Subject: Marriage and Family

Subject Details

Marriage and Family

(Also see Pastor Jim’s book, Marriage Without Remorse: Rules for the Road, and the entire Proverbs series. The book of Proverbs is a primer, primarily for the young. Therefore, it is a book of utmost necessity for every Christian parent. However, Proverbs teaches the young and old alike the art of living well while laying a foundation for the future. It is therefore helpful for any believer who lacks wisdom in various life situations.)

Marriage
Marriage does not have to be a bummer. There is nothing wrong with the divine institution; there is often much wrong with our execution. Marriage without remorse is not an accident. More often than not, it is our persistent foolishness and our sins that turn what God intends for a blessing into a chronic burden. Follow the rules for the road, and marriage can be a taste of heaven on earth. As long as we keep freelancing it and repeating the same old killer mistakes, it is no wonder that couples throw up their hands and whine, “Marriage is so hard!” No, Pastor Jim contends, it is not the divine institution that is so hard; it is the hard-headed individuals in it who give it a bad rap.

Still, Jim is realistic. He acknowledges a plethora of human imperfections and foibles that can threaten peace and harmony in the home, the inevitable bumps in the relational road, and the likelihood that any couple will face jarring challenges beyond their control that at times can try the soul.

Click here for Marriage: Rules of the Road series

Child Rearing
(Also see Pastor Jim’s book, Marriage Without Remorse: Rules for the Road)

• Proverbs 22:6 states, “Train up a child in the way he should go, even when he is old he will not depart from it.” What is the Holy Spirit’s “truth intention” behind this statement? Is it an absolute promise or is it an inspired observation about the way life generally works when godly parents apply their human due diligence in child rearing? What are principles to adopt or mistakes to avoid that Christian parents need to know in order to ensure a better outcome? How do fathers sometimes “provoke [their] children to wrath”? 
• Proverbs 22:6-13  
• Ephesians 6:1-4

Separation and Divorce

What biblical reasons are there for marital separation? What are the only two scriptural grounds for divorce (infidelity & unbeliever divorce)?

• Luke 16:14-18
• 1 Corinthians 7:8-16