What Happy Couples Know - Week 2 Recap
"Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ." Ephesians 5:21
We have made it through the first two weeks of Andy Stanley's, "What Happy Couples Know," series. Huzzah! The messages and subsequent discussions have been such a blessing. It has been so beautiful and rewarding to see us all engage one another in new and meaningful ways.
Here is the link to the week two video if you missed our gathering or would like to replay it.
(FYI I have now watched it six times and could probably watch eleven more.) And here is the link to the week one notes if you'd like to reference those.
General Notes from Week Two
We have made it through the first two weeks of Andy Stanley's, "What Happy Couples Know," series. Huzzah! The messages and subsequent discussions have been such a blessing. It has been so beautiful and rewarding to see us all engage one another in new and meaningful ways.
Here is the link to the week two video if you missed our gathering or would like to replay it.
(FYI I have now watched it six times and could probably watch eleven more.) And here is the link to the week one notes if you'd like to reference those.
General Notes from Week Two
- At the Last Supper, Jesus gave his disciples a new command, the Platinum Rule* - "Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another." John 13:34. Paul's subsequent letters are the extrapolation of this command in different situations that are applicable to how we live our lives.
- Ephesians 5 is how Paul applies this command to marriage. Here, Paul explains how husbands and wives should view and treat each other. Wives are called to submit to their husbands as they would submit themselves to the Lord. This was not new information for the first century, as women were the legal property of their husbands. Of course for today, this sends a lot of people into orbit. We balk at the idea of men and women not being equals. However...
- Husbands are called to love their wives in the way Christ loved the church and gave his life for her. As previously stated, women have been viewed as inferior to men for the majority of history and even still today in some parts of the world. While the idea of equality for women is common in the west today, it was completely unheard of back then. Jesus, and later Paul, had to teach we are all equal in the eyes of the Lord and should so be to each other. To further cement his point, Paul not only commands husbands to love and to submit to their wives, but that they should also treat them as well as they would treat their own bodies. Ephesians 5:28. A man and woman become one flesh in their marriage. They should treat each other as such.
- What's the takeaway here? SUBMISSION IN MARRIAGE IS MUTUAL. Married men and women are called to submit to each other in reverence in the same way Christ loved the church. THIS is why marriage is a race to the back of the line and THIS is what happy couples know. There may be different responsibilities and roles between man and wife, but there is no difference in value.
- There's no room for expectations in a submission competition. Happy husbands and wives put their spouses ahead of themselves. Less-self people are the happiest people; less-self relationships are richer and more meaningful.
- So how do you keep your hopes, dreams, and desires from becoming expectations? You decide that your spouse doesn't owe you anything, but that you owe them everything. And it has to be mutual. "Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ." Ephesians 5:21 This is what oneness in Christ looks like.
- To move forward in a happy marriage, you have to take the pressure of your expectations off your spouse. You have to drop your end of the rope and you have to go first. Why? Because when you were dead in your sin, God, through Christ, dropped his end of the rope - regardless of your response to His forgiveness and salvation. Happy couples put each other first by going first in an effort to be last.
Homework for next week:
- Ask your spouse what's in their box and really listen to them. Maybe take notes and consider taking action.
*Platinum rule is in reference to the Golden Rule - love your neighbor as yourself.
Praise & Worship
"Lord, I Need You"
"Days of Elijah"
REMINDERS!
- The Olmsteads are hosting a midweek meal this Wednesday, Feb 14th, from 5:30 to 8:00. Please RSVP via email to Kim or on GroupMe.
- We will meet again at the Srirams' home next week, 02.18.18.
- The next book club reading has been selected. Click here for more information. We will gather sometime in later April or early May.