Marriage You must believe To care for the truth And perceive God from our youth The Bible is true The Bible is correct The Bible is glue The Bible is perfect If you do not believe in God Or in the truth of the Bible This poem is a wad Of foolish trifle So stop here Do not read another verse You will not hear The truth of the universe To be unyoked To ugly darkness You will be provoked By its starkness But not by Gods light Which shines on us all Bright as Gods image We do get the call To share in Gods plan Told in the Bibles first book Genesis is where it began Let us take a look Man should not be alone No helper found fit God made women almost a clone One flesh closely knit God made an equal member Two is better than one Let us remember Ecclesiastes is how it is spun Gods plan is guy and gal And he did not want us by ourselves And they say we shall Put all emotions on the shelf On the shelf of love On the shelf of encouragement On the shelf of self sacrifice On the shelf of commitment God knew the world was fallen And the world was hard Most would fall in You need to stand guard Horrible things occur To Gods creation We must concur It does not fit Gods narration A narration of obedience A narration of contentment A narration of joy A narration of peace Why can we not stand up To the evil in the world The devils evil cup As the devils world whirls Whirls around us Challenging our loyalties Creating lots of fuss Stealing our royalties Royalties of forgiveness Royalties of life Royalties of heaven Royalties of God To challenge the evil miscarriages God gave us each other Man and female in marriages Christians as a sister and a brother A sister and brother A brother and brother A sister and sister A brother and sister To protect one another To encourage one another To carry one another To help one another In this fallen place It is a mighty wonder There is Gods grace We can fall under We sin immensely In many ways Most intensely Setting God ablaze Same sex marriage, divorce Lies, gossip, small talk Which ones to enforce It is all a crock They are all sin Hated by God We cannot win We are all frauds God knew God gave us a rope God came through God gave us hope We are not done God sent Jesus to die He sent his son To ransom and buy Our sinful mouths Our sinful eyes Our sinful trespasses Our sinful lives Just believe Jesus is Lord God rose Jesus From the dead It is not tough Just repent Call the devils bluff A life changing event A new journey A new body A new understanding A new standing Not easy Never is Can get sleazy Do not fizz You have made it To Gods mysteries You do not need your wit Just Holy Spirit victories Victories in choices Victories in prayer Victories in service Victories in churches Celebrate today A new life view This is the way For me and you Notes: Belief Acts:22-31 English Standard Version (ESV) Paul Addresses the Areopagus 22 So Paul, standing in the midst of the Areopagus, said: “Men of Athens, I perceive that in every way you are very religious. 23 For as I passed along and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription: ‘To the unknown god.’ What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you. 24 The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man,[a] 25 nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything. 26 And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, 27 that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us, 28 for “‘In him we live and move and have our being’;[b] as even some of your own poets have said, “‘For we are indeed his offspring.’[c] 29 Being then God's offspring, we ought not to think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination of man. 30 The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent, 31 because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.” 2 Peter 1:20-21 English Standard Version (ESV) 20 knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone's own interpretation. 21 For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit. Unyoked 2 Corinthians 6:14 English Standard Version (ESV) The Temple of the Living God 14 Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness? God’s Image Genesis 1:26-27 English Standard Version (ESV) 26 Then God said, “Let us make man[a] in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” 27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. God’s Plan Genesis 2:18-24 English Standard Version (ESV) 18 Then the LORD God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for[a] him.” 19 Now out of the ground the LORD God had formed[b] every beast of the field and every bird of the heavens and brought them to the man to see what he would call them. And whatever the man called every living creature, that was its name. 20 The man gave names to all livestock and to the birds of the heavens and to every beast of the field. But for Adam[c] there was not found a helper fit for him. 21 So the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and while he slept took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh. 22 And the rib that the LORD God had taken from the man he made[d] into a woman and brought her to the man. 23 Then the man said, “This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.”[e] 24 Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. Why two is better than one Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 English Standard Version (ESV) 9 Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. 10 For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up! 11 Again, if two lie together, they keep warm, but how can one keep warm alone? 12 And though a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him—a threefold cord is not quickly broken. Hebrews 10:24-25 And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching. Philippians 2:3-4 Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Romans 15:1 We who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak and not to please ourselves. Galatians 6:2 Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. Hebrews 13:1-2 Keep on loving one another as brothers and sisters. Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it. Romans 12:5 so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. Corinthians 12:14 Yes, the body has many different parts, not just one part. Corinthians 12:20-21 As it is, there are many parts, but one body. The eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need you!” And the head cannot say to the feet, “I don’t need you!” Warnings for being alone Proverbs 18:1 English Standard Version (ESV) 18 Whoever isolates himself seeks his own desire; he breaks out against all sound judgment. Psalm 72:12 English Standard Version (ESV) 12 For he delivers the needy when he calls, the poor and him who has no helper. 1 Peter 5:8 Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Genesis 4:7 If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it. Romans 7:21 So I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me. 1 Thessalonians 5:14 And we urge you, brothers and sisters, warn those who are idle and disruptive, encourage the disheartened, help the weak, be patient with everyone. Single is possible under the right conditions 1 Corinthians 7:8-9 English Standard Version (ESV) 8 To the unmarried and the widows I say that it is good for them to remain single, as I am. 9 But if they cannot exercise self-control, they should marry. For it is better to marry than to burn with passion. Marriage Ephesians 5:22-33 English Standard Version (ESV) Wives and Husbands 22 Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. 23 For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior. 24 Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands. 25 Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, 26 that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, 27 so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish.[a] 28 In the same way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. 29 For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church, 30 because we are members of his body. 31 “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” 32 This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church. 33 However, let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband. Why does marriages fail? Sin and pride in this world Are divorces what God wants? Hebrews 13:4 English Standard Version (ESV) 4 Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous. Mark 10 English Standard Version (ESV) Teaching About Divorce Mark 10:1-10 And he left there and went to the region of Judea and beyond the Jordan, and crowds gathered to him again. And again, as was his custom, he taught them. 2 And Pharisees came up and in order to test him asked, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?” 3 He answered them, “What did Moses command you?” 4 They said, “Moses allowed a man to write a certificate of divorce and to send her away.” 5 And Jesus said to them, “Because of your hardness of heart he wrote you this commandment. 6 But from the beginning of creation, ‘God made them male and female.’ 7 ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife,[a] 8 and the two shall become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two but one flesh. 9 What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.” 10 And in the house the disciples asked him again about this matter. 11 And he said to them, “Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her, 12 and if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery.”