The Ministry of Marriage

In order to further strengthen the Messianic congregations and others, Word of Messiah’s in-person marriage conference (on February 1-2, 2025) was again held at Hope of Israel Congregation in Charlotte. Remember, a congregation can be no stronger than the families that make it up.  There were couples and singles that attended.

Equipping us all!

With the singles, we often have young people who are preparing themselves to “become” the godly spouse they know God calls them to be. At the close of the conference, one of our two single young men stated, “From the single perspective, in looking at Genesis 2 (“it’s not good to be alone”), my big takeaway is not that God is not enough to provide for us, but we need someone to pour into. When struggling with loneliness, we need to pour into someone else, not to take more.” Great insight!

We also had some singles who attended because they wanted to equip themselves to give more accurate biblical counsel from God’s Word. Whether we’re a licensed counselor, never married, widowed, divorced, or just someone who gets asked, “What should I do?” regarding relationship issues, this conference equips all of us!

“I learned today”

One married man was deeply touched by the conference in general and the men’s breakout session in particular, where Sam taught on 1 Timothy 3:5 (But if a man does not know how to manage his own household, how will he care for God’s community?) “I went through parenting thinking it was about breadwinning…and doing the ‘traditional basics,’ but I did not spend time with my children…other than going to soccer games. I did not instruct them on how to grow in their faith. I did not do much at all.  A big reason is that this was never modeled for me. I didn’t have the ‘how to.’ I didn’t know how to do that. But I also didn’t know that I was supposed to. And so, I learned today.

Insight without Application is Vanity

Sam Nadler has spent hundreds of hours poring through the Bible, comparing words in the original languages. He is convinced that expository preaching—the word-by-word teaching of the Word—is where real understanding happens. He frequently urged the group to verbally finish his quotation of John 13:17 “If you know these things, you are blessed if you…” and we all chimed in “DO THEM!”

Because of his commitment to share God’s Original Design with the group, Sam began in the beginning, starting with the first three chapters of Genesis, where our Maker lovingly created male and female. To that end, here is a brief look at what Sam covers in each session:

“The Problem is sin”

Session 1: Foundational Principles in Marriage. We are created in His image to represent Him through relationships by His blessed resources. God blesses “them,” not “him” and “her.” Most people don’t know they have been created for this purpose in marriage. Our highest calling and greatest fulfillment comes with the realization that “I am a child of God”! And “My spouse is made in the image of God (Gen 1:26-28). What am I doing to communicate that value?” (A couple of people gave feedback about absorbing the convicting truth that, “The problem is not personality differences—the problem is sin.”)

Session 2: The Process for Marriage (Gen 2:1-22). We are spiritual beings with bodies. We took note that the hardest-working person in the Bible is God. We were therefore created in His image to work. He also gave us the example of “resting”—taking a Shabbat rest for fellowship. In this session, we learned that the marriage relationship is about serving, not dominating.

“The three Rs”

Session 3: Foundational Priorities in Marriage (Gen 2:22-25). God created males to be the head of the home. But the only authority men have is for the sake of others. His authority is to care for his wife, to be the chief appreciator, communicator, nurturer, and the glue who keeps the family together. Men and women both found this modern “role reversal” because of sin to be surprising!

Session 4, Foundational Precautions for Marriage (Gen 3): the disaster in Genesis 3! Adam failed as leader and protector, as he passively stood on the sidelines and allowed evil to influence Eve. Resulting in a loss of appreciation, unity, and communication. A single woman commented, “It was a good reminder of how basic communication is, for my life as well; the devil struck at a basic ingredient.” Sam offered hope with the cure to rebuilding appreciation with the “3 Rs” – remember, repent, and redo.

Troubled Marriage?

Session 5: The Spirit-Filled Marriage (Ephesians 5:18-32). Sam reminded us that resurrection power is only for the dead! We must die to ourselves. Daily! The Spirit-filled wife takes her orders from the Lord, not the husband. The Spirit-filled man does for his wife as Yeshua did. As each one walks with the Lord, they grow into a victorious testimony through their Spirit-filled marriage!

Session 6: The Triumphant Spouse in a Troubled Marriage (1 Peter 3:1-7). Some who attended needed this information for themselves as well as in their counseling. The bottom line is this: Yeshua is the example for both the wives and husbands on how to be spiritually victorious when your spouse is disobedient to the word.

Our marriage conference is available in an on-demand format, making it available for all (individuals, Bible study groups, etc.), and we offer in-person and online conferences at various times through the year. Visit www.wordofmessiah.org/marriage-conferences for the current listing of upcoming marriage conferences.