Articles for tag: Marriage

August 10, 2013

Christian Standard

A Conversation with Arron Chambers

Meet Our Contributing Editors: This month we continue a series of interviews with CHRISTIAN STANDARD”s contributing editors. Arron Chambers, lead minister with Journey Christian Church in Greeley, Colorado, talks about intimacy in marriage and intimacy with Jesus and says the two are remarkably similar. Interview by Jennifer Johnson What”s going on at Journey these days? We”ve been looking for a new facility, and a church in town has a great building that”s twice as big as ours. They suggested we buy their building and they buy ours. To raise the money, we decided to scrap the capital campaign and do something that fits

August 9, 2013

Christian Standard

A Lifetime Love

Why do some married couples grow deeper in love, while others experience more pain with each passing season of life? What can we do to keep a new love young until we”re old? By Randy Gariss As the old couple held hands and slowly rose to their feet, so did the audience. The congregation”s ovation was sweet and deafening. We were recognizing a couple in our congregation for their 71 years of marriage. And everyone could see not only that John and Phyllis”s love survived the tests of time, but they had the marriage all young couples long for. There is something winsome

August 8, 2013

Christian Standard

What About Marriage?

By Jim Street For the past 42 years, I have spoken these words in every wedding I have conducted: The sacred relationship of marriage was instituted by God. . . . The union of husband and wife in heart, body, and mind is intended by God for their mutual joy; for the help and comfort given one another in prosperity and adversity; and, when it is God”s will, for the procreation of children and their nurture in the knowledge and love of the Lord. Those words, or similar ones, derive from The Book of Common Prayer and have been in

July 9, 2013

Christian Standard

Our Own Defense of Marriage Acts

By Mark A. Taylor Last year, just before my daughter”s wedding, a friend e-mailed me about the big day. “My daughter”s wedding was the most exhilarating and exhausting day of my life,” he said, and soon I would know what he meant. But it occurs to me that exhilarating and exhausting describe the whole gamut of married and family life. For example, it”s exhilarating finally to hold a newborn baby, especially after an exhausting labor and drawn-out pregnancy. Likewise, each milestone of the new preschooler”s life is exhilarating: first words, first steps, first everything! And keeping up with her is

May 20, 2013

Christian Standard

Dan Cathy = WWJD?

By Tim Harlow Dan Cathy is the president of Chick-fil-A and has borne the brunt of a great deal of criticism in the gay marriage debate because of a statement he made affirming biblical marriage values. That is NOT why I think he represents “What Would Jesus Do?” I know Jesus would affirm his Father”s plan for human sexuality, but he would never stop there. This Chick-fil-A debate was very unfortunate, in my opinion, because of the polarization it caused between the two sides. Cathy became the whipping boy for the gay lobby, representing all things evil about Christianity. I

February 23, 2013

Michael C. Mack

Ten Tips for Making Your Groups Less Scary

By Michael C. Mack The first time I attended a small group meeting, I drove around the block several times before finally getting up the nerve to walk up to the door of the host home. This was one of the scariest experiences of my life! I didn”t know what to expect and wondered if I”d fit in. Over the years, I”ve loosened up, and I”ve also learned how to make groups more inviting and accepting for new people. Here are 10 ideas.   1. Pay attention to the timing. When is the best time to invite a friend to

February 18, 2013

Christian Standard

Why Dwell in a House of Fear?

By Neal Windham A word may not mean what we think it means, especially if our emotions or preconceptions get in the way. Nowhere is this more true than when we talk about words associated with Spiritual formation. At age 2, my grandson Whit sometimes misunderstood the words of the songs he was learning. For example, “Jesus loves meat, this I know, for the Bible tells me so,” and “You make all things beautiful out of dups” (not “dust”). Not surprisingly, as a 5-year-old, his father, Luke, used to sing, “Elsha died, Elsha died” in a minor key, dirgelike, weeping

February 14, 2013

Christian Standard

Real Love, Real Joy

By Mark A. Taylor My preacher had advice for married folks in his sermon last Sunday: “As long as you”re going to be married the rest of your life, you might as well enjoy it.” His list of strategies for pursuing and discovering joy in marriage was a thought-provoking challenge even for an oldster like me (anticipating my 40th wedding anniversary in just a few months). But I was even more interested in a Wall Street Journal feature Tuesday that quoted scientific research to underscore a fact about marriage that Jesus himself might have offered. “People who put their mates” needs

February 24, 2012

Mark E. Moore

How Should the Church Relate to Those with Same-Sex Attraction?

By Mark Moore Individuals with same-sex attraction make up as much as 6 percent of the male population and 4.5 percent of females (though some studies estimate half that). Those are not insignificant numbers, especially when same-sex attraction involves you or someone you love. The church traditionally has not been particularly welcoming of such individuals, and a number of Scriptures have been cited to validate responses that are sometimes violent””verbally, emotionally, occasionally even physically. Because I am a follower of Jesus Christ, it is unconscionable for me to reject in the body of Christ some of the most spiritually sensitive

February 11, 2012

Christian Standard

His Church & Her Church

By Daniel Schantz When my wife and I attend church together, we do not have the same experience at all. When we get back home and start comparing notes, I sometimes wonder if we were even in the same building.   The Arrival She: We arrive at the church 30 minutes early. Any later would be unthinkable to my wife, Sharon, who is magnetically drawn to people and needs time to visit with them. Like a hummingbird foraging flowers, she moves from friend to friend, gathering newsy nectar and sharing the supernatural achievements of her grandchildren. At the same time,

December 23, 2011

Christian Standard

Surprise to Surrender

By Tony Wood Many traditions have been lost these days, but the timeless story of the nativity is still treasured by many of us. It offers a complex mixture of humility and hope, robes and ridicule, mangers and majesty. And in this story, one theme seems to bind all its characters together””from a recently engaged servant girl to royals traveling from Persia. That theme is surprise to surrender. Young Mary sat at home, excited at the prospect of marriage, and then fell back in instant shock as an angel exploded through the door of her kitchen. The pots clattered to

October 30, 2011

Christian Standard

You Must Read This . . . Setting Limits, Taking Control

By Jennifer Taylor Boundaries: When to Say YES, When to Say NO, To Take Control of Your Life Dr. Henry Cloud & Dr. John Townsend Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1992 Think about the frustrations you”re currently experiencing in your relationships. Maybe you resent your spouse for a recurring hurt or feel exhausted from chauffeuring your kids to countless sports practices and play dates. Maybe you can”t say no to a friend despite his constant demands on your time and energy. Maybe you”re struggling with an addict, an abuser, a manipulative leader, or a selfish family member. All of us experience (and contribute

May 7, 2011

Christian Standard

Cohabitation for Idiots

By Arron Chambers OK, I can hear what you’re thinking. This is an opinion section in the Christian Standard, and you’re going to try convinciing me that living together before marriage is a bad idea. Why don’t you stop wasting my time and tell me why I’m right to believe it’s a sin for women to serve Communion? Well, because I’m not and you’re wrong, but that’s just my opinion and not the point of this opinion piece. And anyway, I’m the one who was asked to write an opinion article about something I care about and I want to

February 11, 2011

Christian Standard

Don”t Make Me Lay Hands on You!

By Tim Harlow “If you do this again, I will lay hands on you” (Nehemiah 13:21). Nehemiah wasn”t offering a healing service. This was not a potential ordination. Instead, read Nehemiah”s words this way, “If you do it again, I”ll be on you like a spider monkey!” Nehemiah was mad, and we know he meant it because later in the same chapter he “called curses down on them. I beat some of the men and pulled out their hair” (Nehemiah 13:25). As I wrestle with the legitimacy of Nehemiah”s “hands-on” leadership, I notice one thing that looks familiar. “I was

February 9, 2011

Christian Standard

For Valentine”s Day . . . a Command

By Mark A. Taylor As churches everywhere capitalize on Valentine”s Day, all of us can ponder a biblical mandate more serious than hearts and flowers. Sweetheart dinners, couples retreats, and sermons about love are all great, as long as they move us beyond the frivolous expressions typical of our culture”s shallow take on deep issues. When it comes to marriage, God has spoken. His command comes three times in Paul”s epistles, twice within a few phrases of each other. “Husbands, love your wives just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her,” Paul tells the Ephesians. “Husbands

February 6, 2011

Christian Standard

Pep Rally Jesus and Other Youthful Myths

By Jim Herbst Imagine the Sermon on the Mount this way. The people are seated on the mountain. They use a tent as a staging area. Ten apostles start playing drums. The apostle John comes out to the beat. He encourages the crowd on their feet and leads the chant, “We will, we will, rock you.” Next the apostle Peter comes out dancing. Mary and Martha run out from behind the tent and start doing backflips. Finally Jesus comes out and gives high-fives to the waiting crowd. The crowd, still chanting, goes wild. Peter starts the wave. And then Jesus

December 26, 2010

Doug Redford

Return of the Gift

By Doug Redford Now that Christmas Day has passed, it”s time to move from thinking about giving gifts to the matter of returning them. Many of us will need to spend some time during the upcoming week returning a Christmas gift that happened to be the wrong size, color, or style. Stores usually offer tips to keep in mind when returning a gift, including: keep all the tags and original packing when giving and opening gifts (especially electronics, computers, appliances, and games), keep receipts, and check the time limit on returns (some stores limit returns to 30 days after a

December 20, 2010

Christian Standard

Worthy of Honor

By Terry O”Casey She was nearly divorced, forced to become an immigrant in her teens, welfare poor, left alone with seven kids, and witnessed her oldest boy”s gruesome execution. Eventually, her descendants split up. In a heated custody battle lasting to this day, some of them still aren”t allowed much time with Mom.  Who is she? Join me, Bible in hand, for some holy imagineering. Two families: Joe and his dad, Jacob (Matthew 1:16), headed over to her dad”s house. Jacob spoke: “Heli1, my son would like to marry your daughter. If you agree, we”ll draw up the ketubah for

December 20, 2010

Christian Standard

Lesson for Dec. 26, 2010: God Is with Us (Isaiah 43:1-7, 10-12)

This week”s treatment of the International Sunday School Lesson (for December 26) is written by Tom May who serves as discipleship minister with Eastside Christian Church in Jeffersonville, Indiana. God Is with Us (Isaiah 43:1-7, 10-12) By Tom May Isaiah would not have used the word near to describe any part of his life in Judah. Isaiah was not near to his friends and family. His work as a prophet often took him from his home. The burden of sharing an unpopular message from God put a strain on many of his relationships. If the traditional belief that Isaiah was

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