Pastor Michael
Sweet but SMASHED
The salad bar surprisingly rocked again last night! We feasted on every veggie possible, piled high on our plates guilt-free. When we finished we grabbed our weapons and turned our aggression onto the helpless fruit we lobbed at one another outside so we could watch it turn into fruit juice! Check out the pictures in the gallery for some epic shots/videos of shattered watermelon, and pureed bananas. (We even went a little crazy with a few full cans of soda. Funny enough, they were the "Crush" grape soda cans! Get it? Fruit...crush...nevermind.)
Our Bible study was on marriage, which to many today serves as a metaphor for our fruit ninja experience. We all agree marriage is a sweet thing, but too often it seems to turn out like that cantaloupe that once was whole but now has exploded in a million different pieces. How can we keep the same from happening to us one day?
Romans 5:6-11 reminds us we have no strength (powerless) in our sin. If we approach marriage outside of a life with God we aren't bringing much strength into marriage. Marriage success rates are 49% right now overall, but are much higher in the church, because God is powerful. The Bible says in that passage that Jesus died for us while we are powerless and through His life He provides strength for all! Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 tells us that two are better than one, and a chord of three strands (husband, wife, God) is not quickly broken.
But what about all those marriages we see that don't look so great? Ecclesiastes 3:11 reminds us that God can make all things beautiful in His time. Marriages all have ups and downs, but God can do beautiful things for families the longer we keep Him in the middle of them. Passages like Colossians 3:1-4, 12-17 show us God's ideals for us in relationships, and the more we put God's word in our minds and hearts the more we see it grow inside of us and correct us when we are tempted to go in dangerous directions.
Next week we have Make-Your-Own-Pizza! Maybe we can toss the leftover ones like Frisbee's? :)
