The biblical institution of marriage is foundational in our society and yet it is the most difficult value to sustain today, said a Raymond, N.H., pastor.
Kicking off National Marriage Week on Sunday, Raymond Baptist Church Pastor Kevin McBride began a mini-series on marriage to re-examine the biblical foundation for marriage and help strengthen marriages that may be struggling.
"One thing we all need in our marriages is wisdom and that there is no perfect marriage, mine included," he said to his congregation.
McBride joins pastors across the country in a new movement called Let's Strengthen Marriage, involving prominent leaders from the evangelical and Catholic traditions, including Chuck Stetson and Chuck Colson. The initiative was launched last fall in an effort to fight negative trends, such as a high divorce rate and out-of-wedlock births, and build back up a healthy marriage culture, beginning with the church.
Bishop John Hine, Chair of the Catholic Bishops' Committee for Marriage and Family Life, said in a statement, "While recognizing that the history of marriage is more complex than we sometimes think, there is no doubt that a supportive culture is enormously important for married couples. Among like-minded couples, there is an unspoken air of moral support which is invaluable in times of difficulty.
"This sort of implicit support is much less available to married couples today as fewer choose to declare their commitment to each other publicly in marriage. As a Church our response to this situation is not to denounce or criticize, but to work harder to provide the encouragement and the missing support so urgently needed."
Marriage events, including conferences, enrichment courses and talks on "sex, love and communication," are scheduled to take place this month as Christians observe National Marriage Week.
Many pastors are promoting the initiative through sermons.
"If you want the hope of a successful marriage you need God's power," McBride stressed on Sunday in his sermon titled "Good Marriages Are Not by Accident."
Dispelling some common marriage myths to his congregation, the Raymond pastor noted, "Anyone who has said marriage is a 50/50 relationship lies.
"Marriage is a 110 and 110 relationship - that we give over and above to see the other person succeed so that we succeed together," he explained.
"If you are going into a marriage for what you will get out of it rather than what you will put into it, you are running the risk of failure," McBride pointed out. "It's a mutuality of submission to each other's needs."
Also rejecting the common argument made by married couples that they are no longer compatible with each other, McBride said, "Chances are you never were.
"Maturity in a relationship is when you capitalize on the differences and not criticize them."
Reading from a passage in the New Testament book of Ephesians, the lead pastor said God wants to give a married couple power - the power to fathom each other's differences, the power to fulfill the needs of one's spouse and the power to forgive mistakes. Complete humility, patience and peacemaking are some of the foundational points for a good marriage, he indicated.
"God wants your marriage to succeed," McBride highlighted. "He has given you the ability to make it succeed. Are you inviting Him in as a partner to give you what you need to not just have a marriage that survives but one that thrives and grows?"
Raymond Baptist Church has invited married couples, young and old, to renew their vows this coming Sunday. That day, couples will also learn how to "affair proof" their marriage.
On the Web: http://www.letsstrengthenmarriage.org/
SOURCE: Christian Post - Audrey Barrick
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Proposed Marriage Seminar and Enrichment at your church.
Read today Top News:
” Epidemic of Divorces of High Profile Christian Leaders”
(We Must Stop this Silent Killer of the church)
With HIGH profile divorces in the body of Christ, We have got to save marriages and not our churches. It’s Family first ministry second. We can heal the sick but can't heal our marriage. We can speak faith and quote scripture to move mountains but we can't speak faith and quote scripture to our marriage. We can praise our way through but we can not praise our way into a healed marriage.
My name is Pastor TC Brantley of Restoration Springs Church (www.rest.org) in Waterbury CT and by God's grace I have written 4(four)national published books on marriage and relationship including: "Married Couples: Thou shalt have great Sex". My books are on amazon.com and bn.com. Below is the link to my bookstore:
http://rest.org/bookstore.htm
If you are lead after reading my biography:
http://rest.org/Counseling.htm
http://rest.org/SandMplus.htm
To have me come; this event will not only be informative but also a fund raiser and a way to reach the community. We need a revival in homes more than our churches.
This seminar will help wives to understand their husbands and most importantly help husbands understand their wives; especially pastors and pastor wives.
For further interest or information please call me at 203 753-7377.
In addition I am on the Number 1 Urban radio station (Hot 937) in Connecticut speaking every two weeks on the power of Family and marriage intimacy.
http://rest.org/hot937.htm
Free newsletter:
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People of God we have to got to stop this tide. Remember that God created the home first and the church second. Marriage is THE oldest institution that is in existence today.
TOGETHER lets put a shop this plague that comes to our churches.
God bless and pray his providence upon your decision.
Sent from T C Brantley
Servant of God
Www.rest.org
Epidemic of Divorces of High Profile Christian Leaders