Sermon Central
-
Desperate Housewives And Too Many Husbands Series
Contributed by Bruce Rzengota on Mar 26, 2014 (message contributor)
Summary: Taking the Leap to something higher this summer will require embracing the hard sayings of Jesus. This week we continue with 2 "Hard Sayings" that deal with love and marriage, lust and divorce.
Desperate Housewives and Too Many Husbands
7/7/2013
Introduction
It was another interesting week in national news. The Huntingpost carried a story about a number of actresses.
* Jessica Simpson
* Scarlett Johansson
* Megan Fox
* Sarah Jessica Parker
* Cameron Diaz
* Reese Witherspoon
* Jennifer Garner
* Jessica lab
Why was newsworthy? The Huntington Post was running and article examining why these actresses among others refused to do Nude scenes. It was newsworthy that a group of successful woman had taken a moral stand that at least in some ways honor the sanctity of marriage.
P. S. Taking the Leap to something higher this summer will require embracing the hard sayings of Jesus.
This week we continue with 2 "Hard Sayings" that deal with love and marriage, lust and divorce.
Desperate Housewives and Too Many Husbands
* There are too many desperate housewives seeking fulfillment in an intimate connection outside of their marriage. There are too many husbands who have embraced lust for love and it's having an impact upon us.
The Forgiver considered these truths important enough that addressed them in early messages on the kingdom. Both of these hard sayings have to do with the significance of and sanctity of marriage, critically important.
How we honor the sanctity of marriage is supposed to set us apart from the world.
But does it?
In the USA,
Most Americans get married at some point in their life: just one out of five adults (22%) has never been married.
Marriage Is the Norm
In addition to finding that four out of every five adults (78%) have been married at least once, the Barna study revealed that an even higher proportion of born again Christians (84%) tie the knot. That eclipses the proportion among people aligned with non-Christian faiths (74%) and among atheists and agnostics (65%).
BUT, among those who have said their wedding vows, one out of three have been divorced at least once, according to a new study from The Barna Group.
Born again Christians who are not evangelical were indistinguishable from the national average on the matter of divorce: 33% have been married and divorced.
"downscale" (meaning no college and household income under $20,000), 39 percent of those who've ever married have also gotten divorced.
Among "upscale" marrieds (college graduates and household income of $75,000-plus), just 22 percent have done so.
George Barna, who directed the study, noted that Americans have grown comfortable with divorce as a natural part of life.
"There no longer seems to be much of a stigma attached to divorce; it is now seen as an unavoidable rite of passage," the researcher indicated. "Interviews with young adults suggest that they want their initial marriage to last, but are not particularly optimistic about that possibility. There is also evidence that many young people are moving toward embracing the idea of serial marriage, in which a person gets married two or three times, seeking a different partner for each phase of their adult life."
How do we strengthen our witnesses on the issue of marriage?
T.S. The Hard Sayings of Jesus give us two great starting places.
27 "You have heard that it was said, 'Do not commit adultery.' 28 But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully (to covet, desire, fain, fantasize about) has already committed adultery with her in his heart. 29 If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. 30 And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.
I. Blinders and Kevlar
28 But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully (to covet, desire, fain, fantasize about) has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
ILL: Jesus locates adultery in the eye and heart before the outward act. There were two pertinent rabbinical sayings:
* "Passions lodge only in him who sees."
* "The eye and the heart are the two brokers of sin."
A. Men to guard their eyes
29 If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. 30 And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.
B. Women to guard their hearts