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Sermon Follow-up | February 7, 2021 Fix Your Eyes on Jesus’ Teaching About the Family: "The Two Shall Become One Flesh” Focus Passage: Matthew 19:19 Larger Context: Jesus’s teaching about divorce in the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew 5:27–30 Other Passages Referenced: Genesis 2:24; Deuteronomy 24:1; Isaiah 66:2b; Jeremiah 3:8a, 14; 1 Corinthians 7:15 Sermon Recap In Matthew 19:1–9, we find three important lessons in Jesus’s teaching about marriage and divorce: (1) God’s starting point for marriage, (2) God’s design for marriage, and (3) that God understands the pain of unfaithfulness in marriage. When God took on flesh in Jesus Christ, and people asked him a question about marriage, his starting point was the Bible (Matt 19:3–4a). Jesus asked, “Have you not read…?” We need to ask ourselves, “Is the Bible my starting point for understanding marriage?” Jesus explains God’s design for marriage (Matt 19:4b–6) by referencing Genesis 1:27 and 2:24––one man, one woman one flesh, and one lifetime. That oneness is meant to reflect the oneness of the Trinity. In those two verses from Genesis, God’s design for oneness in marriage is highlighted five times. Such oneness involves both equality and complementarity (Gen 1:27–28; 2:18, 23). It involves leaving one’s home, cleaving to one another, and being vulnerably uncovered with each other. Jesus also teaches that God understands the pain of unfaithfulness in marriage. Adultery ruptures the one-flesh design of marriage, to the point that it justifies the possibility of divorce. God experienced the pain of His people Israel being unfaithful to Him. In His desire for oneness, God knew His unfaithful people would not return to Him, He went to them. He went all the way to the cross to offer us a new covenant, a new opportunity to commit to him, a new opportunity for oneness with him, not on the basis of our faithfulness to him, but through faith in His faithfulness to us.

Group Gathering

Group Check-in –– Care, Celebration, Encouragement (About 1/3 of meeting time) 1. Informal conversation to allow individuals to catch up with one another. 2. Ask if anyone would share how they’ve been hearing and obeying God’s direction.

Allow the Word to Speak –– Be Hearers of the Word (About 1/3 of meeting time)

READ Matthew 19:1–9 and then read verses Jesus referred to in Gen 1:27–28; 2:18–25; Deut 24:1 1. What from the passage or sermon was most impactful to you? 2. Were you left with any questions or confusion about the passage or sermon? 3. Where do you see equality and complementarity in God’s design for marriage in Gen 1 and 2? 4. According to Jesus, who joins a man and woman together in marriage? 5. When Jesus referenced Deut 24:1, why did He say Moses made allowance for divorce in some cases?

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Put the Word into Practice –– Be Doers of the Word (About 1/3 of meeting time)

1. Consider your views on marriage and divorce. Did you formulate those beliefs by beginning with the Bible? If not, what do you base them on?

2. God intends marriage between two human beings to ideally reflect His faithful, always-with-us love for His covenant people. Oneness between husband and wife is meant to reflect the Oneness of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Consider these covenant-breaking behaviors as they may or may not apply to your life:

a. Unfaithfulness: Am I faithful to God and other relationships, especially with my spouse if married?

b. Abandonment: Do I tend to withdraw, withhold, or run away from committed relationships? If your answers to any of the above were “yes,” Jesus and His gospel can give you the power and hope you need to change. Please talk to your small group leader or one of our pastors who will walk with you as you learn to turn away from destructive habits and turn to Jesus for a flourishing life.

3. If you are married: a. Have you had healthy separation from your parents? b. Have you kept your spousal relationship a priority, so that the relatively temporal relationships

with your children do not harm the oneness of your permanent relationship with your spouse? c. Are you covering up anything that is hindering oneness with your spouse?

4. What could/will you do this week to try to improve oneness with your spouse? 5. Where do you see cultural understandings of marriage and divorce differing from God’s design

described in Genesis 1 and 2? How can we graciously address those differences as a counter-cultural community?

6. How does the gospel apply to those who have been divorced without biblical grounds?

The Big Question: What do you sense God's Spirit saying to you and what concrete action will you take in response? Share your answer with the group or another trusted Christian and ask them to pray for you.

SERVICE OPPORTUNITIES: Click here for some good opportunities.