Topic > Marriage & Family > Love & Marriage >
Sweet Words
Scott had always admired the relationship between Ken and Phyllis, his wife’s parents. So he asked them one day what made their marriage work. Ken replied, “You need to keep it sweet!”
How the origin of marriage impacts our relationships today
While marriage customs differ dramatically, it is most important that we understand marriage as God’s design for men and women created in His image, made for community and love.
Answer to a listener’s question on the origin of marriage and how it applies to us today
Marriages with real leaving, real cleaving, and real bonding are less likely to come apart at the seams, necessitating divorce.
PURPOSE: To help listeners think about the essentials of marriage from God’s perspective.
Biblical wisdom and hope for struggling relationships
Misapplying a biblical text can lead to dangerous consequences. We must realize that how we handle Scripture can have bad results if we misapply it.
Look at God’s ultimate design for marriage and find encouragement in the Scriptures
“Submitting to one another in the fear of God. Wives, to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is head of the wife, as also Christ is head of the church; and He is the Savior of the body.Therefore, just as the church is subject to Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything. Husbands, love your wives just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for it, that he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, that He might present it to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that it should be holy and without blemish. So husbands ought to love their own wives as their own bodies; he who loves his wife loves himself. For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as the Lord does the church. For we are members of His body, of His flesh, and of His bones. For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church. Nevertheless let each one of you in particular so love his own wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband” (Ephesians 5:21-33).
Discover powerful truths in Scripture to strengthen your marriage
When we interpret a passage in the Bible, we must pay attention to grammatical structure. People tend to put submit with head, but grammatically we need to keep clear about the pairs of words in the passage. What can happen when we fail to do that?
When we do that, we miss the image of the wife as the husband's body and Paul's point that they are "one flesh" (Genesis 2:24).
A controversial text in Ephesians and an important message for your marriage
For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as the Lord does the church. For we are members of His body, of His flesh, and of His bones. For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church. Nevertheless let each one of you in particular so love his own wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband” (Ephesians 5: 21-33).
IDEA: When we interpret a passage in the Bible, we must pay attention to grammatical structure.
PURPOSE: To help listeners think about the structure of biblical texts.
Discovering what Ephesians chapter five says about submission
So husbands ought to love their own wives as their own bodies; he who loves his wife loves himself. For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as the Lord does the church. For we are members of His body, of His flesh, and of His bones. For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church. Nevertheless let each one of you in particular so love his own wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband” (Ephesians 5:21-33).
Let’s shed light on the controversial subject of submission
For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church. Nevertheless let each one of you in particular so love his own wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband” (Ephesians 5:21-33).
IDEA: To misinterpret or misapply a passage of Scripture always has consequences.
PURPOSE: To help listeners realize the dangers that may grow out of bad exegesis.
An Enduring Love: The Story of Ken & Joni Tada, Part II
Statistics say that 50 percent of marriages end in divorce. Keeping a marriage commitment is not easy in today’s “look out for number 1” world. But for Joni and Ken Tada, the obstacles are even greater to overcome—Joni is a quadriplegic. After 25 years of marriage, their love still thrives. Discover how they make their marriage work.
A Promise Kept: The Story of Robertson & Muriel McQuilkin, Part I
To Robertson and Muriel McQuilkin, marriage vows were not something to break, even when the going got tough. When the dreaded disease of Alzheimer’s made its uninvited entrance into their marriage, they still never wavered in their commitment to one another. In fact, their love deepened even further. Find out how their love and marriage survived until "death do us part."
Unconditional Love: The Story of Charlie & Lucy Wedemeyer
Charlie and Lucy Wedemeyer had it all, a happy marriage, a beautiful family, a promising future, and even popularity. But then came the diagnosis, Charlie had ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease), and it all started to crumble. One by one, everything that had once seemed so important in life was taken away. But God had a plan for Charlie and Lucy. What at first appearance seemed so terrible, God turned into amazing joy. Theirs is a great love story that is an inspiration to all. Hear the incredible account of their struggle and survival as they live with this terrible disease.
The Power Of A Promise
I wear only two pieces of jewelry: a wedding band on my finger and a small Celtic cross on a chain around my neck. The ring represents my vow to be faithful to Carolyn, my wife, as long as I shall live. The cross reminds me that it is not for her sake alone, but for Jesus’ sake that I do so. He has asked me to be faithful to her until death shall separate us.
The Real Prize
I’ve been amazed at the impact that my wife, Martie, has had on the lives of our kids. Very few roles demand the kind of unconditional, self-sacrificing perseverance and commitment as that of motherhood. I know for certain that my character and faith have been shaped and molded by my mom, Corabelle.
Helpful Love
At the end of my mother’s earthly journey, she and Dad were still very much in love and shared a strong faith in Christ. My mother had developed dementia and began to lose memories of even her family.
