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Genesis 2 - KJV
18 And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him.
21 And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof;
22 And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man.
23 And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.
24 Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.

Genesis 2 - NIV
18 The LORD God said, "It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him."
21 So the LORD God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man's ribs and closed up the place with flesh. 22 Then the LORD God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man.
23 The man said,

"This is now bone of my bones
and flesh of my flesh;
she shall be called 'woman, '
for she was taken out of man."

24 For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh.

Ephesians 5:21-33

7 Stages of a Marriage left to go to seed………..

And if you think that's bad listen to this conversation at a 50th anniversary celebration……………

Quote: Let the wife make the husband glad to come home; and let him make her sorry to see him leave…………………………….Martin Luther

Today, too many couples scarcely relate to each other, after years of marriage.

Many other activities, responsibilities and interests seem to crowd out the importance of a happy marital relationship for millions in America. Men want to be respected and women want to be loved, neither seems to be the case in most modern marriages.

Sanctity

1.: holiness of life and character : GODLINESS

2 a. the quality or state of being holy or sacred : INVIOLABILITY
   b plural : sacred objects, obligations, or rights

What I am speaking about today is the holiness or sacredness of Marriage & the Family

It is without question that marriage and the family are under attack and all out assault today.

Maggie Gallagher, National Review Online article, "……..The consequences of our current retreat from marriage is not a flourishing libertarian social order, but a gigantic expansion of state power and a vast increase in social disorder and human suffering."

Marriage as we know it has been in existence for some 5000 years. The Holy Scriptures set forth the Creator's plan for marriage and the family. To deviate from that model is to invite disaster. In Genesis 2 we learn that God created Eve as a "suitable companion" for Adam who would complement him physically, spiritually and emotionally. Marriage was the very first institution that God created, and it continues to be the primary institution of society to this day.

God designed marriage between a man and a woman as the first system of interdependent human relationships, as well as the means by which spiritual teaching is passed down through the generations.

In writing to the Corinthian church the Apostle Paul reminds us that men and women mutually complete one another.

1 Corinthians 11:11
"In the Lord, however, woman is not independent of man, nor is man independent of woman."

Marriage is upheld as a beautiful relationship between Christ and his bride, the Church.

Ephesians 5

Paul the apostle gives us some practical advice in Eph. 5 that is worth considering today:

1. Men must love their wives as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her. Wives must submit to their husbands as a service to the Lord.

The best marriage where there is the greatest fruits of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness and self-control is where love and submission are maximized in the marriage. The basic reason, Paul states, is that God created the husband to be the head of the wife as Christ is the Head of the church. Therefore, as the church is to be subject to Christ, so let the wives be subject in everything to their husbands, but the husbands are to love their wives as Christ loved the church and gave Himself for it.

2. The worst type of marriage is The Hate and Resist Marriage. This marriage shows the opposite of love and submission.

In the Hate and Resist marriage the wife nags her man, she idles the day away, and she contends with her husband's authority. Her disrespect for him displays itself in social functions, at which she makes sarcastic remarks about him that he hears for the first time. He treats his wife harshly and doesn't consider her feelings when making family decisions. Animosity and disrespect characterize his demeanor toward his wife in private, though he pretends to like her when they attend church or other gatherings.

3. The Hate and Submit Marriage. This is the type of marriage where the wife does her part to submit and the husband takes advantage of his wife and abusively refuses to love her as Christ loved the church.

In this kind of marriage the man is the opinionated, domineering emperor of his house, while the wife is the submissive attendant to the man's belligerent demands.

Husbands need to remember what Paul wrote, "In the same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. After all, no one ever hated his own body, but he feeds and cares for it as it was his own." (Eph. 5:28,29)

4. The fourth type of marriage is the Love and Resist Marriage.

There is an increasing number of marriages that are suffering under this syndrome of an abusive wife with a loving husband.

The feminist movement has fueled the Love and Resist marriage syndrome.

There have been too many home over the years where a marriage only lasted until the children were raised.

THE GREATEST THING YOU CAN EVERY DO FOR YOUR CHILDREN IS:

TO TRULY LOVE EACH OTHER!

Only when there is a balance between talking and listening can a marriage enjoy harmony.

Suggestions for making a great and happy marriage:

1. Above all, make God your friend and your confidant. God is for you. He's on your side. Always remember, He is for you. And He will work for you if you will let Him. Proverbs 18:24: "There is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother," and that friend is God, who is always with you. His intention for you is that you have a beautiful and happy home forever.

2. Begin with God's definition of true love.

But God's concept of agape is in a different world. It is a commitment to Christ and to one another in him, holy and forever. It is a way of choice, a way of thinking and living. I will place your highest best interest above anything in my life, one says to the other and that makes for a beautiful home.

3. To have a beautiful home and a happy marriage bestow words of appreciation lavishly on each other. Praise, Proverbs 25:11: "A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver." Don't criticize and don't find fault. If you want your wife to cook for you, you want her to be a slave in the kitchen, praise her cooking.

Keep on praising it, no matter what it tastes like. Just keep on praising it. Always turn it to a wonderful end. The wife said to her husband, "Oh, sweetheart. The dog ate the biscuits." And he replied, "Don't worry honey, we'll get another dog."

4. Never criticize in public, no matter what. Don't make him or her feel small.

Always build up one another.

5. Treat her, after you marry her, as you did when you were courting. You were so sweet, so nice, so affectionate. Why change now? Why treat her as you're doing now. Before marriage you loved to be together, why not now? She says, "I wish I were dead." He says, "I wish I were dead." She says, "In that case, I wish I were alive with you dead."

Oh, before I married Maggy dear,

I was her pumpkin pie,

Her precious peach,

Her honey lamb,

The apple of her eye.

But years of married life,

This thought, I'm forced to utter,

Those fancy names are gone,

And now, I'm just her bread and butter,

That's all.

Don't change if you were honey pie before, just keep on, keep on.

6. Plan little kindnesses, surprises for each other. A gift, a dinner, that's not a waste of money, that will be the best investment you ever made in all of your life.

7. Place the other's good and happiness above everything else. Romans 12:10: "Be kindly affectionate to one to other; in honor preferring one another." Seek to make her happy, seek to make him happy. It will do your heart good. And it will be a learning experience in being unselfish.

8. Talk and discuss things together. Talk and listen. Communicate, no decision should ever to be made unilaterally, both share in it, a shared life.

9. Never speak or air a problem of the family outside the home.

10. Thrust anger far from you. Ephesians 4:26? "Be ye angry and sin not. Let not the sun go down upon your wrath."

Speak when you are angry, and you will make the best speech, you will ever regret.

Don't talk when you are angry.

Never make anger a permanent guest in your heart.

11. Work and strive to make your intimate life beautiful.

12. Center your marriage in the Lord and in the church.

SHARE THE MARRIAGE VOWS AS A REMINDER!!!

CONCLUSION:

Does It Have To Take A Heart Attack? By David Reynolds