Sermon Overview

Scripture Passage: 1 Peter 3:10-11

Communication is the way to joy, happiness and victory; without it, we are headed for ruin. Communication in marriage is the highest level of intimacy. If we cannot be completely honest with each other, we will drift apart.

Adrian Rogers says, “Fire is a wonderful servant but a poor master; words can warm a heart or burn down a home.”

1 Peter 3:10-11 says, “He who would love life and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips from speaking deceit. Let him turn away from evil and do good; let him seek peace and pursue it.”

Communication is the road on which words travel; that road has some blockades and potholes. Our intrinsic differences as men and women affect how we communicate.

Adrian Rogers says, “Incompatibility is grounds for a great marriage. God made us different so that He might make us one.”

Some couples may battle with insecurities and fears that their spouses will not accept them if they are totally open.

Self-centeredness and unresolved hurts also hinder healthy communication, as they close off the openness we are to strive for. So many issues could be solved if we focused on solving them rather than on winning arguments.

If we’re not careful, the distractions of life or overcrowded schedules will also keep us from the good communication needed for a happy home.

1 Peter 3:8 says, “Finally, all of you be of one mind, having compassion for one another; love as brothers, be tenderhearted, be courteous…”

If we want to work on our communication in marriage, we must first be sensitive to each other and deal with our own self-centeredness. Once we do that, we can resolve hurts that may be in the way of our intimacy and create a spirit of oneness.

There is also so much power in the simplest ways we nurture our marriages. We must keep dating each other well after the wedding and learn to laugh.

Finally, praying together as husband and wife fills the potholes on the way to intimacy and creates safe passage for healthy communication.

Apply it to your life

Adrian Rogers says, “Marriage anointed by the Holy Spirit is the sweetest thing on Earth, the nearest and dearest and closest thing to Heaven. It’s really the only part of the Garden of Eden we have left. Work at your marriage. Determine that you will communicate with one another.”