[Due to technical difficulties, the first few minutes of this class were not recorded. Sorry about that! -MRW]

Love unconditionally. It’s a decision, not a reaction.

• Matthew 22:39 – “as yourself”
• Matthew 5:43-48 – “love your enemies”
  • We should treat our spouse at least as good as an enemy!
• Matthew 7:12 – “the same way you want them to treat you”
• Ephesians 5:28-30, 33 – “as their own bodies … himself … his own flesh … himself”
• Ephesians 5:22 – “as to the Lord”
• Ephesians 5:25-27 – “just as Christ also loved the church”
  • Don’t keep score.
    • “If you find yourself keeping score about some issue with your spouse, that suggests it’s an area of tension in your marriage.” (Gottman and Silver 2015, p. 33)
• Genesis 1:27 – “in the image of God”
• I Peter 3:7 – “fellow heir of the grace of life”
• Titus 2:3-4 – “encourage the young women to love their husbands”

Build up the balance in your “Love Bank.”

• Luke 6:27-28 – “love … do good … bless … pray for”
• Romans 13:8-10 – “Love does no wrong”
• Proverbs 31:10-12 – “She does him good and not evil”
• Romans 12:10 – “Outdo one another in showing honor”
• Ephesians 4:31-32 – “bitterness …” vs. “Be kind …”
  • The magic ratio is 5:1 positive to negative interactions. Successful couples manage this even in conflict. When not in conflict, successful couples have a ratio closer to 20:1.
• Proverbs 31:28-31 – “Her husband … praises her”
• David and Michal’s marriage deteriorates
  • I Samuel 18:20 – She loved him.
  • I Samuel 18:27-28 – They get married. She still loves him.
  • I Samuel 19:11-12 – She even helps David escape her father’s wrath.
  • She’s later given to another man, then David reclaims her.
  • II Samuel 6:15-16, 20-23 – She views David with contempt.

Luke 4

• Luke 4:1 – This phrase “full of the Holy Spirit” is used several times in the Bible referring to different people. It is not entirely clear what it means in this case. Possibly it means Jesus had the ability to work miracles or was now fully aware of God’s will.
• Luke 4:2 – Jesus had to be given the opportunity to decide against God or it would not mean anything if He was sinless.
• Luke 4:3 – It’s possible Jesus did not want to submit to Satan in any way, even if the act itself would not have been sinful.
• Luke 4:4 – See Deuteronomy 8:3.
• Luke 4:8 – Jesus is quoting Deuteronomy 6:13.
• Luke 4:5-7 – Why was this a temptation to Jesus? Was Satan offering him the souls of all these people?
• Luke 4:12 – Jesus is quoting Deuteronomy 6:16.
• Luke 4:13 – Satan just left for a time. He didn’t quit. If he didn’t quit trying to tempt Jesus, he certainly won’t stop trying to tempt us either.
• Luke 4:18-19 – Jesus is reading Isaiah 61:1-2.
• Luke 4:30 – This was surely miraculous. How could they lose track of the man they were actively trying to kill?
• Luke 4:35 – Jesus had previously refused to work a miracle, yet here he immediately acts with power. Jesus surely knew how the different crowds would react when He demonstrated His power.

Takeaways

• Satan knows how to tempt us.
• We can use biblical principles to resist temptation.
• We should seek God’s will and do it.

Introduction

• Philippians 4:6
• Being deliberate in your gratitude can be a huge benefit to you.

You can be thankful even in bad situations.

• Daniel 1:1; 2:17-23 – Daniel gave thanks and praise.
  • Jonah on the other hand had a terrible attitude.
  • The Israelites wanted to go back to Egypt after witnessing God’s miracles.
• Job 1:20-22 – Job was suffering terribly, but he praised God.
• Luke 17:11-19 – One of the ten lepers returned to thank Jesus for healing him.
• Habakkuk 3:18
• No matter how bad my day is, there is something to be thankful for. I see what I am looking for.

You can be thankful even when plans don’t work out.

• II Samuel 7:1-29 – God did not allow David to go forward with his plans for the temple, but David showed gratitude.

You can be thankful even when you don’t think you need to be.

• Mark 8:6 – Jesus gave thanks for the loaves.
• John 6:11 – Jesus gave thanks!
• John 11:41-43 – Jesus thanked the Father for hearing his prayer.
• Luke 22:19 – Jesus gave thanks for the Passover meal.
• Why would Jesus thank the Father?

Wives: how does God-given authority work?

• The wife is subject to the husband (Titus 2:4-5; Genesis 3:16)
• Being under authority does not mean one is inferior in value (Genesis 2:18, 20; 1:27; I Peter 3:7; Psalms 115:9-11; John 14:26; I Corinthians 11:3; Philippians 2:5-7)
• Rebellion against a God-given leader is rebellion against God (Exodus 3:10; 19:6; Numbers 16:3, 28, 31-33; I Samuel 8:7; Romans 13:1-2)
• There’s a lot of male-bashing in our society today (Proverbs 14:1)
  • Be careful what you absorb from the culture!

Ephesians 5:22-24, 33: everything, respect

• First, a word about Ephesians 5:21 (Ephesians 6:1, 5; Hebrews 13:17).
• Be subject “in everything” (v24) – but harmonize that with all of Scripture (Acts 5:29; I Peter 3:7; Hebrews 13:17; Genesis 3:17; I Timothy 2:14).
  • The husband will answer to God for how he led his wife. He cannot abdicate that responsibility.
• Each spouse must focus on themselves (Ephesians 5:22-33; Colossians 3:18-19).
  • The husband is not told to make the wife submit. He is told to love her.
  • The wife is simply told to respect their husband, not to make him love her.
• “as to the Lord” (v22) (Ephesians 6:5-8; Colossians 3:23-24)
  • Give your husband the breathing room to lead. Managing your responsibilities properly makes it easier for him to lead properly.
• “respects her husband” (v33) (John 8:29; Philippians 2:8)

I Peter 3:1-6: gentle and quiet spirit

Women, there’s a lot of learning to do

• Men have a very strong desire to lead, protect, and provide (Genesis 2:15; 3:16-19; Nehemiah 4:14; I Corinthians 16:13; I Peter 3:7; Ephesians 5:33).
• Women tend to bring out those strong, God-given instincts in men.
• Your husband will make decisions differently than you (Ephesians 5:23).

Busyness

• Solution: Make time for what’s important (Mark 1:35, 38)
  • Despite Jesus’ extremely busy schedule, he made time early in the morning to pray.

Wealth

• Wealth does not have to be possessed in order to distract you.
• Solution: Put God’s word into action (Luke 8:14-15)

Sin

• The time and energy you spend sinning is time and energy you are not spending serving God.
• Hebrews 11:24
• Solution: continue in the word to become free (John 8:31-32)