“Have you found anyone special yet?” 

“Gone on any dates recently?”

“So, when are you going to get married?” 

Are there any more annoying questions for the single person than these (usually asked by well-meaning relatives, of course)?  It is not easy to be single, especially in a world that sees marriage as something to which all normal and reasonable normal people should aspire.  And the church does not always help, often focusing heavily on married families and causing the unmarried to feel pretty invisible.

But the Biblical perception of singlehood is far different and much more respectful.  Read more »

We are two weeks into a seven week series on the Song of Solomon in our Sunday services, and my goal has been to both communicate the message of this unique book (or collection of love songs) and to use it as a springboard to communicate the Biblical view on love, sex, and marriage.  There are so many harmful messages out there on all three of those topics that I believe have contributed to a culture that is littered with broken marriages, aborted children, rampant pornography, and general chaos in the romantic realm.  As difficult as it can be to preach on these topics in church, I strongly believe that it would be worse to remain silent and hope that people can sift through the cultural messages on their own.
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“Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another — and all the more as you see the Day approaching.” (Hebrews 10:25)

Last week I wrote about church transfers who leave churches out of dissatisfaction, and the importance of dealing with any unresolved issues before becoming a member of a new church so that the same pattern will not repeat itself.  One common frustration with people who leave churches is the general feeling that nobody cares about them.  They aren’t able to make it to church for three weeks, and nobody calls to see how they are doing.  They ask for prayer for something important happening in their life, and nobody checks in to see how things turned out.  Most churches talk about being a family, but what kind of family forgets to look after a brother or sister who is nowhere to be found for an extended period of time?  What kind of family turns a cold shoulder to a son or daughter going through a difficult time?  For those who expect a church to care for each other as a family, it can be disillusioning and hurtful to experience such neglect.
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