Love & Respect

Life Group Questions 

Passages Ephesians 5:21 – 33, and Genesis 2:18 –

1. Leaders, this topic is a hard one that requires a lot of wisdom. Say the following statement to set the tone of the conversation “The whole topic of husbandhood and wifehood boils down to a humble “competition” of who is going to serve and uplift their spouse more.”  When husbands and wives are serving and encouraging each other they are doing the will of God for marriage.
2. Before the discussion starts say something like “This would be a great time to encourage one another.  In other words, the following questions should be uplifting and also for us to grow with each other. Feel free to share your mistakes as husband and wife, and share what you do that works as you serve and uplift your spouse.
3. Group – What was 1 thing you learned Sunday as a husband or as a wife? (Men should only talk about what they learned as a husband, and women should only talk about what they learned as a wife.)
4. Mutual
   1. Read Ephesians 5:21 – “in reverence for Christ”  Talk about the fact that God asks husbands and wives to do what God is asking each one of them to do as if they were doing for God
   2. The love & respect that God will be asking husbands and wives is unconditional love and respect.
   3. Question: Have you ever thought that love and respect, both can be unconditional?
   4. Talk about that is has nothing to do with how much your husband or wife deserves it.
5. Read verses 22-33
6. Husbands
   1. love your wife as Christ loves the church. The role model to husbands is Christ. They are called by God to tread their wife as Christ treats the church.
   2. Question: With what kind of love Christ loved the church?
      1. (Note to leaders: sacrificial love, servant’s love, humble love)
   3. Talk about how opposite this is to be bossy, overbearing, intimidating, husband.
7. Wives are called to 1) Be the helper, 2) respect their husbands and 3) Resist the temptation to become the “boss wife” = submit
   1. Talk about how being a helper is NOT a negative term, but it’s actually a POSITIVE term. The wife is the other half of the marriage, not a “less than” in the relationship.
   2. Talk about
8. Decision making
   1. The couple should 99.9% times decide together. Decisions should be made to what is best for the FAMILY, not for each individual.
   2. When there is a decision with a deadline and the couple can not agree (0.1%) the husbands decide but the decision that is made has to be what’s best for my wife. Just as Christ went to the cross for the benefit of the church.
   3. Let’s talk about it
9. Pray for each other