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Empowering Our Marriage

Marriage Enrichment Retreat 2 | Session 6

Missionary Families of Christ

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Empowering Our Marriage

Introduction

God’s ideal for marriage is a very high ideal.

A lifelong commitment, through thick and thin.
A covenant of love. Unconditional love, just like Jesus.
A life of committed service.

2. On our own, it would be impossible to attain to this high ideal. In fact, many couples cannot even keep their marriage intact.

3. But God, who brought husband and wife together, is committed to help us. We can call upon the power of God's Holy Spirit.

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Marriage in Perspective

Gn 1:27. God created man and woman in His image

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Thus family communion is supposed to reflect in human terms what God is like.

However, this is usually not the case. If we look at the lives of married people, there are lots of struggles, pain, etc. In fact, for some, there is less and less unity through the years.

Why? Gn 3: the first sin. Rebellion. The fall

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Marriage in Perspective

The result has been a fourfold disintegration.

a) Man and woman are estranged from God. They are thrown out of paradise. They are separated from God and condemned to eventual death.

b) They are estranged from the world around them. They are alienated from the earth (Gen 3:17-19). Even the earth would rebel from the lordship of man.

c) Their relationship is affected. They are alienated from each other.

Man’s headship is not experienced as care and provision, but domination and tyranny.
The woman needs the man but competes with him; she is no longer freely subordinated.

d) The ultimate picture of sin and its consequences is seen in Gen 11. Tower of Babel. No communion and no communication. No unity and no community.

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If the story ended here, it would be a very sad situation. Even this retreat would be useless, for there would be no hope for us.

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Marriage in Perspective

Jesus empowers those couples who receive the Sacrament of Matrimony

But Jesus came to take care of the sin problem. Jesus won for us grace. We can put to death the old man.

b) Thus we can again be united. Not through our own strength, but through Jesus. Jesus gave us the Holy Spirit, the power that makes the difference.

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God’s intent is to return us to the original state of Adam and Eve

We are to be witness to what God is like

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Marriage in Perspective

Now all of us are living renewed lives

We have already accepted Jesus as Lord. We have turned away from sin, especially sin and insensitivities in marriage.

We have all been baptized in the Holy Spirit. We have seen how the Holy Spirit is our source of power and effectiveness in the Christian life.

But still, we sin. We need to experience even more the power of the Spirit in our marriage.

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So now we want to ask the Holy Spirit again to touch our marriage, the areas of our life as husband, as wife, �as father, as mother

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God wants to empower us. If we want it too, and if we fervently pray for each other, then we will begin to experience radical changes for the better in our marriage.

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What do we pray for?

Husband and wife will pray for each other

You know best your own needs and weaknesses, as well as those of your spouse.

A husband’s and a wife’s prayer for his/her spouse has power. God hears and will act.

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What do we pray for?

For the husband

To exercise headship such that he is genuinely the provider, protector and governor, according to the model of God our Father. Not as lord or tyrant, but in love and service.
For God to remove the negatives, such as insecurity, irresponsibility, uncontrolled anger, non-listening attitude, domineering ways, fear of wife.
Positively :

To have the ability to listen.
To give clear direction and to make decisions
To love and serve.
To be truly a man of God
To act such that Jesus becomes Lord of the family, in all areas.

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What do we pray for?

For the wife

To be the heart of the home.
For God to remove the negatives, such as insecurity, jealousy, having your own way, competitiveness, fear of surrendering to your husband's way, emotional manipulation.
Positively

To have great love for God and for your husband.
To honor and respect your husband.
For the ability to allow your husband to love you as a husband (provider, protector, governor)
To have joy in serving the family
To support your husband fully

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How do we now proceed in prayer?

COUPLE-PRAYERS FOR EMPOWERMENT

ACTIVITY

1. Devote a total of approximately 20 minutes to your praying for each other.

2. Couples can stay where they are, or move to any other place within the immediate vicinity. You may bring your chairs with you.

3. You start by thanking and praising God together. Then one can pray for the other and/or himself/herself. Then the other prays. Each can take his/her turn as the Spirit leads.

4. Ask Jesus to baptize with his Holy Spirit in specific ways.

5. Praying in this way is praying according to God’s will.

6. Let us start now.

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Five Things We Need To Live Out as a Couple

1 FAITH

2 PRAYER

3 EXPRESSED LOVE

4 FORGIVENESS

5 COMMUNION WITH EACH OTHER

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Faith

A nagging question: Can we really have a better marriage? Can the Holy Spirit really work wonders?
Ezekiel 37:1-14. Vision of the dry bones.
But when you asked the Lord for His Spirit, the Holy Spirit has actually entered into your marriage and family in a new way. Believe that!
A spiritual principle: God never shows a new, deeper way to live, and then turns His face away from you. So go with great confidence, and look forward to a richer relationship

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Prayer

Nothing much will happen if we don’t pray.
Live ACTS, in relation to your marriage.

-Adoration

-Contrition

-Thanksgiving

-Supplication

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Expressed Love

Anecdote of old couple.
How? By word and by action.
Tell him/her.
Sexual relationship.
Words of endearment.
Giving of gifts.
Acts of service and sacrifice. Go the extra mile.

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Forgiveness

a) Because of your intense life together, you can expect to offend or frustrate each other at times.

b) God’s gift to you: forgiveness. Our key way of showing love: forbearance and forgiveness.

c) Ask and give forgiveness:

Daily. Do not allow resentment to pile up.
Eagerly. This needs humility.
*Without limitation: “As Christ has forgiven you.”

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Communion with each other

This is a process that we need to start now.

Communication and family time.

* Pastoral dialogue regularly

* Make time to talk with your children.

* Family recreation and vacation.

Unity can only be built if you take time for it.

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�Conclusion

Believe that God has done something this weekend in your marriage—through the talks, the couple discussions, the prayers for empowerment. Take that with you.

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�Conclusion

Live out what you have learned. If you do, each week will bring peace and joy. Your whole marriage will change for the better.

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�Conclusion

Is it easy? No. You will need to fight the world’s values and ways. You need commitment and perseverance. Call upon the power of the Holy Spirit.

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Empowering Our Marriage

Marriage Enrichment Retreat 2 | Session 6

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