Marriage Story - Matthew 19:3-12

3 And Pharisees came up to Jesus and tested him by asking, “Is it lawful to divorce one's wife for any cause?” 4 He answered, “Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female, 5 and said, ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? 6 So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.” 7 They said to him, “Why then did Moses command one to give a certificate of divorce and to send her away?” 8 He said to them, “Because of your hardness of heart Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so. 9 And I say to you: whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery.” 

10 The disciples said to him, “If such is the case of a man with his wife, it is better not to marry.” 11 But he said to them, “Not everyone can receive this saying, but only those to whom it is given. 12 For there are eunuchs who have been so from birth, and there are eunuchs who have been made eunuchs by men, and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. Let the one who is able to receive this receive it.”

1.     How do Jesus’ words about marriage seem out of step with our culture?

2.     Do you ever change a story in your life based on positive or negative circumstances?

3.     If you are married, can you say God joined you together? When is that easier or harder to say?

4.     Do you see the similarity between God’s covenant with us and our marriage covenants? Does that help make sense of biblical sexual ethics?

5.     How do you feel about being a part of the bride of Christ? Is that an exciting way to think about eternity?

6.     Where does your hard-heartedness show up in your life? What does it look like for you to kill your Bachelor Self?