The Weekly: April 11, 2012

In a word, Easter Sunday can be summed up by this word:  Wow.  From people, to praise, to having the chance to proclaim the freedom found in the resurrection of Christ, wow, what a day.  What do you do to follow up a day like that?

You continue to work, fueled and ruled by the fact that God is working in you as you work out the implications of salvation.  And that’s what we are going to do in the coming days at Southway.

Starting Sunday, we are going to be “back to work” so to speak, as we start the week by weekend worship services with a new series, and continue the week with small groups meeting throughout the work days, and with our monthly trip to serve our homeless brothers and sisters at Church Under The Bridge.  For CUB, we’ll meet in the parking lot at 6:20 p.m., load up our cars with people and clothes and head out to serve.

But back to Sunday, April 15th for the remainder of this brief note.  We are kicking off our series on marriage entitled “Marriage Matters:  Built to Last.”  I want to highlight a few items before signing off:  1.  Why we are doing a marriage series.  2.  What do we do if we are not married.  3.  Our ultimate goal with this series and how you can pray for that goal to be accomplished.

1. Why we are doing a marriage series:  We are taking valuable time in our weekend worship services to address a very important topic; something we don’t usually do.  Now sure, from time to time, we have done topical series (Advent, Doctrinal looks, Core Values) in our preaching calendar, but we have never attempted a series like this one.  But we are doing this series for a number of reasons, in no particular order.  Over 6 million weddings will take place this year.  And by 2020, half of them will be over.  If marriage is important to God (and it is, as His primary way to describe the intimacy He wishes to enjoy with His children is the marriage motif), then it is vitally imperative we learn how root our marriages in Him.  Also, every Christian marriage isn’t just for the two people married:  It’s a portrait of the Gospel.  Marriage is also for God’s mission.

2. What if I’m not married:  I can understand trepidation for even attending for the next 2 1/2 months if you are single, which a number of our faith family are.  But I’m convinced that healthy, God-honoring, Christ-saturated marriages benefit EVERYONE, not just the married people.  Also, if it takes a village to raise a child, then it takes all of the church to help marriages.  I have learned much about marriage from currently-single friends.  And whether we find ourself single-for-life, or single-hoping for-marriage, marriages built to last need the whole of the Christian community.  So if you are single, this series is still for you; either to utilize for your own future marriage, or to help encourage and exhort friends who are married.

3.  Our ultimate goal for the series:  Our goal is both to honor and help.  We want to bring attention to marriage’s real reason for existence:  to honor God.  We also want to help people.  We hope that people are drawn to Southway to hear about truly building a lasting marriage (based on the Gospel), and would receive help (and in some cases, receive Christ).  Pray that our worship attendance numbers would grow as a result of this series, that God would be glorified, and that people would be strengthened.

Love to you Southway!

Jason