Family Matters, Week 1 - Connecting and Growing Closer

Bloom Church Podcast

The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life. John 10:10 NLT

For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places. Ephesians 6:12 NLT

'For wives, this means submit to your husbands as to the Lord. For a husband is the head of his wife as Christ is the head of the church. He is the Savior of his body, the church. As the church submits to Christ, so you wives should submit to your husbands in everything. For husbands, this means love your wives, just as Christ loved the church. He gave up his life for her to make her holy and clean, washed by the cleansing of God’s word. He did this to present her to himself as a glorious church without a spot or wrinkle or any other blemish. Instead, she will be holy and without fault. In the same way, husbands ought to love their wives as they love their own bodies. For a man who loves his wife actually shows love for himself. No one hates his own body but feeds and cares for it, just as Christ cares for the church. And we are members of his body. As the Scriptures say, “A man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one.” This is a great mystery, but it is an illustration of the way Christ and the church are one. So again I say, each man must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband. Ephesians 5:22-33 NLT

CONNECTING WITH EACH OTHER

WHAT ARE THE THREE PRACTICAL WAYS TO CONNECT WITH MY HUSBAND

1. HAVE FUN WITH ME

“Come, my love, let us go out to the fields and spend the night among the wildflowers.” Song of Solomon 7:11 NLT

2. BE INTIMATE WITH ME

“Come, my love, let us go out to the fields and spend the night among the wildflowers. Let us get up early and go to the vineyards to see if the grapevines have budded, if the blossoms have opened, and if the pomegranates have bloomed. There I will give you my love.” Song of Solomon 7:11-12 NLT

“Let your wife be a fountain of blessing for you. Rejoice in the wife of your youth. She is a loving deer, a graceful doe. Let her breasts satisfy you always. May you always be captivated by her love.” Proverbs 5:18-19 NLT

3. RESPECT ME

…and the wife must respect her husband. Ephesians 5:33 NLT

WHAT ARE THE THREE PRACTICAL WAYS TO CONNECT WITH MY WIFE

1. GIVE ME NONSEXUAL ATTENTION

You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry. James 1:19 NLT

To answer before listening— that is folly and shame. Proverbs 18:13 NIV

2. AFFIRM ME

How beautiful are your sandaled feet, O queenly maiden. Your rounded thighs are like jewels, the work of a skilled craftsman. Your navel is perfectly formed like a goblet filled with mixed wine. Between your thighs lies a mound of wheat bordered with lilies. Your breasts are like two fawns, twin fawns of a gazelle. Your neck is as beautiful as an ivory tower. Your eyes are like the sparkling pools in Heshbon. Song of Solomon 7:1-4 NLT

'When a man finds a wife, he has found a treasure! For she is the gift of God to bring him joy and pleasure. Proverbs 18:22 TPT

WHAT YOU FOCUS ON YOU BECOME PASSIONATE ABOUT!

3. BE THE SPIRITUAL LEADER IN OUR HOME.

For husbands, this means love your wives, just as Christ loved the church. He gave up his life for her to make her holy and clean, washed by the cleansing of God’s word. He did this to present her to himself as a glorious church without a spot or wrinkle or any other blemish. Instead, she will be holy and without fault. In the same way, husbands ought to love their wives as they love their own bodies. Ephesians 5:25-28 NLT

HOW DO WE GROW CLOSER TO EACH OTHER?

“The most important commandment is this…you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.” Mark 12:29-30 NLT

YOU GROW CLOSER TO EACH OTHER WHEN YOU GROW CLOSER TO GOD

PRAY TOGETHER EVERY DAY!

“Then if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and restore their land.” 2 Chronicles 7:14 NLT

“Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.”Matthew 6:33 NLT