The Corinthian culture was much like the American culture today. It would be nice if marriage were Valentine’s day everyday! The Bible answers questions about sex, marriage, parenting, singleness and every other social and moral question you could ask. If you want the right answer go to God! Everyone seems to like Jesus however following Him seems to be a tripping point for most! People have to give up their sin and just too much for many. We have a sexual ethics problem in America because our culture is following voices that oppose the voice of God! If you follow Jesus you follow peace, joy, kindness and sexual boundaries! A restoration ministry focuses on brokenness. We deal with brokenness of the past! The Church is committed to discipleship. Paul was not anti-marriage when he said it is not good to marry. Paul was also encouraging women who were married to be respected and dignified. Paul went on to say in marriage your bodies belong to each other. Do not deprive one another. Marriage is a gift from God! Sex is powerful and marriage allows the healthy expression of this gift. The institution of marriage allows mutual respect and a healthy environment for sexual expression. One of the common abuses in marriage is couples using scriptures to beat up on each other. The wrong attitude is you owe me sex! The right attitude is we serve each other with sex. Not the power to control each other but to serve each other. We serve each other in marriage with sex. Do not keep score! Do not use sex to manipulate and control each other! Jesus produces a new attitude within us! The wrong attitude is my wife owes me sex. Sex is designed by God for pro-creation and not recreation. Jesus has given us a new way of living to serve each other in marriage. Wrong attitudes is this is your job and this is my job. Be kind and serve each other. Verse 12. Unbeliever’s are sanctified by the believing spouse. Women are often taking the children to church alone. Paul encourages them to stay steady. Do not put him out. Divorce is not an easy option. Divorce is not a fire escape. My mother was a believer but my father was not until I was 20 years old. I still had a great dad! While dad went deer hunting my mother took us to church. There were sometimes arguments about church. Paul also said not to stay in a abusive relationship. Do not give up easy. My mother instructed me in the scriptures and I am saved today because of her care for me. Verse 32. Single people also have purpose! Paul says you are valuable even if single. Couples have to focus on marriage issues while single people can focus on God’s affairs. Singleness is an opportunity! You can use your time and resources on building God’s Kingdom. About 20 years ago I had a couple come into my church office in real trouble. They showed physical aggression towards on another. They sat in chairs at opposite ends of my office and cursed at each other. I came to realize I could not fix their problems in one hour! Curse words flowed like water! You are a mother of this, that and everything! I shared with them that they need to learn to like each other. Need to treat each other like they were living in Mr. Roger’s neighborhood. They needed to forgive each other! They were messed up bad! They scheduled another appointment and this time they did not curse so much! Bad words were there but not so many. No death threats this time so things were looking up. They wanted me to help them have a good divorce! I asked them if they wanted a good marriage? They came back to my office again and again. Finally they sat next to each other on the same couch in my office! They smiled and began to love each other. Then ran a metal works business. They brought me a metal Cross they built in their shop as a gift in gratitude for the help I gave them. It has hung in my office over past 20 years as a reminder of God’s faithfulness! Forgive people! Forgive yourself and others! Let judgment go! We are called to forgive! Do not give up! Do not try to manipulate and control people! God has forgiven us through the Cross! Let Him restore and redeem you! Let us pray——— Source; Pastor Brady Boyd, New Life Church, Colorado Springs, Colorado. Message given on Sunday, February 16, 2014