Sorry to get this post up a day late… It’s been that kind of Monday, I guess.
Not only that, but we definitely had a technical glitch with the sermon recording on Sunday… SO, I re-recorded it on Monday morning… Not the best quality, I’m afraid, but definitely passable. I hope it is okay. If you missed it on Sunday, you can get it on our podcast feed, or via iTunes.
Lifegroup Discussion Questions from Sunday
What are some of your favorite memories together? What are some of your favorite things that you share, places you go, things you do? Do these things contribute to the “fire” of romance in your life together? (building intimacy, sharing common interests, discovering each other?)
What are some of the things that tend to make our fire dim?
On Sunday, Steve described some differences between a “contract” relationship and a “covenant” relationship. Can you remember how these two were different?
What about the contract? In what sense, if any, is the contract mentality on marriage valid?
In his excellent book, Sacred Marriage, Gary Thomas talks about our real emotional need:
But what both of us crave more than anything else is to be intimately close to the God who made us. If that relationship is right, we won’t make such severe demands on our marriage, asking each other, expecting each other, to compensate for spiritual emptiness.
What is your response to this statement?
So, if our fire dims, is it possible that it is primarily our “spiritual” fire that neads stoking first?
The way we live it out in our homes:
Isn’t it true that some passages of Scripture, when taken out of context, can seem archaic, and oppressive to women. Take this verse, for example:
1Peter 3:1 NLT
In the same way, you wives must accept the authority of your husbands.
Or this, just a couple of verses later:
1Peter 3:3-4 NLT
Don’t be concerned about the outward beauty of fancy hairstyles, expensive jewelry, or beautiful clothes. 4 You should clothe yourselves instead with the beauty that comes from within, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is so precious to God.
But take a minute to read 1 Peter 2:4-9 together. In light of this establishing passage, and in light of the threefold covenant of marriage, what is 1 Peter 3:1-6 really saying about the wife’s role in marriage?
What does 1Peter 3:7 say about the husband’s role? Note the last statement in the verse (about prayer.) Is this saying that my relationship with God can’t succeed if my relationship with my wife isn’t right?
The next few verses (3:8-12) are for “all Christians,” but how important are these things in our marriages? Spend a minute or two reading over these verses. Which of these are a struggle?
How are our marriages doing with verse 11? What ways are we good at this? How do we need to make changes in these areas?