inHarmony: In The Heat of the Night / Livin' on a Prayer
Written by Ed and Diane Allen
Sunday, 01 November 2009 09:00
Sermons - inHarmony - 8 Simple Principles to Building a Better Marriage
Today, we are looking at our third and fourth principles in our inHarmony marriage series on Building a Better Marriage.
- In The Heat of the Night: Don’t let the sun go down on your anger.
- Livin’ on a Prayer: Pray together.
#3) In The Heat of the Night: Don’t let the sun go down on your anger.
Ephesians 4:26-27
(26)“In your anger do not sin”: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, (27) and do not give the devil a foothold.
- Paul acknowledges that we do get angry
- Significant: do not let the sun go down on your anger or you will give the devil a foothold.
- You are in spiritual territory here...
Do whatever it takes to resolve your argument: don’t go to be mad
- This calls for sacrifice.
- You need to make that determination to not go to bed angry before the argument happens. It is really hard to make that decision in the heat of the moment.
- Understand your conflict style
- When You Don’t Agree by James G.T. Fairfield: book on five conflict styles
Decide that your relationship is more important than the argument
- Unreleased anger allows your heart to harden
#4) Livin’ on a Prayer: Pray together.
1. Prayer establishes God’s Leadership over your home
- Psalm 127:1
2. Prayer draws God’s attention
- God listens when we pray
- Deuteronomy 4:7
- 2 Chronicals 7:13-15
- James 4:7-8
3. Prayer maintains honesty in your relationship
- It helps create a more honest atmosphere
4. Prayer rightly orders our priorities
Prayer exercise: How to Pray
- Pray through a Psalm together
- Set a prayer goal together