Video Transcript:
my wife and i went canoeing years ago we were just newly married and we were canoeing and we were challenged by an older couple we were in our young 20s they were in their mid-50s we’re about to smash this couple there we are canoeing i don’t know why i was out there because brown people like me can’t even swim but i was not going to lose this contest here we are and i’m like we’re hannah we’re going to crush the we’re going to crush this old couple and we could not even get on the same page our canoe is going all over the place and i’m saying how are we getting smoked by a bunch of 50 year olds because those 50 year olds had learned how to have their minds on the same page because they were attuned together their bodies and their minds and their hearts and our their souls were working together to a much greater degree this is what happens in your marriage if you would orient your marriage from the time you wake up to the time you go to bed if you would orient your marriage around god’s word and prayer and presence and fellowship and worship you will live the transforming power of god in your life every day families in here every day couples in here every day let your life be marked as a family of god’s word as a family of prayer as a family of worship orient your life around the things of god in your life it was dorothy sayers who once said that those who hang jesus to do them justice never accused him of being a boar on the contrary they found him too dynamic to be safe imagine if right here right now we would allow god to transform our marriages into the likeness of christ that we that as we renew our minds we too could be dynamic and life-giving imagine if our marriages would be so attuned to the spirit of god and god’s purposes for our lives that in every area of life we reflect the glorious kingdom of christ and the good news of the gospel is not only that this is this kind of marriage available it is in fact attainable and you’re asking today can this be true can this be true can our marriages actually be marked by honesty humility and grace because some of you are here and this is your absolute last hope this is your absolute last hope in finding some something to hold on to that god is still at work in your life and in your marriage this is your absolute last hope that your marriage will not end up just like your parents and just like their parents and so you’re asking the question and i know i’m asking the question can we actually become more than just roommates can we actually recapture the love and the intimacy we once had can we learn to forgive honestly confess humbly reconcile purely and be restored holy can we bring out the best in each other can we heal from the bitterness and the anger the disappointments and the sorrows can we have the kind of marriage that is greater than our success and with more purpose than the american dream can we actually become like jesus and to all of those and more the resounding answer is yes but you must be willing to ask the honest question who are we becoming are we becoming more like jesus and the good news of the gospel is this that the transformation in your life that you desire the transformation in your marriage that is necessary is not dependent on you paul doesn’t say therefore try harder aim higher do more work faster be better he says be transformed this word be transformed is a passive imperative it means not something that you do but something that is happening to you in fact the word in the greek means to be transformed or changed when you are in the presence of god changed after being with you are allowing yourself to be transformed by god because becoming listen to me becoming the kind of marriage that you desire in your life the kind of family that god is calling you to live and to experience is not dependent on you your marriage is based and sustained on the finish work of christ jesus himself jesus himself said he is the author and the perfecter of your life and your marriage is included in your life which means jesus is the author and the perfecter of your marriage you