Craig Groeschel - From This Day Forward Study Guide: Five Commitments to Fail-Proof Your Marriage

Also by Craig Groeschel

Altar Ego: Becoming Who God Says You Are

Chazown: A Different Way to See Your Life

The Christian Atheist:
Believing in God but Living as If He Doesnt Exist

Daring to Drop the Pose
(previously titled Confessions of a Pastor)

Fight: Winning the Battles That Matter Most

God, Love, and Sex
(previously titled Going All the Way)

It: How Churches and Leaders Can Get It and Keep It

Soul Detox: Pure Living in a Polluted World

Weird: Because Normal Isnt Working

What Is God Really Like? (general editor)

ZONDERVAN

From This Day Forward Study Guide

Copyright 2014 by Craig Groeschel

Requests for information should be addressed to:

Zondervan, 3900 Sparks Dr. SE, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49546

ePub Edition October 2014: ISBN 978-0-310-69722-0

All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from The Holy Bible, New International Version, NIV. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Any Internet addresses (websites, blogs, etc.) and telephone numbers in this book are offered as a resource. They are not intended in any way to be or imply an endorsement by Zondervan, nor does Zondervan vouch for the content of these sites and numbers for the life of this book.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or any other except for brief quotations in printed reviews, without the prior permission of the publisher.

Craig Groeschel is represented by Thomas J. Winters and Jeffrey C. Dunn of Winters, King & Associates, Inc., Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Cover design: Curt Diepenhorst

Cover photography: Michelle Meisner

First Printing August 2014

Contents

INTRODUCTION

Session 5 NEVER GIVE UP

Of Note

The quotations interspersed throughout this study guide, the introductory comments, and the concluding comments are excerpts from the book From This Day Forward and the video curriculum of the same name by Craig and Amy Groeschel. All other resources including the small group questions, session introductions, and between-sessions materials have been written by Kevin and Sherry Harney in collaboration with Craig and Amy Groeschel.

GROUP SIZE

The From This Day Forward curriculum is designed to be experienced in a group setting such as a Bible study, Sunday school class, or any small group gathering. To ensure everyone has enough time to participate in discussion and exercises, it is recommended that larger groups break up into smaller groups of six to eight people.

MATERIALS NEEDED

Even though this is a study geared to married couples, ideally each participant should have his or her own group study guide. This guide provides notes for video segments, directions for activities, discussion questions, space to journal, and ideas for personal reflection and learning between group sessions. You will gain the full benefit of this learning experience by interacting with the materials in this small group guide.

TIMING

The time notations indicate the actual time of video segments and also the suggested times for interaction, activities, and discussion. If you follow the suggested time allotted for each portion of the study, you will conclude in approximately one hour. If you have a longer meeting time, you might want to allow more space for discussion, interaction, and group prayer.

If your group wants to slow down and go deeper, you might want to spend two weeks on each session. This pace works well for a group meeting for one quarter of the year. If you do this, it also makes it easier to follow along and read the book From This Day Forward as a couple while you are walking through the small group experience.

FACILITATION

If you do not have a set group leader, each group should appoint a facilitator who is responsible for starting the video and for keeping track of the time during discussions and activities. Facilitators may also read questions aloud and monitor discussions, prompting group members to respond and ensuring that everyone has the opportunity to participate.

PERSONAL STUDIES

Maximize the impact of the curriculum with further study between the group sessions. Every week there are additional resources such as personal reflection questions, Bible study, prayer direction, reading assignments from the From This Day Forward book, and other creative activities. You will get the most out of this group learning experience and strengthen your marriage in greater measure by setting aside one hour between your group gatherings for personal study.

EBOOK INSTRUCTIONS

In this ebook edition, please use your devices note-taking function to record your thoughts wherever you see the bracketed instructions [Your Notes] or [Your Response]. Use your devices highlighting function to record your response whenever you are asked to checkmark, circle, underline, or otherwise indicate your answer(s).

My wife, Amy, and I dont have a perfect marriage far from it. But we love each other more now than when we said I do more than twenty-three years (and six kids) ago. Weve discovered that the key to a successful marriage is something youve heard before. But you may not have thought about what it means. Your key to a joyful, life-giving marriage begins with you completely understanding this one simple phrase: I, [your name here], take you, [your spouses name here], to have and to hold, from this day forward.

Those four little words are packed full of hope, brimming with promise: From this day forward.

What happened in your past doesnt matter. Did you mess up when you were dating? Thats okay! Have you struggled with communicating? Thats okay! Have you said things you wish you could take back? Thats okay! Have you done things you regret? Its okay. Gods mercies, his compassions, never fail. They are new every morning. And he is always faithful (Lamentations 3:22 23).

Draw a line today. Your new lifelong love life, your new love affair with each other, the greatest marriage you can imagine, begins now. Today. From this day forward. Right now, in this very moment, you can commit that everything that happens from now on will represent your sacred commitment to your spouse before a holy God.

From this day forward.

A lot of people seem to ignore the fact that, if youve chosen to follow Christ, regardless of whether it was before or after you slipped that ring onto that special someones finger, its a commitment you make before God. Its easy to excuse our own behavior our mistakes and bad habits when we compare our shortcomings with our spouses. But for those of us who call ourselves Christians, thats not really our standard, is it?

We say, I take you for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, and forsaking all others, I will be faithful to you for as long as we both shall live, so help me, God.

We need to allow God to take his rightful place in our relationships. We acknowledge our weaknesses, admitting that we know its impossible for us to keep our commitments unless we choose to honor him at the very center of our marriage (2 Corinthians 12:9).