• 1:4 “We rejoice and delight in you; we will praise your love more than wine.”

• 1:8 “If you do not know, most beautiful of women, follow the tracks of the sheep and graze your young goats by the tents of the shepherds.”

• 5:1 “Eat, O friends, and drink; drink your fill, O lovers.”

• 6:1 “Where has your lover gone, most beautiful of women? Which way did your lover turn, that we may look for him with you?”

“All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be

thoroughly equipped for every good work.”

2 TIMOTHY 3:16

“He spoke three thousand proverbs and his songs numbered a thousand and five.”

I KINGS 4:32

PG-30

• THE ENGAGEMENT

• THE WEDDING

• THE MARRIAGE

• LESSON #1. TRUE LOVE WAITS.

• 1:3 “…your anointing oils are fragrant; your name is oil poured out; therefore virgins love you.”

• A name refers to someone’s identity, reputation or character. That’s why we’re to be careful to honor God’s name.

“Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness

have in common?”

II CORINTHIANS 6:14

• 8:8-9 “What shall we do for our sister for the day she is spoken for? If she is a wall, we will build towers of silver on her. If she is a door, we will enclose her with panels of cedar.”

“Believing that true love waits, I make a commitment to God, myself, my family, my

friends, my future mate, and my future children to a lifetime of purity including sexual abstinence

from this day until the day I enter a biblical marriage relationship.”

“So what is God’s view of sex? Simple: Sex is wonderful within marriage. Outside of

marriage, it’s an offense to the inventor…God wants your marriage bed to be pure because

He cares for you. He wants to protect you from the worst. He wants to provide for you the very best…It’s tough to wait for, certainly. But most

good things are.” --TIM STAFFORD

• LESSON #1. TRUE LOVE WAITS.

• LESSON #2. TRUE LOVE OUTLASTS PROBLEMS.

• 2:15 “Catch for us the foxes, the little foxes that ruin the vineyards, our vineyards that are in bloom.”

Michael Cunningham, “Social Allergies in Romantic

Relationships.”

• “Irritating behavior becomes more irksome over time.” Marlene Pritchard discovered that there’s a name for this. It’s called MAD – Minor Annoyance Disorder: “Some of us have MAD marriages that may become bad marriages if we don’t do something about it.”

• LESSON #1. TRUE LOVE WAITS.

• LESSON #2. TRUE LOVE OUTLASTS PROBLEMS.

• LESSON #2. TRUE LOVE USES WORDS OF AFFECTION.

“The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit.”

PROVERBS 18:21

• 1:15 “How beautiful you are, my darling! Oh, how beautiful! You eyes are doves.”

• He calls her “darling” 9 times in 8 chapters.

• Solomon praises his wife over 40 different times – for her strength, her beauty and her intelligence.

• 1:16 “How handsome you are, my lover! Oh, how charming!”

• 5:10-11 “My lover is radiant and ruddy, outstanding among ten thousand. His head is purest gold; his hair is wavy and black as a raven.”

LOST IN TRANSLATION… • 4:1 “Your hair is like a flock of goats

descending from Mount Gilead…your temples behind your veil are like the halves of a pomegranate. Your neck is like the tower of David…”

• 7:4 “…Your nose is like the tower of Lebanon looking toward Damascus.”

University of Denver Study

• Couples who were still together used 5 or less putdowns for every 100 comments.

• Couples who split up used 10 or more putdowns for every 100 comments.

“Pleasant words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones.”

PROVERBS 16:24

• 8:6-7 “Place me like a seal over your heart, like a seal on your arm; for love is as strong as death, its jealousy unyielding as the grave. It burns like blazing fire, like a mighty flame. Many waters cannot quench love; rivers cannot wash it away. If one were to give all the wealth of his house for love, it would be utterly scorned.”

“It is because the LORD is acting as the witness between you and the wife of your youth, because you have broken faith with her, though she is your

partner, the wife of your marriage covenant. Has not [the LORD] made them one? In flesh and spirit they

are his. And why one? Because he was seeking godly offspring. So guard yourself in your spirit, and do not

break faith with the wife of your youth.”

MALACHI 2:14-15

“Dear Abby: Do all marriages go stale after five years? Ours has. My husband and I don’t talk much any more…the old excitement is gone.

We watch a lot of television…we have friends. But when we’re alone, it’s pretty dull. We even sleep in separate bedrooms now. Is there some

way to recapture the old magic? Signed, the ‘Song has Ended.’” Abby wrote back, “If it feels

like the song has ended in your marriage, go back and start singing the Song of Songs.”