“In the Garden”

Genesis 2:24
 
“Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.”
 
I know in my life many times I forget just how much a part of me my wife really is. As I struggle through life’s daily challenges, I forget that I am not struggling alone but that God created my wife to be there at my side and one with me.
 
The other day I went out to the greenhouse where my wife had been working on cleaning out the dead plants and getting them ready for the next season. I joined in and as we worked together, I noticed a change in our outlook on the challenge at hand. The job became less of a struggle and more of a joy. We were behaving just as God intended man and wife to be, as one.
 
When we live like we are alone we both miss out on God’s perfect plan for us but when we live as He intended us to be, one flesh, together in unison – that is when the beauty of marriage can shine. This principle applied to the garden of life will work just the same as it did in our backyard garden.
 
While using the HEAR method (see below) consider the following questions:
  • What are some things that your parents modeled for you in working together as a couple?
  • If you’re married, what’s something you and your spouse enjoy working on together?
  • What are some ways that you can spend more time together, growing as a couple?
Highlight – what words or phrases jump out at you?
Explain – what does the passage mean?
Apply – how does the passage intersect with your life today?
Respond – how is God leading you to respond?
 
Bill Ramsey
 

 

 

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What does Genesis 2:23 say about Gender Equality?

Genesis 2:23
“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.”

Have you ever wondered why God did not make Eve at the same time as Adam? It was definitely not to show Adam’s superiority. God made Eve separate from Adam to illustrate the worth and connection of male and female.

At times we look at the Bible with analytical eyes, but the pages are filled with life and emotion. This passage is one of the sweetest, most unassuming statements from a man regarding women.  In essence, Adam says, “Finally, God has given me what I was missing, bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh. I will call her woman or “part of me.”

This statement is a declaration of loyalty and faithfulness. This statement is an admission of gender distinction and equality. It gives identity to the woman. She is part of man, but unique. That combination is the unison necessary for man and woman to live together and help each other.

If you are married, God made you to be loyal and faithful.  Respect one another in the uniqueness of who you are. Adam’s statement declared that women are not objects for men to use and men are not monsters that abuse their leadership. We were made from and for one another.

Matthew Henry said, “Women were created from the rib of man to be beside him, not from his head to top him, nor from his feet to be trampled by him, but from under his arm to be protected by him, near to his heart to be loved by him.”

So, the bottom line is, men and women are made from the same substance. They are both image-bearers of God, yet with different role assignments. They are made for each other to glorify God.

While using the HEAR method (see below) consider the following questions:

  • How do you view the opposite gender?
  • Do you struggle with your view of the opposite gender from negative experiences in the past?
  • If you are married, what do you need to change in your thoughts or actions to treat your spouse as God created him or her?  For instance, be grateful for this part of yourself, pray for him or her, or communicate kindness in a valuable way.
Highlight – what words or phrases jump out at you?
Explain – what does the passage mean?
Apply – how does the passage intersect with your life today?
Respond – how is God leading you to respond?
Pastor Stephen Williams

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“Teamwork Makes the Dream Work”

Genesis 2:18-22

“Then the Lord God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him.” Now out of the ground the Lord God had formed 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. The man gave names to all livestock and to the birds of the heavens and to every beast of the field. But for Adam there was not found a helper fit for him. 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. And the rib that the Lord God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man.”

Have you ever heard the phrase “Teamwork makes the dream work”? I have heard this a lot as a coach, teacher, and player, but I don’t think I fully grasped this concept until I got married. When I got married there was a definite void that was immediately filled. I had a spouse to “do life with,” to be a teammate with. It was something that was hard to explain but very clearly felt in my heart when we both made a covenant before God. This is what it means to be complete. However, this is just a fraction of the completion that we should feel when we are in union with God.
 
From the very beginning, God intentionally created man incomplete in himself. His fullness would not be felt until the creation of another. God lovingly addressed Adam’s needs! Enter Eve, the perfect help-mate and complement to Adam. He now had fellowship and companionship in a way that was literally tailor-fit for him. We, like Adam, are meant for companionship and fellowship. When these things are taken away, we can deeply feel their loss.
 
Our marriages (partnerships) should be a reflection of the relationship between Jesus and the church (HIS People). Non-believers should be able to look at a Christian marriage and see glimpses of how God communes with and loves His people. Jesus tells us to love our spouses as Christ loves the church. Christ loves us so much that He died for His bride (the church). In the same way that we feel complete with a spouse, we should feel fully complete when we are in union with Christ. Teamwork with the right spouse and Christ does make the dream work!
 
While using the HEAR method (see below) consider the following questions:  

  • Does your marriage reflect the relationship between Jesus and HIS church?

  • How can we use our marriage and a way to tell others about Christ?

Highlight – what words or phrases jump out at you?
Explain – what does the passage mean?
Apply – how does the passage intersect with your life today?
Respond – how is God leading you to respond?
Jesse Martin
 
 

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“The Loud Crowd”

Welcome to 2021!

It’s time to take a deep breath and look to our days ahead. This year our battle cry will be to LIVE LOUD!

Let’s look for ways to be courageous for Christ to those who are captive to fear and uncertainty. Not because we have everything under control, but because we are agents of the One who does.

It’s time to be audacious in our generosity and hospitality when our culture is telling us to hold on to what we have with both hands. Not because we are rich and without financial challenges, but because everything is His and He wants us to trust Him and reflect His bigheartedness.

It’s time to sew peace and calm when others entertain doom, gloom, and worst-case scenarios. Not because we’re naive to the troubles in our world, but because we’ve been commissioned to be the salve by the One who is already Victor over sin and death.

Will you step outside of yourself in 2021? Will you join us? Will you be part of the Loud Crowd?

Jon Price, Associate Pastor

 

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“Very Good”

Genesis 1:31
“And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.”
…“And it was very good”. God created light, land and seas, vegetation, heavenly bodies, creatures of the earth, and all was good in His sight. As He reflected on the six days of creation, He declared everything “very good”. For many of us, 2020 has been a difficult year, and we have no idea as to what the new year will bring. The one constant thing that we can count on as we face 2021 is that Jesus will be with us every step of the way. Every new beginning is a step of faith because we don’t know what trials and events the future holds. There is only one thing we do know and that is that in Christ, God is always with us. Isaiah 43:18-19 reminds us to “remember not the former things, or consider the things of old. Behold, I am doing a new thing”. What has occurred in 2020 will not compare to what the future holds for us as believers in Christ. The glory that awaits us! Let’s invade our world with the love, light, and the life of Christ this new year!
While using the HEAR method (see below) consider the following questions:
  • What confidence can we have, knowing that God calls His creation ‘good’?
  • What good things has God done for you this past year, even in the turmoil that we’ve faced?
  • What are some things that you can do to bring God’s’good’ into the lives of others this year?
Highlight – what words or phrases jump out at you?
Explain – what does the passage mean?
Apply – how does the passage intersect with your life today?
Respond – how is God leading you to respond?
Chelsea Allumbaugh
Photo by green ant on Unsplash
 

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“Spitting Image”

Genesis 1:26-27
“Then God said, “Let us make man 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.”
So God created man in his own image, 
in the image of God he created him;
male and female he created them.”
The entire world is searching to find a reason that gives them purpose, hope, direction, and an identity. Culture tells people this can be found in certain people, certain fame, and certain vices. However, one thing culture forgets to tell people when they are pursuing these certain things is that they will only find brokenness, pain, and death. Not Jesus.
These two verses clearly state that both man and woman are made in the image of the Holy God that rules over all things. To be made in the image of a perfect God is truly breathtaking. People are desperately trying to pursue physical perfection, but have overlooked that they are already made in the image of God.
God desires for all people to have a relationship with Him through His Son Jesus. A relationship with Jesus gives His children so much honor, hope, and leadership. God gave Adam and Eve the ability to have dominion over the land, livestock, and all over the earth.
Believers need to realize the blessing and honor of being made in the image of the Holy God. No other thing that God created on earth is made in His holy image. God’s church needs to share this beautiful truth to all of the hurting and dying world.
While using the HEAR method (see below) consider the following questions:
  • What do you think it means that we are made in the image of God?
  • What does it say about our purpose, our uniqueness in creation and His expectations that He created us like Himself?
Highlight – what words or phrases jump out at you?
Explain – what does the passage mean?
Apply – how does the passage intersect with your life today?
Respond – how is God leading you to respond?
Macon Jones, Pastor to Students and Young Adults
Photo by Jude Beck on Unsplash
 

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