From the Pastor

SUNDAY SNAPSHOT (60 Day Marriage Challenge – 1)

Celebrators… The statistics are staggering… no matter where you look either inside or outside of the church… Marriages Are In Trouble! No one intends for it to be that way… (But…) It Happens… It IS Happening! And one of the major reasons why I believe it is taking place at such a rapid rate today is because… Couples are thinking that the momentum created by Yesterday’s Romance will be enough to carry them into an Amazing Future!  Please Get This Friends… Yesterday’s Romance might have been Great… but it was Great… YESTERDAY! I would ask every Married Couple reading this right now… What are you doing TODAY to stir up the Romance in your Marriage? And please stop with the “Well… If my spouse would do BLANK - then I would do BLANK!” mumbo jumbo! You can’t control them… you can control you… and you can make the decision to STOP Making Excuses and START Making a Difference today! Because the FACT is… Yesterday’s Romance WILL NOT Sustain Tomorrow! And Great Marriages do not happen by accident… but rather ON PURPOSE because two people are dedicated to doing whatever it takes to make it work! So MARRIED PEEPS… What will you commit to doing RIGHT NOW that is going to matter to your spouse in the FUTURE? One of the THINGS you can DO that will MAKE A DIFFERENCE is participating in COC’S “60 Day Marriage Challenge” which begins THIS WEEK! Do whatever it takes to make it each and every week… and then sit back and watch how God will turn your Marriages from being GOOD into being GREAT! And Singles and Divorcee’s… This Series is for YOU too! The best way for you to PREPARE for your Future/Next Marriage the RIGHT WAY… is by learning and determining to doing it GOD’S WAY! I personally believe it’s at least worth considering what the ‘AUTHOR OF MARRIAGE’ (GOD) has to say about Your Marriage! Hope to see you the next 6 Weeks at COC… (Bring A Friend Too!)

Sunday Snapshot… (Wk1) The Root Of The Problem…

Relationships are truly maximized when we're willing to get to the ROOT OF THE PROBLEM (SIN) and work towards getting on the SAME PAGE with God!

The Primary Reason there's TENSION in your Marriage... (Is Because...) There's TENSION in your RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD!

REBELLION always happens when we QUESTION the WORD OF GOD!

-Stop Picking and Choosing what you want to Hear or Practice from the Word of God!

God’s Original Plan for Husband/Wife… That they would COMPLETE Each Other... (NOT...) COMPETE With Each Other!

The Number One Reason we have ISSUES with our Husband/Wife...? We've Stopped Caring What God Thinks About Our Marriage! (That’s a PROBLEM Friends!)

The Root Of ANY Problem... SIN!

-Deal with the SIN in YOUR OWN LIFE and you'll find the SECRET to a GREAT MARRIAGE!

See You Sunday Celebrators… (9A / 10:45A)

RunTheRace! (Heb 12:1-2)

Pastor Josh

SUNDAY SNAPSHOT (60 Day Marriage Challenge – Aug 09)

Top SEVEN Ways To Make Your Marriage GREAT…

1. Stop Fighting IN It and Start Fighting FOR It! As long as you see your husband/wife as the enemy… your home will always be a battlefield! And EVERYONE loses when you fight WITH each other and not FOR each other!

2. Stop Asking God To FIX YOUR HUSBAND/WIFE And Ask Him To FIX YOU! No one in any marriage is perfect… and when we stop pointing out all of our spouse’s perceived inadequacies it really does make us a much nicer person to be around! (Psalm 139:23-24 is a GREAT Prayer to PRAY when asking God to show you your own “Opportunities For improvement!”)

3. ASK For HELP! You are NOT the first married couple that’s ever struggled… and you won’t be the last! The problem is that (especially in church today) we are so obsessed with what people may say or think about us… that we will allow our relationships to implode! We CANNOT allow our desire for appearance to distort the reality that WE NEED HELP!

4. Ask The Lord To Allow You To See Your Husband/Wife THROUGH His Eyes! This can/will absolutely CHANGE your perspective on WHO you are married to! Because you begin to see them less and less as your Husband/Wife and more and more as a Son/Daughter of the KING! Considering things like… How do you think HE wants HIS Child to be Treated?

5. Choose Right Now That You Are Always Going To BELIEVE THE BEST About Your Husband/Wife! LOVE… ALWAYS ASSUMES THE BEST about a person! (See 1 Corinthians 13) If you are always assuming the worst about your husband or wife… then you have a major problem and are placing them in a NO WIN Situation!

6. Stop Seeing Your Husband/Wife As YOUR SERVANT - But Rather YOUR OPPORTUNITY TO SERVE! As long as you see your husband/wife as Your Servant… you will always be tempted to point out their shortcomings in regards to the ways they are not meeting YOUR perceived needs! However… If you see your husband/wife as YOUR OPPORTUNITY TO SERVE… it will completely change the dynamic and temperature of the relationship!

7. Do WHATEVER IT TAKES To Get To The Church of Celebration’s… “60 DAY MARRIAGE CHALLENGE!” Trust me… This event is going to be one of THE BEST events our church has ever hosted! It starts on SUNDAY, AUGUST 09^th (9a/10:45a – MHS Performing Art Center) Six Weeks/Six Weekly Challenges… followed by a Four Week closer look at Your Marriage in our LIFE Groups Weekly Studies… followed by an ART OF MARRIAGE Weekend Conference (Oct 16-17). And the Best Part… If you and your husband/wife can COMPLETE the entire 60 Days AND Challenges… your names go into a drawing for a FREE “SECOND HONEYMOON!” (Did I mention it was FREE!?)

One Last Note… If you’re SINGLE or DIVORCED…? THIS EVENT IS FOR YOU AS WELL… The best way to HAVE a Great Marriage is to actually PREPARE IN ADVANCE for one!

See You Sunday Celebrators… (9A / 10:45A)

RunTheRace! (Heb 12:1-2)

Pastor Josh