1. A Great Marriage Calls for Consecration (Lesson 2)

2. Remembering Lesson 1 Last week in our first lesson in this seven part series on marriage we discussed the fact that a great marriage calls for COMMITMENT. In that lesson we addressed the what, the why, and how of commitment.

3. A Great Marriage Calls for Consecration The Instruction of Consecration The Inspiration of Consecration The Incentive of Consecration

4. The Instruction of Consecration Building a great marriage helps us to build a great home. Psalm (127:1) tells us: “Unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who build it…” In other words, in order to have a great marriage and home, we must allow the Lord to build that marriage and home! And the only way this process will take place is if we draw close to Him (consecration)!

5. The Inspiration of Consecration Consecration to the Lord takes place when we learn to die to ourselves and in turn open ourselves up to serving the Lord with complete dedication and devotion. The Bible is filled with verses of Scripture that point to the idea of being consecrated to the Lord (Deuteronomy 6:5; Psalm 119:2; Matthew 13:44; 22:37-39; Luke 14:26).

6. The Inspiration of Consecration More specifically, there are verses of Scripture that point to the need for us to die to ourselves so that we can in fact prepare ourselves to serve the Lord most effectively (Romans 6:13,19; Galatians 2:20; Colossians 3:1-3). Why, though, is the idea of being conse- crated so important to our marriages?

7. The Inspiration of Consecration The reason why consecration is so important to our marriage is because when we are consecrated to the Lord we will be inspired to please Him in every aspect of our lives, including in our marriage! Consecration is indeed a great source of inspiration and motivation to our lives!

8. The Incentive of Consecration The question that remains to be answered is this: “If consecration to the Lord does inspire me to be a better spouse, how should that display itself?” Consecration to the Lord helps teach us to possess more: –Gratitude –Grace –Gladness –Gentleness –Genuineness –Goodness –Giving