Dear Saints,
Study after study shows the beneficial effects of marriage and the self-inflicted harm that people experience when they ignore this evidence. Marriage is good for us in so many ways.
Yet the statistics also show our culture heading in the opposite direction. In 1970, 89 percent of all births were to married parents. Today, unfortunately, it is only 60 percent. In 1960, 72 percent of adults in America were married. Care to guess the number in 2008? Fifty percent. How did we get here, when it makes no logical sense?
Tim Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York and his wife, Kathy, have written a brilliant new book that explains why marriage is in such dire straits, and how to rescue it. Their book, The Meaning of Marriage: Facing the Complexities of Commitment with the Wisdom of God.
The Kellers diagnose this cultural disconnect. It’s the natural fruit of the West’s slow redefinition of marriage: from an institution where duty and mutual sacrifice are expected for the good of children and the larger society to one in which the marital partners primarily ask, “What’s in it for me?” “In short,” Keller writes, “the Enlightenment privatized marriage, taking it out of the public sphere, and redefined its purpose as individual gratification, not any ‘broader good’ such as reflecting God’s nature, producing character, or raising children.”
As a consequence, this new understanding, which is supposed to be so liberating, he says, “actually puts a crushing burden of expectation on marriage and on spouses that more traditional understandings never did.”
Because marriage is now all about me, no one is ever good enough, so we hang back, afraid to commit, waiting for the non-existent perfectly “compatible” person—meaning he or she is well-adjusted, beautiful, and can help us find sexual and emotional fulfillment. Or we drop the person we married when someone “better” comes along.
If this is the enemies attack on marriage, and it’s seems to be working, you know he is attacking our ideas about church. Too many are coming to church for the reason so many view marriage – “it’s all about me!”
This Sunday, we’re bent on keeping the focus where it belongs – “It’s all about Jesus!” Here’s what to expect:
8:30 Service: Gordean will be bringing the message.
10:30 Service: “Jesus Is On His Way,” Text: Revelation 1:7-8. The Book of Revelation’s theme is the second coming of Christ. We have started a series going through the Book of Revelation verse by verse. I want us to hear what the bible teaches about the soon coming of our Lord and how it ought to affect our lives.
Luncheon: Right after the 10:30 service, we will be blessed with a Post Thanksgiving luncheon. All are invited and bring a friend to the service and share the blessing.
Christmas at Campbell: This Year’s Christmas on the Beach (Dec. 17) will not be at the Waianae Boat Harbor but at the old Campbell raceway park. The times are the same – 10:00am to 3:00pm. We will be helping to host this mega event. West Oahu will be doing the MCing, setting up the sound system and assisting with the entertainment. All hands on deck for this awesome event. This is our mega outreach and one that we close the year off with. We partner with the Waianae Community Outreach and several other churches. Let’s join our hearts and hands by introducing the Jesus of Christmas to needy keikis and families.
Christmas and New Year’s: This year's Christmas falls on Sunday. We will have one service on Dec. 25 at 10:00am. New Year’s also falls on a Sunday, but we are going to cancel our Services and meet back on the following Sunday. Mark your calendars!
