<p> A Lifelong Love:</p><p>How to Have Lasting Intimacy, Friendship and Purpose in Your Marriage</p><p>A marriage conference by Gary Thomas, based on his book of the same name</p><p>1 Session 1: Worship Your Way to a Better Marriage How marital intimacy is sustained and developed by viewing our marriages as an act of worship</p><p>How do two people, so different, grow together in marriage?</p><p>We need a ______.</p><p>Matthew 6:33: “Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you as well.”</p><p>Spirituality isn’t the ______on the car: it’s the ______that______the car.</p><p>A Marriage Built on Worship</p><p>1 John 3:1: “See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God.”</p><p>Ephesians 5:1 </p><p>God as our Father ______</p><p>God’s Discipline</p><p>Well Done</p><p>“For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or bad.” (2 Corinthians. 5:10)</p><p>Romans 2:6-8, 11</p><p>Look at your wedding day in light of your ______. Happy Death Day 2 Psalm 116:15</p><p> Matthew 6:19 </p><p> Hebrews 11:6 </p><p> Ephesians 6:8: “The Lord will reward everyone for whatever good he does.”</p><p>Colossians</p><p> 3:18</p><p> 3:19</p><p> 3:23-24</p><p>Mutual Partnership</p><p>Hebrews 10:24: “Let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds.”</p><p>Kevin and Karen Miller: “More than You and Me”</p><p>“A Third Hunger” (Genesis)</p><p>Marriage for: 1) Companionship (2:18)</p><p>2) Raising children (1:28)</p><p>3) Joint, fulfilling service (1:28)</p><p>3 Session 2 The Sacred Journey: Growing Together</p><p>Good marriages don’t just happen; they require an intentional and thoughtful pursuit</p><p>The Problem of Drift</p><p>“I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore I have drawn you with lovingkindness. Again I will build you and you will be rebuilt.” Jeremiah 31:3-4a</p><p>Rebuilding a Marriage</p><p>Building a marriage is more like ______a ______, not ______a ______.</p><p>Artificial Intimacy</p><p> Infatuation and sexual chemistry.</p><p> Planning a wedding.</p><p> Planting a home.</p><p> Raising Kids.</p><p>These are shared ______, not shared ______.</p><p>Sample Season: A Little Affair</p><p>4 “I Do and I Will”</p><p>True Intimacy</p><p>1.</p><p>2. Blessing Mentality—the Two Questions of Marriage.</p><p>3. Killing Spiders.</p><p>4. I was Born for This!</p><p>Proverbs 17:17: “A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.” </p><p>ENDGAME: “I Am Yours”</p><p>5 Session 3: Sexual Saints</p><p>How Christian belief and practice preserves, redeems, enhances and protects the sexual relationship, renewing our affections for each other and even helping us to become more like Christ</p><p>I. Our Schizophrenic Attitude toward Sex </p><p>II. Our Creator: Profoundly Pro-Sex </p><p>A. The Biblical Witness</p><p>Song of Songs 1:9 “I liken you, my darling, to a mare harnessed to one of the chariots of Pharaoh.”</p><p>Proverbs 5:18-19 “…may you rejoice in the wife of your youth. A loving doe, a graceful deer--may her breasts satisfy you always, may you ever be captivated by her love.”</p><p>Song of Songs 5:1 “Eat your fill, O lovers, be drunk with love!”</p><p>B. The Physiological Witness</p><p>III. Christian Marital Sex is about ______</p><p>A. The problem of power</p><p>6 Dr. Archibald Hart: “Immediately after being sexually satisfied, the normal male may be able to focus elsewhere—for a while. But it is just a matter of time before his thoughts lead him back to sex. And I’m talking about the preacher as much as the truckdriver. Sure, the average man thinks of other things, like football and politics, but eventually all mental roads lead back to this one central fixation: Sex. There are times when the obsession fades and even vanishes. Give him an intense challenge at work. Let him buy a new computer or sports car. Give him a golf bag or a fishing trip. He’ll forget about sex for a while. But sooner or later, like a smoldering fire, it will flare up again. Strong, urgent, forceful, and impatient, the sex drive dominates the mind and body of every healthy male. Like it or not, that’s the way it is.”</p><p>B. Looking at Sexual Desire through the Lens of Creation, not the Fall </p><p>III. Christian Marital Sex is Preserved through Radical Exclusivity</p><p>IV. Being Intentional About the Power of Sexual Expression</p><p>7 Session 4: All That Really Matters</p><p>When we understand the biblical priority of what really matters in life, our practice of marriage will take on an entirely new emphasis and purpose</p><p>The One Thing that Matters</p><p> Colossians 3:14  1 Peter 4:8  John 13  1 John 4:7-8  1 Peter 1:22 </p><p>For Christians, a ______is not enough. </p><p>Why Did You Get Married?</p><p> “Husbands, love your wives and never treat them harshly.” Colossians 3:19  Titus 2:4  “The love of every one of you for one another is increasing.” (2 Thess. 1:3)</p><p>Biblical Love</p><p>1. Absolute Benevolence</p><p>Dan Allender: Love on the Slippery Slope</p><p>(______and ______beats ______and ______)</p><p>“Pulling Tubes”</p><p>2. Desire ______Love. 8 3. Do Not ______Good. (Proverbs 3:27 )</p><p>4. Putting It Into Practice: Secret Service</p><p>Krista and Caleb</p><p>You can connect with Gary via:  his website: www.garythomas.com  Twitter (@garyLthomas)  Facebook www.facebook.com/authorgarythomas  Blog: www.garythomas.com/blog</p><p>9</p>