From the Pastor's Desk

This year Valentine's Day falls directly on Sunday. So it provides a great opportunity for Honoring Marriage. Modern society is rife with unbiblical ideas about love and marriage. They undermine marriage. Marriage is to be honored, and not only your marriage, but the institution itself (Heb. 13:4). Here are a couple of basic principles:

1) Happiness is not dependent on finding someone to love you. Your need to be loved has been completely met by God (Jer. 31:3). Freed from the bonds of trying to make your spouse love you, you are now able to fully love.

2) The foundation of any authentic love relationship rests on a pledge to follow the Lord. "Where you go, I will go....Your God [will be] my God" (Ruth 1:16)

It's easy to get discouraged by the current state of marriage. We are told, "Marriage is easy when you find the right one," along with other lies. Faulty beliefs create unrealistic expectations. But when we honor marriage, we esteem each other as highly valuable and are willing to invest the necessary time and energy. God's heart is for permanence in marriage. We pray you are encouraged in marriage today.

There is such a need in our church for this kind of encouragement that we are seeking the Lord's direction about ongoing Marriage Ministry. You will probably hear more in days to come.

Pastors Mark & Jennifer