Building The Best Marriage

SERMON SUMMARY

This sermon addresses the importance of health and wholeness in relationships, particularly marriage. The pastor emphasizes that our greatest blessings and deepest pains come through relationships, and that healing from relational wounds requires healthy relationships. Using the biblical story of Ruth and Boaz as a model, the message challenges the cultural myth of romantic love that says to "follow your heart," instead advocating for following the Holy Spirit and establishing wise boundaries. The sermon teaches that godly marriages are built when two healthy people practice love within wise boundaries, emphasizing that God desires to heal individuals before bringing them into marriage rather than expecting broken people to heal each other. The pastor concludes by pointing to Jesus as our ultimate Kinsman Redeemer, whose relationship with the church models the beauty of covenant love.

KEY POINTS

- Health encompasses the whole person: mind, body, spirit, and emotions.

- The myth of romantic love contradicts biblical teaching about covenant and character.

- God gave sexual intimacy for three purposes: procreation, pleasure, and protection.

- Healthy marriage requires bringing your best self, not losing yourself.

- God builds strong marriages from healed places, not desperate ones.

- Identity must be established before entering relationship.

- Seven key boundaries evident in Ruth and Boaz's relationship: identity before relationship, responsibility over rescue, humility and teachability, protective leadership, honor without exploitation, sexual integrity, and public commitment.

- Boundaries create trust and safety in relationships.

- Spiritual maturity requires being still and trusting God's timing.

- Jesus is our true Kinsman Redeemer who had the right, resources, and willingness to redeem us.

SCRIPTURE REFERENCE

- Proverbs 31:10 (A woman of noble character is worth far more than rubies)

- Book of Ruth (primary text, particularly Ruth 2:2, Ruth 2:11-12, Ruth 3:18)

- Matthew 6:33 (Seek first the kingdom of God)

- Hebrews 13:4 (Marriage bed kept pure)

- Galatians 6:5 (Each one should carry their own load)

- Ephesians 1:7 (Redemption through His blood)

- Hebrews 2:11 (Jesus not ashamed to call us brothers)

- 1 Peter 1:18-19 (Redeemed with precious blood of Christ)

- John 10:18 (Jesus lays down His life willingly)