The goal of Green Bay Community Church's four-week Classic Marriage series is to examine God’s design for marriage. In the first message in the series on Sunday, April 22, Pastor Troy Murphy examined the gift of marriage.

Whether you are married, divorced, widowed or single, this series has relevance because God calls all of us to support marriage. God gives the gift of marriage in the same way he gave the gift of salvation, communion and prayer. He wants all of us to come alongside and support marriage, even if we are single.

Troy unpacked key questions about marriage.

WHO DESIGNED MARRIAGE?

God created marriage. This was not man’s idea. We cannot lean into cultural, man-made shifts in the definition of marriage. We look to our creator to better understand marriage and why it was designed.

WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF MARRIAGE?

Marriage is to reflect God’s glory. (Genesis 1:27; Ephesians 5: 31-32).

Many have treated marriage as a commodity rather than as God’s intention for it to be a  covenant. When you enter into a covenant you surrender your life to that promise. We can’t have the attitude that if it doesn’t work out, we can trade it in or return it. This can lead to the destruction of a marriage. 

You have to make a covenant in spite of our culture saying you should try it out for a while. The problem with that approach is that you are trying to find someone to meet your expectations. Marriage is for better or worse. The crucible of marriage that shapes us is the hard times. We grow more in the hard times than the good times. You must face those difficulties together.

Marriage has been reduced to a piece of paper. Many opt out and say, “Let’s be together. We don’t need a legal paper.” People see marriage as a paper contract. But you can’t change the God-ordained purpose of marriage.

WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF MARRIAGE?

Companionship

It says in Genesis 2:18 that God determined it was not good for man to be alone and that he would make a suitable helper. We have a deep-seeded longing to be connected. The word helper in this context doesn’t mean subservient, but the woman is walking side by side with the man.

Marriage should not be viewed as a fix to our problems. It brings a level of companionship but it can’t meet all of our longings and solve our problems because we are all flawed humans. Marriage provides someone who can walk with us through our problems but not fix them.

Children

God commanded us to be fruitful and multiply.

Sexual fulfillment

We see in the Song of Solomon that sex is a gift from God. It also says in scripture that sex outside marriage is not God’s intention.

WHAT ARE THE GUIDELINES FOR MARRIAGE?

God intended for marriage to be a relationship between one man and one woman. That intention remains relevant today despite cultural shifts away from that.

It’s important to understand the weight of marriage. It’s not all about finding happiness and bliss. It means sacrifice, surrender, giving over and serving. That is the picture of a Godly marriage.

Faithfulness is also important. God gives strict guidelines about not having sexual activity outside marriage. We must guard against sexual immorality, including not just our actions but our eyes, ears and hearts.

HOW ARE WE TO CARE FOR MARRIAGE?

To use the metaphor of the classic car, people keep them in pristine condition. We are to treat our marriages in the same way. Our marriages need that kind of intentionality and care the way you would treat a classic car.

Classic cars had bench seats, which gives a picture of couples sitting together, right next to each other. Bucket seats, on the other hand, paint a picture of couples being separated and sitting apart. The goal of this series is to get couples more connected with each other, which is what God intended for a marriage.

We are to view marriage as a gift from God and treat it as precious and of great value.

HOW ARE YOU HONORING MARRIAGE?

Hebrews 13:4 says marriage should be honored by all. To be honored means to treat it as a great piece of art, something precious and esteemed.

One way to honor a marriage is to pray together as spouses. You can also pray as individuals or with friends for your marriages and for other people’s marriages.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

For couples: Why did you get married?

For singles: Do you want to get married? Why or why not?

Why is a covenant relationship so important in marriage?

What are practical ways you can care for and honor your marriage?