Bitterness and resentment, unbridled anger or lust, and  a faulty foundation in the relationship.  Those are the ingredients we will look at this week that build into an ugly marriage.   That’s what we’ll be looking at on Married By Design.

This week we are looking at the relationships David had with his wives.  Again, it seems very strange to talk about a husband and his wives.  The original marriage was between one man and one woman. But the Israelites were so influenced by the cultures around them that they had marriages that were quite contrary to what God wanted.

Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to take one of these areas and discuss it as a couple. There may be one of these things that resonates with the two of you. Take the time to look at this issue in the Bible and discuss it and come up with a plan of action in response. You can look at a lack of commitment, bitterness and resentment, and unbridled anger and lust, a faulty foundation in the relationship, or not standing for what is right. You can also look at the positive example of Abigail and addressing issues and helping your spouse.

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Unchecked cravings, and unwillingness to listen to wise counsel, or a lack of real commitment to the relationship.   These things lead to a bad marriage.   That's what we'll be looking at on this episode of Married By Design.

The couple that we’re going  look at this week is Samson and Delilah.  Actually, we’re going  look at Sampson's life and his relationship with two women. First his wife and then Delilah.  We’re going to pick up the story starting in judges chapter 13.

Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to look at one of these lessons and discuss it with your spouse.  Study and discuss missing your calling, unchecked cravings, an unwillingness to listen to wise counsel, or a lack of real commitment to the relationship.

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 Walking with God, caring for your spouse and being teachable. These are all qualities of a great marriage. That’s what we’ll be looking at on this episode of Married By Design.

This week we’re looking in the book of Ruth. It’s the Old Testament story of the courtship and marriage of Ruth and Boaz.   If you want to see an inspirational example of two people walking with God and their union and marriage, Ruth and Boaz would be the one to study.   As we have, we want to break down some of the principles that we can learn from both Ruth and Boaz.   And we want to challenge you to think about those qualities and strive towards them.

Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to take one of these character qualities again and study it. Discuss it with your spouse and look deeper into the Scriptures to understand how to put it into practice. You can look at the area of faithfulness, being willing to do the hard work, being spiritual and full of faith, having a deep care for your spouse, and being teachable and humble.

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Doubting God, relying on your own reasoning, blame shifting. These are all practices that lead to a very ugly marriage. That's what we will be looking at on this episode of married by design. 

This week we're going to look at an ugly marriage.  We actually spent some time discussing whether this couple falls under the ugly or bad marriage category.  Certainly the effect of their choices were bad and evil. We are living with the consequences of their sin.  We’re going to be looking at Adam and Eve.

Your homework, should you choose to accept it, is to look at one of these areas and discuss it as a couple. Dig deeper into the Scriptures and study the topic and talk about how you can work on it for the health and growth of your relationship. You could look at the area of doubting God, relying on your own reasoning, having a lack of discernment, the passive husband, and blame shifting.

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Selfishness, pretense and deception.  These are all traits of a bad marriage that ends badly.   That’s what we’ll be looking at on this episode of Married By Design.

This week, we’re looking at a bad marriage.  Actually for this couple, we don’t have a lot of information about their whole life.  We just see this one situation.   But it tells us a lot about their choices in their marriage.  It’s the story of Ananias and Sapphira in Acts 5.   I think we would do well to take some time to look at this passage and to learn some of the choices they made and try to avoid the traps they fell into.

Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to take one of these areas and study and discuss it as a couple. You can look at the lying and deception, pretense, collusion, or the hardened heart.

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 Lifelong intimacy and closeness with your spouse.  To really be one and all that God intended you to enjoy through that.  That’s what I’ll be looking at on this episode of Married By Design.

We’re going to be looking at the wonderful example of Aquila and Priscilla.  There’s actually not a lot written about them in the Bible. They are mentioning a number of places and we will develop some principles from the places that they are mentioned.

Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to look at one of these areas and again discuss it as a couple. Being joined at the hip, supporting others, counseling, teaching, or hospitality.  How do you need to practically work to strengthen your togetherness and your ministry to others?

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Deception, multiples loves and the passive husband.  These are a recipe for an ugly marriage.  That's what we'll be looking at on this episode of Married By Design.

In this weeks episode, we’re going to look at an ugly marriage.  Again, this couple generally was following the Lord and God was going to use them greatly.   But they also made some foolish choices that led to a very ugly marriage relationship.

 It’s a story of Jacob and Rachel. Well, I guess I should say not just the story of Jacob and Rachel, but the story of Jacob and Rachel and Leah and the two handmaids that Jacob ended up having as his wives. That in itself shows you that there was a lot of foolishness involved in this marriage and a lot of damage that was done as a result.

Your mission, should you choose to accept it,  is to read through these chapters of Genesis and discuss the foolishness Jacob and his wives demonstrated.  There is the good example of Jacob’s love for Rachel.  But there is the deception, the issue of multiple loves, using ungodly methods to get what you want, the passive husband.  If one of those resonates at all, study it in more detail in the Bible.

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How devastating can unchecked desires, refusal to follow God‘s ways in choosing other gods be on a marriage?  That's what we are looking at on this episode of Married By Design. 

This week, in keeping with the title of that movie, we’re going to look at a bad marriage. These bad marriages again are ones in which the husband and/or the wife are evil and make choices that are quite contrary to God‘s intention and his Word.

Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to pick out one of these areas in which Ahab and Jezebel were a bad example.  A heart set on evil, the encouragement to do wrong, having other gods, being unreachable,  ignoring God and unchecked desires.  Study it and discuss it as a couple. Talk about how you can not follow that example but in fact do the exact opposite.

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What good encouraging examples do you know of that challenge you to have a great marriage?    Purity, servanthood, and deep affection will make for a great marriage.  That's what we'll be looking at on this episode of Married By Design.  

The first couple we’re going to look at is one that’s a good example. This couple is inspiring in the way that they went through the process of getting married and from what we see they had a great marriage.  We’re going to be looking at the relationship of Isaac and Rebekah starting in genesis 24.  We’re going to  walk through these chapters of Genesis and look at this couple and see the choices that they made that yielded good fruit.

Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to pick one of these areas and discuss it as a couple. You can look at the importance of receiving counsel, servanthood, purity, having a common faith, being spiritual, or deep affection. Dive into God's word related to the issue and really study it. Come up with a few action points to put it into practice.

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Do you learn from your mistakes?  Do you learn from the mistakes of others and the good examples they set?  That’s what we’ll be looking at this week on Married By Design.

We want to observe individuals in the Bible and learn from their mistakes.  Learn from the choices they make.  See the consequences of the choices they make.  One of the great treasures of the Bible is that we are able to see peoples lives put on display and learn from them.  We can learn from the good, the bad, and the ugly in the Bible.  And we’re going to be looking specifically at marriages that were good, bad, and ugly.   more specifically, we’re going to look at individuals who fell into those categories and their marriages suffered as a result.

Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to take some time as a couple and discuss marriages in the Bible that stand out to you.  Think about and talk about the lessons you can learn.  As we begin to look at these different marriages, pray as a couple that God will teach you from these examples and others in the Bible, and that you would Strive to be a good example of a good marriage and not a bad or an ugly one.

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