This Momentary Marriage

1.Piper argues that God's creation of marriage in Genesis 2 was not primarily to solve the problem of Adam's loneliness, but to put something on display. What is it that God intends to display? How does that reorder the way we read Genesis 2?

1.Genesis 2:25 says the man and his wife were 'naked and not ashamed.' Piper treats this as far more than a statement about physical nudity. What deeper reality is he pointing to, and why does it matter for marriage?

1.Piper draws a distinction between forgiving and forbearing. What is the difference? When is each one called for in a marriage?

1.Piper argues that marriage is one of God's primary tools for conforming us to the image of Christ (Romans 8:29). What does this suggest about why marriage is hard? Does difficulty in marriage automatically mean something has gone wrong?

1.Piper uses the phrase 'lionhearted and lamblike' to describe the kind of headship Christ himself models and calls husbands to imitate. What does each word capture? Why does genuine headship require both qualities, and what goes wrong when a husband has one without the other?

1.Piper begins by acknowledging that the word 'submission' triggers strong reactions — both from those who have experienced its distortion and from those who reject any form of it on principle. Before engaging his argument: what is your honest, gut-level reaction to the word, and where do you think that reaction comes from?

1.Jesus says there will be no marriage in the resurrection (Matthew 22:30). Piper takes this seriously as a theological statement about the nature and purpose of marriage. Why does this fact not diminish the importance of marriage but actually clarify it? What does it tell us about what marriage is for?

1.Piper begins from Jesus' words in Matthew 19: 'What God has joined together, let not man separate.' Why does Piper insist on starting there — with the permanence of the covenant — rather than beginning with the exceptions? What difference does it make to lead with permanence?

1.Piper argues that every married couple must reckon honestly with the fact that one of them will die first, and that how they hold that reality matters for how they live. How does confronting death — not avoiding it — actually enrich a marriage rather than casting a shadow over it?

1.Piper closes the book with a direct address to single people. Why does he do this? What does it reveal about what the book has ultimately been arguing — that this is not just a book about marriage, but about what marriage points to?

1.Which single chapter or idea from This Momentary Marriage had the greatest impact on you — the one that most surprised you, most convicted you, or most expanded your vision? Why that one?