Honoring Marriage in All Things
Honoring Marriage in All Things
Well, Taylor and Travis are finally engaged to be married. This fact has sparked A LOT of conversation, not just about them, but about the nature of marriage itself. Some of it’s been sincerely encouraging, some of it’s been emotionally silly, and some of it’s been genuinely cynical, like this post: “Imagine how amazing this breakup album’s gonna be”.
Well, at least we’re talking about it.
This Sunday we end our four-week lectionary journey in Hebrews. Chapter 13—the book’s lightning round closing remarks and instructions—includes this multi-faceted gem (v. 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.”
This verse—a command and a warning—comes to us in a passage filled with practical instructions for Christian living:
showing hospitality to strangers,
remembering those in prison,
being content with what we have.
And right in the middle of these “everyday” exhortations, the author of Hebrews places this profound statement about marriage. Why? Because marriage isn’t just a social construct or a romantic notion. It’s a divine institution, established by God from the beginning as a lifelong covenant with specific creational design and a surprisingly missional telos.
I want to explore with you what it means to “hold marriage in honor among all”—not just as a nice idea, but as a sacred calling in a world that increasingly views it as optional, temporary, or “redefinable” according to personal or cultural whims.
See you Sunday.
Steve+
NEWS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS
5th Sunday Potluck/Membership Sunday
We will gather following worship this Sunday to share a meal and welcome new members. Plan to bring an entree and/or a side or dessert to share. We’ll provide table service and bottled water. And if you’d like something else to drink, bring it.
Fall Women’s Retreat with Chrystie Cole—Friday, October 24 & Saturday, October 25 @ 1309.
Second Sunday Sandwiches—Sunday, September 14 following worship
September Vestry Meeting—Sunday, September 14, 12:15PM
Morning Prayer—Tuesday-Friday, 8AM on Zoom
Evening Prayer—Wednesdays, 7PM on Zoom
Men’s Bible Study—Thursdays, 7AM @ 1309
Photo: Nathan Dumlao on Unsplash
