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And we are in our series called, “Home Fix”. This is where we are praying for the application of the Gospel into our homes. The Gospel is a beautiful message of God, giving us His Son Jesus Christ to save us from our sins and to reconcile us to Himself. But that message is not just a message for those who are yet unbelievers. That is also a message that believers ourselves we need. We still need to know of the love of God in Jesus Christ. And that message powerfully transforms our homes and we are going to look at that in this series.

We began this nine part series last Sunday looking at the , ‘Purpose of Marriage’. Why do people get married? Well, maybe they want a partner. Maybe they want children. They want to have this companionship. That's why they get married. But what keeps a person, what keeps a couple, married? Well, you need something more than just partnership and children often times. We need to understand the great and grand and glorious purpose in marriage. And that is knowing that the relationship between a husband and a wife is to depict; to demonstrate; to display; to portray the love between Christ and His church.

The purpose of marriage is that we are to portray the Gospel of Jesus Christ. That lifts our marriage to a higher realm, that lifts our marriage to a cosmic realm. And that is the great and grand and glorious purpose. I think we need to rediscover or to be reminded about.

Today, we are going to move on to part two and that is about the, Priority in Marriage’. Now this is calling for a paradigm shift in your thinking. You say, “What is that all about?” Well, we are going to spend some time looking at that in a while. Next week, we are going to look at the “Permanence of Marriage”. Marriage is for a lifetime, till death do us part.

Now, there are some reasons why I think in the Bible, someone could be divorced and to remarry. But we should not look at those as if, that's the fastest, earliest route we should take, when there is any difficulty in our marriages. We need to honour God's intent in the permanence of marriage. We are going to look at that next Sunday.

Then week four, that's the sermon I hate the most. I'm scared of the most. I'm convicted the most - the role of the husband. This is where I fail the most, I would say. And this will be a very difficult sermon for husbands here. It will be a wonderful sermon for wives. I'm pretty sure, the wives will invite their husbands, invite their friends along. And then well, the husbands would, I hope, humbly hear God's Word and say, “Lord, help me to change.”

The next Sunday, the husbands would say, “Wives, please come. I came this week, you must come the next week.” Because we'll be looking at the role of the wives. So that would be a five-part series on looking at the most important relationship in the family - the marriage.

Number six is about the singles, singleness. Don't forget them. And singleness is something important to realize in our day and age. More and more are choosing to remain single and the maybe some people feel like singleness is inferior. Let me just assure you once again, the Bible does not exalt marriage above singleness. Neither does the Bible exalt singleness over marriage as if any, is inferior. Both are callings of God. Both are to be stewarded for the glory of God. How can my singleness glorify God? We are going to look at that in sermon number six.

Now, in a family, of course, as mentioned, we also have our children. So, sermon number seven will be, “How to Raise a Pagan Child”. Sometimes, we can do parenting so wrong that we end up raising kids who hate God and do not know God. So this is a negative demonstration sermon. Mistakes that I hope we will be conscious about, mistakes we will avoid.

And then the next week we'll look at how you can, “Gospelize your Child”. As mentioned, we are all experts at feeding our kids vitamins and minerals and Yakult and whatever, cod liver oil. We are good at giving them physical food. We are good at giving them a good education here in Singapore. We are good at giving them wonderful medical care. But the deepest need and the greatest need of their lives is God and the knowledge of God through Jesus Christ. And you can't get that apart from the Gospel. So we need to know how. How can we effectively gospelize our children in everything we do? So, we are going to look at that.

And sermon number eight and the last sermon as I've already shown, is “Honouring your Parents”. Not just one, a few have actually spoken with me, “Pastor, please include my parents-in-law, my mother-in-law, my father-in-law.” How to honour our parents. Yes, that will be included, of course. And I hope as we look at these messages, the Gospel will not just be a theoretical message you believed in, many years ago for salvation. But the Gospel will be a message that continuously nourishes your heart, fills you with God's love. That you may become the right kind of husband, wife, father, mother, child that you should be, single person that you should be for the glory of God.

Last week, we began by saying, “Marriage is really, really tough and only Jesus is enough”. I've been married for 18 years, I've had many joys and pleasures in marriage. But at the very same time, we have also had our fair share of trials and tribulations in marriage. And I learned about the difficulty of marriage, right after we got married on wedding day. When we went off for our honeymoon, I realized marriage is not so easy after all. It was Keller who said, “No marriage I know more than a few weeks old could be described as a fairy tale come true.”

When people get married, they think it will be happily ever after, just like how they've written in your fairy tales. Prince charming meets his beloved Princess and they will live happily ever after. Life will be perfect; marriage is beautiful. But the reality is that very few, in fact there is no marriage that will last forever without any difficulty or trials and tribulations. You say, “Why is that so? Why is there so much difficulty in marriage?” The reason is very, very simple if you think about it. And we have alluded that last Sunday. Simple reason, we are all sinners. That's right, we are all selfish; proud and arrogant; bitter,; self-absorbed sinners. We are flawed. We are ugly on the inside.

Now, if you marry a perfect man and you yourself are perfect, then maybe you will have a perfect marriage. But because we’re such flawed creatures, no wonder our marriages are difficult. So, many people in marriage realize it's not as easy as they thought it should be. And they become frustrated. They are disappointed in this relationship. They have a kind of disillusionment and they decide for themselves, maybe I've chosen the wrong spouse.

And so when marriage gets tough, this is the thought that comes up in their minds, “Maybe I just got to change my spouse.” “Maybe I want to change the way he thinks. The way he speaks. The way he throws his socks.” “The way she is always late.” “I want to change that if I could change her, my marriage would be happy.” But after they try for some time, he or she doesn't change, than you think to myself, “Maybe I need a divorce.” I need to find someone else, and that's why they go to see a marriage counsellor.

Most of the time, people see a marriage counsellor, you know why? In my experience, people come to see me because they want me to fix their husband. They want me to fix their wife. That's why they come. They don't come saying, “Pastor, I have a problem, help me.” They say, “Pastor, we have a problem, fix her. Because she is a problem.” “My marriage is difficult, because she is difficult.” “And if I could change him, I could change her, life would be good.”

But what if I were to say to you, “That's not what God wants to do.” What if the right way to think, the paradigm shift we need to have, in a difficult marriage is not that I want to change him or I want to change her but I need to change me.

The priority in marriage is not to change my wife. The priority in marriage is that - God, please change me. In other words, what I am looking forward to in my marriage is not so much comfort, but my growth in character. Or if I put it another way, the paradigm shift in marriage is not so much pursuing happiness, but holiness.

Now, nothing wrong with having a happy marriage but it's not about having a happy marriage that fits me as much as, “Lord, change me that I may be the holy person You want me to be.” This is a paradigm shift and if you can get this. If you could say, “Yes, this is my new priority in marriage.” Then my sermon is done or I've done what I think I have set out to do.

Now, some of you may not get this yet, so, let me put it in another way. When you walk down the aisle and you hold each other's hands and you kiss your bride. You must have thought to yourself, “I found my ideal, right?” She's the perfect gal! Otherwise, why would you, why would you marry? So you say to yourself, “I found my ideal!” And then a few weeks later, you found that She is not an ideal, She's an ordeal!

Aiyoh. I can't stand her! I can't stand him! So painful! And then, after a few more months, after a few more years, some of you lasted for a few more decades. You know what you say next, “I want new deal. Please change him. Please change her.” But what if marriage is not about living with an ideal? There's no ideal person in this world. We are all sinners.

Marriage is not just about going through an ordeal. And God's will is certainly not about you getting a new deal. But I'm saying today, the paradigm shift is that, in marriage, God wants you to be the real deal. That’s what marriage should be all about. Yes, supremely, I understand that the marriage is to reflect Christ and His church. And so my priority now is so that I can be like Christ, as a husband. And be like the church as a wife. “God, change me so that I may become the man or woman You want me to be.” So, the priority in marriage is where I can become the real deal.

Now if you can understand this slide, as I've mentioned,, I would have said, “Job done.” But, I know it will be very, you will be very upset that, “Pastor, you are so lazy, preach for 15 minutes and it's over.” So, I need to add on a few more things. So, let me try to pump it up a little bit. Why is marriage such an ideal environment for us to grow as a Christian? Why is marriage such a wonderful platform for God to change me into the real deal?

1. Because I Get To See My Sinfulness
So, I think marriage is where I can become the real deal for three very good reasons. Number one marriage is where I get to see my sinfulness. Now, every Sunday I stand before you, I preach. I'm the pastor and it's very easy for you to look at me as the good guy, right? The hero or the good guy. And is very easy for me also to think, “I'm the hero. I'm the good guy.”

But, it's in my marriage that I see just how ugly I really am. It's in my marriage that I see my impatience. How quick I am to snap! It's in my marriage that I see how self-absorbed I am! Marriage is a great place for me to grow because it shows me who I really, really am. It surfaces my ugliness.

It was a lady who said, “One of the best wedding gifts God gave you was a full-length mirror called your spouse. Had there been a card attached, it would have said, Here's to helping you discover what you're really like.” You know why God placed you in marriage? So that your spouse in this marriage will show you who you really are. There is no relationship in my life that has shown me the real Jason Lim than my marriage by far.

In church, it's so easy to play the role of the pastor. You can, you know, you try. It's easy. Just be a good boy for one and a half hours, two hours, memorize a script. You probably can do it. Shake some hands, smile. How hard is that! Two hours, three hours. It's easy! But ask my wife, every day she sees this irritating fellow and every day I can see myself just having all kinds of bad thoughts. Because, in marriage, we rub each other the wrong way in so many occasions. And it brings out who I really am!

Someone else said, “Marriage is the merciless revealer, the great white searchlight, turned on the darkest places of human nature”. You know, searchlight, my kids love to hunt for insects. So I bought for them each head lamps, with, with… I think they just used it to be tied around the head and go around the wah, so excited about the searchlight. Because the searchlight is so bright. It's so dark, you can't see anything. Then the searchlight comes on in.

And marriage is that searchlight. Whoa, that comes on and shows you, “Wah, I'm really ugly, man.” That's why people like to have candlelight dinners, right? You don't want to see the acne, the pimples the freckles. So candlelight, dark, dark the darker the, the darker the better. The darker, the more you have to pay. So, to hide your flaws in marriage. It's very hard to hide your flaws. Marriage is a great searchlight that shows my real nature.

I will say that we are like tea bags, familiar illustration in this church. But we are like tea bags - Lipton tea bag. And we can't tell how sinful we are until we are put into the hot water of marriage. Many relationships today are like cold water, can't draw out too much. Maybe draw a little. But it's in a red hot marriage, difficult circumstances, very intricate relationship that it draws out the real stuff from the tea bag. What comes out of my heart is what marriage seeks to accomplish.
Or maybe the last statement I'll quote, “Like a bridge, the weaknesses in our lives are shown up when the weight of marriage goes over it.” When you look at the bridge, it looks strong. It looks stable, but when a heavy truck drives over it, you see the bridge shake. You see, you hear the bridge creak and you realize it may not be as strong as I thought it was.

And so your wife is like a truck. No, no, I'm not saying that she is like a truck in a wrong sense, but your husbands, your wives, this marriage is like a truck that drives over the life and shows up your weaknesses; your sinfulness. So maybe tonight after church on the way home, you want to eat chicken rice, you want to eat Laksa and you have a quarrel. Your kids screaming at the back of the car. And you guys keep shouting at one another and you get into a tiff, you get into a fight.

When we fight, we tend to look at one another, each other and we, we see each other's angry face and ugliness. But perhaps today, when you're in a difficult relationship, a difficult encounter, think about yourself. Think about how this marriage is meant to be a mirror to see myself.

Think about how this marriage is meant to be a searchlight to show up the darkest places in my soul. Think about this marriage as a kind of a hot water so that I can see what kind of a tea I am. Think of this marriage as a test over the strength of your life. So, for that reason, I think marriage is a great place, is a great environment where I can grow and become more like Jesus because for once I really see myself for who I am.

2. Because I See My Security
Number two, I think marriage is a great place where I can become the real deal. Because on a very positive note, it allows me to see my security. It's in a marriage that I feel so secure that I can be myself and yet have the assurance that I can change to become a better man, become a better woman. Marriage is a covenant, properly viewed, marriage is a covenant before God and before man. In other words, it's a commitment. It's a promise made before God, regardless of how my spouse performs.

That's what you vowed on your wedding day, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health till death, do us part. We promise to love and to cherish. Do you realize that in your vow you did not say, “I promise to love her if she is lovely.” “I promise to submit to him if he is kind?” There is no ifs. A marriage is a covenant. It is unconditional. It is steadfast.

So it is in a marriage that I can be who I am. And I can accept and love her for who she is. Because we know this is a covenant made before God. And so in this secure environment that's where I can be myself. That's where I can admit my faults and not be judged in a harsh way. That's where I know I will be accepted and cherished so that I do not live with hypocrisy. So that I can admit my faults. So that I can say, “Dear, please forgive me. Pray for me. Help me to grow.”

We need that, otherwise, you're always living a kind of a double life. You have to hide your flaws. You, you're not able to admit your faults and you cannot really say, “Hand-in-hand, let's fight sin together in our lives.” By the way, we all understand the importance of a secure relationship, that's what you give your kids. When I grew up, parenting is … my experience of parenting is - If I don't do well, my parents won't love me. “If you don't obey, you naughty, then get out of my house. I don't want you anymore.” “Give birth to char siew, better than give birth to you.” My, my mom's favourite statement.

So in other words, I am raised to think, “I have to earn my parents' love.” If I'm a good boy, they will love me. If I'm not a good boy, they won't love me. That's the way I think. But when I came to know the Bible, I realized it's not that way. It's the other way round. The Bible tells me, “God loves me unconditionally in Jesus Christ.” His love for me will never cease. His love for me will never be taken away. Nothing shall separate you from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus. And because of His strong, unchanging love today, I gladly give my life to Jesus and I say, “Lord, change me.”

I don't change myself to earn his love. I change myself because of his love. I'm secured in His love and therefore I can be willing and happy and transparent before my God and say, “Lord, I've blown it! I've sinned against You. Forgive me, help me to change.” Do you know that's what your children need? And that's what your wife and your husband needs. That's why marriage is a beautiful plan of God that I can grow.

Today, a very popular arrangement is what they call, ‘friends with benefit’. You know what's that? It's cohabitation. Having an exclusive relationship without being married - friends with benefit. Is so popular that they even had a whole movie called, ‘friends with benefit’. It's very common today and people love it!

People think that cohabitation is a great idea because we stay with each other because it's nice, it's pleasurable, it's convenient. You don't have to be bogged with all these commitments. What is a marriage cert after all? It's just a piece of paper! Who cares! It's so free. It's so liberating to cohabit. Because if I like her I will stay with her and if I don't like her, I'll just move on to another person to cohabit with. Suits the both of us. Let's just do it!

But whilst people think that is very liberating, it's actually very tiring. If you think about it, if you treasure this relationship with the other person, cohabitation is tiring because you always have to promote yourself. You always have to seek to impress. You have to prove your worth to the other person. And if you disappoint the other person, the other person can just walk away because it's a, it's a relationship of convenience.

There's no covenant! There's no commitment and so you're tired because you're constantly having to hide your flaws, hide your faults, prove your worth. And you never really know, if he or she will accept you or love you for who you really are. It's not secure! And in that kind of relationship you can never really be yourself, you can never really grow.

I've been married for 18 years as mentioned. And no matter what kinds of difficulties we go through, Winnie and I, we both know we don't fight each other. We fight with and for each other. That allows me to be who I really am. I tell you, “If you see who I really am at home, you won't join this church anymore.” But you know something, she stays on because we are in a secure covenantal relationship. And that's where I think I can grow. As I see my own ugliness, she sees my ugliness, but we don't give up on me, we don't give up on her.

On the other hand, we say, “Let's forgive each other. Let's learn to forgive. Let's learn to encourage one another in this journey of life.” Because our goal, our paradigm shift is not happiness, as foremost purpose, but holiness in Jesus. Marriage is where I can become the real deal.

3. Because I See my Satisfaction
Thirdly, this is where I see my satisfaction. Marriage is really, really tough. Marriage to some is an ordeal and so marriage is very disappointing to many people. You say, “Why?” I think it is in marriage that we realize no one could really satisfy me. Many people think, singles here, you think, “you have a good job, all you need today is a good wife, a good husband and my life is going to be perfect.” “I'm going to be really, really satisfied.” Well, for all of us who have married, we will tell you, “It will never be the case. Never ever be the case.”

Now, this is no slight against our wives or husbands, this is not a criticism against our wives or husbands. But let me tell you something, you are made for something far greater that anyone could ever fill. That's the reality! We are made by God and we are made for God! And that, that great chasm that great hole in our heart could never be filled with an ordinary sinful being.

I like what Oswald Chambers had to say. Oh, sorry, let me just quote this, ‘they dream in courtship, but in wedlock wake’. Everybody has this dream that when I'm married, I'll be supremely happy. Then when they get married, they realized, O, that's a dream, it never was going to be the case.

But look at this quote from Oswald Chambers, “If we love a human being and do not love God, we demand of him every perfection and every rectitude and when we do not get it, we become cruel and vindictive.” Isn't that true? When your wife disappoints you, you get cruel and vindictive. When your husband fails you, you get cruel and vindictive.

Why? Because you're subtly expecting he or she to satisfy your every need. To bring you ultimate satisfaction and he or she will never be able to do that. We are demanding of a human being that which he or she cannot give. There is only One Being who can satisfy the last aching abyss of the human heart and that is the Lord Jesus Christ. It is in marriage that I finally am convinced and realize my satisfaction it's not in any man, it's not in any car. It's not in any house, it's not in any digit I have in my bank account. I'm made for God and only Jesus Christ can lead me to God. Only Jesus Christ can fill the abyss of my heart.

So friends, I hope, I've padded enough you will let me go if I were to say, “Today's sermon is very simple. The priority in marriage is where I can become the real deal.” The priority of marriage today is not to say, “Pastor, please change my wife, change my husband, but God please change me.” “God, help me not to be someone so fixated on my comforts; my wishes; my wants. But God, please do a deep work in my character. God I want holiness and not just happiness.” Marriage is where I can become the real deal.

I was reading some Facebook posts from members of this church. I came across this post just I think about a week ago and I thought it was so apt. I've asked permission from this lady, this sister in Christ, to share. I will keep it anonymous and this is what she wrote. She's just married for a few months. What do you think she would say? Has she woken from the dream? Let's see! “There were countless times I wondered to myself what I've gotten myself into and thought that we were way too different in our upbringings, cultures, preferences and values …”

She's has woken up, alright? But, listen on to what she said, “… but I clung on to the hope that this was and is God's perfect plan for our lives and this marriage is the instrument He is using to shape us to be more like His Son.” I like that! There is no disillusionment. There is a biblical thinking behind it all, that the trials and afflictions of life are for my good. Even in a difficult relationship, like marriage, God did not make a mistake, it is his perfect plan. It is his instrument for my holiness.

I love to play badminton and I'm sure many of you have played badminton before. I think every Singaporean must have tried that before, and playing badminton is not difficult at all, really. Taking a racket, hitting the shuttle, it's simple! But to play badminton well, you need some kind of help, right? You need someone to teach you how to hold the racket properly and so on and so forth.

So very often, people who are serious about badminton, they go for some trainings, they go for some coaching. And what the coach does is very simple. He explains to you what you need to do, he shows you how you should grip a racket. He tells you how you should do your footwork. He gives you all the theory, but a good coach doesn't start with theory. If he gives you theory, you sack this coach, useless. Because you know that the skill is really learned and wired into your brain circuits when you start to? What? Practice, when you start to execute.

So a good coach generally gives you short theory, gives you some understanding of it. And then he starts to throw you shuttles. He starts to give you practice. He puts you through drills. Drills are repeated practice. And you see people being coached in badminton, they keep hitting the same shot all the time, all the time the same shot. He keeps throwing to the net, you hit the net shot. He keeps lobbing to the back, you hit the back court shot. It's always the same movement all the time.

You say, “Why?” Because that's what we need in order to grow. It's hard to learn that skill and he needs repeated practice. And that's what a good coach would do for you. And it's the same for the Christian life. It's easy to hear the Bible say, “Do not be angry er, do not sin in your anger.” It's very easy to hear the Bible say, “Be patient.” It's very easy for you to hear the Bible say, “Be gentle.” It's very easy to know the theory. But to do it, it's not so easy!

To wire into your soul is not so easy. And you know what, then God does, He gives you a coach. And your coach will repeatedly throw the shuttle the same way. So, your wife will always irritate you the same way. So, your husband will always frustrate you the same way. Same shot every day, same shot, same socks, same toothbrush, same toothpaste, everything is the same thing. “Why are you still doing your makeup? We are running late!”

Sometimes the shuttle is very far back, you got to bend yourself over. “Wah, why so many demands?” Sometimes, it's very close to the net, “Wah, so tight. Running late, no time, hurry up, don't pang sai [pass motion in Hokkien dialect] already. Come on! Hurry up!” And, and it's repeated over and over again. Why? Why? God is putting you through training? So, next time your wife is irritating or your husband is frustrating, look at her, look at him and say, “Thank you, Coach.”

Stop complaining about your spouse. Stop thinking to myself, “Give me a new deal.” God has given you the best coach, personalized trainer. Every couple has one, one for one, one on one training, the most expensive type. And God has given that for you. Do you realize then, that Christian growth and discipleship is not just taking place on Sunday morning? It's not just taking place when you go for your care group. It's not just taking place when you have your daily devotions, Christian discipleship and growth.

God, well taking the language of John 15, Your Father is like a farmer pruning and, and preparing this vine to be fruitful, your farmer, your husbandman, God, He's at work all the time. And He is using people, He's using your wives, He's using your husband, He's using a bad driver, He's using an unreasonable boss in all these relationships to grow you. Isn't that amazing! God is growing you in your thousand and one decisions you make every day; in the countless interactions you have with your people every day. Well, be thankful then.

So, in summary, let me say this, “Marriage is a kind of a disguise.” You got in to marriage because you wanted to have a partner. You got in the marriage because you want to have kids. You want, got in marriage because of many other reasons. But when you get into marriage you realized, “O, no! This is not a, this is not a resort by the beach!” Marriage is a gym. Marriage is a weightlifting gym, spiritual gym. “Oh no! What did I get myself into?” Well, welcome to the club!

Marriage is admission for gym membership to grow you spiritually. That's the wisdom! That's the plan! So now, I hope for singles, please don't hear this sermon and say, “Aaah, aaah, aaah, I would never want to get married anymore.” Well, if your goal is holiness, it doesn't scare you away, I hope. You know, how beautiful it is, if you, in your marriage today realize you're not fighting each other but you're fighting with and for each other.

You can hold your spouse's hand, look at each other in the eyes and say, “I love you because of Jesus. And I long to see Jesus in you and I long to see Jesus in me. Because one day our momentary marriage, our marriage …” For some of you, very long but, but at the end of the day marriage is momentary, in the light of eternity. Like a shadow, it will pass and then we will be ushered into a glorious eternity.

And I hope Winnie, when I go to heaven and you go to heaven, we'll see each other, I'll say, “Hey, look at you now! Look at how glorious you are! You are perfect! And I've always seen glimpses of that while we were on earth. Thank you for journeying with me. It was a pleasure. It was a joy being your coach, huh, huh, huh, huh, huh, irritating you with all the shuttles.” But how beautiful it is when we all get to heaven and say, “… this momentary marriage, thank God is not about my happiness, it's about holiness, because that's what gives me everlasting joy forever more.”

To all friends and guests who are here, maybe this whole sermon is irrelevant because you say, “I do not know Jesus. I don't care about Jesus.” But nonetheless, let me say this, “I'm glad you're here today because some of you may be struggling with your marriage. Your marriage is extremely painful. And you're discovering for yourself, your marriage really doesn't satisfy in any way. In fact, it frustrates you. Perhaps, this is God using the pains of your life to drive you to know Him through Jesus, His Son.

I pray that you will see your sinfulness. You will see your flaws. You will see how corrupt you are. You will realize that you cannot save yourself. And I want to tell you today, “Jesus Christ, God's Son has come and died for your sins. If you repent and believe in Him, you will be saved. And you know, the amazing love of God.” May your home be fixed. May your life be fixed. May your soul be fixed because of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Let's bow for a word of prayer together.

Marriage is really, really tough and only Jesus is enough. That's my personal experience and journey. And I praise God for his amazing love in the Gospel. Today, my brothers and sisters in Christ, the easy way might be to throw in the towel and say, “Let's call it quits. I want a new deal.” But has it ever occurred to you, the paradigm shift that the Scripture calls for is not that I will have a comfortable life, but that I will have a Christ-like life.

So this morning, would you say to God, “Forgive me of my sins, I repent of my selfishness and I want to live for Your glory. I know You never make a mistake, O God. And I just realized I'm enrolled into a spiritual gym to change me and to grow me, so make me more like Jesus, Your Son.” I believe that will change your life. I believe that alone will change your marriage as you look to the love of Jesus and the beautiful purpose of God for you.

My friends, if you do not know Jesus today, let me tell you. Jesus says, Jesus says, “He saves us from our sins.” Jesus saved a wretched man like me and I can tell you, if not for Jesus, my wife and I we would have broken off a long, long time ago. Jesus and His Gospel still is saving our marriage. And I say to you, “Jesus can save your marriage.” Jesus can save you. I've seen over and over again in this church, people I journeyed with personally, how the Gospel has changed their lives and marriage. Today, this is the singular hope for your home. Would you humble yourself and come to Jesus Christ?

Father, thank You for Your amazing love in the Gospel. Thank You, You love us, not because we are lovely, but You love us so that we might become lovely. And so I pray Your people here will submit to Your will. Rejoice in Your glorious plans and make us more lovely. More lovely as a man, more lovely as a lady, a husband and a wife. Make our homes lovely so that the world may know Your love for us. Bless Your people, bless each one here today, and we ask this now, in Jesus’ Name, Amen.

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