Marriage Prep 101
Getting Ready for the Big Day
The 4 A's of a Successful Marriage
Part 2
Estrategia pedagógica
The focus of this lesson is on continuing to develop a successful marriage. Of special note is four basic concepts to help grow and sustain a closer relationship with our spouse. This is part 2 of this topic.
Resultados del aprendizaje de los estudiantes
- Know: Understand how to develop and sustain a successful and happy marriage.
- Feel: Appreciate the importance of continuing to work at a successful and happy marriage.
- Do: Apply the principles for developing and sustaining a successful and happy marriage.
Cuerpo de la lección
Preguntas de discusión
A continuación se sugieren preguntas para utilizar durante la parte de debate guiado de la lección. También se sugieren respuestas a las preguntas para ayudar a los alumnos a comprender los distintos conceptos. Se proporcionan para ayudar al debate y no se consideran respuestas "correctas o incorrectas".
Agape love – This critical form of love is the sacrificial love God has for us and that He requires we have for one another. It involves three areas:
- Commitment – A conscious choice to commit to another person permanently.
- Discipline – Discipline involves self-control. This helps us realize and stay focused on our commitment.
- Well-being of the partner – This flows out of our commitment to each other and to God. We are committed in all ways to the well-being of our partner. To the husband, theirs is a special level of commitment to the spiritual well-being of their spouse and family (Ephesians 5:25-33).
These three, commitment, discipline, and well-being of our partner together form the work of our successful and happy marriage relationship.
Attraction – God created in us the sexual drive and a way to satisfy it through marriage. He did so for the purpose of pleasure and comfort of the married couple, as well as for procreation. Within the marriage, sex becomes an act of love, faith in, and commitment for the couple. See Genesis 2:25; I Corinthians 7:3-4.
Appreciation – Both partners in a successful marriage learn to openly express appreciation for each other. We understand and support each other's roles. (As a suggested activity for this question, have each couple write down three things they appreciate about their spouse and have them share it with each other.)
Aid – We understand that we constantly need God's love and help as we live our Christian life. We also need the love and help of each other throughout the marriage as we grow together. Sometimes we also need to receive aid outside the marriage from credible and trusted sources to help us strengthen and sustain the marriage. We should not fear getting this aid as needed.
Our marriage must be based on God's will for us. God created all elements of a marriage including the marriage itself. God blesses this relationship. Each partner knows the needs of the other and works together to strengthen each other, especially in spiritual areas. We also use our marriage to encourage faithfulness in others, especially within our own family.