When we go on vacation we always take a ton of photos, right? But when we look at those photos years later, what do we remember the most? The people! Even when we look back on our lives, we measure our lives by the relationships we had to gauge whether or not our life was successful! Even the Ten Commandments are focused on relationship, because it’s so central to the real life we have in the Kingdom.

In Mark 12, Jesus tells the crowd that loving God and loving our neighbors is the greatest - that everything in the scriptures is summed up in these!

Today Pastor Mike talks about marriage, and what that looks like according the the Word. In the beginning God created an order that He shares plainly in Genesis. He created the man and the woman, and ordained and established marriage. It wasn’t a church organization, a committee, a co-op... it was what He was after, a family! God’s original design of marriage is under heavy attack these days, but one of the truths we want to stand on in a loving way, is that marriage is the cornerstone He started with!

The healthier our marriages are, the healthier our church, community, and world are! If your marriage is struggling, don’t stay there! Do the hard thing, the uncomfortable thing, and the courageous thing - get mentoring. There’s no glory in needless suffering.

We could talk about so many things that could be covered in this series, but Pastor Mike is focusing on 4. If you get these 4 things right, things will go well for you! (We'll cover 2 this week, and 2 next week.)

1. Submission- what that really is supposed to look like
   -Ephesians 5:21-33 talks about marriage directly. In verse 22, it says that wives submit to their husbands. We usually equate submission as a negative thing - that it means to be a doormat and a maid. Submission is to put yourself under someone else’s leadership. Pastor Mike and his wonderful wife Marilyn talked about what this looks like in real life. Marilyn shares about how growing up she saw Notice that these scriptures don’t come with the word ...if. Our marriages are to be lived out in relationship to Jesus, knowing that our relationship with The Lord is first and foremost lived before His eyes.

From the Lords perspective, things in marriage look much differently than what we usually see! The first part of this verse, Paul says submit to one another. The picture Paul paints is just like the way Christ loves the church! When a husband works for what’s best for his wife, and the wife works towards what’s best for her husband, it is what God calls unity.

1. Our relationship with God comes first
   -Pastor Mike and Marilyn talked about how they as individuals are responsible for their own walks with the Lord. When each individual is committed in their own hearts to put God first, it gives a solid foundation for real growth, success, and joy. Marriage matters - let’s do whatever it takes to strengthen our marriages.