Foundations
Foundations - Sanctity of Marriage
November 8, 2020 • Pastor Denny Curran
"This is what the LORD says: “Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls. But you said, ‘We will not walk in it." -Jeremiah 6:16 (NIV) With all the different views of marriage and what defines a marriage, today, we dive into God's Word to see what IT says. What does God's Word say about marriage? 1.) Marriage is a covenant relationship between on man and one women! This is a life long allegiance to each other alone, as husband and wife. This becomes a picture of God’s covenant relationship between Christ and His Bride (the Church). "So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it..." -Genesis 1:27-28 (NIV) And then God linked His design in manhood and womanhood with marriage. "The man said, “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called ‘woman,’ for she was taken out of man.” For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh." -Genesis 2:23-24 (NIV) "Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything. Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. After all, no one ever hated his own body, but he feeds and cares for it, just as Christ does the church— for we are members of his body. “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.” This is a profound mystery—but I am talking about Christ and the church. However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband." -Ephesians 5:24-33 (NIV) God made man - male and female - with their distinctive feminine and masculine nature, and their distinctive roles, so that in marriage as husband and wife, they could display Christ and the church. What does this mean? The basic roles of wife and husband are not interchangeable. The husband displays the sacrificial love of Christ’s headship, and the wife displays the submissive role of Christ’s body. The mystery of marriage is that God had this double display in mind when He created mankind as male and female. 2. There is no such thing as a same-sex marriage. Those who believe that God has spoken to us truthfully in the Bible should not say that a life long partnership and sexual relation of two men or two women is a marriage. According to God's Word, it isn’t. God created and defined marriage - anything outside that would be sin and miss the mark! God’s intent was and will always be that marriage is a covenant union between a man and a woman. 3. It will destroy us! "Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit lives in you? If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him; for God’s temple is sacred, and you are that temple." -1 Corinthians 3:16-17 (NIV) All sex outside of God’s design is perversion and it will destroy you. "Do what is right and good in the Lord’s sight, so that it may go well with you and you may go in and take over the good land that the Lord promised on oath to your forefathers" -Deuteronomy 6:18 (NIV) Our foundation must be in Christ. Our foundation must be in God's Word.
Foundations - Sanctity of Life
November 1, 2020 • Pastor Denny Curran
"Blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called the children of God." -Matthew 5:9 (NIV) "Dear friends, I urge you, as foreigners and exiles, to abstain from sinful desires, which wage war against your soul. Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us." -1 Peter 2:11-12 (NIV) "Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them. For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever." -1 John 2:15-17 (NIV) As the 2020 election approaches, we believe that as a voter, you should understand and research the issues. Some will have a greater impact on our culture and future of our country than others. We have an allegiance to God and His ways. We have an allegiance as Americans to maintain our freedom. Finally, we have an allegiance to our political party by sharing our voice of the people. Our cues come from Christ, not culture. Our culture has accepted 2 huge lies: 1.) If you disagree with someone’s lifestyle, you must fear or hate them. 2.) If you love someone you must agree with everything they believe or do. Your compassion should come from your conviction. There are some issues at stake that those who identify with Christ and maintain scripture as their source for life and godliness must stand. What are these non-negotiables? 1.) Sanctity of life 2.) Sanctity of marriage— the union of one man and one woman "That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh." -Genesis 2:24 (NIV) 3.) The preservation of religious liberty. When we don't respect the life of the unborn, we won't respect the life of the born. The greatest destroyer of love and peace is abortion. We as believers need to vote in such a way that protects these non-negotiable values.