Tag: Covenant

Morning Musing: Genesis 2:23-24

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“And the man said: This one, at last, is bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh; this one will be called ‘woman,’ for she was taken from man. This is why a man leaves his father and mother and bonds with his wife, and they become one flesh.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

Let me ask a loaded question: Did you marry your soulmate? Depending on your circumstances, you may have a whole variety of answers to that question. If you’re a newlywed (or a nearly -wed), you are probably going to fire off an immediate, “Absolutely!” in response. If you marriage is really, really good, you might also say yes. If you have experienced the pain of divorce or are in a marriage that is on rocky ground, you may not be quite so quick to agree. Let me change the question up just a bit: Do you even believe in the idea that each one of us has a soulmate? Again, maybe you do, maybe you don’t. It’s hard to deny the popularity of the idea in pop culture. What got me thinking about this today is a Hallmark movie I recently watched with my bride. If there is anywhere the concept of a soulmate is part of the foundation of an organization, it is in Hallmark’s film division. Sometimes, though, things slip through the cracks. Let’s talk about one of those times and what it looks like to have a healthier view of marriage than Hallmark offers.

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Digging in Deeper: Ephesians 5:25

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“Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself for her…” (CSB – Read the chapter)

“Another review for you this morning and a verse we’ve talked about before. This time a television medical drama. Entries in that particular genre are a dime a dozen these days. Each new TV season brings multiple new premiers. Today’s focal feature premiered in the U.S. in 2017 and is copied from a Korean series of the same name that ran for one season in 2013. It is an import I’m glad we’re able to enjoy. It falls in the plot pattern of past shows like Doogie Howser, M.D. and House where the main characters is just a bit different from everyone else. In this one he’s not a child genius or a jerk, he’s autistic. Let’s talk this morning about The Good Doctor.

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Digging in Deeper: Malachi 2:10-12

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“Don’t all of us have one Father? Didn’t one God create us? Why then do we act treacherously against one another, profaning the covenant of our ancestors? Judah has acted treacherously, and a detestable act has been done in Israel and in Jerusalem. For Judah has profaned the Lord’s sanctuary, which he loves, and has married the daughter of a foreign god. May the Lord cut off from the tents of Jacob the man who does this, whoever he may be, even if he presents an offering to the Lord of Armies.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

Have you ever been in one of those moments when you’re messing around with someone and all of a sudden things turn from silly to serious? It’s not always clear where this line is, and because of that, when you cross it, not everyone is immediately aware of the change. Sometimes we get surprised by the discovery of just how important to someone else is something that we had considered trivial. As Malachi introduces this next topic, the language used suggests we’ll be talking about a really serious issue. Well, we are…but not everyone agrees today.

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Morning Musing: Ruth 1:16-17

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“But Ruth said, ‘Do not urge me to leave you or to return from following you.  For where you go I will go, and where you lodge I will lodge.  Your people shall be my people, and your God my God.  Where you died I will die, and there I will be buried.  May the Lord do so to me and more also if anything but death parts me from you.'”  (ESV – Read the chapter)

This beautiful expression of faithfulness is often read in the context of a wedding ceremony.  And, given the words Ruth uses here, this is not an inappropriate use of them.  But, let’s consider for a moment just how amazing they really are and perhaps the wonder of such moments will only increase. Read the rest…

In the Beginning…

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This past Sunday we kicked off a brand new teaching series called, Marriage Myths.  The idea is that when we survey the picture of marriage offered up by our culture, what we end up with is a pile of myths that leave couple disillusioned and, sometimes, divorced.  Over the next few weeks we’re going to talk about what some of these myths are and why the truth is so much better.  In this first part we begin by laying a foundation of what marriage is and what its purpose is.  Keep reading for more…

 

In the Beginning…

We live in a day in which marriage is on the wane.  That’s actually kind of funny if you think about it.  Not all that long ago it seemed like marriage was the only thing we could talk about as a nation.  The storm of who gets to define what marriage is in the first place along with who is able to be married to whom was intense.  In fact, we are still feeling its after effects.  The Obergefell decision from the Supreme Court legalizing same-sex marriage may be behind us, but we are still only at the beginning of figuring out exactly what it will mean for our society.  The Masterpiece Cake Shop case coming up this term will have a major impact on that question.  The irony in this is that some of the most vocal supporters for marriage equality have now come out and revealed that they never really cared about getting married themselves, they just wanted to wreck the thing because they don’t believe it should exist as it does.  But, before you jump to hoot and holler at such a person, a few minutes of reflection can fairly quickly bring someone to the conclusion that while you may not agree with them, you can’t blame them all that much for harboring such hatred for marriage. Read the rest…