Category: Bulletin Articles

  • marriage

    Sex and Marriage

    Today, the world has changed God’s original purposes for sex. Pleasure has become the chief aim. Sex is pleasurable, but if that is its chief purpose, marriage no longer has any real significance beyond pleasure, and when the married decide there is no more pleasure, they will abandon their relationship. Consider, however, the difference between that and the notion that reproduction is the primary purpose of sex. When reproduction is the goal, married people may pursue that goal together by having and rearing children. That goal will not admit to easy defeat because they are investing themselves in something other than themselves, their children.

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  • black claw hammer on brown wooden plank

    God Commands Everyone to Work

    Men are to labor to provide for their wives and children. 1 Timothy 5:8 says, “But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.” Women are to take care of the home and care for children. Paul wrote to Titus, “The older women likewise, that they be reverent in behavior, not slanderers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things—that they admonish the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, to be discreet, chaste, homemakers, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be blasphemed” (Titus 2:3-5).

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  • chef making fresh pastry on table in bakery

    God’s Distribution of Labor in the Home

    God gave Adam and Eve very definite roles in relationship to the family. Adam was to be the “breadwinner” of the home by going out and working hard to provide for the family. Eve was to bear and take care of their children. These roles were the consequence of Adam and Eve’s sin against God, and the post-fall standard for the distribution of labor in the home.

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  • commands

    Two Words

    For example, I love the idea that as the Church, we are in a partnership with each other.  You are my partner, and I am your partner.  I also love the idea that we are in fellowship with each other.  We share something in common with each other even though we may come from different places and different backgrounds.  It’s that commonality that brings us together in relationship.  And I love the idea of participation, that we are involved with each other for a common mission, a common goal.

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  • Spoken Well Of

    Wouldn’t you like people to say that about you to others?  Especially when it comes to living for Jesus?  I think there are two things here for us to learn.  First, I think this scripture encourages us to live our lives in such a way for Jesus that others in the church and in the community, should speak well of us.  And then I think this scripture should encourage us to speak well of others in the church. 

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  • helping the church

    From Worship to Warning

    See, the Psalmist’s original audience needed to know that the knee bent, the body bowed in worship and praise to God means nothing unless they are living it every day outside of the community of the Lord’s people.  And we too, need to be reminded of the same thing.  That our worship here means nothing unless we are living it every day when we are out there in the world. 

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  • “You Smell”

    What if I told you that you smell?  First, you may be offended.  How dare brother Jon say something like that, telling me I smell?  Then again, you may be confused?  I smell?  (Sniff, Sniff) Or, maybe, you might be thinking, how did brother Jon know?  Now, you may be wondering, Jon, where are you going with this thought?  Well, let me tell you something.  If after reading this, you realize you don’t smell, well, you’re going to want to make a decision about that.

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  • photo of family having fun with soccer ball

    God Wants You to Flourish!

    God gave Adam and Eve this command, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it” (Genesis 1:28). For this to happen, Adam and Eve needed to move beyond the status quo. They needed to flourish. The word flourish means to thrive and prosper. It means to reach one’s full potential as a human being. God has the same desires for us today. He doesn’t want us to languish in idleness but make a concerted effort to be the most we can. Are we doing that?

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  • colorful abstract wallpaper

    Patterns of Communication

    Good communication skills require planning, patience, and practice. One cannot resolve all communication issues overnight. Sometimes, it takes time to think and to understand. We may need to broach the topic multiple times to communicate clearly.

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  • coworkers sitting at a cafe

    Good Marriages Have Good Communication

    When married couples love and respect each other, they will tell each other the truth. A relationship built on a lie will not last very long. Ephesians 4:25 says, “Therefore, putting away lying, ‘Let each one of you speak truth with his neighbor,’ for we are members of one another.” This means that spouses do not keep secrets from one another. They are open, honest, and transparent. It also means that spouses must talk to one another about perceived problems in a constructive way.

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  • inspirational quotes on a planner

    Living By Faith in the New Year

    Where does our focus need to be in 2023? Jesus tells us. “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets” (Matthew 22:37-40). How do we do this? Come to church. Read the Bible. Pray to God. Take care of your family. Help the needy. Love your enemies. “Fear God and keep His commandments for this is man’s all” (Ecclesiastes 12:13).

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  • green box tied with brown string

    The Gift Given for All Time

    Do we feel the same joy for the gift God gave to us as we do for those fleeting baubles that we exchange each December? When Paul wrote, “Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say rejoice” (Philippians 4:4), he had Jesus in mind. He is the gift given for all time with whom and by whom we may rejoice forever. After the “season of giving” has ended, God’s gift giving goes on.

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  • a cheerful woman showing her husband pregnancy test result

    Telling the Truth

    It is important that we tell the truth regardless of how uncomfortable that may be. That does not mean that we must be mean spirited or belligerent to do it. We must speak the truth in love (Ephesians 4:15). Lies, however, are so appealing to many today. This is because people generally want to justify how they act without worrying about whether what they are saying and doing is right or wrong.

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