In both the Old and the New Testament, marriage is utilized to represent the tender and sacred union that exists between Christ and His people. To the mind of Jesus, the gladness of wedding festivities pointed forward to the rejoicing of that day when He shall bring home His bride to the Father’s house, and … Continue reading –>
Read John 2:1–11. What does this tells us about Jesus’ attitude toward marriage and romantic love? What does it mean that He gave His blessing to such boisterous and long-drawn-out affairs as Jewish weddings were in that day and age? 1 Jesus had just returned from the wilderness of temptation, where He Himself had drunk the cup … Continue reading –>
I’m embarrassed to admit that I have always been a hopeless romantic. I spent several years reading anything I could find that involved a love story. I loved fairy tales long after they were considered age appropriate. Then I would watch and re-watch those sappy old romantic movies.1 I think that most of us (guys, … Continue reading –>
God looked down on His creation and thought. “I’m lonely. I’ll make a man.” So He did. Then He made a woman. 1 Adam fell in love with Eve the instant he saw her. She was beautiful in every respect. Eve loved Adam, too. He was handsome and strong, and he cared for her. Their … Continue reading –>
Libraries could be filled with books that deal with the difficult question of human suffering, difficult especially for those who believe in a loving and all-powerful God (for the atheist, suffering is merely part of what it means to live in a godless and meaningless universe and thus doesn’t present the difficult philosophical questions it … Continue reading –>
Genesis shows, right from the start, that romance was to be a basic part of the human experience. One man with one woman, period. That was God’s ideal, the biblical prototype that models what romantic love was to be about. It’s fascinating, too, how often the Bible uses imagery of love, of marriage, to depict … Continue reading –>
You may not think that a man who has been single all his life would know about love and romance, but I do. After growing up in the church and over 20 years of ministry I have seen a lot. What I have seen causes me to take love, romantic love more seriously. The media … Continue reading –>
Key Thought : From the beginning to the end of Scripture, the sacredness and beauty of romance, the sacredness and beauty of romance, love, and intimacy of healthy relationships is revealed. [Teaching Plan for “Love Stories” March 21, 2012] 1. Have a volunteer read Genesis 2:21-15. A. Ask class members to share a short thought … Continue reading –>
[Read Part 1 here, if you have not read it.] And he swore an oath in the name of the one who lives forever and ever, who created heaven and everything in it, the earth and everything in it, and the sea and everything in it. (Rev 10:6 NSRV)1 Who created the earth? Who spoke … Continue reading –>
Though the Bible covers a lot of history, it has made time to depict some romances. There was a strong, affectionate bond between Abraham and Sarah. He doesn’t desert her during her long years of barrenness. In fact, it is only at Sarah’s urging that Abraham takes Hagar as a surrogate wife. The ties of … Continue reading –>
“And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man” (Gen. 2:23).1 We need to begin with the initial chapters of Genesis for the first romance in Scripture, that of Adam and Eve. Adam and Eve are special creations … Continue reading –>
Read for This Week’s Study: Gen. 2:21–25, Exod. 20:5, Isa. 43:4, 62:5, Song of Songs, John 2:1–11. Memory Text: “The Lord has appeared of old to me, saying: ‘Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore with lovingkindness I have drawn you’ ” (Jeremiah 31:3, NKJV). Key Thought: How are we to understand the loving side of God? Love is, perhaps, … Continue reading –>
