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Max Lucado - This Sacred Home · Max Lucado Daily Sermons

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  Speaker 1: If you brought your Bibles, please open them to the
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  Speaker 1: second chapter of the book of Genesis. You can find
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  Speaker 1: the book of Genesis. It's easy to locate. First book
• 0:08
  Speaker 1: in the Bible, go to the second chapter. In just
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  Speaker 1: a few moments, we're going to read beginning in verse 18.
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  Speaker 1: But before I begin this new summer series, let me
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  Speaker 1: pause to thank God for the 252 people, 252 people
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  Speaker 1: who were baptized into Christ last weekend. On each of
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  Speaker 1: the seven campuses of the Oak Hills Church, people chose
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  Speaker 1: to demonstrate their faith in baptism.
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  Speaker 2: We give God all the glory. Amen. We give God
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  Speaker 2: the thanks.
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  Speaker 1: We give God the praise that he would choose to
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  Speaker 1: call these people into his kingdom and that they would
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  Speaker 1: have the faith to demonstrate their faith in a public baptism. So, Lord,
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  Speaker 1: we want to say thank you. Thank you, Father, for
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  Speaker 1: these miracles.
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  Speaker 2: Of salvation.
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  Speaker 1: Thank you for the promise of eternal life. Thank you
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  Speaker 1: for the assurance of your grace. Please forgive our speaker
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  Speaker 1: father for his sins are many and help us to
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  Speaker 1: see just Christ today. And through Christ we pray. And
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  Speaker 1: all the church said.
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  Speaker 2: Amen, amen.
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  Speaker 1: If you were to Google the phrase, most sacred spots
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  Speaker 1: on earth, you'd be taken on a world tour. You'd
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  Speaker 1: see a picture and read about Ularo Cottage National Park
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  Speaker 1: in Australia.
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  Speaker 2: It's a flat-top.
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  Speaker 1: Sandstone rock that stands about 1,100 feet in the air,
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  Speaker 1: six miles around. Then there is the Cenote Sagrado in Mexico,
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  Speaker 1: a sacred spring that was worshipped by the Mayans. They
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  Speaker 1: believed that the god of rain himself visited there once.
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  Speaker 1: Mount Sinai in Egypt makes the list, as does.
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  Speaker 2: The Crater Lake of Oregon. and Glastonbury tour in England.
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  Speaker 1: Curiously, there's one place that does not make the list,
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  Speaker 1: at least on Google, but it certainly makes God's list.
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  Speaker 1: When he lists the most sacred spots on earth, he
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  Speaker 1: would include on it your home.
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  Speaker 2: That's right, the.
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  Speaker 1: Residence where you live, that spot on earth. where your
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  Speaker 1: children play and your parents visit and your dog slumbers.
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  Speaker 2: It's holy. It's sacred.
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  Speaker 1: And it's set apart for a special purpose. Let's begin,
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  Speaker 1: if you'd like to follow on the outline, talking about
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  Speaker 1: your holy home. Jesus ordained marriage as holy when he said,
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  Speaker 1: what God joined together, let not man separate.
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  Speaker 2: The apostle Paul.
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  Speaker 1: Continued this theme when he said, for the believing wife
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  Speaker 1: brings holiness to her marriage and the believing husband brings
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  Speaker 1: holiness to his marriage. Otherwise your children would not be holy,
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  Speaker 1: but now they're holy. The Hebrew writer agreed. He said,
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  Speaker 1: honor marriage and guard thee.
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  Speaker 2: What's the word?
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  Speaker 1: Sacredness of sexual intimacy between.
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  Speaker 2: Wife and husband.
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  Speaker 1: Who would have imagined that the hallways, the bedrooms, the
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  Speaker 1: kitchen of your world would be seen as God as
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  Speaker 1: a holy spot. The word holy means set apart for
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  Speaker 1: a special work. God never set apart. Education is holy.
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  Speaker 1: The government is holy. The shopping mall is holy. But
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  Speaker 1: God sets apart the home is holy. Now, perhaps your
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  Speaker 1: family is a tribe of people full of kids and
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  Speaker 1: grandkids and grandparents. Maybe it's just you and your sweetheart.
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  Speaker 2: Maybe it's just you. Maybe it's an.
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  Speaker 1: Unpredictable assortment of siblings and stepbrothers and nieces and nephews
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  Speaker 1: and stepsisters. The population of the home may vary, but
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  Speaker 1: the promise of God is not that he can take
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  Speaker 1: that home And he can create holy moments within it.
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  Speaker 1: We need go no further than the second chapter of
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  Speaker 1: the Bible to see the emphasis that God places on
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  Speaker 1: the family. I'm reading from Genesis chapter 2 verses 18
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  Speaker 1: through 25. And the Lord God said, it is not
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  Speaker 1: good that man should be alone. I will make a
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  Speaker 1: helper comparable to him. Out of the ground, the Lord
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  Speaker 1: God formed every beast of the field and every bird
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  Speaker 1: of the air, and he brought them to Adam to
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  Speaker 1: see what he would call them.
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  Speaker 2: And whatever Adam called each living creature, that was its name.
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  Speaker 1: So Adam gave names to all cattle, to the birds
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  Speaker 1: of the air, to every beast of the field. But
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  Speaker 1: for Adam, there was not found a helper comparable to him.
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  Speaker 1: And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall
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  Speaker 1: on Adam, and he slept. And he took one of
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  Speaker 1: his ribs and closed up the flesh in its place.
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  Speaker 1: Then the rib, which the Lord God had taken from man,
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  Speaker 1: he made into a woman and he brought her to
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  Speaker 1: the man. And Adam said, this is now bone of
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  Speaker 1: my bones and flesh of my flesh. She shall be
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  Speaker 1: called woman because she was taken out of man. Therefore,
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  Speaker 1: a man shall leave his father and mother and be
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  Speaker 1: joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.
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  Speaker 1: And they were both naked, the man and his wife,
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  Speaker 1: and were not ashamed. Now by this point in the
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  Speaker 1: Genesis narrative, the creation story is in full bloom.
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  Speaker 2: And after each element of.
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  Speaker 1: Creation of creation, God would declare a triumphant verdict.
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  Speaker 2: It is good.
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  Speaker 1: The light is good. The firmament is good. The daytime
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  Speaker 1: is good. The sea creatures are good. Everything is good.
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  Speaker 2: He even once added a superlative.
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  Speaker 1: This is very good. But then when God saw Adam
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  Speaker 1: all alone, what did he say?
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  Speaker 2: That's not good. That's not good.
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  Speaker 1: And so God was the one who noticed that it
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  Speaker 1: was not good that man be alone. It was not
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  Speaker 1: Adam who said, God, it's not good that I'm alone.
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  Speaker 1: Adam did not say, God, would you please consider causing
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  Speaker 1: me to fall into a deep sleep? And I've got
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  Speaker 1: a good rib here you can put to use. Would
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  Speaker 1: you please consider forming a woman? Give me a partner,
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  Speaker 1: a person who is comparable to me, a counterpart to me.
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  Speaker 1: This was never in Adam's mind. Adam never had these thoughts.
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  Speaker 1: Everything began with God. And so we begin to see
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  Speaker 1: the holiness of this relationship. It was born in the
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  Speaker 1: mind of the almighty, ever-present and loving God. How would
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  Speaker 1: we expect anything different? God himself is a mysterious union
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  Speaker 1: of the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit. So man
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  Speaker 1: made in God's image would be made to experience a
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  Speaker 1: mysterious union of his own.
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  Speaker 2: And so what follows.
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  Speaker 1: is one of the most humorous passages in the whole Bible.
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  Speaker 1: I'd like to call it the peculiar parade. God determined,
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  Speaker 1: I will make a helper comparable to him. And out
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  Speaker 1: of the ground, the Lord God formed every beast of
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  Speaker 1: the field and every bird of the air and brought
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  Speaker 1: them to Adam to see what he would call them.
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  Speaker 2: And whatever Adam.
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  Speaker 1: Called each living creature, that was his name. So Adam
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  Speaker 1: gave names to all cattle, to the birds of the
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  Speaker 1: year and to the beasts of the field. But for Adam,
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  Speaker 1: there was not found a helper comparable to him.
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  Speaker 2: Now this is surprising, isn't it?
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  Speaker 1: Having acknowledged that Adam needs a helper, wouldn't we think
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  Speaker 1: that God would immediately create the helper? Wouldn't we think
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  Speaker 1: that God would immediately get about the task of creating
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  Speaker 1: the woman?
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  Speaker 2: But before he.
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  Speaker 1: Does that, he enlists Adam in a unique assignment. He says,
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  Speaker 1: I want you to name all of the animals that
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  Speaker 1: I've created. What a moment that must have been. And
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  Speaker 1: so here comes the zoo. Here comes all the animals.
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  Speaker 1: Adam says, oh, you look like a hippopotamus. And now
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  Speaker 1: that's a giraffe if I've ever seen one.
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  Speaker 2: Oh, I'm going to call you a monkey. Oh, a mosquito.
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  Speaker 1: I wish you'd just slapped that one, don't you? Once
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  Speaker 1: and for all, done away with them. Must have been
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  Speaker 1: something to behold. But at the conclusion of this naming parade,
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  Speaker 1: the scripture says, but there was not found a helper
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  Speaker 1: comparable to him. And suddenly we realize there's more going
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  Speaker 1: on here than the distribution of name tags. Adam was
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  Speaker 1: given a chance to select a mate. And aren't we
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  Speaker 1: glad he found no one? Adam did not drool when
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  Speaker 1: he saw the elephant. His pulse did not quicken when
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  Speaker 1: he saw the hamster. He loved the song of the
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  Speaker 1: little bird, but he didn't want to wake up to
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  Speaker 1: the canary every day. there was still no helper just right.
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  Speaker 2: For him.
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  Speaker 1: So this exercise was for Adam's benefit not God's the
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  Speaker 1: real purpose here is not just to name the animals
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  Speaker 1: but to help Adams realize.
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  Speaker 2: He needs a partner who's special.
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  Speaker 1: Wonderfully unique to any creature that has yet to be
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  Speaker 1: made and so we're about to meet that person here
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  Speaker 1: comes the perfect companion and the Lord God caused a
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  Speaker 1: deep sleep to fall on Adam and he slept he
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  Speaker 1: took one of his ribs and closed up the flesh
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  Speaker 1: in its place then the rib which the Lord God
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  Speaker 1: had taken from man he made into a woman and
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  Speaker 1: he brought her to the man There is so much
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  Speaker 1: to be gleaned from this passage. First, we see the
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  Speaker 1: power of a good nap. Write it in the margin
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  Speaker 1: of your Bible. God does his best work in men
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  Speaker 1: when they are sound asleep. The snores of a man
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  Speaker 1: are music in heaven. For this reason, today we designate
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  Speaker 1: the lazy boy as an altar of Christian service. Men,
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  Speaker 1: I urge each and every one of you before the
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  Speaker 1: end of this day to be obedient to this ministry
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  Speaker 1: of slumber. And all the men said, and all the
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  Speaker 1: women said, forget that. When Adam awoke from his deep sleep,
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  Speaker 1: we do not know if he noticed the missing rib.
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  Speaker 1: We're not told if he had a scar on his side,
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  Speaker 1: but we are sure he had stars in his eyes.
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  Speaker 1: Adam said, now this is now bone of my bones
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  Speaker 1: and flesh of my flesh.
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  Speaker 2: Loose translation, this is the one for me. Hubba, hubba, hubba.
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  Speaker 1: She shall be called woman because she was taken out
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  Speaker 1: of man. Therefore, a man shall leave his father and
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  Speaker 1: mother and be joined to his wife and they shall
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  Speaker 1: become one flesh. And they were both naked, the man
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  Speaker 1: and his wife, and they were not ashamed.
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  Speaker 2: Adam did not have to be told that she was
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  Speaker 2: the one. He just knew.
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  Speaker 1: God brought her to Adam. The heavenly father did what
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  Speaker 1: fathers have done in weddings all over the world. On
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  Speaker 1: the arm of her heavenly father, the first bride walked alone.
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  Speaker 1: The pine needle strewn path of the Garden of Eden.
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  Speaker 1: And God said, she's for you. The family was God's idea.
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  Speaker 1: The family was God's idea. Over the next few weeks,
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  Speaker 1: we're going to talk a lot about the family. But
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  Speaker 1: if we went no further than that one thought, we
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  Speaker 1: would have enough. The family, a relationship of humans who
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  Speaker 1: come together in a special arrangement under the protection of
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  Speaker 1: a holy covenant. A partnership between a man and a
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  Speaker 1: woman who stand in the presence of God and by
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  Speaker 1: the power of God make a declaration of loyalty and fidelity.
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  Speaker 1: This is God's idea. It's not Adam's idea. It's not
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  Speaker 1: Eve's idea. It's not the government's idea. It's not a
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  Speaker 1: society's idea. It's not the idea of a Supreme Court.
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  Speaker 1: It is the idea of our Supreme Being, the Almighty God.
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  Speaker 1: He created this idea. So Moses, who most believed to
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  Speaker 1: be the author of Genesis, could not resist the temptation
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  Speaker 1: here to do an application, to do some teaching. It's
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  Speaker 1: the first teaching in the Bible. Up until now, we've
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  Speaker 1: had narrative.
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  Speaker 2: We've had story. But here comes application.
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  Speaker 1: Moses, if he is the author, says, therefore, let there be,
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  Speaker 1: and the old translation says, leaving and cleaving. Always liked
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  Speaker 1: that poetry. Let a man leave, let a woman cleave.
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  Speaker 1: Let there be a leaving, let there be a severing
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  Speaker 1: of the umbilical cord. to mom and dad. Let each
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  Speaker 1: leave their homes. Let them come together in this beautiful
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  Speaker 1: Hebrew word is employed that means glue, glue. Let them
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  Speaker 1: be glued together to the point where you really can't
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  Speaker 1: tell where one starts and the other stops. They become
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  Speaker 1: one flesh. And so as we see in the book
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  Speaker 1: of Genesis, the family is a holy place. It's a
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  Speaker 1: Idea of God in a place where God does his work.
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  Speaker 1: This is not an informal shacking up. It's not a
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  Speaker 1: drunken party at a Las Vegas wedding chapel. It's not
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  Speaker 1: a casual experiment to see if it works out. It's
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  Speaker 1: not a social arrangement. It's not a civil union. It's
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  Speaker 1: not a financial partnership. It's not a legal affiliation. It
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  Speaker 1: is a holy union.
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  Speaker 2: So holy.
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  Speaker 1: That God on earth, Jesus, would remember this moment on
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  Speaker 1: earth and reflect on the Garden of Eden experience. When
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  Speaker 1: he said, for this reason, a man shall leave his
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  Speaker 1: father and mother and be joined to his wife and
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  Speaker 1: the two shall become one flesh. So then they are
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  Speaker 1: no longer two but one flesh. Therefore, what God has
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  Speaker 1: joined together, let not man separate. For this reason, Jesus says,
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  Speaker 1: for what reason? For the reason that God did this.
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  Speaker 1: For the reason that this isn't a work of two humans,
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  Speaker 1: but this is a work of God. For this reason,
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  Speaker 1: we can dare to believe that something is going to
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  Speaker 1: happen when two people leave their homes and come together
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  Speaker 1: and a matrimonial miracle happens. God takes two people and
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  Speaker 1: he makes one. The one who turned water into wine
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  Speaker 1: at the wedding is the one who turns two people
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  Speaker 1: into one at every wedding since. We see two people
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  Speaker 1: up on the altar. God sees one.
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  Speaker 2: We hear a bride and a groom making the vows.
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  Speaker 2: God hears one voice.
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  Speaker 1: We see two people scooting down the aisle to climb
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  Speaker 1: in the car and go on the honeymoon.
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  Speaker 2: God sees one. One.
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  Speaker 1: He brings two people together.
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  Speaker 2: And he creates one.
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  Speaker 1: Full cycle, full circle. There was one Adam when God
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  Speaker 1: made Eve out of him. They were one. God made two.
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  Speaker 1: In marriage, God.
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  Speaker 2: Makes one again.
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  Speaker 1: It's a mystery.
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  Speaker 2: It's a miracle. And it's a work of God.
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  Speaker 1: Please, when you go home today, regardless of the population
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  Speaker 1: of your home, regardless even of the happiness level in
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  Speaker 1: your home, would you open yourself to this idea that
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  Speaker 1: when you enter into that relationship of people that comprise
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  Speaker 1: your home, you have stepped into a sacred spot. This
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  Speaker 1: is a holy place. You'd be wise to remove your
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  Speaker 1: hat and bend your knees because God can do holy
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  Speaker 1: work even if the dishes have not been done, even
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  Speaker 1: if the laundry is not finished. Even if there's tension
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  Speaker 1: in that home, the almighty God, the God of the
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  Speaker 1: garden of Eden is the God who lives today and
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  Speaker 1: let the devil himself.
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  Speaker 2: Hear these words. God is at work in your home.
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  Speaker 1: And since your home is God's idea and since your
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  Speaker 1: home is God's work, God can help restore life where
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  Speaker 1: there seems to be nothing but sadness. And the same
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  Speaker 1: God who blends the colors to make the most beautiful
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  Speaker 1: sunsets is the God who can blend human hearts to
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  Speaker 1: create a family of harmony. And the same God who
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  Speaker 1: walked through the storm on the Sea of Galilee is
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  Speaker 1: the same God who can walk into the stormy living
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  Speaker 1: room and bedroom and hallways of your house and create peace.
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  Speaker 1: You may see no hope, but since God is always
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  Speaker 1: a God of hope, then there is always hope. It
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  Speaker 1: just simply falls to you and me to invite God
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  Speaker 1: to do the work he so longs to do. And
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  Speaker 1: that is the same work he did in the Garden
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  Speaker 1: of Eden to build a bridge, to bring people together
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  Speaker 1: and create a home. Most people, when they think about
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  Speaker 1: a marriage, they see two people. They see a a he,
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  Speaker 1: and they see a, there you go, a she. And
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  Speaker 1: that marriage is a relationship between the he and the she.
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  Speaker 1: And they come into this relationship with such high expectations.
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  Speaker 1: He says, she is going to satisfy me. She says,
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  Speaker 1: he is going to fulfill me and they're so loaded
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  Speaker 1: with expectations that because of the weight of those expectations
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  Speaker 1: disappointment and difficulty perhaps even divorce is inevitable because please
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  Speaker 1: hear me He cannot be everything to her. She cannot
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  Speaker 1: be everything to him. No human being, no human.
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  Speaker 2: Being can be everything to you. No human being can.
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  Speaker 1: No human being has ever been given the capacity nor
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  Speaker 1: the assignment of fulfilling another person. I know the love
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  Speaker 1: songs say differently. Oh, she completes me. He fulfills me.
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  Speaker 1: And from the heavens, you can hear God say hogwash.
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  Speaker 2: It cannot happen.
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  Speaker 1: Husband, if you're counting on your wife to be everything
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  Speaker 1: to you, you're asking her to do too much. Wives,
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  Speaker 1: if you're counting on your husband to be everything to you,
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  Speaker 1: he will fail. He will disappoint you. The first marriage
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  Speaker 1: was not limited to two parties, but how many?
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  Speaker 2: I only hear a couple of responses. I really need
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  Speaker 2: a good one here.
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  Speaker 1: How many? Three. Who made Adam and Eve? Who brought
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  Speaker 1: them together? And with whom were Adam and Eve intimately connected?
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  Speaker 1: God made him. God made her. Before there was this
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  Speaker 1: and this, there was that and that.
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  Speaker 2: Right?
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  Speaker 1: So the strength of the home as modeled in the
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  Speaker 1: Garden of Eden is not here, but here. Let this
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  Speaker 1: be a dotted line. Let this one be solid. Let
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  Speaker 1: life come this way. Let there be forgiveness first from
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  Speaker 1: God to man, God to woman. Then there can be
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  Speaker 1: forgiveness between man and woman.
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  Speaker 2: Let the man and the woman know they're loved.
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  Speaker 1: By God, cherished by God, chosen by God, indwelt by God,
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  Speaker 1: fulfilled by God, satisfied by God.
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  Speaker 2: And then that man and then that woman will be
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  Speaker 2: one good husband, one good wife.
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  Speaker 1: But if he expects her or she expects him to
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  Speaker 1: do what only God can do, then the cycle of
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  Speaker 1: disappointment is predictable. There will be a hardness of the heart.
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  Speaker 1: There will be disappointment. And there will be sadness. Now,
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  Speaker 1: you can tell, I bet, that what is described in
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  Speaker 1: Genesis chapter 2 is very different than what's described.
• 22:52
  Speaker 2: In the movies and in society, right?
• 22:56
  Speaker 1: Our understanding of the marriage goes contrary to the teaching
• 23:00
  Speaker 1: of our culture. Society says that marriage is disposable and redefinable.
• 23:06
  Speaker 1: God says marriage is holy and unchangeable. Society says marriage
• 23:13
  Speaker 1: is good as long as love is present. God says
• 23:18
  Speaker 1: marriage is good as long as God is present. Society
• 23:24
  Speaker 1: says marriage exists to make you happy. God says marriage exists.
• 23:28
  Speaker 2: To make you holy. The family is the work of God.
• 23:37
  Speaker 2: When Dean Lynn and I.
• 23:40
  Speaker 1: Were married, our friend Carl Cope helped officiate the service.
• 23:47
  Speaker 1: Imagine our surprise when he opened his mouth and caused
• 23:51
  Speaker 1: us to drop our jaws by saying, I know you
• 23:54
  Speaker 1: asked me to marry you, but I cannot. And then
• 23:59
  Speaker 1: he just let that settle in the church for a
• 24:01
  Speaker 1: few moments. And then he smiled and said, but God can.
• 24:09
  Speaker 1: Don't expect a pastor to marry you. In fact, it
• 24:14
  Speaker 1: might be wise for us to not even say, I'm
• 24:16
  Speaker 1: going to go get married. It would be wiser for
• 24:21
  Speaker 1: us to say, oh God, would you unite our hearts?
• 24:24
  Speaker 1: Would you create a miracle within us? Now I hope
• 24:29
  Speaker 1: your home is happy. If it is, I want you
• 24:31
  Speaker 1: to know God can make it stronger. Maybe your home
• 24:35
  Speaker 1: is sinking. I want you to know God can save it.
• 24:40
  Speaker 1: Because God is the God of the home, there's never
• 24:42
  Speaker 1: a time in which the home has no hope. If
• 24:46
  Speaker 1: it's a holy work of God, right? If it's just
• 24:49
  Speaker 1: left up to you and me, we'll run out of
• 24:51
  Speaker 1: strength and solutions and wisdom. But our God can resurrect
• 24:55
  Speaker 1: Jesus from the dead and that same power is alive
• 24:58
  Speaker 1: in you. And that power can resurrect hope where there
• 25:02
  Speaker 1: has been no hope. Maybe you find this hard to believe.
• 25:08
  Speaker 1: Maybe you think of your home with the dirty laundry
• 25:10
  Speaker 1: and the unwashed dishes and the busy schedule, and it
• 25:13
  Speaker 1: seems more battleground than it does holy ground. Maybe it
• 25:17
  Speaker 1: is today, but I want you to have hope. I
• 25:21
  Speaker 1: want you to know God has not given up. God
• 25:25
  Speaker 1: has not walked away. For heaven's sake, he brought you
• 25:29
  Speaker 1: here to remind you that the God of the Garden
• 25:35
  Speaker 1: of Eden is the God alive today. And the one
• 25:38
  Speaker 1: who gave life to the first marriage can give life
• 25:41
  Speaker 1: to yours. And the one who created the first family
• 25:44
  Speaker 1: can recreate yours.
• 25:46
  Speaker 2: Let's give him a.
• 25:47
  Speaker 1: Chance to work his miracle, shall we? And if you
• 25:51
  Speaker 1: think you've missed the chance to have the fruits of
• 25:54
  Speaker 1: a holy home, just remember, God made the first home
• 25:58
  Speaker 1: out of a snoring husband and a piece of bones.
• 26:02
  Speaker 1: Don't you think he can do something with yours? Heavenly Father,
• 26:06
  Speaker 1: hear our prayers as we think about our homes. There
• 26:11
  Speaker 1: are those in this prayer who feel like their expectations
• 26:17
  Speaker 1: for home have been lost in the quicksands of disappointment.
• 26:25
  Speaker 1: There are those who are absolutely without hope. There are
• 26:28
  Speaker 1: those even right now who are separated from people they
• 26:31
  Speaker 1: love Father, we ask you to please speak to those hearts,
• 26:37
  Speaker 1: to speak to those whose expectations have not been met,
• 26:40
  Speaker 1: whose disappointments are more numerous than their successes. Would you please, Father,
• 26:45
  Speaker 1: come to those and bring hope. And then, Father, to
• 26:49
  Speaker 1: those who feel like their marriages are healthy, help them
• 26:53
  Speaker 1: to be activated even with a sense of investing more
• 26:56
  Speaker 1: in their marriage so that holiness could happen, that your
• 27:01
  Speaker 1: presence could be sensed.
• 27:04
  Speaker 2: And your work fulfilled. We thank you Father. Through Jesus
• 27:08
  Speaker 2: we pray.