October 2009

This month my wife Linda and I will celebrate our 38th wedding anniversary. I realize that is not a record (My parents just celebrated their 63rd anniversary) but it is a record for us. We know that it is by the grace of God and we give credit and glory to him.

This year we will celebrate by offering "An Evening to Strengthen Marriage" on that Friday evening, October 16. We invite all married couples to join us. We would like to offer this kind of evening four times during the next year, once a quarter.

The plan for these evenings is to begin with a study of a Bible passage that will help us understand and live out marriage according to God’s plan. I am sure you know that he invented marriage and not the US government who would like to try to take over control of marriage these days. (That is enough political commentary for this article!)

Then we will do a Book Club type of time. This year our book will be "When Sinners Say, 'I Do'" by Dave Harvey. This is my new favorite book on marriage. It helps understand the implications of the gospel message on the daily life of marriage. We will discuss chapters one and two at that first meeting. They are, "What Really Matters in Marriage" and "Waking Up With the Worst of Sinners." Does that pique your interest? The book is not a fun read but I believe it is filled with very biblical and practical insights into relationships and especially our marriages. Then over the next three evenings we will look at the rest of the book. Our time will also be a prayer time for each other asking God to strengthen our marriages.

In a perfect world I would wish that each person attending would have purchased the book and read the chapters ahead of time. But even if that does not happen, I believe that you will benefit from the insights shared through the discussion.

The book can be ordered from CBD or from Sovereign Grace Ministries. Marriage is a picture of Christ’s relationship with the church (that is us). He establishes the same kind of covenant with us that we are to live out in marriage. I hope that you will plan to join us to strengthen our marriages together.