Speaker: Jerry Cisar

Yes, there is still some good news about marriage being reported! An article in The Atlantic reports, “Those who are getting married and staying married are, on average, moving ahead in the economy. In contrast, those who are not married are falling behind—fast….” Surveys also show that married men are on average healthier than unmarried men, even healthier than those who are living in a committed domestic relationship with a woman. The article in The Atlantic ends with these words: “It is not complicated.…It is the simplest math equation in the world: Two is more than one.” Sociologists are simply recognizing what God said a long time ago: It is not good for man to be alone! And that the solution to that aloneness is marriage.

This doesn’t erase the problems of a fallen world created by the hard hearts of those who enter into marriage. Nor does it say, “Get married and life will be a whole lot easier.” No, the studies are about those who get married and stay married… and that takes a lot of work. It takes two to make it work and some people end up in situations they didn’t sign up for. Mercy is required; and compassion is needed. But it does confirm that God’s ways are better than man’s!

This Sunday we are going to explore the Biblical account of the first marriage. First, we will walk through the text and understand it. Then, we will apply it to issues that face us today such as sex before marriage, co-habitation, adultery, homosexuality and same-sex marriage. All of these discussions become clearer when we start with how it was in the beginning, before sin entered the world.

Handout: http://media.gccc.net/2015/10/20151011.pdf