Dear HLPC family,
This Lord’s Day we will continue our sermon series in the book of Hebrews and will be considering chapter 13, verse 4 which reads: Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous. (ESV) Obviously, we’ll be looking at what the Bible has to say about marriage.
I remember during my seminary days, when Connie and I had been married not even two years that I decided to preach on the book of Ephesians for Geneva Presbyterian Church in Matherville, Mississippi. I was their student pastor for two of the three years I was at Reformed Theological Seminary in Jackson, MS. As I stood before them one Sunday to preach on chapter 5 of Ephesians, and on the issue of marriage, it hit me that most of the married couples in that small sanctuary had been married longer that I had been alive. Who was I to address marriage to these folk? I reminded them and myself that I certainly was not the voice of experience but that we all could learn something from Scripture.
Well, this summer Connie and I will have been married 33 years. Now I have a few more years of experience to draw upon. Yet, I still have a lot to learn and apply, by God’s grace, from Scripture to my own marriage. That’s what a preacher should do regardless of the issue–seek to preach God’s Word more than personal opinion. I hope we leave Sunday encouraged by what God has to say about marriage. Please pray for my preparation!
Also, I would appreciate prayer this Friday evening as I will be teaching students in Bogota, Colombia another session on the Doctrine of Christ for the Reformed Seminary of Latin America (SRL). Of course, this will be via Zoom and through an interpreter!
Your Pastor,
Paul
