Disciplining with Grace

Bev DeLashmutt
Hebrews 12:4-11

Our discipline as parents should reflect God's approach to discipline?that it is done in love, to help train them toward maturity. God is interested in breaking us of our tendency to discipline out of selfishness, and wants to empower us to strike the balance between being too strict and being too soft or indulgent. While it's uncomfortable to acknowledge, discipline often involves pain. Bev gives some suggestions for arriving at appropriate consequences.

Marriage and Divorce

Ryan Lowery
Matthew 19:3-9

God intends for marriage to be the most intimate lifelong relationship we ever have. It can be the most rewarding or most painful human relationship you ever have. When the Pharisees of Jesus' day tried to trap Him with a question about when it is permissible to divorce, He avoided the trap by quoting Scripture that indicted them for their lax view of marriage and divorce. He affirmed that God hates divorce but because of the hardness of our hearts, He permits divorce in the case of adultery. God's hard line on divorce actually shows how much He cares for women and children who in that time had few options for survival if a husband chose to divorce his wife.

How to Raise an Adult

Chris Risley
Matthew 19:3-9

Many parents today protect their kids to the extent that, as adults, they aren't prepared for the responsibilities of life. As we raise children, we should allow them to try things on their own, potentially failing, so they can learn and move forward with more confidence to handle things on their own. It can be difficult to watch your child fail or for them to do things more slowly or less efficiently than we would, but it is essential for their growth and competence.

Hope for Hopeless Marriages

James Rochford
1 Peter 3:1-8

When Peter calls upon wives to submit to their husbands, he is not promoting patriarchal misogyny as modern readers might believe. Instead, he is actually elevating the the view of women contrary to the worldview of his time. No teacher or rabbi would even address women directly in a teaching. He is speaking to women with unbelieving husbands who, if the wives took full advantage of their new status, would needlessly alienate their husbands from the message of the Gospel. He is asking both husbands and wives to submit to the authority of God by serving each other sacrificially.

Christ and Culture:Sowing the Seeds of Change

Jim Leffel
Colossians 3:18-4:1

The household instructions of the ancient Greco-Roman world dictated that the male head of the household had absolute rule over the wife, the children and the slaves and servants. The idea of equality was unheard of in this time period. When we cringe at Paul's call for wives to be subject to their husbands as is fitting to the Lord, wives of his day would have heard a radical revision of the household rules. Instead of everyone being under the rule of the husband, now everyone is under the headship of God. Before only the husband had rights and all else had responsibilities, but now all have both rights and responsibilities. Men, women and slaves were relating as equals in Christian fellowship. Over time this caused a radical shift in the culture as the rest of society saw believers caring for others regardless of their status.

Marriage God's Way

Chris Risley
1 Peter 3:1-9

During the Greco-Roman period that this passage was written, women had no rights at all. Peter is actually elevating the view of women by the mere fact he is writing directly to them. No rabbi would do that then. His call for them to submit to their husbands was not to subjugate them but to avoid upsetting the entire social and economic system. By flaunting their new-found rights, they needlessly risked alienating all unsaved men. Peter calls women instead to win their unbelieving husbands to Christ by their exemplary behavior. Believing husbands are also called to show honor to their wives.

Keeping the Heat Off, Continued

Dennis McCallum
1 Peter 3:1-9

We are so far removed from the culture of the time of this passage that it is hard to realize how radically liberating this was for women especially. The Bible has a high view of women, unlike the widespread view at the time. God calls women daughters and co-heirs with Christ. Jesus was the only rabbi to include women as his disciples. Peter calls for a different approach to marriage where the husband does not view his wife as a laborer or commodity but as an equal partner whom he serves sacrificially. Successful marriages that follow the Bible's view will really stand out in this fallen world.

Husbands and Wives

Conrad Hilario
1 Peter 3:1-7

Peter's admonition for wives to be submissive to their husbands must be understood in the context it was given. It was not a blanket statement for all wives to be submissive to their husbands. The context is for wives of unbelieving husbands living in a Greco-Roman world where wives were not considered equal to their husbands. God on the other hand did view women as equal in value or worth to their husbands, but in this case, wives are asked to be submissive to unbelieving husbands in order to win them to Christ by their chaste and respectful behavior. Furthermore, husbands are to treat their wives in the same way, with understanding and showing her honor.

Sex Without Strings, Relationships Without Rings?

James Rochford
Mark 10:1-9

What was Jesus' view of sex, marriage, and divorce? What can we learn from him for our contemporary lives today?