Faith – An Overview
Purpose: Marriages are built on faith and commitment. Our marriage is not only a covenant with our spouse, but also a covenant with God. Our relationship with God and with our church helps us keep the covenant of marriage. When, together, we share our faith and commitment with others it makes our marriage and our relationship to God stronger.
The “Faith” presentation follows the “Unity” presentation. The progression is from (1.) making a “Decision to Love” (2.) to understanding that unity is the goal of both marriage and life – not happiness. That striving for unity is part of working at one’s marriage, making that lifegiving decision to love “always forever.” We now move even deeper into the concept of committed love, as we talk about (3.) faith. The purpose of the “Faith” presentation, as stated in the outline is:
“Marriages are built on faith and commitment. Your marriage is not only a covenant with your spouse, but also a covenant with God. Our relationship with God and with our church helps us keep the covenant of marriage. When, together, we share our faith and commitment with others it makes our marriage and our relationship to God stronger.” The Pastor and/or Spouse share for the first five minutes of the presentation. We use this brief time to introduce the main concepts of the presentation, namely:
1. The importance of having faith. 2. Marriage as a covenant.
3. The importance of having a church home to help you live out your commitment. 4. The importance of sharing your faith with others.
The Pastor and/or Spouse also do most of the sharing on (1.) “The importance of having faith.” As they write they need to remember first that they are primarily teaching in this introduction. However if they are able to tell their story1 it will both personalize what
the couples are hearing and be far less repetitive for them. Keep in mind that you simply need to state the concept (make sure that you are excited about the concept you are making and change the wording in the outline if you need to do that to be excited;) but stay within appropriate parameters of the concept so that the talks can travel between areas.
When the Pastor and/or Spouse write about The Importance of Having Faith II. A-E, (a total of 3 minutes only,) they should concentrate on telling their story even if their coverage of each point is uneven in time and emphasis. Just make sure the concept of each point (A. - E.) is stated. It would be helpful if they would read the next paragraph
1
The writers of this overview find it helpful in writing if there is an awareness of when they are teaching (much more important in E.E. than in M.E.) and when they are telling their story.
Faith
written to help the Junior Set, before the Pastor/ Spouse start writing.
For the Junior Set, when writing II. F., we are looking for how each of you differs in your faith, but/and how each appreciates the other’s faith. Perhaps one of you made a decision to become United Methodist, leaving another church. Perhaps one of you is more
religious or at least more involved in church than the other. Perhaps one of you has always trusted in God, but one of you had an experience that made you angry with the church or with God. If you were ever angry, please tell how you resolved those feelings, as we want to leave the couples with the concept of the importance of having faith, not the opposite! (If the Pastor/Spouse has struggled with these issues, please be sure to work that struggle in.)
In III. the Junior Set Couple are talking about the very important concept: marriage is a covenant. The purpose of this talk is to lift up the covenant nature of the marriage relationship. Marriage is a calling from God to love each other totally, uniquely, and permanently. Marriage is for deep, long-lasting (lifetime) love – not just for the “warm fuzzies” of romantic love.
Consider the difference between a “contract” and a “covenant”; you might want to look up the definitions in a dictionary, and then if you can find the resource, look up in a Bible Dictionary what the Bible teaches about covenant. (But don’t use the precious time you have to tell what the Bible says; rather share what you have experienced!) Dialogue on what having a covenant marriage means to you, and the difference between that and the world’s concept of marriage.
In IV. the Pastor/Spouse begin, their role is of teaching and the role of the Junior Set Couple will be telling their story. The Pastor/Spouse are to explain in A. that because marriage is a covenant (God is a part of our marriages), we need to practice our beliefs together, pray together, read the Bible together, attend church together. The second point, B., for the Pastor/Spouse to cover is that the couple relationship is a microcosm (little church) of the macrocosm (Big Church.) In the one-minute time you have to make these points, it is probably not wise to get into what is said about this by Paul in
Ephesians, etc, - but rather to be as down-to-earth as possible.
For the Junior Set Couple we need to say more about point IV. E. If you really got into point II. F about having a different approach to faith, you may just need to expand a little on that now. You may also find that you have few differences in faith and have not needed to blend those practices; then share the joy of having the same faith, but lift up the point that it’s all right to have different concepts of faith, and that each couple
relationship is unique.
In V. the roles of the two couples are reversed, the Junior Set Couple is primarily teaching through the A. and B. and the Pastor/Spouse are primarily telling their story in
C. When writing, the Junior Set Couple has only two minutes; perhaps half of this time should be spent on A. 4, where you are giving a tangible example of sharing love, this is telling their story. Always keep teaching simple.
The Pastor/Spouse have one minute to conclude. While a conclusion usually summarizes the main points, we want to avoid repetition and so we would hope the workshopping couple would be generous in allowing each writing couple freedom to conclude the talk in a strong and encouraging way, rather than just summarizing the points, as suggested. Suggested Banner: Love One Another.
Faith
Time: 20/10/20
Presenting Team Couples: Junior Set Couple and Pastor/Spouse
Purpose: Marriages are built on faith and commitment. Your marriage is not only a
covenant with your spouse, but also a covenant with God. Our relationship with God and with our church helps us keep the covenant of marriage. When, together, we share our faith and commitment with others, it makes our marriage and our relationship to God stronger.
I. Introduction (P or S, 2 min)
[Read as written] “The title of this presentation is “Faith”. Marriages are built on faith and commitment. Your marriage is not only a covenant with your spouse, but also a covenant with God. Our relationship with God and with our church helps us keep the covenant of marriage. When, together, we share our faith and commitment with others, it makes our marriage and our relationship to God stronger.”
(In this introduction we suggest you make a personal sharing of faith, as well as summarize the following points that will be made in this presentation):
- The importance of having faith. - Marriage as a covenant.
- The importance of having a church home to help you live out your commitment. - The importance of sharing your faith with others
II. The Importance of Having Faith (A., B., C., D., E., P or S: 3 min total; F., H or W 1 min)
A. Marriage, like faith is a gift. The marriage relationship is as intimate as your faith relationship with God. A couple’s love for each other is the best reflection of the love of God that we know. Give personal example.
B. Marriage is a call to love each other totally, without reservation – it is similar to the commitment one makes when they find God. Give personal example.
C. God calls us to Faith and God calls us to Marriage, it is a decision that we need to renew daily.
D. Married love and faith become more complete through years of intimate relating with each your spouse and God in openness in trust. Need an example.
F. Give a personal example of how you do not have an identical faith, but how you appreciate each other’s personal relationship with God.
III. Marriage is a Covenant (A. & B., H & W: 1⁄2 min each; C. & D., H or W: 1 min total; E., H or W: 11⁄2 min; F., H or W: 1 min; G., H or W: 1⁄2 min)
A. Share how I saw marriage before realizing that it is a covenant B. Share how I now see marriage as a covenant.
C. We didn’t “sign” a covenant, we became a covenant.
D. The true sign of our covenant is our love lived out before others.
E. God has a stake in our love and our marriages because we mirror God’s love. 1. That is why we are so important to the world as a couple.
2. Our love for each other touches the world – our love is a sign of God’s
covenant of love with the world. Give a personal example.
3. If we really believe our marriage is a covenant, then it is not an open door arrangement. We cannot just walk away from it if things are tough. Love is a
decision.
F. We do not conform to the world’s “marriage style,” lived as married singles. Or let our romance die with the years, and go our separate ways when we can no longer agree. As people of God we are not free “to get a new one” every time it doesn’t work out, as we want it to. Give a personal example.
G. Marriage is a covenant allows for the most intimate communication and interdependence.
IV. The Importance of Having a Church Home to Help You Live Out Your Commitment (A., B., P: 1 min total; C.: H or W: 1 min; D., E., H or W: 2 min total)
A. The importance of practicing your religious beliefs as a couple and not as individuals.
B. The family of God, as the Big Church and your family as the little church. C. How we see ourselves in relation to the church. Stress that it is a people more
than a building.
1. Before we found God, or Encounter.
2. How we see ourselves in relation to the church now. (Be personal)
D. The importance of sharing your faith together, even if you practice your faith differently. (Perhaps even attend different churches.)
E. Describe how you have integrated or blended your different beliefs and/or practices into your covenant of marriage.
V. The Importance of Sharing Your Faith With Others (A., H or W: 2 min; B., H or W: 1 min; C., P or S: 1 min)
A. Going out two by two.
1. Luke 10:1 tells us that our Lord sent out the disciple two by two. This has
special meaning to engaged and married couples.
2. We are sent out two by two today to be a living covenant of God’s love. 3. In this being sent out, our marriage is part of a spiritual journey.
4. Share a tangible example of sharing love.
B. With the church and our spouse we can change the world!
1. We can change the world by the way we love each other, and others.
2. The disciples did not think they would have much of an effect but we still talk about them after 2000 years!
C. The importance of sharing your faith with others. (Like the good news of Engaged Encounter)
VI. Conclusion (P or S: 1 min)
A. Refer back to the introduction stressing the importance of faith, covenant, your
church home, and the importance of sharing faith.
B. Turn to page _____ in your journal.
