Love to Stay

Love.

It is a word that is thrown around a lot in our culture. When I think about love from a biblical perspective, there is one word that comes to mind from the New Testament that was originally written in Greek. If you could only hold onto one Greek word from the New Testament it should be this: Agape.

Agape is a selfless love. It is a sacrificial love. It is a love that ultimately wishes the best for the other, and it is completely independent of our feelings. In other words, love is not something we feel, rather, love is something we do. It is an action verb. This leaves us with the conclusion that love is a choice. It is time to leave love behind as a feeling, and step forward into a love that “does”.

This is why I am so excited for our marriage series that I will be teaching on Monday nights beginning January 9 at 6PM. The series is called Love to Stay, based on the book by Rev. Adam Hamilton. Childcare is provided.

In this series, we will explores how, with God’s help, we can make love last. Drawing upon a survey of thousands of couples and singles, interviews with relationship and marriage therapists, the latest research in the field, and wisdom from the Bible, we will look at what it takes to create and sustain healthy, meaningful romantic relationships across the course of a lifetime. The class schedule is listed below.

Jan 9- More Than a Piece of Paper

Jan 16- What She Wants, What He Wants

Jan 23- The Significance of Sexual Intimacy

Jan 30- Habits That Hurt, Habits That Heal

Feb 6- Clothe, Bear With, Forgive

Feb 13- A Love That Lasts A Lifetime-----SWEETHEART DINNER

We will conclude on the Monday evening before Valentine’s Day with a “Sweetheart Dinner”. The Sweetheart Dinner will be a formal meal intended to be a date night for married couples with great food and candlelight. At the conclusion of the evening, couples will get a chance to renew their vows in Christian marriage.

Whether you are married, contemplating marriage, single, or divorced, this series is for you. Please stop by the Welcome Center, call the Church Office, sign up below, or talk to me so we can get you registered by Sunday Jan 5. Book cost is $15. I look forward to what is sure to not only be a fun class, but one that will help make love last a lifetime.

Pastor Matt