In this worship gathering, we hear a message from Song of Songs 4.1-5.1 in which we learn that a radically committed relationship of intimacy between a man and a woman can be seen as a subversive, yet freeing, act in our culture, as well as in the ancient culture of the Old Testament. That same radical commitment and intimacy can be experienced in our relationship with God. You can watch the message below, or the entire worship gathering below that.
Tag: marriage
Unaccepted Worship
Malachi had some harsh words for the people of God in his day. They were treating God like a vending machine (of course, he didn’t use that image!). There are lessons for God’s people of today in this message, based on Malachi 2.10-17. You can watch the whole worship gathering below, or just the message below that.
THE TALK: 2. Not just a piece of paper
Marriage, some say, is just a piece of paper. But the Bible suggests there’s more to it than that. It is God’s intended context 
for sexual expression. That’s pretty complex, as the six points of this message indicate. Based on Proverbs 5 and 1 Corinthians 7.1-9, you can listen to the message here:
(The young couple pictured at right are referred to in the opening part of the message. If you see this guy, congratulate him on the catch.)
You reap what you sow
Apparently, there are a lot of nervous people walking the streets these days. News broke this week that Ashley Madison, an online agency that links people up for illicit extramarital affairs, had its website hacked, and some other website now gives the public access to all the email addresses of those who were connected to the agency.
Someone asked me what I thought of that, and the best I could come up with was the words of the apostle Paul to the churches of the region of Galatia: “You reap what you sow.”
If you are or have ever been married, you know that the relationship takes effort, and needs to be built into on an ongoing basis if it is to thrive and grow. Often, those who resort to affairs are in marriages where that effort is not happening through the efforts of one, or both parties. An affair seems to be the easy way to get the affection, or even the friendship, that should come from building up a marriage.
Those who might be “outed” by this very public website hacking do well to be concerned; it’s one thing to be worried about the availability of one’s personal information, but it’s another thing to be worried about where that personal information has been found. We do reap what we sow.
Even if your email address is not to be found in connection with Ashley Madison, this can be a lesson for you and me, too, and an encouragement to have an honest conversation with our spouse, if we have one, about how the relationship can be strengthened.
Reaping what you sow isn’t really intended to be a negative thing – for if the sowing we do builds our marriages, we will reap stronger marriages and healthier families and, therefore, a stronger society!
“Don’t be misled—you cannot mock the justice of God. You will always harvest what you plant. Those who live only to satisfy their own sinful nature will harvest decay and death from that sinful nature. But those who live to please the Spirit will harvest everlasting life from the Spirit. So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up. Therefore, whenever we have the opportunity, we should do good to everyone—especially to those in the family of faith” (Galatians 6.7-10, NLT).
TAKE A VOW: Taking out the trash
If you’re going to get rid of the stink, you’ve got to take out the trash. This applies in home economics and in marriage! We need to practise repentance and forgiveness to have good, godly marriages. This message is based on Ephesians 4.25-5.2, and can be listened to by clicking here.
It was noted to me after the worship gathering at which I preached this message that if, in fact, I could find an 80-inch television for $1500, I should probably buy it. (Guess I didn’t do my homework on that one!)
TAKE A VOW: Love and Respect
As Emerson Eggerichs says in his book, what wives most want from their husbands is love, and what husbands most want from their wives is respect. Doesn’t seem all that challenging, does it? Marriage is not easy – it’s not a 50/50 proposition, but a 100/100 proposition! In this message, we tackle a difficult Bible passage, and do all we can to remove our ‘cultural goggles’ as we read it. It begins with a little lesson on the biases of Bible translation.
The message is based on Ephesians 5.21-33, and can be listened to by clicking this link.
You can watch the video that’s shown at the end of the message by clicking here.
Feel free to comment! How has your marriage lived out the truth of love and respect? Of Ephesians 5?
Passionately His 