Leaders Note:
This week’s passage is obviously a tricky one, and it may bring up things for people around sexuality, disappointment, grief or trauma.
It would be worth praying before you start that you would all be able to be sensitive in your comments, and remind the group that there may well be people in your mix that have struggles, or past hurts that everyone may not be aware of.

Feel free to tweak, alter or subtract any questions that you feel might not be right for your group.

Intro Questions:

Where in society/ pop culture/ television do you see marriage undervalued today?
Where in society/ pop culture/ television do you see singleness as something that is undervalued today?

READ MATTHEW 19:1-11

When Jesus had finished saying these things, he left Galilee and went into the region of Judea to the other side of the Jordan. 2 Large crowds followed him, and he healed them there.

3 Some Pharisees came to him to test him. They asked, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any and every reason?”

4 “Haven’t you read,” he replied, “that at the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female,’[a] 5 and said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh’[b]? 6 So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.”

7 “Why then,” they asked, “did Moses command that a man give his wife a certificate of divorce and send her away?”

8 Jesus replied, “Moses permitted you to divorce your wives because your hearts were hard. But it was not this way from the beginning. 9 I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another woman commits adultery.”

10 The disciples said to him, “If this is the situation between a husband and wife, it is better not to marry.”

11 Jesus replied, “Not everyone can accept this word, but only those to whom it has been given. 12 For there are eunuchs who were born that way, and there are eunuchs who have been made eunuchs by others—and there are those who choose to live like eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. The one who can accept this should accept it.”

Discuss:

1. What stands out to you from this passage?

2. What does the pharisees question indicate about their view of marriage?

3. What does Jesus say about God’s intention for marriage?

What does this mean for divorce/remarriage?

What does it mean for unfaithfulness?

4. Why might Jesus say that divorce was granted as a concession because of “your hearts”?

5. What does Jesus’s sentence: “There are those who choose to live like eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven” reveal about how he values singleness?

6. How might living as an unmarried person be done for the sake of the Kingdom?

7. What would it look like for married people to love and support single people in the church?

8. What would it look like for single people to love and support married people in the church?

Application:

Depending on your group, (all one gender, all single, all married, a mix) you may want to edit this question to directly address the needs of your group.
You may also want to break into smaller groups depending on the size of your group.

1. What is something you are finding challenging about following Jesus in your marriage, dating, or singleness?

2. What is one way you could be growing in valuing and being intentional with your marriage, dating or singleness?

Pray