Speak Now… or forever hold your peace Tim Popadic

MARRIAGE STATS   83% of Americans believe that the institution of marriage has grown weaker?   80% of Americans believe that those who marry today do not take the institution of marriage as seriously as their parents’ generation.   84% of people agree that the definition of marriage is one man and one woman.   75% of Connecticut disapproves of recognizing same-sex marriage.

MARRIAGE STATS   60% of marriages today are preceded by cohabitation, compared to just 10% thirty years ago.   63% of high school seniors agree that it is usually a good idea for a couple to live together before getting married.   76% of marriages that are preceded with cohabitation end in divorce.

God’s Purposes For Marriage  He designed us for relationship

“The Lord God formed out of the ground all the beasts of the field and the birds of the air. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them, and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name. So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds of the air and the beasts of the field, but for Adam, there was no suitable helper found. So the Lord caused the man to fall into a deep sleep, and while he was sleeping He took one of the man’s ribs and closed up the place with flesh. Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and He brought her to the man.”

“Wow! This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh. She shall be called ‘woman,’ for she was taken out of man.” “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh.”

“Some Pharisees came to Jesus to test Him. They asked, ‘Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any and every reason?’ Jesus replied, ‘Haven’t you read ‘that at the beginning the Creator made them male and female, and say, ‘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.’” Matt 19

“Why then,” they asked, “did Moses command that a man give his wife a certificate of divorce and send her away?” Well, Jesus replied, “Moses permitted you to divorce your wives because your hearts were hard. But it was not this way from the beginning.”

“You shall have no other gods before me.” Exodus 20:3 “You shall not make for yourself an image of anything in heaven above or the earth beneath or in the waters below.” Exodus 20:4

Moses asks of God, “Now show me your glory”. And the Lord said, “I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the Lord, in your presence. I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. But you cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live.”

Then the Lord said, “There is a place near me where you may stand on a rock. When my glory passes by, I will put you in a cleft in the rock and cover you with my hand until I have passed by. Then I will remove my hand and you will see my back, but my face must not be seen.” Exodus 33:18-23

“Then God said, ‘Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.’ So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.” Genesis 1:26-27

God’s Purposes For Marriage  He designed us for relationship  He designed us to reflect His Image

“Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as Christ (God) forgave you.” Ephesians 5:32

CTRL – ALT - DELETE  WHO’S IN CONTROL?

CTRL – ALT - DELETE  WHO’S IN CONTROL?  WHAT NEEDS TO CHANGE (ALT)?

“Husbands, love your wives just as Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her.” Ephesians 5:25

Husband’s Top 5 Love Needs  Unconditional love and acceptance.  Sexual intimacy.  Companionship.  Encouragement and affirmation.  Spiritual intimacy.

Wife’s Top 5 Love Needs  Unconditional love and acceptance.  Communication and emotional intimacy.  Spiritual intimacy.  Encouragement and affirmation.  Companionship.

CTRL – ALT - DELETE  WHO’S IN CONTROL?  WHAT NEEDS TO CHANGE (ALT)?  WHAT DO YOU NEED TO GET RID OF (DELETE)?

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of o faith.” Heb. 12:1-2

“Put First things first and you will always get the first things. Put Second things first and you will lose both first and second things.” C.S. Lewis

“The goal is to fight for same sex marriage and its benefits, and then to redefine the institution of marriage completely. To demand the right to marry not as a way to adhering to societies moral codes, but rather to debunk a myth and to radically alter an archaic institution The most subversive action we can take is to transform the notion of the family entirely.”

Speak Now… or forever hold your peace Tim Popadic