Becoming One

David C Cook COVID-19 Response

High School

Lesson 8
Summer 2024
By: RLD Editorial Team
July 21, 2024

Lesson Focus:

God wants only His best in marriage for you.

Bible Basis:

Matt. 5:1-10; 2 Cor. 6:14-18

Materials Needed:

Step 1:

Internet access

Step 4:

Internet access
Optional: Student devices (or screenshared webpage)

Summary & Links:

Your students will look at some of the outrageous cost of weddings in order to understand that a beginning immersed in excess does not guarantee longevity.

Average Wedding Cost: How Much Should You Budget For Your Big Day?
The average wedding cost $19,000 in 2020, about $10,000 less than the year before

Memory Verse:

Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness?
—2 Corinthians 6:14

Your students will look at some of the outrageous cost of weddings in order to understand that a beginning immersed in excess does not guarantee longevity.

Materials Needed:

Internet access

As students enter your classroom today, gather everyone together to discuss what it takes to make a marriage successful.

How many of you have been to a wedding? (Accept all reasonable answers.)

Weddings are a special day for everyone involved! They symbolize the joining together between a man and woman who become a new family in God’s eyes. This is cause for celebration among family members, friends, and of course, the happy couple.

If you decide to get married someday, what would you want your wedding to be like? Would you want it to be simple or extravagant? Would you want to spend a lot of money? (Accept all reasonable answers.)
Who wants to guess how much the average wedding costs? (Allow several students to answer.)

According to studies by Forbes, the average wedding in the US in 2024 is $33,000. That’s more than many new cars or a year of college tuition at many universities! The 2024 average cost is about 14% more than the average wedding cost in 2023, although the average cost is down from about $35,000 in 2015. While the average costs of a wedding may fluctuate from year to year, the fact remains that they can be quite costly!

With so much money spent on one day, it can be easy to lose sight of the true meaning of the ceremony; after all, is an expensive event the thing that makes a marriage successful? If not these elements, what else? (Give your class a few moments to answer this question, allow them to share all reasonable answers.)

There are thousands of books and articles claiming to know the key to a successful marriage, listing everything including physical attraction, financial solvency, or patience and forgiveness; however, the Bible paints a clear picture about what makes a successful union. Let’s take a look.

Looking for Steps 2 & 3?

You can find Steps 2 and 3 in your teacher’s guide. To purchase a teacher’s guide, please visit: Bible-in-Life or Echoes.

Materials Needed:

Internet access
Optional: Student devices (or screenshared webpage)

So far, we’ve discussed the perfect plan God has for marriage and the dangers that can arise when we deviate from it, but the question that is probably on most of your minds is, “Where does teenage dating fit into God’s plan?” In other words, is it harmful to date in high school?

This is a difficult question to answer. We know that the Bible is very clear about reserving sex for the marriage covenant (1 Corinthians 7:2) and warns us not to place ourselves in situations with needless temptation (2 Timothy 2:22); however, it does not specify at what age dating becomes appropriate. After all, cultural expectations and supports have changed much in the years since the Bible was written.

Ultimately, the answer to this question is: It depends. God doesn’t command us to refrain from dating in high school, but His will for us to have the best marriage possible does strongly suggest that we should be wise about when and with whom we begin our journey down that path.

Optional: Using whatever method best suits your classroom, provide your students with access to this link [10:42]. (If your class is meeting online, you can share your screen and play it for the whole class.)
Is it Harmful to Date in High School?

If using this option, challenge your teens to listen to this ten-minute podcast in the coming week, using its contents as a jumping off point to begin assessing God’s individual plan for their relationships.

Your family likely has defined rules on this subject and their decisions should obviously outweigh any others. But when their ideas are not in conflict and they are open to hear other thoughts on the subject, you might want to have them listen to and discuss the podcast with you. Be sure you respect their authority if they see things differently than you do.

Close in prayer, asking God to give your students wisdom and the strength to trust His perfect plan in marriage.

About

David C Cook is a nonprofit organization dedicated to publishing and distributing leadership and discipleship resources to help Christians all over the world grow in their faith and pass it on to the next generation. We call this “DiscipleShaping”.

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David C Cook COVID-19 Response

High School

Becoming One

Lesson Focus:

Bible Basis:

Materials Needed:

Step 1:

Step 4:

Summary & Links:

Memory Verse:

Step 1:

Materials Needed:

Looking for Steps 2 & 3?

Step 4:

Materials Needed:

Spread the word

About

Connect With Us

Search Lessons

Disclaimer of Third Party Content