Messed Up Church: Staying Married (South Fork Campus)

1 Corinthians 7:10-17

We may agree that marriages should be centered on God, but what does a marriage centered on God look like?

What does a marriage centered around good things (but not God) look like?

What other things does your marriage tend to be centered on?

When you center your marriage on things other than God – like passion, desire, attraction, compatibility, needs, etc. – and they fail, how does that play out?

Read 1 Corinthians 7:10-11

Why is there power in long term commitments?

Why is seeing the long term view important in making short term decisions?

What do you want your marriage to look like in 10 years? What are some of your long-term goals for your marriage?

What short term scenarios are you going through right now that need the long term view applied to them?

Read 1 Corinthians 7:12-17

How should you go about creating a vision for your long-term marriage?

(Focus on the pursuit rather than perfection.)

What's the danger in putting more focus on your "marriage" than on God and your spouse?

What do you think God's perspective of your marriage is?

How can you adjust your perspective to God's perspective?

Next Steps:

Identify the idols in your marriage that have replaced God. Confess and ask God to forgive you for putting other things before Him, and ask Him to help you pursue Him first.

Identify the things (other than God) that matter to you more than your spouse. Talk to your spouse, and ask forgiveness for putting your desires above theirs.

Redirect your plans and actions towards God's long term view of your marriage.

Announcements:

Communion is on Sunday, March 18th. (Please note: I had the date wrong last week.) We encourage all of the rGroups to take that week off from your Bible discussion, and instead do one of the following:
• Serve together as a group
• Host a party (with food) and invite others to come hang out with you.
• As a group, go be a part of something else going on in the city.

This Week's Prayer Topic: Love for ability to study scripture
Pray that you and our church will take God's Word seriously and study it diligently.