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<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-size: small">The True Meaning of Marriage</span></div>
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<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-size: small">In
a Time Magazine article, Caitlin Flanagan observes that, while the
divorce culture has become a fact of life over the past twenty-five
years, the middle class has turned weddings into “overwrought exercises
in consumer spending, as if by just plunking down enough cash for the
flower girls’ dresses and tissue-lined envelopes for the RSVP cards, we
can somehow improve our chance of going the distance.”</span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-size: small"> </span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-size: small">In our culture, marriage means less, but we spend more on our weddings. Go figure.</span></div>
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<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-size: small">Flanagan
concludes with these ominous words about the future of our country:
“What we teach about the true meaning of marriage will determine a great
deal about our fate.”</span></div>
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<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-size: small">Scott Grant, The Way of the Lord in Marriage<br>
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Real Life Children</span></div>
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<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-size: small">The
experience of having children has made me far more sympathetic to the
early Puritans who didn't use words like "innate goodness" to describe
human nature. They used words like "total depravity." Total depravity!
Jesus said we are supposed to be like children to receive the kingdom of
God? I can only join with millions of other parents and conclude that
our Lord didn't know my kids when He made that statement.</span></div>
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<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-size: small">When
you walk into the bathroom and see an entire roll of brand new tissue
paper lying in the toilet, it makes you wonder. When you see a whole
pile of freshly washed and folded clothes lying all over the place like a
tornado had hit, it makes you wonder. When you see your child sitting
on the kitchen floor, trying to share her plate of food with the dog, it
makes you wonder. And that's just the one-year-old at work! Imagine the
three- and the six-year-old when they put their talents together!
Sometimes it makes you more than wonder; sometimes it makes you cry.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-size: small">Look at a group of kindergarteners some day and ask yourself: what can these kids teach us about receiving the kingdom of God?</span></div>
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<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-size: small">Erskine White, Together In Christ, CSS Publishing Company</span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-size: small">______________________</span></div>
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<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-size: small">Responses to Divorce</span></div>
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<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-size: small">Jesus'
teaching about divorce provokes a variety of responses. Some people
hear the text snarl at them like a wild animal. Others grow angry when
they simply hear the words, and vow to cross their fingers the next time
they encounter that piece of scripture. Still others wish their
preacher would stand up and swing this text like a club; family life is
spinning out of control, they claim, and the church should push us back
to simpler, more Victorian times. </span></div>
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<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-size: small">It
is no wonder many ministers avoid this text. One year the lectionary
appointed it for World Communion Sunday, of all days. A clergy friend
said, "I have a congregation full of divorced people. How dare I invite
them to the Lord's table with a passage that sounds so fierce?" Another
minister, a divorced woman, avoided the issue altogether. She ignored
the first ten verses and moved directly ahead to discuss the blessing
Jesus offered to little children.</span></div>
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<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-size: small">So we have a problem today. Is there any way for all of us to hear something helpful in this text?</span></div>
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<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-size: small">William G. Carter, No Box Seats in The Kingdom, CSS Publishing Company </span></div>
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<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-size: small">Strange Arithmetic</span></div>
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<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-size: small">Dr.
Paul Popenoe, the famous marriage counselor, was talking to a young
husband who had been openly critical of his wife. Dr. Popenoe was
explaining how two become one in marriage. In a smart reply the husband
said, “Yes, but which one?” The counselor said, “A little of each.” Then
he went on to explain that in marriage you have to develop
“we-psychology”...and to think of yourself in terms of a pair rather
than as an individual. What happens when two become one in a real
marriage? Some think that it reduces your individuality. Too often one
party or the other seems to be saying: “Alright - we two shall become
one...and I AM the one!” Obviously, such a marriage is headed for
trouble. Ideally, when “two become one” it means that each one is
doubled, but not duplicated. You still retain your individual identity,
but you add to yourself
the
identity of the other, and the whole becomes greater than the sum of its
parts. “For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be
joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” (Mark 10:7) </span></div>
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<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-size: small">A
wise person once said: “A marriage consists of one master, one
mistress, and two slaves; making, in total, one.” That may be strange
arithmetic, but it is good theology. </span></div>
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<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-size: small">Donald B. Strobe, Collected Words, </span><span style="font-size: 12pt"><a target="_blank" href="http://mail.churchmail.com/lists/lt.php?id=Kk8CBAELDwBUDkkNAARKDAtXUVw%3D"><span style="font-size: small"><font color="#0000ff">www.eSermons.com</font></span></a></span></div>
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<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-size: small">We Trust Them with the Children, Don’t We?</span></div>
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<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-size: small">A
new principal was checking over his school on the first day. Passing
the stockroom, he was startled to see the door wide open and teachers
going in and out, carrying off books and supplies. The school he came
from had a check-out system that required the teachers to indicate what
supplies they had obtained. Curious about the practice here he asked the
school custodian, "Do you think it's wise to keep the stockroom
unlocked and to let the teachers take things without asking?" The
custodian responded, "We trust them with the children, don't we?"<br>
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Jesus wants us to trust in him and let the child within to be free. It
is the only way to receive the kingdom of God. He wants us to give the
child within the freedom to express itself, being creative, having fun
and sharing emotions and feelings. He wants us to accept others who are
different realizing that God makes us all and wants us to be genuine,
authentic human beings. The end result is absolute joy and the
opportunity to experience life in its fullest.<br>
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<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-size: small">Keith Wagner, The Child Within</span></div>
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<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-size: small">Two Schools of Thought on Divorce</span></div>
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<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-size: small">There
were two schools of thought in Jesus' day concerning divorce, one
liberal and one conservative. Rabbi Shammai taught that divorce was only
permissible on the grounds of some sexual impropriety. His was the
stricter view. Rabbi Hillel, on the other hand, had a more liberal view
and taught that a man could divorce his wife for any reason. If she
burned his breakfast, put too much salt on his food, showed disrespect
to him, spoke disrespectfully of her husband's parents in his presence,
spoke to a man on the street, or even let her hair down in public, he
could divorce her. The view of Rabbi Hillel was the view that was
popular in Jesus' day. So divorce was common in Palestine, and in this
respect the setting was not unlike our own.</span></div>
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<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-size: small">Perhaps
the most significant difference between their customs and ours lay in
the status of the different genders. A man could divorce a woman on a
whim, but a woman could not divorce a man for any cause. The Old
Testament contains a highly patriarchal position that viewed a woman's
sexual immorality more as property damage against her husband (or her
father) rather than as a moral issue. A double standard shines
throughout the Old Testament, where it was not uncommon for the male
rulers to have many wives and hundreds of concubines. If you look
carefully at the question of the Pharisees, you will find no concern
whatsoever about a woman's rights in marriage or divorce. "Is it lawful
for a man to divorce his wife?" </span></div>
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<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-size: small">Mickey Anders, Making Marriage Work</span></div>
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<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-size: small">Humor: We're Getting a Divorce</span></div>
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<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-size: small">Morris
calls his son in NY and says, "Benny, I have something to tell you.
However, I don't want to discuss it. I'm merely telling you because
you're my oldest child, and I thought you ought to know. I've made up my
mind, I'm divorcing Mama." The son is shocked, and asks his father to
tell him what happened.</span></div>
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<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-size: small">"I don't want to get into it. My mind is made up." <br>
"But Dad, you just can't decide to divorce Mama just like that after 54 years together. What happened?" <br>
"It's too painful to talk about it. I only called because you're my son,
and I thought you should know. I really don't want to get into it
anymore than this. You can call your sister and tell her. It will spare
me the pain." <br>
"But where's Mama? Can I talk to her?"<br>
"No, I don't want you to say anything to her about it. I haven't told
her yet. Believe me it hasn't been easy. I've agonized over it for
several days, and I've finally come to a decision. I have an appointment
with the lawyer the day after tomorrow."<br>
"Dad, don't do anything rash. I'm going to take the first flight down.
Promise me that you won't do anything until I get there." <br>
"Well, all right, I promise. Next week is Yom Kippur. I'll hold off
seeing the lawyer until after then. Call your sister in MA and break the
news to her. I just can't bear to talk about it anymore."</span></div>
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<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-size: small">A
half hour later, Morris receives a call from his daughter who tells him
that she and her brother were able to get tickets and that they and the
children will be arriving in Florida the day after tomorrow. "Benny
told me that you don't want to talk about it on the telephone, but
promise me that you won't do anything until we both get there." Morris
promises…<font size="4"><font face="Times New Roman, Times, serif"><br>
<br>
[just a ploy to get the kids to visit mom and dad!]<br>
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<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-size: small"><span style="color: black">The rest of this illustration, as well as many additional illustrations and sermons for the whole year, can be accessed at </span></span><span style="color: black"><a target="_blank" href="http://mail.churchmail.com/lists/lt.php?id=Kk8CBAELDwBUDUkNAARKDAtXUVw%3D"><span style="font-size: small"><font color="#0000ff">www.Sermons.com</font></span></a></span><span style="font-size: small"><span style="color: black">.<font size="4"><font face="Times New Roman, Times, serif"><br>
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