Marriage was established by God on the 6th day of Creation. Adam had been formed, but as God looked at the living soul made in His image, He declared, "It is not good for man to be alone." From the man, God formed the woman and presented her to the man. She was the perfect mate for Him. The institution of marriage was established on this 6th day in Genesis 2:23-25.
The resource document here is a workbook with questions and answers. The separate workbook has the questions only and can be used as a handout and/or test, depending on the forum for the course.
“Marriage by God’s Design” can be taught in any of the following settings:
- Seminar
- Conference topic
- Sermon topic
- Small group Bible studies
- As a part of marriage counseling
- One-on-one discipleship
Each of these settings uses the book, “Marriage by God’s Design”, in different ways. In addition, the instructor can tailor the instruction to the student/audience needs. The associated “Marriage by God’s Design Workbook” is useful in providing this tailoring as well as helping the students to retain key points for application to their own lives.
The book is laid out in seven sections as follows:
- An enumeration of the design principles for marriage.
- Design principles for roles and responsibilities of husbands and wives.
- An overview of how culture impacts marriage.
- God’s examples for developing an intimate relationship.
- The consequences that occur when God’s design principles are violated.
- Parenting issues as they impact marriage. (It is not intended to be a “how to” discussion of parenting.)
- Issues of timing for dating, marriage, and for children.
The first four sections are deeply tied to Scripture, and have been kept devoid of cultural influences. Section 3 is an obvious exception, but it describes God’s feedback mechanism for preserving marital design through cultural traditions. The remaining sections derive from the design principles. The last section is much less coupled with Scripture but addresses issues of doubt and fears that are commonly encountered in various cultures where individual choices tend to dominate marital issues.
There are also seven appendices which address some studies and issues that are related to marriage and which can provide some useful insights. The seven appendices are:
Appendix A – A Summary of Principles
Appendix B – Helpmate Study
Appendix C – Vows
Appendix D – Images of an Ancient Oriental Wedding
Appendix E – Life Priorities
Appendix F – Becoming One
Appendix G – The Theology of Self-Image
These appendices are normally not part of a seminar. However, each contains information which may be worthy of a seminar,sermon, or conference topic in itself. Including the appendices in other forms of discipleship depends upon the needs and interests of the group and the time available.
This Ministry hopes that “Marriage by God’s Design” might be used by some for self study, perhaps with an eye toward teaching others about God’s principles for marriage.
Handouts and Course Materials
The “Marriage by God’s Design” book should be used as a handout for marriage counseling or one-on-one discipleship.
“A Summary of (Design) Principles”(appendix A of the book) is recommended as a handout when the book is used as a conference or sermon topic. It is also recommended as a handout for seminars where it is not practical for every body to have a Workbook.
Whenever “Marriage by God’s Design”is being offered as a discipleship course, the Workbook is an appropriate course material. The Workbook has questions and places for answers suitable to engage students in thoughtful consideration of the principles that are being discussed. It is designed to help the disciple to understand and apply the principles in the variety of circumstances that may been countered in daily ministry.
Using this resource:
This workbook with questions and answers is useful for teaching the course on marriage in any of the above settings by itself, although the book resource is more inclusive. The workbook provides a more concise flow for presentations.
The course takes 6-8 hours of actual instruction time, depending upon how question and answer discussions are managed and if time is being used for translation.
