BULLETIN OUTLINE

I Have a Friend WhoWants to Be Married Genesis 2:18-25; Ephesians 5:25-33

05.18.14 Rob Sweet, Teaching Pastor

Marriage is good
but it is not ultimate

Marriage is hard
but it is also glorious

Marriage is not about you
but it can be great for you

LOOKING BACK

I Have a Friend WhoWants to Be Married
Genesis 2:18-25; Ephesians 5:25-33

Its hard to think of another cultural institution that is as universal and timeless as marriage. Yet few who
enter into it understand Gods full intention for it. In fact, His intention for marriage is far more glorious than
most would imagine. Marriage is His invention, after all and nothing He creates is without grand purpose and
design.

Thinking It Through
Marriage is the greatest test in the world but now I welcome the test instead of dreading it. It is
much more than a test of sweetness of temper, as people sometimes think; it is a test of the whole
character and affects every action.
~T.S. Eliot

Marriage is the operation by which a woman's vanity and a man's egotism are extracted without
anesthetic. ~Helen Rowland

One of the best wedding gifts God gave you was a full-length mirror called your spouse. Had there
been a card attached, it would have said, "Here's to helping you discover what you're really like."
~Gary and Betsy Ricucci

How many who love never come any nearer than to behold each other as in a mirror; seem to know
and yet never know the inward life; never enter the other soul; and part at last with but the vaguest
notion of the universe on the borders of which they have been hovering for years?
~George MacDonald

Working it Out
1. What questions do you need to be asking regarding some of the decisions you need to make?
2. What concerns you when you accept your responsibility as a decision maker made in the image of
God?
3. What does it look like for you to trust God in the decisions you are making?

LOOKING AHEAD

I Have a Friend Whois Dying

Well, do you? Do you have a friend who is dying? Not an easy question. The answer is not a simple yes or no.
What is death? Who is dying? How do we help each other in midst of this reality that no one seems to want to
talk about, let alone deal with? Hmmm.

Looking It Up
1. How does David describe death in Psalm 23:4 and what does that imply to you?



2. How are sin and death related? (See Genesis 2:15-17; Romans 5:12; Hebrews 9:27)



3. Jesus had a friend who died. How did He respond? (John 11:5, 35-36)

What is your personal reaction to this and in what ways it this response instructive?



4. What do we learn about life and death in Luke 12:20 and James 4:14?



5. What would these concepts look like when supporting a friend who is dying? Be specific as possible.
(Romans 12:10,15, 15:7; Galatians 6:2; Ephesians 4:1-3, 32;1 John 3:16-18)