28 Apr Destination Marriage | Part 1 – “A Theology of Marriage”
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Calling all ladies of Waters Church! – If you are between the ages of 16-116, we want you to join us for a fun night of fellowship at our Ladies Q & A Tea on Sunday, May 19th at 4 p.m. Let us know what is on your heart. Text in your questions anonymously starting NOW to 401-433-9475. No need to sign up, light refreshments will be served. (please note: ladies only; no child care provided)
Hosting Interns: If anyone is interested in hosting interns from different colleges this summer, please let us know! We will have more information soon.
The Deep End Podcast: Airs live Wednesdays @noon on Facebook and @thedeepend.tv ! Text in your questions anonymously to (508) 316-9333 to have them addressed on the show. And you can catch up on past episodes anytime on our Deep End page or on our Youtube channel @ waterschurch. If you subscribe to our Youtube channel you will receive notifications when our material is posted.
Looking for your testimonies! If you have group wins to share, please email them to me! maparsons@waterschurch.org
Coming Soon! – eFam Groups – for those who watch online only and are over 25 miles from any Waters Church location. If you have friends/relatives that watch our services online and are interested in becoming eFam Group Leaders, we will be rolling this out in the next couple of weeks! Stay tuned for more information on how they can register!
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We offer two types of classes. Please familiarize yourself with what these classes are about. Feel free to sign up for one so you can better explain what they are to your group members.
Starting Point: What is Christianity all about? Is the Bible really more than just a book? Who is Jesus? No matter where we are in life, we all have questions. Starting Point is a great place to explore the faith and have safe and open discussions about some of life’s toughest questions.
Growth Track: In this 3 part class; Discover, Deepen, & Dedicate; you will get answers to the most frequently asked questions about Waters Church and have an opportunity to ask your own. This is the perfect place to get to know the “Why” behind the “What” of who we are as a church.
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Key Verse: Many Many Scriptures
Confusion: We are a culture of confusion when it comes to marriage. Our culture has redefined marriage as just two people. This is the world’s idea, not the church’s idea. As Christians, we get our definition from the scriptures. The Bible is covered with marriages from beginning to end. The church has done a horrible job modeling marriage to the world. We have divorced at record rates, adopted the world’s mentality of dating, then sleeping together and then getting married. This is a disgrace when God’s people do it.
The battle is about order. God creates with order. He creates Adam and Eve and then gives the dominion to rule over all creatures. Satan hates God’s created order. Satan loves to create disorder, dysfunction, and disunity and he will try to attack God’s created order.
Ice-breaker question:
Q. How has your view of marriage changed over the years (did you always believe God’s plan for marriage or did you cultivate your own view from society?
1. MARRIAGE IS THE FOUNDATION FOR HEALTHY HUMANITY
After creating man and woman, God saw what he created was very good.
FOUR PROMISES GROUNDED IN MARRIAGE:
1. “image of God” – Personhood/Identity
We are created in the image of a loving good Father, not monkeys. There is no evidence of evolution. No missing link found. (There is the Frog and the Chicken, but no Fricken).
2. “dominion” – Power/Authority over your world.
3. “God blessed them” – Provision. He blessed them.
4. “be fruitful” – Purpose
We matter to God and we are made in the image of God. Power is the ability to do stuff. We get our abilities from God. He gives us all kinds of gifts (not just spiritual gifts but skills and talents). Personhood plus power will give us money. Provision will come but provision without purpose is empty.
Q. Did you ever believe in or think evolution was possible and why? How did realizing you were made in God’s image change the way you perceived yourself and others?
Pastor Tim gave the example of giving his son jobs around the house to make money. He is teaching him responsibility and giving him skills. Through this, he is teaching his son that he has purpose. Our children need both the mother and the father. Marriage is rooted in male and female and not having this in our lives can hinder our lives.
Q. What are some positives and negatives from your childhood and how had they affected your future?
Because of the fact they listened to the voice of disorder, the god of this world, they were cursed. This is why work can be a burden sometimes because the ground was cursed. The provision is the thorns and thistles which is ground zero for divorce and infidelity. The purpose becomes pain. The consequences of our sin bring disorder to God’s order.
This is what Jesus came to fix. If we do life the world’s way, it will not go well for us.
“When social regulations forbid indiscriminate satisfaction of sexual impulses, the sublimated sexual impulses are channeled into a ‘social energy’ that builds a society.” – J.D. Unwin, Sex and Culture, 1934
A monogamous marriage will give us energy, strength, safety, and security. Marriage does not work outside of God’s design. What the Sexual Revolution brought us, we are now trying to fix, hence #Metoo. Sweden has a law that you must consent to sex or it will be considered rape: Swedens law on consenting to sex.
There was also an app created for consent to sex. Writing down that we consent to have sex is called a Marriage Licence!
WHEN WE MESS WITH GOD’S DESIGN – WE GET DESTROYED.
Q. How has ‘messing’ with God’s design messed you up?
We should not mess up our lives, we are worth more. To this end, God sends Jesus, our second Adam.
What Adam does in sin, Jesus undoes in Righteousness. Adam is a symbol of Christ who would come.
Adam is in a sinless garden. God puts him into a deep sleep and fashions a woman. He wakes up Adam and brings the woman to the man.
2. MARRIAGE IS A PICTURE OF CHRIST AND THE CHURCH.
Jesus comes as our husband and promises to never leave us. What happened to Adam, happened to Jesus. He was in the garden, sweating blood, went to the cross, was put to death (deep sleep).
Out of His side came the water the blood that washes us and the water that gives us life.
What happened to Adam, happened to Jesus. We have a promise. We have eternal life in Him forever!
Q. Has knowing that marriage is a picture of Christ and the Church changed your preconceived notion of what your marriage should look like ( future, or present marriage) and how?
3. MARRIAGE IS THE PROMISE OF OUR ETERNAL HOPE WITH GOD
In the first century, a man was betrothed (promised) his eternal love for a young lady. He would leave for one year and build his house, work his land and get ready for his bride because he loves her. Then, a year later he came to celebrate and consummate the promise. The celebration lasted 7 days. This is a picture of what God is doing now.
STEP ONE: WE ARE PROMISED TO JESUS (BETROTHED).
STEP TWO: PREPARATION.
STEP THREE: CONSUMMATION/FULFILMENT.
God has promised us Jesus.
IN CHRIST, WE GET BACK:
1. PERSONHOOD/IDENTITY…” redemption”
2. POWER… “wisdom and insight”
3. PROVISION…” riches of His Grace”
4. PURPOSE…” according to His purpose”
Jesus is promised to every person who will listen to His call!
Pray for the lost and for each other. Pray for the Above and Beyond Campaign – new roof, parking lot and building for Woonsocket. Pray for the Guatemala missions and all of our missions. Pray for our leaders, country, and nation.
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