MY NEXT STEP TODAY IS:

I need to receive Jesus Christ as my personal Savior for the first time

I need to be baptized
https://www.thebridgevenice.com/baptism

I need to attend Starting Point
https://www.thebridgevenice.com/starting-point

I need to join a small group
https://www.thebridgevenice.com/small-groups

I need to join a serve team
https://www.thebridgevenice.com/serve

Dig Deeper:
1. If you are married, share how long you have been married and what you love most about your spouse. If you are not married, share what number one quality you would look for when imagining a spouse.
2. How is the world’s view of marriage different from God’s view? How has our culture shaped this viewpoint?
3. Read Genesis 2:18-24. Describe what stands out to you from the passage.
4. God was with Adam in the Garden. Why, then, was there a need for Eve?
5. How did the fall in the Garden create strife and conflict between a man and a woman (see Genesis 3)? Beginning with Adam and Eve, why does Satan want to directly destroy marriages?
6. Read Ephesians 5:21-33. Describe what stands out to you from the passage.
7. What is your definition of submit? Look up synonyms to the word. How can the word “submit” have negative thoughts associated with it?
8. What is God’s definition of submit? Why does He say that we should submit?
9. How does both humility (positively) and pride (negatively) play a part in submitting? Give an example of how this can play out in a marriage relationship?
10. Explain how submitting can actually lead to fulfillment. How is that possible?
11. How can this same model of mutual submissions in the marriage relationship apply to other relationships?
12. Husbands and wives are equally valuable, but they have different roles. Discuss this statement and how it differs from what the world shows us. Discuss how people have misinterpreted the idea of differing roles as a man and a wife.
13. Why should wives submit to their husbands (vs. 22-24)?
14. If you are a wife, how can you demonstrate Christlike submission and respect to your husband as you do to the Lord?
15. How should husbands love their wives (vs. 25-30)?
16. If you are a husband, how can you demonstrate Christlike submission by sacrificially loving your wife as Christ loved the church?
17. What’s the difference between a contract and a covenant? Which one should be used in a marriage that has Christ as the center?
18. How is your marriage “not about you”? How does your marriage demonstrate Christ to the people around you? If you struggle with an answer to these questions, what changes can you make?
19. What ways can you serve your spouse and/or others in your life?
How does knowing Christ, and understanding His love for us, allow us to love others well?

Live It Out:
How may we illustrate Christ’s relationship with His Church through our marriages (and through other relationships)?
1. Pray: Ask God to reveal to you how your marriage can be strengthened. Pray specifically for your spouse and the needs or struggles you are currently facing, both separately and together.
2. Submission and Sacrifice: Identify at least one way in which you can serve your spouse this week. Help your spouse in a new and different way.
3. Ask: Ask your spouse how you can serve them and pray for them this week. Then, pray together and follow through with serving them. Put your spouse’s needs above your own.
4. Demonstrate: Through your relationships, especially your marriage, demonstrate Christ’s love to others. Forgive. Love sacrificially. Serve one another. Put your needs aside in order to help another. Show humility to those around you.

Reading Plan:
Monday: Genesis 2 and 3
Tuesday: Ephesians 5:21-33
Wednesday: 1 Corinthian 13
Thursday: Colossians 3
Friday: 1 John 4
Saturday: 1 Peter 3:1-7

Recommended Resources:
“You and Me Forever: Marriage in Light of Eternity” by Francis and Lisa Chan
“What Did You Expect: Redeeming the Realities of Marriage” by Paul David Tripp
“Five Love Languages: The Secret to Love that Lasts” by Gary Chapman
The Peacemaker by Ken Sande
Reading Ephesians with John Stott
Ephesians - Teen Bible Study Book: Your Identity In Christ by Tony Merida
Ephesians - Bible Study Book: Your Identity in Christ by Tony Merida