3 Essential Lessons on Marriage

Three FREE essential lessons on marriage that every person intending to get married should hear (comments from sermonaudio.com listeners added in)

Choosing to Love - Dr Greg Mazak (Bob Jones University)
Thank you for the great message! I never knew this! For long, i've wondered what is truely necessary before marriage I'd like to share this great truth with my friends


Destroying Pop Christian Views of Marital Bliss (for the guys) - Paul Washer
I'm not married, or in a "relationship," but this sermon was awesome and gave me a whole new paradigm for marriage. I was one of the "get married and go minister together" kind of mentality. But I realize now there is so much more depth... Praise God for this message.



Destroying Pop Christian Views of Marital Bliss 2 (for the ladies) - Paul Washer
I have listened to A LOT of sermons on marriage but none better than this. I was convicted to the core that what was preached is the truth we all need to hear.



Know any more?

How to succeed in building a happy marriage

Lessons learnt in Pre-Marital Counseling training

There is no such thing as compatibility and falling in love.

Love is NOT just

• a feeling (lust is)
• "something that happened"

Love is

• a choice
• giving, not getting
• preferring the other person over your own personal interests (now can you see why marriages fail?)

Two Christians are ready to get married only when they have demonstrated adequately in scenarios posed to them that they are willing to and able to solve problems by thinking through things through God's word. The Bible is very practical and meant to be used to solve ALL of life's problems.

Everyone is different in the way they think. Two people getting married are not meant to think the same. That is why books like Men from Mars and Women from Venus are so popular because they express God's plan - to make men and women completely different so that together they can solve family problems from two perspectives and be able to approach problems more comprehensively.

Its more important that a couple think together than they think alike. If they learn to process problems together, that will set them up for marriage and if they know how to appreciate the different points of view that they come from, they can be an example to others of God's way marriage was intended to be - successful and long lasting marriage.

Lifehack - Why you should get Pre-Marital (Marriage) Counseling

Pre-marital Counseling Why is it so important? If 50-75% of the cars manufactured by Toyota blew up in the early part of their expected life, everyone would be shocked! Problem is, marriages are not given the same level of attention as manufacture of cars – even though marriage break downs can have an equally devastating effect. If you are going to get married, you should go for the most extensive counseling you can get.

Why else:

1. It’s the second most important decision in a person’s life (other than receiving God’s forgiveness and ensuring that we are going to heaven)
2. God treats marriage very seriously, we should too
3. The Church is made up of families
4. The more time the Church spends on pre-marital counseling, the less it spends on divorce, family problems, marriage counseling and other related problems
5. You spend much of your formative years in a family and it dictates what person you become
6. It’s easier to change a relationship at the beginning than in the middle of a relationship
7. It’s easier to do marriage when the guidelines are set at the beginning

Where to get Pre-Marriage Counseling? From the Church. Marriage came from the Bible. God instituted Adam and Eve to be married so if you ARE going to get married, do it God’s way. Some Churches have a very slack marriage counseling program. If yours does, find another one. It’s worth it.

What kind of Pre-Marriage Counseling? Since every individual is created differently, it is better to learn from the author of mankind (God) than to learn from someone else’s experience. Some people will only teach you based on their experiences, don’t learn from them if that is all they offer! God has a vested interest in making marriages work (because he uses marriage as an example of his relationship to the Church) so he also has very clear and defined instructions on marriage.

Bob Jones University has a Pre-Marital counselling series on video which Churches or individuals can purchase or borrow for a semester. This series is excellent as it is based on Biblical principles not people’s experiences.

Unit Five: Premarital Counseling

Overview of the premarital counseling process
God's goals for marriage
Essential habits of Christian character
Biblical roles in marriage
Biblical communication and problem solving
Finances, sex, & in-laws

Follow this link for more details http://www.bjupress.com/services/ibe/courses/special_topics/biblical_counseling_series.htm

Recommended Reading

Ministry of Marriage - Jim Binney
Preparing for Marriage God's Way - Wayne Mack