WEEK 6 : Countercultural Marriages

Warm-Up Question: Parents, share your engagement story in a minute or less! Kids, what do you think makes a marriage strong?

Opening Prayer: Holy Spirit, please speak to us and teach us today. Help us listen closely and LIVE more like Jesus.

Read 1 Peter 3:1-7

This could be a tricky passage! So, let’s slow down to better understand it together.

Peter wrote this a long, long, long time ago in a culture very different than ours. Back then, husbands had a lot of authority in marriage and wives usually didn’t. Wives were often expected to follow their husband’s religion.

So, Peter is writing to women who have become Christ followers and might be wondering, “Should I leave my husband since he doesn't believe what I believe?”

Peter’s answer wasn’t “leave.” Instead, he gave them a plan… live in such a loving and faithful way that your husband notices something different about you. Different enough to make him curious about Jesus too.

It’s important to know, Peter isn't saying that men having more authority is God's perfect design for how marriage should work, in the same way that he wasn't saying slavery (which he mentioned back in chapter 2) was okay either. He's meeting people exactly where they were, in a hard and unfair culture, and showing them how to shine bright for King Jesus right where they were.

Question 1:  How could God use our current relationships (family, friends, schoolmates, etc.) to draw others to Jesus?

As Christ followers, we have two main jobs!

To KNOW Jesus

To help others KNOW Him too

Read Acts 7

As Stephen is being attacked for his faith in Jesus, he gives a powerful speech about God’s Big Story. He cares more about KNOWing Jesus than he cares about saving his own life. Notice who’s watching at the end of the chapter, a man named Saul, who would later become the Apostle Paul! Stephen’s bravery likely planted a seed that helped lead Saul to Jesus later in Acts 9.

Back in 1 Peter 3:7, Peter calls wives "co-heirs”, meaning equally valued and equally loved by God. In Peter's culture, where women often weren't valued much at all, this was a huge deal! Peter also says a husband's prayers can be hindered (blocked or hurt) if he doesn't treat his wife with honor and respect. That was a radical thing to say back then!

King Jesus also treated women with honor too. Women followed Him, learned from Him, and helped support His ministry. In the early church, we see women doing important things…

Women were likely included when the Holy Spirit came upon everyone at Pentecost (Acts 2:17-18)

A woman named Lydia probably led a church that met in her home (Acts 16:15, 40)

A woman named Priscilla taught others about the Way of Jesus (Acts 18:26)

Women shared messages from God (prophesied) (Acts 21:8-9)

Question 2: Why do you think it matters that God uses both men and women to grow His kingdom?

Every person, no matter who they are, has real value in God's kingdom. And the Holy Spirit can use any of us to tell others about Jesus!

Question 3: What does it look like to put others first and think of them as more important than yourself? 

Question 4: How might our world be different if we cared more about people's hearts than how they look on the outside and LOVED each other like Jesus?

Family Prayer

Lord, 

May how we treat each other point people to You. May our love stand out more than anything else about us. Help us lift others up instead of trying to be in charge over them. We pray for marriages in our church and community… make them strong, loving, and full of respect for one another. Holy Spirit, please work in the hearts of the people we love who don't know You yet, and help us show them who You are, both in what we say and what we do. Amen.