Marriage and Family

Marriage is God's own design: a lifelong covenant between one man and one woman, made before Him, that joins two people as one flesh and pictures Christ and His church.

Husbands and wives are equal in worth and different in role: a husband leads by laying down his life as Christ did, and a wife willingly honors that leadership as unto the Lord, never by joining in sin or tolerating abuse.

Couples honor God in conflict when they check their own hearts, speak words that build up, deal with anger quickly, and forgive one another as Christ forgave them.

God made sexual intimacy as a good gift for one husband and one wife, so His people guard it before marriage, give it freely within marriage, run from what corrupts it, and find complete forgiveness in Christ when they have failed.

A Christian family handles money as a steward of what belongs to God: giving first, living content and within its means, staying out of debt, planning together with wisdom, and treasuring Christ above everything money can buy.

God designed marriage for life and hates the treachery of divorce, yet Scripture names sexual unfaithfulness and the departure of an unbeliever as cases that free the faithful spouse, and the same grace that saves every sinner meets the divorced.

Singleness and marriage are both good gifts from God, so a single believer serves Christ with an undivided heart today, and anyone who marries does so only in the Lord, choosing godly character with wise counsel.

Parenting on purpose means receiving children as a stewardship from God and shepherding their hearts toward Jesus, changing how you lead as they grow, and trusting the Lord with the outcome.

Biblical discipline is a parent's loving correction of a child's heart, given calmly and consistently, never in anger and never to harm, so that a child learns to obey, to repent, and to know the grace of his heavenly Father.

Faith is not inherited, so God calls parents to love Him first, teach His Word diligently at home, keep their children in the life of the church, and point each child to his own trust in Christ, leaving the outcome with the Lord.

God made us male and female and gave sexual intimacy to the marriage of one man and one woman; everyone's desires are fallen, and Christ offers forgiveness, a new identity, and a family to all who come to Him.

Every human life is God's gift and bears His image from conception to natural death, so we defend the unborn and the dying, and we offer Christ's full forgiveness to everyone who carries the weight of an abortion.

God is near to the brokenhearted: abuse must be stopped and reported, and those who face infertility, loss, wayward children, blended families, and aging parents can find comfort in Christ and help in His church.