LOVE, MARRIAGE AND FAMILY Honoring God – The Perfect Matchmaker Pastor Jojo Baldo February 19, 2012

Mark 10:6-9 But at the beginning of creation God made them male and female. For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh. So they are no longer two but one. Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate.

Divorce must not be an option Malachi 2:14-16 You ask, “Why?” It is because the Lord is acting as the witness between you and the wife of your youth, because you have broken faith with her, though she is your partner, the wife of your marriage covenant. Has not the Lord made them one? In flesh and in spirit they are his. And why one? Because he was seeking godly offspring. So guard yourself in your spirit, and do not break faith with the wife of your youth.

Abstain from sexual immorality 1 Thessalonians 4:1-8 Finally, brothers, we instructed you how to live in order to please God, as in fact you are living. Now we ask you and urge you in the Lord Jesus to do this more and more. For you know what instructions we gave you by the authority of the Lord Jesus. It is God’s will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality; that each of you should learn to control his own body in a way that is holy and honorable, not in passionate lust like the heathen, who do not know God;

Abstain from sexual immorality 1 Thessalonians 4:1-8 And that in this matter no one should wrong his brother or take advantage of him. The Lord will punish men for such sins, as we have already told you and warned you. For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life. Therefore, he who rejects this instruction does not reject man but God, who gives you his Holy Spirit.

Be divinely dignified 1 Corinthians 6:15-20 Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ himself? Shall I then take the members of Christ and unite them with a prostitute? Never! Do you know that he who unites himself with a prostitute is one with her in body? For it is said, “The two will become one flesh.” But he who unites himself with the Lord is one with him in spirit. Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a man commits are outside his body, but he who sins sexually sins against his own body.

Be divinely dignified 1 Corinthians 6:15-20 Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.

Marry someone who shares your faith in Jesus 2 Corinthians 6:14-15 Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness? What harmony is there between Christ and Belial? What does a believer have in common with an unbeliever? Psalm 127:1 Unless the Lord builds the house, its builders labor in vain. Unless the Lord watches over the city, the watchmen stand guard in vain.

Be cognizant of compatibility issues Genesis 2:22,23 Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he bought her to the man. The man said, “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called woman for she was taken out of man.”

Compatibility issues Intellectually Emotionally Socially Volitionally Can you think together? Do you enjoy learning together? Emotionally Do you appreciate each other? Do you feel understood by your partner? Socially Don’t you feel embarrassed with her/him beside you? Do you enjoy interacting. Volitionally Have you wanted to make decisions together? Spiritually Are you both seeking the Lord and obeying his command? Physically Do you appropriately express the affection of your heart?

Blessed singleness Matthew 19:10-12 The disciples said to him, “If this is the situation between a husband and wife, it is better not to marry.” Jesus replied, “Not everyone can accept this word, but only those to whom it has been given. For some are eunuchs because they were born that way; others were made that way by men; and others have renounced marriage because of the kingdom of heaven. The one who can accept this should accept it.

Application Questions For the single and searching: Have you sought the Biblical counsel on healthy relationship towards the opposite gender? Write a prayer to the Lord about your desire to find the right marital partner for life.