Start to Finish Week 1 - Is Marriage Still Important?  Ben Foote (Teaching Pastor - Flatirons Community Church) Description: These days it's easy to wonder if marriage still is (or ever was) all that important. In week one of the series, Ben Foote (Teaching Pastor of Flatirons Community Church) takes a look at what Jesus has to say about marriage and brings back the why for those of us who may have forgotten. — Message Notes:    Life is not a sprint. We need to focus on living a godly life From Start to Finish. Christianity helps us for the long haul in youth, singleness, marriage, parenting and aging.     Why is marriage so important?   Jesus directly addresses marriage and divorce. Matthew 19:1-2 (NIV) Matthew 19:3 (NIV) In Jesus’ time, there were basically two sides of the divorce debate.  1. God only allows divorce in the case of infidelity.  2. God allows divorce for any and every reason. The culture in Jesus’ time sounded something like this about marriage: Marriage is a contract that can be easily broken whenever men don’t feel served or pleased by it anymore. Jesus responds to the Pharisees trying to trap Him on the issue of divorce. Matthew 19:4-6 (NIV) Jesus’ answer points to two different Scriptures on why marriage is important. Genesis 1:27 (ESV) Genesis 2:24 (BSB) God unites the man and woman into ONE FLESH, one spiritually inseparable unit, to reflect God’s goodness to the world around us. Why is marriage so important?  Jesus says marriage is NOT a contract but a COVENANT. Covenant: A spiritually-binding oath between God and His people. The common view of marriage in Jesus time: Marriage is a contract that can be easily broken whenever men don’t feel served or pleased by it anymore. Jesus’ view of marriage: Marriage is a covenant that cannot be broken without doing a lot of damage because marriage is a covenant designed to show the world what God looks like. Marriage is uniquely designed to show the world what God’s never-ending, never-quitting love and commitment look like. Married people should be able to swap their names for the end of the verse in Romans 8:38-39. “For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate (name) from the love of (spouse’s name).” Marriage is designed to show the world what God’s never-ending, never-quitting love and commitment look like.  — Helpful Links: For family resources, visit https://gethope.net/familyministry/#resources  If you’re new to Hope or looking to get connected, click here: https://gethope.net/next/ If you’d like to receive regular updates on what’s happening around Hope, subscribe to our newsletter here: https://gethope.net/enews/ Subscribe to Family Conversations for weekly prompts and resources: https://touchpoint.gethope.net/OnePageReg/2451 To support this ministry financially to help us continue to love people where they are and encourage them to grow in their relationship with Jesus Christ, click here: https://gethope.net/give/ Subscribe to our channel: https://bit.ly/2XBbBxq Stay Connected with Hope: Website: https://gethope.net/ Hope Community Church Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/gethopecommunitychurch  Hope Community Church Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/get_hope/ Hope Community Church Twitter: https://twitter.com/get_hope Hope Community Church YouTube: https://youtube.com/c/HopeCommunityChurch Subscribe to Our Podcast - Hope In Real Life YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@HopeInRealLife Hope In Real Life Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7eifzI0r9uY8rUaBMGs7q1 Hope In Real Life Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/hope-in-real-life-with-jason-gore/id1691710678?uo=4