by Debbie Stout

God loves the fact that our church is made up of many families that all started with the covenant of marriage. Marriage is his precious jewel, and he cherishes it so much. It cannot be emphasized enough how important the institution of marriage is. God gave it to us because it represents his unbreakable, eternal covenant with us.

Yes, our salvation in Christ is the most important. However, God created this truly magnificent one flesh relationship between a man and a woman that so reflects the whole story of the Bible, which is a divine eternal romance. It is God’s answer to reversing what happened at the fall. It is a beautiful love story of God gathering a bride for his son.

And, as hard as it is to believe, we are that bride! The triune God loved us so much that he gave us his son, to give his life for us, restore us, and be betrothed to us. We then have the wonderful privilege of loving and serving him. It is the greatest story ever told!

That is what MATES (Marriage According to Eternal Scripture) is all about. Learning to appreciate the beautiful gift of marriage and what a weight of glory it is.

Pray for those who have already attended the MATES, for those who are next to attend, and for those who are reluctant to attend.
Pray that we would all, married and single, have an awesome appreciation for and correct understanding of the gift of marriage according to scripture.
Pray that God would heal and restore the marriages in our church. That we in turn would have strong, happy families.
Pray that God would call every husband to love their wives as Christ loves the church, and for wives to joyfully serve their husbands as they do the Lord.

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