In his book Experiment in Criticism, C.S. Lewis argues that the value of a book is to be measured by how many times a reader returns to it. If a book is simply a consumption item, then it should be evaluated as such, which is to say that it is not valued very highly. It …
Samuel and Susannah
The book of Genesis is the book of our beginnings, but they are not simplistic beginnings. Rather, God has given us a layered and textured account what He did when He first created us, male and female, and this is an account that never fails to astonish us when we go back to learn from …
Mark and Carolyn
In the institution of marriage, God has created a wonderful balance in the formation of the human race as male and female. This balance is glorious, and we are most grateful for it. It is clear that from the beginning man was meant to go with woman, and that woman was meant to go with …
Andrew and Ashlynn
God loves to teach us by throwing one thing alongside another. Parallelism is one of His central teaching devices, and He has many ways of putting things in parallel. When two things are lined up together, we compare and contrast them, and we see what they have in common and in what ways they are …
Andrew and Mary Katherine
If someone entirely unacquainted with Christian Scripture or church history were given a copy of just the Old Testament, and that person read it carefully and thoroughly, one of the first things he would wonder would be, “Where’s the sequel? Where is the second part?” The Scriptures that were given to Israel were clearly looking …
Caleb and Katie
Marriage is one of the great gifts of God and, as with all His gifts, it must be received by faith. Not only must it be received by faith, it must be received by faith alone. This is a truth that we may view from various angles. For example, in Ephesians 5, marriage is set …
Skyler and Chelsey
In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, welcome to you all. Let us pray. Our Father and God, we know how You delight to bless Your people, and we thank You that these blessings include the goodness of marriage. We rejoice before You now in the formation of a new union, and …
Justin and Emily
Since the entrance of sin into our fallen world, we have a tendency to divide things that belong together, and to put together things that should be kept distinct. We blur what should be sharp, and we divide what should be blended. Although the creation of marriage antedates the entrance of sin, sin has entered …
Kyle and Elizabeth
In order to have a Christian home, the kind we just sang about, it is necessary to have Christians. In order to have a Christian marriage, there must be a Christian man and Christian woman. Going beyond this, in order to have a good Christian marriage, we must have a good man and good woman. …
Daniel and Brooke
The text from Hosea that was read for us is a rich text (Hos. 2:14-23), one that calls for more extensive treatment than can be offered in the brief words of exhortation in a wedding ceremony. But we have it on the authority of the apostle Paul that the prophet here was speaking of Christ …