Tag: Relationships

Digging in Deeper: Ecclesiastes 4:7-8

Leave a comment

“Again, I saw futility under the sun: There is a person without a companion, without even a son or brother, and though there is no end to all his struggles, his eyes are still not content with riches. ‘Who am I struggling for,’ he asks, ‘and depriving myself of good things?’ This too is futile and a miserable task.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

We are suffering a crisis of loneliness. At least, that’s the opinion of our government. In a recent announcement from no less an authority than the U.S. Surgeon General, our government announced that its official position is that we are suffering from a “loneliness epidemic.” And this isn’t just a holdover from Covid either. We are lonely and that is and will continue causing more and more problems in our society. If left unchecked, this could get even worse. We could accidentally unleash a super villain who tries to destroy the world. Okay, admittedly, that seems unlikely, but it happened in the final season of the now-cancelled DC Comics HBO series, Titans. Let’s talk about the final season, what worked, what didn’t, and why it made a point worth considering.

Read the rest…

Digging in Deeper: 1 Corinthians 6:18

Leave a comment

“Flee sexual immorality! Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the person who is sexually immoral sins against his own body.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

Stop me if you’ve heard this one before. The Bible is just an antiquated set of restrictive rules that were put in place centuries ago and without any understanding of what the modern world is like. They were hardened by a bunch of prude men who were looking to tell people what they could and couldn’t do with their own bodies. They look to limit our freedom and take all the real fun and joy out of life. The Scriptures often get a bad rap today and the lyrics often run right along those lines. As a result, when people hear that “the Bible” says they shouldn’t do X, Y, or Z, they often roll their eyes and do it anyway because life is better when it’s fun. Besides, modern science has conclusively shown that the Bible can’t be trusted. But what happens when modern research starts to discover that the Bible wasn’t – and isn’t – perhaps so wrong as we’d like to believe? Let’s ponder that question for just a bit together today.

Read the rest…

Digging in Deeper: 1 Samuel 20:41-42

3 Comments

“When the servant had gone, David got up from the south side of the stone Ezel, fell facedown to the ground, and paid homage three times. Then he and Jonathan kissed each other and wept with each other, though David wept more. Jonathan then said to David, ‘Go in the assurance the two of us pledged in the name of the Lord when we said, “The Lord will be a witness between you and me and between my offspring and your offspring forever.”’ Then David left, and Jonathan went into the city.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

Friendship is a good thing. Nowadays, though, it is all too rare of a thing. Across the world, modern nations are suffering from loneliness epidemics. In spite of being digitally connected in ways previous generations could not possibly have imagined, we are more isolated than we have ever been. Never had there been a time in human history when having friends—real friends, not merely online connections—was both more important and also more difficult than it has ever been. Making things even more difficult is the hypersexualized nature of our culture. Let’s talk this morning about an example from the world, a supposed example from the culture, and why we need something the world simply can’t offer us.

Read the rest…

Digging in Deeper: Ecclesiastes 4:9-10

Leave a comment

“Two are better than one because they have a good reward for their efforts. For if either falls, his companion can lift him up; but pity the one who falls without another to lift him up.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

As an introvert, I spend a lot of time by myself. At least, I try to do that. I love people. I love being around people. But people wear me out. That’s just how God built me. The safety and familiarity of home with my family or my office are restorative to me. Because I’m built the way I am, a new streaming series about someone even more painfully introverted than I am was an immediate draw. That it happened to be produced by one of my absolute favorite directors didn’t hurt. Having finally finished watching it, this morning, let’s talk about the recent Netflix series, Wednesday.

Read the rest…

Power Struggle

2 Comments

For the last couple of weeks, we have been working through Paul’s challenging words about marriage to the Ephesian church. What he describes there sounds awesome when it works, but the reality is that it doesn’t often work. Ideals are nice, but reality is rarely ideal. So, what do we do when things aren’t working like God intended, particularly when it comes to our marriages? That’s where something the apostle Peter said comes into play. This week, we are talking about what to do when reality falls short of ideal. This idea applies to our marriages, yes, but it applies more broadly than that as well. Read on to find out what to do and the impact it can have.

Power Struggle

There’s an old saying that goes something like this: Polycephaly is better than being monocephalic. Wait, you’ve never heard that one? Well, how about this version? Two heads are better than one. That probably sounds a bit more familiar. Be honest with me, though: How many of you have ever heard of the medical condition known as polycephaly? It is a rare genetic defect causing a creature (including human creatures) to be born with two heads. Perhaps you’ve seen a picture of a turtle like this one. This poor calf just tugs at your heartstrings a bit. This last one, however, is probably something you could only imagine seeing in a nightmare. As a general rule, God designed the various creatures He created to have one head. That’s all they need. When a creature enters the world with two heads, that is unfailingly a signal that something has gone wrong. If you want to be all theological about it, it is one of the many impacts of sin on the world. 

Read the rest…