Forgive for the delay in getting the second part of the Courtship series on the blog.  No excuses.  Here is the second installment.

 THE OBSTACLES TO GOD GLORIFYING MARRIAGES

 There are a number of obstacles to God glorifying marriages.  And since this should be the goal of parents for their children and young men and women, as they look to their future, we ought to look at some of these obstacles.

 Poor discipleship at home.  If children are not taught a biblical godly perspective on marriage and the roles of men and women in marriage, they are likely to fail. 

1. Rejection of parental and godly authority, counsel, and wisdom.  A parent can train a child, teach a child, and correct a child, but the child may still reject this means of God’s grace.  And sadly, rebellion of God’s ordained means of protection and grace has led to many less than God glorifying marriages.
2. The neglect by parents to guide and protect their children through the process of preparing for marriage.  Father’s and Mother’s who leave the process of finding a spouse solely up to their older children, with little input and accountability, cannot expect good things to happen.  God has designed parents to give godly counsel, accountability, and protection during this time.
3. All of this has led to worldly modern practice of Recreational Dating.
   a.  We have accepted this practice hook line and sinker.
   b.  It is probably not coincidental that as sexual immorality, cohabitation, and divorce have sky rocketed, along with the practice of Modern Recreational Dating.

 LET’S START WITH OUR VIEW OF GOD AND HIS WORD

 We have to start with a right view of Scripture.  Without a foundation, we have no basis to make decisions and live our lives.  We will be, as the title of one book suggests, like the relativist with our feet firmly planted in mid-air.

1.   God is sovereign and we are submitted to His authority (Matt 11:28-30; James 4:7; 2 Cor 10:5; Rev 4:11).  If we cannot understand God’s authority, then we will not understand his delegated authority to parents.
2. His Word is authoritative and sufficient (2 Tim 3:16-17; 2 Pet 1:3-4; Luke 16:31).  If we believe this to be true, then it should drive us to God’s Word to address all issues, especially the issue of marriage and preparing for marriage.

 MODERN DATING IS UNWISE AND PERILOUS

Modern Recreational Dating: The process of engaging in relationships with the opposite sex for mutual enjoyment, without parental involvement, with the hope that a suitable marriage partner will one day be found.

Is Modern Recreational Dating Biblical?

1. At best, modern dating is biblically unwise.  At worst it is plain rebellion.
2. “But, I know many people who have good marriages who have dated!”
   a.  First, you do not know their private details, stories, and regrets.
   b.  Second, surviving a process does not necessitate commending the process.

1)  Children have survived broken families, but we don’t commend them.
2)  People have survived airplane crashes, but as Douglas Wilson illustrates, we don’t commend flying on poorly maintained aircraft.

So, whether by ignorance, or clear-minded stubborn choice…there is little to commend Modern Dating, biblically.

NEXT ENTRY:  Part 3: What is so wrong with Modern Dating?

Here is an outline of what was shared about the Building Fund after the service on 6/26/11.  If you would like more specific information, call Pastor Rick.

How many of you have huge sums of money lying around burning a hole in your pocket?  Some of us may not have enough set aside to meet the average needed per family to pay the building off in 5 years.  And that is just what we want to do in order to pay the building off with zero interest.  This giving is over and above our tithe!  It is a lot of money.

 I want to let you in on a little secret: God already owns this building!  We are down here working on who has the slip of paper and who owes who what, but it already belongs to God.  Perhaps we do not have the money as a congregation.  Well, we are going to have to rely on God to provide.  And that is just what He wants us to do, isn’t it.  We are going to need God’s grace here. 

 How do we rely on God’s provision?  It doesn’t mean wiping our hands clean of responsibility.  It doesn’t mean not thinking about it.  We have to believe that what God is going to do, He is going to do primarily through us.  That is what is so exciting about this!  We are going to be a part of this, even if it is a small part.  He is the one who multiplied the bread, rained down manna from heaven, and turned water into wine.

 So, where do we start!

1.      Give yourself to God – 2 Cor 8:1-5

a.      1 We want you to know, brothers, about the grace of God that has been given among the churches of Macedonia, 2 for in a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part. 3 For they gave according to their means, as I can testify, and beyond their means, of their own accord, 4 begging us earnestly for the favor of taking part in the relief of the saints– 5 and this, not as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then by the will of God to us.
b. When we as members voted to enter into this contract, we committed ourselves to the purchase of this facility and the responsibilities.
c.  But let’s agree together that all we have is God’s and that we want to use it according to His will and for His glory.  This what giving ourselves to God is about.
d.  We cannot be generous in giving, if we have not first been generous in giving ourselves to God.

2.      Pray often—Luke 18:1-7

a. And he told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart. 2 He said, “In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor respected man. 3 And there was a widow in that city who kept coming to him and saying, ‘Give me justice against my adversary.’ 4 For a while he refused, but afterward he said to himself, ‘Though I neither fear God nor respect man, 5 yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will give her justice, so that she will not beat me down by her continual coming.’” 6 And the Lord said, “Hear what the unrighteous judge says. 7 And will not God give justice to his elect, who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long over them?
b.  Notice the emphasis is “that they ought always to pray and not lose heart.”  So, let us pray persistently without losing heart!
c.  Pray for God to provide for His Church.
d.  Pray that He would receive all the glory.
e.  Pray for God to provide through you.f.  Pray that He would grant you wisdom in what to give from what He has allowed you to steward.

3.      Believe God will provide—Mark 11:20-24

a.      As they passed by in the morning, they saw the fig tree withered away to its roots. 21 And Peter remembered and said to him, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree that you cursed has withered.” 22 And Jesus answered them, “Have faith in God. 23 Truly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him. 24 Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.
b.  This doesn’t mean name it and claim it!
c.  The first requirement is that we are submitted to the Lord’s will… “Father, all things are possible for you…Yet not what I will, but what you will.” (Mark 14:36)
d.  This is about believing that all things really do belong to God.
e.  This is about believing that investing in God’s Kingdom generously and sacrificially is not a risky scheme, but a wise decision when made according to His will.  It is living by faith, not a word of faith.
f.  This about believing that stewardship is primarily about what God wants me to do with what already belongs to Him for His glory.

 How can we seek God’s provision in this way regarding the Building Fund?

1. Keeping it Before Us!a.  A reminder to give ourselves to Goda.  A reminder to pray
   b.  A reminder to trust in God
   c.  How?

1)  Bulletin updates on the Building Fund
2)  Periodic Testimonies and Updates at services
3)  “EVERYTHING IS HIS” Collection Jars: Fill them up and bring in what you have collected and start over again!  The idea is not simply to give our “spare change” to the Building Fund, it is to have a reminder on our kitchen tables to pray for the Lord’s provision, a reminder that “Everything is His,” and a reminder of how much we need Him. 

The earth is the LORD’s and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein, 2 for he has founded it upon the seas and established it upon the rivers. Psalm 24:1-2

 4)      Annual Special Offering—July 10th: Each year we will set aside one day for a special offering.  Not because one day is special above all others, but to bring focus, attention, and prayer to our goal of paying off the building in five years with zero interest.

2.  A Call to Prayer

a.  At our prayer meetings and on our prayer sheets
b.  Periodically at our services (Deacons—once per month give thanks for the Lord’s provision of a building and pray for continued provision)
c.  A Day of Prayer:  Sign-Up to pray around the clock for God’s provision for the Felton facility, and the ministries of GTCC.

1)  Wednesday, July 6^th from 12 Midnight to 11:59 P.M.
2)  Every half hour
3)  From 7:00 – 7:30 P.M. together at Prayer Meeting 

LET’S RELY ON GOD TOGETHER THROUGH PRAYER

I saw this post and thought it was a welcomed reminder for mothers.  You are on the front lines.  You are under-appreciated.  You can grow weary and discouraged by the battle.  The fruit can seem absent.  But you are an amazing gift of God’s grace.  You are strategically placed to impact the generations.  May God strengthen you and encourage you today in your mission as mothers.  Enjoy this article: Motherhood as a Mission Field