Back to Basics Couples' Conference
My hubby and I attended a couples conference at our church, Calvary Chapel Chino Valley, this morning. I was encouraged by many things and challenged by others. Ultimately, I am thankful that both my husband and I have chosen to follow Christ and to seek God's wisdom through His Word and prayer. Marriage is not always easy. When two unique individuals come together to live as one, there are going to be personality differences as well as life challenges. In addition to this, the enemy is working very hard to break up healthy marriages and to weaken the biblical definition of marriage.
Here are the things that I gleaned the most from today's teachings:
Our Pastor, David Rosales, set the foundation for the event. He shared from Genesis 2 which describes the first couple - Adam and Eve. Pastor David defined marriage as a commitment between a man and a woman with Christ at the center. Regardless of what laws are passed, God's plan for marriage remains the same. He went on to share that marriage is a refining process which is intended to help us be the best we can be. Ultimately, marriage has been God's idea from the beginning. God felt that man should not be alone, so He created a helper suitable for Adam. After creating Eve, God brought her to Adam. I like the idea that Eve was a gift to Adam.
Victor Marx, the founder of the "All Things Possible" organization, shared from Ephesians 5 about the roles in marriage. He reminded us wives that as "helpers" we have tremendous power to influence our husbands. This can be for good or bad; so we must choose carefully how we yield this influence. Wives are to respect their husbands; to honor and prefer them over themselves. (He of course spoke about the husband's role, but I didn't take notes on that!) Victor ended with the admonition that we need to trust the Lord for all aspects of our marriage.
David Guzik from Calvary Chapel Santa Barbara gave a summary of Ephesians 5:1-20. First he pointed out from Ephesians 4 that we are to live humbly, have Christian fellowship and to live differently than the world. Ephesians 5:1-7 tells us we are to walk in love. Verses 8-13 show us how we are to walk in the light. In order for us to do these things we must spend time in God's Word and prayer and be devoted to following His will. From verses 14-17 he challenged us to begin praying, "Change me and bless my spouse." His final point from verses 18-20 was to be filled with the Spirit.
The final speaker was Pancho Juarez from Calvary Chapel Montebello. He taught on Matthew 7:24 - Therefore, everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. This was the key verse for the conference. From it he gleaned that a foundation on Christ is like building on a rock. This "Rock" let's us stand firm and protects us. In order to experience this strength and protection, we must be humble. Otherwise, the rock will crush us. Pancho challenged us to ask for a new heart; to choose to respond to God's Word with obedience; and to show compassion. His final thoughts were that in order for all of our "horizontal" relationships to be blessed, we must have the right "vertical" relationship with God.
I am thankful we were able to attend this conference. There were good reminders, fun stories, and some challenges. Overall, it was a way to reconnect with one another and recommit ourselves to our marriage. We will celebrate 22 years in two months. I hope for 20+ more!
Came across this article, "6 Deadly Enemies of Marriage" by Tim Challies, following the conference. It went perfectly with topics covered.
Here are the things that I gleaned the most from today's teachings:
Our Pastor, David Rosales, set the foundation for the event. He shared from Genesis 2 which describes the first couple - Adam and Eve. Pastor David defined marriage as a commitment between a man and a woman with Christ at the center. Regardless of what laws are passed, God's plan for marriage remains the same. He went on to share that marriage is a refining process which is intended to help us be the best we can be. Ultimately, marriage has been God's idea from the beginning. God felt that man should not be alone, so He created a helper suitable for Adam. After creating Eve, God brought her to Adam. I like the idea that Eve was a gift to Adam.
Victor Marx, the founder of the "All Things Possible" organization, shared from Ephesians 5 about the roles in marriage. He reminded us wives that as "helpers" we have tremendous power to influence our husbands. This can be for good or bad; so we must choose carefully how we yield this influence. Wives are to respect their husbands; to honor and prefer them over themselves. (He of course spoke about the husband's role, but I didn't take notes on that!) Victor ended with the admonition that we need to trust the Lord for all aspects of our marriage.
David Guzik from Calvary Chapel Santa Barbara gave a summary of Ephesians 5:1-20. First he pointed out from Ephesians 4 that we are to live humbly, have Christian fellowship and to live differently than the world. Ephesians 5:1-7 tells us we are to walk in love. Verses 8-13 show us how we are to walk in the light. In order for us to do these things we must spend time in God's Word and prayer and be devoted to following His will. From verses 14-17 he challenged us to begin praying, "Change me and bless my spouse." His final point from verses 18-20 was to be filled with the Spirit.
The final speaker was Pancho Juarez from Calvary Chapel Montebello. He taught on Matthew 7:24 - Therefore, everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. This was the key verse for the conference. From it he gleaned that a foundation on Christ is like building on a rock. This "Rock" let's us stand firm and protects us. In order to experience this strength and protection, we must be humble. Otherwise, the rock will crush us. Pancho challenged us to ask for a new heart; to choose to respond to God's Word with obedience; and to show compassion. His final thoughts were that in order for all of our "horizontal" relationships to be blessed, we must have the right "vertical" relationship with God.
I am thankful we were able to attend this conference. There were good reminders, fun stories, and some challenges. Overall, it was a way to reconnect with one another and recommit ourselves to our marriage. We will celebrate 22 years in two months. I hope for 20+ more!
Came across this article, "6 Deadly Enemies of Marriage" by Tim Challies, following the conference. It went perfectly with topics covered.
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