In Part 4 of our Breaking Marriage Curses series, we confront one of the most dangerous conditions a husband or wife can fall into:Spiritual sluggishness.

Lukewarmness.

Apathy.

God is not calling husbands and wives to survive their marriage.He is calling them to be diligent.

Steadfast.

Immovable.

Full of faith.

Full of hope.

And fully surrendered to His process of transformation.

In Part 3 of our Breaking Marriage Curses series, we tackle one of the most destructive forces operating in marriages today: pride.

Not just arrogance.

Not just stubbornness.

But the stiff-necked spirit Scripture repeatedly warns about from Genesis to Revelation.

In this episode of The Established Family Show, Derek dives into one of the most destructive forces operating inside struggling marriages: the spirit of provocation. Many spouses find themselves trapped in a cycle of constantly being provoked—or provoking their spouse in return—while unknowingly empowering chaos, division, bitterness, and spiritual blindness.

Tax Deductible Donation as an individual or an organization:https://www.EstablishedFamily.com/giveApply for Established Family Trusted (in-network or out-of-network provider):https://www.EstablishedFamily.com/trustedHost The Marriage Academy at your church, small group, or organization:https://www.EstablishedUniversity.com/host———What happens when a spouse begins to wander?Not just physically… but spiritually, emotionally, mentally, and relationally?In this deeply confrontational and biblical teaching, Derek breaks down the “curse of wandering” through scripture, exposing how rebellion, hardness of heart, spiritual blindness, and separation from the presence of God create wandering spouses, wandering minds, and wandering marriages.

JORDAN'S BACKKK AFTER MATERNITY LEAVE! ...she's talking about the process of learning to trust me as a husband again.———Tax Deductible Donation as an individual or an organization:https://www.EstablishedFamily.com/giveApply for Established Family Trusted (in-network or out-of-network provider):https://www.EstablishedFamily.com/trustedHost The Marriage Academy at your church, small group, or organization:https://www.EstablishedUniversity.com/host

Tax Deductible Donation as an individual or an organization:

https://www.EstablishedFamily.com/give

Apply for Established Family Trusted (in-network or out-of-network provider):

https://www.EstablishedFamily.com/trusted

Host The Marriage Academy at your church, small group, or organization:

https://www.EstablishedUniversity.com/host———There is a form of spiritual development that looks like wisdom…

…but never produces transformation.A generation obsessed with:

— healing

— optimization

— self-awareness

— frameworks

— systems

— emotional intelligence

— routines

— discipline

— ascetic practices

— endless discovery

…yet still spiritually movable.

In this episode, Derek walks through the biblical difference between spiritual maturity and counterfeit maturity.

Through Hebrews 6, Colossians 2, James 3, Ephesians 4, Galatians 4, and more, this teaching exposes how elementary principles, man-made philosophies, pseudo-spiritual teachings, and self-powered transformation quietly captivate believers while leaving marriages spiritually weak and unstable.

This is not merely a teaching about behavior modification.

This is a confrontation against:

— spiritually immature Christianity

— self-powered sanctification

— counterfeit wisdom

— emotionally driven spirituality

— ascetic substitutes for holiness

— “always learning” but never becoming mature in Christ

A spiritually mature spouse becomes steadfast.

Immovable.

Discerning.

Peaceful.

Holy.

Fruitful.

Unwavering.

And when maturity enters a covenant……the marriage itself becomes harder to move.

Tax Deductible Donation as an individual or an organization:https://www.EstablishedFamily.com/giveApply for Established Family Trusted (in-network or out-of-network provider):https://www.EstablishedFamily.com/trustedHost The Marriage Academy at your church, small group, or organization:https://www.EstablishedUniversity.com/host———In Part 2 of “The Immovable Spouse,” Derek exposes some of the deepest reasons marriages lose hope — and why so many Christian couples continue cycling through destruction while still calling it “standing.”This is not a soft encouragement message.This is a biblical confrontation.In this episode, we cover:— Why false counsel and “itching ear” teachings are destroying marriages

— The danger of smooth words, persuasive content, and powerless Christianity

— How TRUE Godly wisdom sparks hope again in a marriage

— Why some spouses are becoming more immature through suffering instead of mature

— The connection between perseverance, endurance, maturity, and hope

— Why laziness in the things of God kills restoration

— The difference between standing in the Spirit vs standing in the flesh

— How to stop being a fruitless and lifeless spouse

— The biblical pathway toward healing, restoration, leadership, unity, and breakthroughThis episode includes powerful teachings from:Proverbs 24, Proverbs 2–3, Romans 5, James 1, Isaiah 30, 1 Thessalonians 1, Hebrews, and more.If you’ve been crying out for restoration while still living disconnected from wisdom, endurance, righteousness, and truth…this episode will challenge you deeply

Tax Deductible Donation as an individual or an organization:https://www.EstablishedFamily.com/giveApply for Established Family Trusted (in-network or out-of-network provider):https://www.EstablishedFamily.com/trustedHost The Marriage Academy at your church, small group, or organization:https://www.EstablishedUniversity.com/host———In this episode of The Established Family Podcast, Derek confronts the exhausting cycle of lifeless, fruitless marriages that keep trying to produce spiritual fruit through practical systems, psychological language, routines, and human effort… while remaining spiritually immature, unstable, and disconnected from the anointing of God.This episode dismantles the obsession with “practical steps” as the solution to covenant dysfunction and exposes why so many spouses are constantly tossed back and forth by:— feelings— false doctrine— counseling trends— emotional reactions— unanswered expectations— lack of intimacy— disappointment in their spouse— and the constant need for external validation and instruction.Through deep biblical teaching, Derek walks through what it actually means to become a steadfast and immovable spouse according to Scripture… and why righteousness, spiritual maturity, humility, consecration, and obedience are the real foundations of restoration.This episode also explores:— the difference between spiritual, soulish, and fleshly marriages— why legalism produces lifeless relationships— how spouses unknowingly return to dysfunction thousands of moments at a time— the danger of needing everyone else to tell you what to do— the biblical role of the anointing in marriage— why truth and righteousness leave a home— and how fruitlessness is often connected to spiritual immaturity, not lack of effort.If your marriage has felt:— emotionally exhausting— spiritually dry— unstable— repetitive— disconnected— or trapped in cycles that never seem to change……this episode will confront the deeper root beneath the dysfunction.Because God never designed covenant to survive off human striving alone.He designed marriage to be filled with life, fruit, power, maturity, and the presence of the Holy Spirit.

Should you judge your spouse?Most marriages are trying to solve outward division without ever addressing the inward condition creating it.Separation, division, and even divorce are not the root problem—they are the fruit of something deeper.There has never been a whole, healed, Spirit-governed husband and wife who produced the fruit of division.If division exists in the marriage, division first existed in the soul.In this episode, Derek breaks down the biblical difference between:— Sarkikos (fleshly, carnal)— Psuchikos (soulish, natural, unspiritual)— Pneumatikos (spiritual, governed by the Holy Spirit)

In this episode, we talk about the dangerous spiritual condition of indecision in marriage and why wavering faith keeps so many spouses trapped in cycles of delay, frustration, and false comfort.So many husbands and wives believe they are “just taking their time,” waiting for the right moment, the right response, or the right conditions—but indecision is not wisdom. It is often spiritual blindness, unbelief, and resistance to the promises of God.We break down the difference between double-mindedness, indecision, and wavering faith, and why Scripture makes it clear that your “yes” and your “amen” matter. Matthew 5, Hebrews 10, Romans 4, 2 Corinthians 1, and Romans 8 all reveal the same truth: when you lose sight of God’s promise, you begin making false vows, flesh-driven decisions, and agreements with fear instead of faith.This episode will challenge you to examine where your decisions in marriage are actually coming from.Are they rooted in God’s promises…or are they rooted in fear, offense, comfort, pride, and self-preservation?We also talk about the difference between spouses who are truly ready for healing and restoration versus those who are still operating from the flesh. There is a visible difference in heart posture when someone has made the decision: “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”If you are standing for your marriage, contending for restoration, or trying to break destructive cycles in your home, this episode will confront the places where indecision has been costing you more than you realize.Your marriage does not need more hesitation.It needs your yes.Your only response to the promises of God should be:Amen.