Scriptures: Genesis 2:18-25, 2 Corinthians 6:14, Psalm 127:1

Marriage can be difficult, trying and at times overwhelming. Dating often reveals the best in you while marriage can reveal the worst. Yet marriage is the only institution on earth that pre-dates original sin--Adam and Eve were the first married couple, after all. And that marriage was intended to be a model for every marriage. In this message, Dr. Merritt returns to the very beginning as we find God's wonderful idea and ideal for marriage. We will find that marriage was not only God's creation, but it was given with a specific purpose and plan that He designed.

"God did not give to Eve a father first to take care of her or a brother first to play with or a son first to watch over. The first thing God gave to Eve was a husband. The first person that God gave to Adam was a wife. That is why the primary allegiance of the husband is always to the wife and the primary allegiance of the wife is always to the husband. When two people get married they don’t just move into a new house; they move into a new home. The purpose of that home is for God to build that couple together just like He built their parents together. God brings us together to build us together.

"God wants that home to last. That is why there must not only be allegiance, but there must be permanence. The man is to leave his father and mother and then 'Hold fast to his wife.' That word 'hold fast' literally means 'to be glued to' or 'to be cemented to.' Do you know what every husband is to do with his wife once he marries her? He is to hold on to her for dear life--no matter what. It is that process of holding on that builds us. It builds character. It builds perseverance. It builds faith. It builds trust and it builds love." --Dr. Merritt

Keywords: the knot, man, woman, husband, wife, marriage, covenant, connection, Jesus Christ, church, married, relationships, bind, build, together, Adam, Eve, rib, helpmate, allegiance, Jerry Lewis, divine, culture, love, constrictor knot, C.S. Lewis