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[0:00] We can glorify, amen. Take your Bibles, turn over to Genesis chapter 2 this morning.! Genesis chapter 2, we're going to be going through some things about family and just relationships! within the family and some things here for the next month or so. Today, we're going to start on the very foundation of God's design for marriage in Genesis chapter 2. I think it's important because when we speak of marriage, what comes to mind? You know, we live in a generation where that's kind of a term that gets thrown around but oftentimes is not really much thought given to it. There's a lot of assumptions given to the word oftentimes about what does it mean and how does it apply to us, you know, and even in that, what do we base our understanding on? You know, because we, like I said, today in society, as we'll see here as we walk through this morning, I want you to understand that the institution of marriage has changed in the minds of most people today. When you mention marriage, the biblical concept isn't the first thing that comes to mind. We've had a cultural shift because of what people think and how they process and the only way to counter that is to get back and think, what does God have to say about it? How does God present this? How did God introduce it?

[1:28] Because we understand this, it's moved from being central to our society. You know, something that's been a foundational principle, a foundational element, a bedrock of societies. And we see in our current condition in our nation, they're moving away from that and they're being promoted counter to that, this idea of marriage. And it becomes an option. You know, it's something that people consider and not something that people look at and say, is this something that I don't need to just consider? Is this something that God has established and has set forth some things for it? And it's difficult today because, you know, as I was researching a few things for this, I came across this from the Institute for Family Studies. And it said this, it says, Americans today are much less likely to see marriage as something that you need to do to be a complete person or to have a good life. In fact, fewer than one in five Americans now believe that it's essential to be married to have a fulfilling life.

[2:32] In other words, I want you to understand as we start out here, God's foundation of society is built upon the principle of marriage. Now, I know that they're single people and I want to be a dynamic, but you know, you need to wait and tell for God to provide because I also don't want people rushing into marriage. You know, one of the things people do today, they rush in before they find out what they need to do or what God says, and it causes a problem. You know, I heard one person say this, it's better to be miserable single than it is totally, absolutely miserable married.

[3:08] One's a solvable condition. The other one is, sticks with you the rest of your life. And that seems harsh sometimes. I want you to understand what we're looking at here is something God established for our benefit. Okay. God established for our benefit as an overarching principle of culture, because ultimately families, which families are instituted by married couples, you can be by birth is one thing, but God designed kids to be raised with a mother and a father in the same household. And God designed that for a reason. Now, we know that sin has caused different problems and different things, just like people begin to change their thinking of it. And oftentimes it's based upon sins that have either happened to them or happened to somebody else. The fallen world we live in impacts so much, because today marriage is viewed in many ways. To some, it's just a social institution.

[4:09] You know, they'll tell you that marriage is a social construct. You know, that we came up with in society, and you have people today who say silly things, well, it was made to oppress women. I mean, if you start reading things, you'll find all sorts of strange ideas.

[4:25] That people have about marriage. You know, but we've seen a major shift, because it's ironic, because people don't want, they turn away from marriage oftentimes, but also they have another phenomenon in the study that people consider marriage now. The same institute there for family study had this statement, says marriage has become more of a capstone, where marriage is a signal of everything that they had, that they had led up to the ceremony, rather than the beginning of a journey.

[5:00] And that's really a lot of the concept today, because people hold off on getting married. We want to get all these other things put together, and then we will consider getting married. In other words, they look at it as the end solution instead of the beginning of this dynamic of relationships. You know, others, you know, they look at it as social, but others also look at it as just a religious institution. You know, oftentimes we get the idea that marriage is a religious thing. In a sense, it is in an overarching because it was established by God, but a religion or a church doesn't have oversight of marriage.

[5:40] I want you to understand that people, we're not tied to a church wedding per se. You know, people get this idea, people come to me all the time with that concept. Well, I need to have a church wedding. Well, a wedding, you can hold a wedding in a church, but that doesn't make it a church wedding because the church doesn't sanction your wedding. That's a lesson for a whole other day to go through biblically on that. All right. A religious concept we have today of weddings started in the seventh century. Weddings and marriages have always been central to family. But I want you to see today, we need to think properly about what does God want? Because sometimes people think it can be beneficial, but not necessary. You know, we have one of the highest rates of cohabitation in our history. Over 50% of couples living together today are not married.

[6:40] The problem is that we often look at marriage through the wrong lens. You know, our concept of marriage is set by society, it's set by what government might say it is, it's set by what our friends are, our social constructs of what things are about marriage. But I want to look today, not at what society has to say, because society likes to break weddings and marriage into its parts. You know, they say today there's five reasons that people marry today. One is religious, because they feel that it's their duty to get married. You even have religious today who say you have to be married to get to heaven. I want you to understand it has nothing to do whether you're married or not to get to heaven. Amen? But it is something that God designed. So, but the second one was monetary, you know, monetary reasons to get married. You know, there's a lot of people get married because of economic situations. Both ends of the spectrum. I'm not talking just poor people or rich people, everything in between. People get married for monetary reasons. People get married for what we can put today, we'll quote, love, you know. Well, I love them, so I want to marry them, you know.

[8:00] The reality is oftentimes people that marry for romantic or love alone, it's more if they want to get rid of their loneliness or their lusting. You know, that's the problem with our word love today, is oftentimes it could be replaced with lust and nobody would know the difference. Because love is different.

[8:21] You know, I think you ought to love, matter of fact, God commands us, as we'll see, God commands us to love our spouse. Man, God commands you to love your wife. You don't get to wake up one morning and say, I don't want to love her anymore. It's a command that God's given. It's a decision. Love, true love, is a decision you make towards somebody. It has nothing to do with their actions.

[8:47] It's a decision you make towards it. And we see this play out, you know, oftentimes, you know, you used to hear, ever heard the term shotgun wedding? You know, people used to have guilt. Well, a child needs to be raised in a family, and so we've messed around and got pregnant, so now we got to get married. You know, you'll see that take place. Or the last one is status. People marry for position.

[9:16] You know, a prominent person or a prominent place with this. You know, but I want you to understand marriage was instituted by God. God, if you haven't stopped to think about it, God performed the first wedding himself. And we're going to look at that here this morning, because in Genesis chapter 2, we find God is the designer of marriage. So if you found Genesis chapter 2 this morning, let's stand together here as we read the Word of God. And it tells us here, beginning in verse 18 of Genesis chapter 2, and it says this, and the Lord said, it is not good that man should be alone. I will make him a help, make him a helpmate for him. And out of the ground the Lord formed every beast of the field and every fowl of the air and brought them unto Adam to see that he would call them. And whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof. And Adam gave names to all the cattle, to the fowl of the air, and to every beast in the field. And for Adam there was not found a helpmate for him.

[10:17] And the Lord 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. And the rib which the Lord God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man. And Adam said, this is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh. And she shall be called woman, because she was taken out of man. Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife, and they shall be one flesh. And they were both naked, and the man and his wife were not ashamed. Let's pray. Heavenly Fathers, we come before you this morning. Lord, we just thank you for your word. Thank you for what you revealed to us. Lord, even the very basic building block of everything that we have today in relationships outside of you.

[11:04] And that's the relationship that you instituted there in the garden on the day of creation. And Lord, we pray that you just help us to see, and to understand, and to think biblically in regards to marriage. Lord, that it's just not an institution, but Lord, it's a something that you designed and had a purpose for in our lives, and to keep it as you have pictured it. And Lord, that we might model it to the next generation. Lord, that they might know what you have and the benefits of it. And Lord, we just give you all the praise in Jesus' name. Amen. Maybe you see that, you know, we find here, this is the first wedding. God records it for us in the garden of Eden, the place that God had prepared for them to thrive. You know, Adam is introduced in the garden and it receives instructions and details. We told, the Bible says on the sixth day, God formed Adam out of the dust of the ground.

[12:04] And we find on the sixth day that he formed him and it breathed into him the breath of life. And we see this principle laid out that he became a living soul. Mankind is distinct from all the other animals.

[12:20] That's an important reality that God reveals in Genesis to us. That there's a distinction, there's something different from everything else. And we see here that God gives him instruction, he puts him in the garden, and he puts him in the place that he would have for him, and he gives him some responsibility. You know, it's interesting that Adam had responsibility before he got married. We can talk about that a lot more too, but I want you to consider there's a responsibility factor in this. But God told him to dress and keep the garden. He had a responsibility that was given to him and to understand the necessity of it. And he had a responsibility for his provision and what he was going to have to take care of. But notice here that God had a plan for Adam to provide a helper to come alongside, a companion. And God from the beginning designed us to do life together. I want you to understand that God never intended for people to try to do things on their own.

[13:23] We can have individual accomplishments, but it's always in the context of others. And the importance of that connection, one with another. And so as we look here this morning, look at verse 18 again in your text. I want you to see here that it's God here speaking to himself.

[13:43] And the Lord God said, it is not good that man should be alone. I will make him a helpmeet for him. You know, I want you to understand that God's design for marriage is for companionship.

[13:57] You know, God says he wanted to design a helpmeet for Adam. It was about the need for companionship. It is not good that man should be alone. You know, and you can make a whole lot of punchlines on that one, right? But I want you to understand the principle here is the fact that God designed us to go through life with others. And especially a relationship of marriage and this tie together.

[14:25] We understand the importance of this, but I want you to see here that God didn't just create Eve alongside of Adam. There's, I can say, sequence here is important because you see God form Adam out of the dust of the earth. And then he puts him in the garden that God had prepared for him. And he says, hey, you got some responsibilities. God walks him through the garden and says, here's this tree and this plant and this over here. And this is what you can, this tree you don't eat of. He gave him some responsibility and some accountability. And then God says, well, it's not good that man should be alone.

[15:03] I want you to understand the phrasing here to us. Sounds like it was a, God gave it a second thought. But when you understand the context here, God's not giving second thought. Oh yeah, I forgot to make somebody for Adam. God did not. And he did this in this right, in this order for a reason, because I want you to see, have you ever wondered why Adam names the animals next? Here's Adam. God's got a place for him to live. He's got his provisions all set up. And he says, okay, Adam, it's not good for you to be alone. Let's parade all the animals by so you can name them. That's an interesting thought.

[15:33] Why did God put that sequence in? Because it tells us here, as we're going to look and see, that God was allowing Adam to understand even his own need for somebody else. Because as he goes through, look at this in verse 19, it says, out of the ground, the Lord God formed every beast of the field, every fowl of the air and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them. And whatsoever called Adam called every living creatures, that was the name thereof. And Adam gave names to all the cattle, to the fowl of the air, to every beast of the field. But for Adam, there was not found a helpmeet for him. In other words, there was nothing of his kind, nothing that he connected with.

[16:18] I want you to understand the importance of this picture. He realized that there was a need for a suitable companion. Nothing else would suffice. You know, we talk about marriage today. And one of the things that you see in society that when you read Genesis here is interesting, is the priority people put upon their animals as their companions. An animal was never designed to be your companion.

[16:45] Now, there's nothing wrong with having a pet, and pets are fun to have, and you know, you can enjoy them, but they're not your companion in the sense that we need with human interaction. If you only talk to animals all the time, people have a place for you. Because it's not natural. It's against nature.

[17:00] You're rejecting what God created within us. They're looking to fulfill something someplace that God says you'll never find it. They miss the very element that God would have, and God parades, I think, the animals before him for Adam to realize, hey, everybody else, all these other animals and all the things, but there's nobody suitable for me. There's nothing suitable for me. But I want you to understand, God knew none of the animals were going to fill the need. I believe God did this so Adam would understand that. You know, sometimes God brings us things to our attention, not for his benefit, but for ours. To help us understand. To help us grab a hold of what we need to know, because, you know, oftentimes we think we're smarter than God, and God says, well, you're not even smart enough to know what you need. So I'm going to help you understand, so that you can put it into your mind that you can think and comprehend. He needed one that would work alongside, to come alongside, a comparable helper, one that would work alongside Adam to fulfill what God had instructed him.

[18:20] I want you to understand, God already had a blueprint in mind for Eve. God already knew what he was going to do, and we see here that God started preparing Adam for his responsibility in the relationship. In marriage, God gives the responsibility and accountability of the man to be the leader in the home. Now, that's not a popular statement today, and it's taken out of context many times, because there's things that it means and things that it doesn't. And we need to keep in mind that it's not a worldly mindset that's important, it's a biblical mindset. Because God is a God of order. And we're going to see this order played out, because I want you to see here that when the woman comes along with the responsibility and accountability to help him, this doesn't mean there'd be no help from the man to the woman. You know, I want you to understand, this is a mutual companionship. It's mutually beneficial. But God still has order and accountability and responsibilities. And those things played out correctly function in the right format.

[19:31] You know, I've often said, you know, things in one, when there's one head, there's a leader. When there's two heads, it's a freak. Because two things are trying to go two different directions. God puts the principle throughout the scripture of leadership and responsibility, and then holds them accountable for it. It means when God looks down from heaven upon the family, he sees a man in responsibility, leadership, whether it's good or bad, faithful or not, to the calling of leadership, a true leader, of course, will help those who are alongside or helping him. You know, the problem is, as soon as we mention helping and serving, it brings worldly thinking into our mind. You know, the first time you hear the word, well, you need to serve. Oftentimes, we have negative connotation in the world mindset with that, don't we?

[20:20] You're demanding something from me. God says, no, it's something that you ought to desire to do. Look over to Matthew chapter 20. Matthew chapter 20, here's a biblical principle that we have that even applies in here. Because notice what Matthew 20, 27 tells us. It says this, and whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your what? Servant.

[20:43] Be your servant, even as the Son of Man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister and to give his life a ransom for many. Jesus said, my life is an example in this area, and you'll see it tied throughout scripture. That the principle of leadership and servanthood tie together. Problem is, in our worldly mindset, leadership and authoritarianism go together. God says leadership and servanthood go together. What's the problem? Is it God's principle the problem, or is our thinking the problem?

[21:22] Our thinking is where the problem comes. And we begin assessing it based upon a worldly dynamic. But I want you to understand that not only is she to be a helper, but she is also comparable to him.

[21:35] A woman or wife is not just a mere tool or labor. She's an equal partner before in God's grace. You know, 1 Peter 3, 7 calls them this. It says, being heirs together of the grace of life. A married couple share a unique bond between themselves and before God. It's the way God designed, those things. They're heirs together, you know. And when we understand, when you simply, simply when you get married, God did not design it as a contest between two people, but for companionship between two people. The principle we see is not to fight against one another, but to tie together. Because we understand another biblical principle. Turn over to Ecclesiastes chapter 4. Ecclesiastes chapter 4, in verse 11, it says, again, if two lie together, they have heat, but how can one be warm alone? And if one prevail against him, two shall withstand him, and a threefold cord is not quickly broken.

[22:43] What's the principle? Two is better than one. Support, encouragement. Somebody that's there with you. You know one of the devil's favorite tools? Loneliness. Right alongside loneliness is another term we use called isolation. The devil loves to have us isolated. When you isolate, you open the door because there's nobody there beside you. That's the reason for companionship.

[23:11] Somebody is there that's close enough to speak into your life. We need to keep this in the forefront of marriage. We need to take time and space to connect with your spouse. You know, one of the problems today, people have problems, well, I fell out of love. You know, it wasn't that you fell out of love.

[23:29] You stopped taking time. Before you were in marriage, you spent a lot of time. Afterwards, life speeds up and gets crazy. But you have to keep in mind that same time is still required.

[23:42] It might look differently, but that time is still essential. You know, it amazes me, another phenomenon in our culture today, it's amazing how many people they say when you begin looking at statistics of married couples that go on vacation by themselves. That's a scary thought process because as a couple, you ought to go together. Matter of fact, you ought to like them enough that you want them to go with you. You know, it does help. You know, it's one of them I enjoy hanging out with April. That's the reason it's nice for us to get away because it benefits me, it benefits her. You need to have that time together, not isolated because you know what happens when people isolate like that? It opens the door to other problems. It opens the door for the devil to get in and be destructive. But I want you to see here next, notice here that marriage is not only for companionship, but for mutual support.

[24:37] Notice what it says here in the scripture. Look at verse 21 and it says, the Lord caused Adam, 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. And the rib which the Lord God had taken from man, made he a woman and brought her under the man. Now we see here that it's designed for mutual support.

[25:02] God's performed the first surgery here and takes from Adam's side. You know, as I was reading this, I was just thinking, you know, every guy's got to have a scar and a story. You know, God gave Adam a scar and a story right from the very beginning. You know, hey, you know, and we see here this dynamic, though, that Adam's own body was used to make Eve. While Adam was formed from the dust of the ground, Eve was made so that she was out of Adam. And to understand that they were essentially one, even with the differences, they were more alike than different. I want you to understand that there's a difference between men and women. I don't think anybody's going to argue that.

[25:48] Now today in society, they get a little confused on some things, and that's some more wrong thinking that they've allowed to creep into their mind that causes all sorts of deviations. But I want you to understand that God made each other for mutual support. As a couple, you're there to help mold each other. You're to complement one another in who you are. And it's another false worldly concept of this idea. Have you ever heard anybody say, well, I want to get married so I can be complete? The idea that some other human being is going to complete you is a lie from the devil.

[26:29] If you're not complete before you get married, you're still as broken as you were before or after you get married. God is the one that makes us complete. And his salvation is what we need to be a person that God wants us to be, to be a complete person. Your spouse is not a completer of you.

[26:45] They're a complement to you. They're one who comes alongside and sometimes will fill those gaps in different areas of our lives. You know, you ought to work together that together you're better than you were apart. Because you now complement, you have somebody else filling it in. It's that mutual support, one for another. That mutual support that is there. You know, God presents her to Adam.

[27:16] You know, Adam right away understood that there was something that happened. He says, she's bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh. Now, when you study that out, it could mean a lot of things for our understanding today because it's amazing that every bone in your body contains the complete DNA sequence of a human being. God literally took from Adam and made Eve. All that sequence. I mean, you can do a lot of science there if you want to, but I want you to understand, God made it simple for us. He says, I took out of Adam and made Eve. Now that has some biblical implications later on when it comes to our salvation, because by one man sin entered into the world, but by Jesus Christ, we have life. He is the one that came and provided salvation for everybody.

[28:02] There's some doctrinal things. We'll have time to get in this morning and into all that, but it's important to understand that this support, it was to be a source of support to her husband and her husband to her. You know, Ephesians 5, it tells us this in verse 28, it says, so ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself, for no man hath yet hated his own flesh, but nourish and cherish it even as the Lord, the church. I want you to understand that when you get married, you guys are together. There's a unique togetherness.

[28:40] Just as Adam understood that she is not just anybody, she's Eve, she's bone in my bone, flesh in my flesh. There's a unique connection that was made. God gave her to him. Marriage is a picture of God's love for all those that would call upon him, just as God says a picture of a man marrying a woman is the same picture of love that he's willing to do whatever, because when she hurts, he hurts.

[29:08] It's important to understand your spouse is not there to complete you, but to compliment you. The fact of the matter is that marriage can only thrive when both support each other, emotionally, spiritually, and physically. The complete person complimented by your spouse.

[29:28] You know, today I want to encourage you to consider, are you being the helper that you ought to be? Are you supporting one another the way you ought to? That support that's needed, you know, oftentimes you see people today, they complain about their spouse. You know, one of the most destructive things in marriage is to complain about your spouse to somebody else. You know, it's funny, they complain about their spouse, but it makes me question about your judgment, because your spouse says a lot about you. If you chose to marry them, that says something about your judgment. I'll just let that one settle a while. When you complain about your spouse, you know what it says? I have poor judgment. I didn't base those things on the right things. But I want you to understand, God, if we follow God's principles, any marriage, I believe, can work if people, both sides get on God's principles. It might not be easy, but it can be done. When both the man and the woman follow God's principles, things can be worked through. The problem is, is people don't like God's principles and say, I'm not going to do it, and that makes it impossible for it to work through.

[30:32] It's not God that's impossible, it's them. But I want you to see here, thirdly here, that marriage is designed for unity. Notice here in verse 25, or excuse me, verse 24, and it says, and now this is bone of my, I see, therefore shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall cleave unto his wife, and they shall be one flesh. You know, marriage is designed for unity. One flesh, the principle here is one that can't be understated. It was so important that God gave it to Adam and Eve. Now, if you think about it, this is really a silly statement that God makes to Adam and Eve. He's telling Adam to leave his mother and father and cleave unto his wife. He didn't have one. But why did God give that principle? You know what? Because God understood it's a principle that they needed to understand from the very beginning. Because it's something they needed to pass to their children. God gave them the instruction of family, of preparing them, and moving through those things.

[31:34] We see here this idea of one flesh. It's unity, and it is required for successful marriage. The idea of one flesh is more than just a physical element, but also it's a bond emotionally and spiritually that must take place. It's a unified relationship that's emphasized. You know, both Jesus and Matthew chapter 19 and Paul in Ephesians 5 as he's speaking about this, refer back to this very passage of leaving your parents a previous unit of family and making a new unit of family. That's hard for a lot of people. Parents, I'm going to encourage you when your kids get out of the house and get married, keep your nose of interjecting in their business.

[32:26] You know, one of the biggest problems in marriage is parents. Because they give the parents weight in their marriage, and God says, you are now a new unit together. Now, I'm not saying that parents are out of the picture, but parents, your relationship has changed. Your relationship is different. They are united. Make sure you stay in the right lane.

[32:49] Just because you see something that doesn't make you happy doesn't mean you have to open your mouth. Take it to the Lord. Help them. Have a relationship where they're comfortable enough to say, hey, I don't understand. Do you have any suggestions to help? It's sometimes difficult, but you know what? It's required. It's necessary. To break off those ties in that format.

[33:11] This idea of one flesh, this is symbolic, not literal. Man's literal body doesn't not become the woman's literal body, and the woman's body doesn't literally become the man's body. They become one in the sense of unity, of persons, harmony, and agreement in all matters relating to their life together. You know, much more is involved in a marriage than just a physical relationship.

[33:36] That's an important part of a marriage relationship, but it's not the only part of a relationship. The problem today, some people think that is the beginning of the relationship, and when they don't understand the physical, coming together physically in a marriage relationship is the capstone. It's the ultimate point, not the beginning point. If you start there, you've got everything upside down. But this idea of oneness involves much more. God has designed it as a unity in the realm of life, spiritually, psychologically. This involves our mind, our will, our emotions, and physically. Oneness doesn't mean unison. That's another worldly dynamic.

[34:22] Well, if we're united, we agree 100% on everything. I don't know how you expect to agree on 100% everything with the person you marry when you don't even agree with yourself half the time next day.

[34:33] You're setting a standard that's impossible. Unity means harmony. It means working together. Working through, it involves mutual submission on the part of both the husband and the wife.

[34:50] One flesh in a relationship is displayed in the fact of nothing to hide. You know, look at that last verse there. It says, Now the idea of nakedness here is not just a lack of clothing. It's a reality of openness of nothing to hide between. That takes work. That involves trust. Because you know what? When you marry somebody, you find out things about them that you would have never known otherwise. You find out all the things, the good things, the bad things, the irritating things, the wonderful things. But that's the whole package that you get. But it's how do you work through those things. Unity is working together in harmony to accomplish what God would have for you. Because it reveals those things. But to be open before one another, exposed as a person. You know, when we don't realize it, really, when God says he knows the thoughts and intents of your heart, you stand naked in a sense before God because he understands everything about you. That's the same picture that he has here.

[36:01] Between a husband and wife is that openness of connection and loving them in spite of all the other things you find out that they hid from you before you got married. You know, because I want to tell you the truth. There's things you learn about somebody when you live with them. They might not even know when it was an issue. You say, why didn't they tell me that or reveal that? They didn't know.

[36:20] You know, you find out all sorts of things. But you know what? You love them for who they are. Because love is a decision. You know, modern society has twisted and diminished what God has designed.

[36:33] You know, today we have many who think it's optional or obsolete. Or they make marriage about themselves. But God's design for marriage reflects his love for you. It helps us to understand how God unconditionally loves us. You know, Romans chapter 5 says this. It says, For we were yet without strength in due time. Christ died for the ungodly. But God commended his love toward us. And while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. God understood your heart and he still loved you enough to die for you. That's the same picture of a couple's love one for another.

[37:09] God doesn't love you because how good you are or how you benefit him. God said, I chose to love you. Why did he do that? Ephesians 2 tells us this. It says, And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slay the entity thereby.

[37:24] For through him we both have access by one spirit unto the Father. God did it because of his love for us that we might have a relationship with him.

[37:35] And marriage reveals and connects us with that relationship to understand. You know, this morning we have seen God's design for marriage is one of companionship, mutual support, and unity.

[37:50] You know, today many try to downplay and tarnish the concept of marriage. But we need to remember that marriage is rooted in God's design and is a testimony to his love and his faithfulness to us.

[38:05] It's a picture to help us understand those things. This morning, where are you with the Lord? Maybe you're here today and you need to say, Lord, I need to get a right perspective.

[38:19] There's some problems in my thinking. I need to get back to your design and what you would have so I might understand even your love for me. As heads are bowed and eyes are closed this morning, as we take just a few moments here, I want you to understand the importance of just before the Lord what God would have.

[38:39] Maybe the Lord spoke to you this morning. Maybe even spoke to you as a couple. Maybe you need to just spend some time with the Lord. Maybe you need to take a few moments to pray for somebody else that needs to understand that God might open and reveal those things to them.

[38:52] Heavenly Fathers, we just take a moment here, Lord, and just to look to you. Lord, you're the author of marriage. Lord, we've looked at a very important topic today, very foundational.

[39:07] Lord, something from the very beginning. Lord, help us to not lose sight of the importance and the elements of it and the purpose that you designed it for. Lord, help us to draw close to you.

[39:18] Lord, that we might understand who you are and what you've done. Lord, if there's one here today that doesn't understand the love that you have for them and offering them salvation, Lord, that they might come to know you today.

[39:33]  And Lord, we just ask it all in your precious name. As the music plays, what about you?