Mawage. Mawage is what Bwings Us Together in the Month of October
Pastor Toby is in the process of nailing down the Sermon Series for the month of November (can you believe we’re almost into October already?!). He asked if I’d preach one of the weekends and I let him know which Scripture and topic I’d preach. With Thanksgiving happening in November, my choice was easy. I feel strongly that Christians should easily be the most thankful people on the planet so from Colossians 3:15-17, I plan to preach why we should be exceedingly thankful rather than conditionally thankful.
I tell you this because not only do I know that we (Christians) should be the most thankful people but I also know that we should have the healthiest marriages. Think about it; we have so many resources for having a healthy marriage at our disposal: God’s Holy Spirit inside of us, the Scriptures (that speak volumes about relationships and even specifically marriage), prayer, teaching/preaching/writing in abundance, the example of others, etc.
Yet it seems like every time I turn around, I’m hearing about another marriage falling apart. You’ve heard the statistics that say that the divorce/separation rates are not that different inside as opposed to outside the church. This is sad for many reasons, but none bigger than because Christian marriage is supposed to be a picture to the world of the beautiful relationship we can enjoy with Jesus forever (Eph. 5:31-32).
My purpose in writing this today isn’t to address the “why” of this issue, rather the “what are we going to do about it?”. Near the beginning of the year a team was formed to come up with a plan for how we could strengthen marriages at EBC. After much deliberation and prayer, we settled on the idea of having a “Marriage Month”. Our hope is that we would provide opportunities and couples would seize them not simply so they might have a great marriage but so that their great marriage would be Christ-exulting and Christ-employed.
The opportunities are a Date Night, a movie night, a Love and Respect weekend DVD Seminar, a game night, a follow-up six-week Marriage Life Group, and a “Love Dares” challenge (much of Toby’s sermons will also deal with marriage). No matter who you are, I want to invite you to join us for Marriage Month.
If you’re single, please pray for your married church family and that God would use this month in powerful ways (if you’d like to help with any of the events, please let me know as we can sure use help). Singles are also invited to attend the movie night and the Love and Respect Seminar.
If you’re married (young or old), please don’t waste this occasion (brothers consider taking the lead on this). Use the Love Dares to love your spouse better and to grow in intimacy. Attend the excellent Love and Respect Seminar as it will give you lots to think about, pray about and practice. And lastly, join the 32 other couples who have already signed up for the Date Night next Friday evening. But sign up soon as early-bird registration ends tomorrow and the deadline to sign up is Sunday (or a max of 50 couples).
You can find all the information you need and register on our website.
Pastor Matt
Categories: Evergreen Connection