Here are some study notes for you guys that want to go deeper.
Bill
Read 2 Samuel 11.1-27. All the lies and deceit, the adultery and the murder began with David taking a stroll on the roof of his palace. For David, apathy toward his integrity led him to eventual personal disaster. Everyday thousands of marriages end in divorce because couples fail to proactively protect their marriage. Decisions made about your relationship early while things are going great will payoff later during times of hardship and temptation.
>> What are some things that can be done to affair proof a marriage? What is keeping you from proactively protecting your marriage?
>> What unrealistic views of marriage do you think exist among singles? What kinds of choices should be made about your marriage before actually getting married?
Read Matthew 5:27-30. What do you think Jesus meant when He said, “If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it way”? What kinds of things can you remove from your life that will help your marriage?
Read 2 Corinthians 10:5. What strategies do you use to help you overcome temptation?
Read Ephesians 6:10-18. What defenses have we been given against attacks from the enemy? How are you using those weapons to your advantage?
>> What do you feel is the biggest cause of adultery?
>> What do you think your needs are? Why is it difficult to communicate those needs to your spouse?
>> Do you think you’re expecting your spouse to meet needs that only God can meet?
Ephesians 5:1-3 says, “Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God’s holy people.” The Bible says that there should not be even a hint of sexual immorality and yet we’ve all caught ourselves asking the question, “How close can I get to the edge without falling?” Shouldn’t we instead be asking, “How close to Jesus can I get?”
"Do you think you’re expecting your spouse to meet needs that only God can meet?" That's a fantastic question, and one that so rarely occurs to us.
Did you notice how quickly "The Bachelor" went for the upgrade?
Posted by: Ed Page | March 03, 2009 at 03:27 PM
I found the questions at the bottom very interesting, since I just was reading something in my studies about this very thing. However, this is how the questions were posed...“how far can I go and still be a Christian", when the question should be “how holy can I be?” I think the hard part to overcome is that people are scared of what this "holy" life will look like. Will we think it is boring? Will we think we are missing out on something? Would it cramp our style? Will we be worried that other people will view us as those weird fanatical Christians? The answer to these questions is simple, what are you willing to give up in order to gain something so much greater? If we are really in the “how holy can I be” mode we won’t care about what we are missing or what others think. We will be focused on the gains and on how much closer we might get to God. We won’t care what it will cost us if we are truly in it for the right reasons.
Posted by: Holly O'Hearn | March 02, 2009 at 11:27 PM