This
Lord’s Day as we gather we will honor our earthly fathers as we worship our
Heavenly Father. As we continue in our
study of Hebrews this Sunday’s message will come from Hebrews 13:4:
Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the
marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge
the sexually immoral and adulterous.
People who have an unshakable kingdom
as their eternal home and inheritance (Hebrews 12:28) worship God with lives that
are characterized by reverence and awe for Him, and filled with gratitude for
His saving grace. Citizens of God’s
unshakable kingdom live in the reality of God’s eternal love, so we are free to
live and love in radical and joyful ways. We are free to radically love our
brothers and sisters in Christ (Heb 13:1). We are free to love strangers (Heb
13:2). We are free to love prisoners and those who are suffering for the faith
(Heb 13:3). We are freed from the love of money and free to be content (Heb 13:5-6). And in this Sunday’s passage we see we are
free to honor and value marriage as God does and free to enjoy the gifts of
this sacred relationship. More than ever
our children and our community need to see God’s people honoring the precious
gift of marriage.
This week we will do much more than
honor fathers. We will seek to honor
marriage. Our text calls on us as God’s
people to honor and value marriage as much as He does. God
honored marriage by creating it Genesis 2:18-24). Jesus honored marriage by
attending a wedding and there revealing His power (John 2), and by teaching on
marriage and reminding us of its importance & permanence (Matthew 19); the
Holy Spirit honored marriage by making it the picture of the church in
Ephesians 5. The whole Trinity has declared that marriage is honorable.
We come together in worship this
Sunday to honor Jesus Christ, the spiritual bridegroom of the Church. In the sacred relationship of marriage we see
a mysterious, yet glorious portrait of the gospel.
In his book Gospel Empowered
Parenting, William Farley writes,
“From the beginning of
time God has marriage on his mind. He
was preparing a bride for His Son, whom He would marry forever. It would take the crucifixion and
resurrection of the groom to bring this marriage to pass. He loved (his bride) so much that he humbled
himself, descended an infinite distance, became man, and suffered poverty and
abuse for thirty-three years. Then in
the single greatest love in history, he allowed himself to be tortured to death
on a cross in his bride’s place. The Son
of God did all this to serve his bride, to make peace where enmity
reigned. What motivated him? Love that surpasses knowledge! He longed to unite himself in irrevocable
love to an unworthy bride. But the
gospel is not just about the Groom’s love. It also provokes a response from his
bride. When understood from the heart,
it motivates her to humble herself, love the groom with all her heart, respect
him, and serve him with joyful abandon.
The gospel summons Christ’s bride to yield to the servant authority of
her crucified King. Christian marriage
preached this union.” (p111)
Christian marriage proclaims this
sacred union. Christians gathered in
worship celebrate this union and come together as those Jesus has eternally
loved and redeemed by His blood.
This Sunday we will sing the great old
hymn More Love to Thee. As you read
these lyrics let them be the basis for your prayerful preparation for
worship.
More love to Thee, O Christ, more love to Thee!
Hear Thou the prayer I
make on bended knee.
This is my earnest plea: More
love, O Christ, to Thee;
More love to Thee, more love to Thee!
Once earthly joy I craved, sought peace and rest;
Now Thee alone I seek,
give what is best.
This all my prayer shall be: More love, O Christ to Thee;
More love to
Thee, more love to Thee!
Let sorrow do its work, come grief or pain;
Sweet are Thy messengers,
sweet their refrain;
When they can sing with me: More love, O Christ, to Thee;
More love to
Thee, more love to Thee!
Then shall my latest breath whisper Thy praise;
This
be the parting cry my heart shall raise;
This still its prayer shall be: More love, O Christ
to Thee;
More love to Thee, more love to Thee!
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