

d. Be prayer partners.

(Hebrews 10:24–25, NLT)  “Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.”