Marriage in the Lord - Sermon Follow Up
On Sunday we talked God's gift of marriage. He designed it; it is His plan and He gave it to us for our joy and as means of bringing glory to Himself. But unfortunately many of us miss out on the fullness of God's gift because we fail to use it according to His design.
In our culture words like headship and submission cause people to bristle. Some will simply write them off as old fashioned while others will go much further and suggest that they are sexist and destructive.
The reality is that because of sin God's good design has often been used in inappropriate and harmful ways. As Christians we should be the first to call sin what it is and do what we can to help those who have been hurt by the misuse of God's good design.
At the same time, we must not allow the abuse of God's plan to be a reason for dismissing it altogether. As Christians we should want to understand God's plan rightly and help one another live by it faithfully. When we live God's way and use His gifts by His design we will maximize our joy and bring glory to Him.
The sermon audio and notes are available here: Marriage in the Lord - Colossians 3:18-19
Other Thoughts and Encouragements:
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If you have never thought about God's design for marriage or if you have previously written it off as unhelpful (or worse) I hope you will take time to think more carefully about what we saw in the Scriptures on Sunday. God's Word is true and His design is perfect, I pray you take time to think carefully about what the Word of God says about this important topic.
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Maybe you left Sunday discouraged because you haven't honored God in your marriage. Don't forget that we serve a God of mercy. He is eager to forgive and He will give you grace as you repent and seek to grow.
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Marriage is hard. When two sinners commit to doing life with one another there will be difficulties. The blessing of the church is that we have others around us who love us and want to help us learn and grow. If you are struggling in your marriage (or in any area of life) I hope you will reach out - as a church want to walk this road with you.
A Helpful Resource
As I was preparing for this message I was a reminded of a statement of beliefs that was put together by a group of pastors and Christians leaders who wanted to clearly state the Bible's teaching on God's plan and design for marriage. I found the "Affirmations" section of their statement to be very helpful. You can access the statement here:
The Danvers Statement
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