We provide a series of sessions for the couple to cover the basic Biblical teaching on the subject of marriage, as well as to help the couple prepare for being married.
- The couple is asked to complete the Prepare/Enrich survey.
- The couple will receive a workbook (Preparing For Marriage) which they will fill out individually and discuss together prior to meeting together for the sessions.
- The couple is asked to attend 4 sessions in which we will discuss the results of the survey, the answers in the workbook, as well as a variety of topics relating to marriage including Biblical foundations, communication, problem solving, family concerns, major decisions, and finances.
The teaching of the Bible will cover the following Biblical foundations:
MARRIAGE BASICS (Genesis 1-2)
We believe that God created marriage so that partners could enjoy:
- Communion: God designed Adam and Eve to become a unity, bound together by committed love, sharing all things as one. A healthy marriage occurs when each partner merges their identity with the other, and they become one person.
- Companionship: It was not good for Adam to be lonely, so God created Eve as a companion, to share in the joys of God’s creation together.
- Cooperation: Eve was created as an equal helper to cooperate with Adam in the creation mandate of tending God’s garden.
MARRIAGE BUSTERS (Genesis 3)
We recognize that marriages are breaking up and that people are not finding the happiness that God intended for them in marriage.
- Satan: Satan came as a marriage buster, driving a wedge between Adam and Eve. In judgment God declared that marriage would be a battleground where men and women would violently grasp and oppress each other.
- Sin: Sin is the spirit of self-love, of shame, of anger, and brokenness in each person’s heart, showing itself in many hurtful ways. It is the cause of all marriage breakdown. Apart from God’s help through Jesus, marriages will continue to break apart, causing great misery for all involved.
- Serious Concerns: As a result of Satan’s work and sin’s impact, there are a number of serious marriage-related concerns that need to be addressed in any discussion of marriage, including: premarital sex,sexual abuse, rape, cohabitation (living together), homosexuality, adultery, unfaithfulness, divorce and remarriage, mixed marriages (Christian and non-Christian)
MARRIAGE BUILDERS (Ephesians 5)
We believe that God has provided the way of healing and hope by sending Jesus to die for our sin and to rescue us from its power through His resurrection, and that those who believe in Jesus as Saviour and Lord can rediscover God’s happiness and love in marriage.
- Spirit Power: The Holy Spirit enables believers to have the attitudes of love, humility, kindness and forgiveness, all of which are essential for the building of a happy marriage.
- Submission/Sacrifice: With the help of the Holy Spirit, believers can overcome the destructive affects of sin by submitting to their partner and sacrificing themselves for their sake.
