10 August 2008 Worship Service Message: Marriage (part 2) – Ephesians 5:21~33

0.Review of the last week’s message

◆ There are treasures hidden in marriage
◆Marriage is where we learn to love and accept those who are different from us
◆The two leave their parents and are united as one
◆God put the two together
◆We receive from Christ the love we need to maintain successful marriage

1.Recommendations to the couple at wedding

◆Ephesians 5:21-33
◆Man’s role and woman’s role for successful marriage

2.Wife’s role

◆Submit to your husband
◆The husband is the head of the wife
◆Respect your husband

3.Men are Supermen

◆Healthy pride as man: I am strong and trustworthy
◆Men become “manly” by being trusted, respected, and relied upon by wives
◆If that does not happen, men will say, “I no longer have confidence to make you happy.” – men’s number 1 reason for divorce

4.Is it difficult to submit?

◆It is not difficult to submit to someone you trust.
◆Wives’ responsibility or husbands’ responsibility? “Make it easier for me to trust you!”
◆People become trustworthy by being trusted.

5.Husbands’ role

◆Love your wives
◆Just like the Christ loved the church

6.What is a leader?

◆Three ways to lead people-where does authority come: power/threat, reward, love
◆As the Lord and Head, how did Jesus lead?
◆Not to satisfy one’s ego: Leaders are not to take advantage of their position
◆For the benefit of those they lead
◆Servant leader
◆Meaningless without love (1 Corinthians 13::3

7.Submit to each other

◆Put your partner’s best interest before yours
◆As the helper, wives should support husbands leadership
◆Husbands put their wives best interest before his with sacrificial love

Ephesians 5[21] Be subject to one another out of reverence for Christ. [22] Wives, be subject to your husbands, as to the Lord. [23] For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior. [24] As the church is subject to Christ, so let wives also be subject in everything to their husbands. [25] Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, [26] that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, [ [29] For no man ever hates his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, as Christ does the church, [30] because we are members of his body. [31] “For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” [32] This mystery is a profound one, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church; [33] however, let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.