Back to 2022 Church Weekly List

Vol. XIX No. 43
24 July 2022

FAMILY MATTERS!

The family, marriage, and our children are under attack by modern society and culture like never before. Adultery and divorces are on the rise. We see more broken homes and delinquent children. The LGBTQ+ movement has perverted gender and societal norms. People are having a warped view of husband and wife relationship and what constitutes a family. The abnormal is becoming the normal or the new norm today. The whole world is fast becoming the next Sodom and Gomorrah.

The Christian family is not spared from the ungodly influences and intrusions of the world. How can we protect ourselves from being perverted by worldly philosophies, and prevent our families from being morally corrupted? The latest issue of Bible Witness (May–June 2022) on “Family Matters!” contains good articles by the Rev Dr Prabhudas Koshy to guide us on how we can protect and preserve our marriages and keep our families intact. Get your free copy from the reception table.

Here are some nuggets of biblical and godly wisdom from the Bible Witness:

“God’s design for the family is not only under attack from the world, it is also being undermined by Christian families’ conformity to the world’s pattern.”

“When achieving affluence becomes a priority in life, at the expense of divine wisdom and truth, we will cause our Christian families to become prey to the evils of secularism and ungodliness of our time!”

“While the husband must work and provide for the household, the wife’s God-given role in the family is to be a loving manager of the home.”

“In God’s design of family life, a mother’s care for her children should never be absent or lacking in the home. A father is neither created nor expected to provide ‘motherly’ care for the children. Neither can a maid nor a professional child-caregiver be a replacement for a mother’s loving presence.”

“Families are God-ordained institutions. The family is meant to be a spiritual institution which ought to reflect Christ’s loving leadership of the church, and the church’s loving submission to Him.”

“… the goal of every Christian family is to promote the glory of Christ and His redemptive, sanctifying love and truth. God expects every Christian’s domestic life to exist and function for His glorious purpose concerning His church—that is the theology of the Christian family.”

“The ‘fear of the LORD’ must characterise every Christian husband, the head of the household, as he labours and guides his wife and children (cf. Psalm 128). Nurturing a God-fearing family must be his primary goal. For this purpose, he himself must be a man of strong faith and abiding devotion to the Lord.”

“Christian wives must steadfastly support and encourage their husbands to build a thoroughly devout, Godfearing family. The wife must be submissive and meek, prayerfully fulfilling her duties at home.”

“The Lord does not wish to stand by as an observer when we labour to build our house. He promises to be the Chief Architect and Builder of our homes—this we must believe. Our God is not inactive, but He is in the business of building the homes of those who trust in Him. What a loving and caring God He is!”

“When you face difficult circumstances in your life, do not give up, but go to Him in prayer by trusting in His promise. Truly, if God works for us, why should we be pessimistic about life? If God works for us, why should we be anxious or fearful about tomorrow?”

“The Bible provides God’s supreme counsel for every man and woman pertaining to his or her roles and responsibilities in family life. If we follow the counsel of God’s Word in our daily lives, we shall have our homes built by God.”

“Godliness is the best assurance of a blessed family life. It will make his home the scene of purest joy, strongest comfort, and highest domestic happiness and family welfare.”

“As the saying goes, ‘It is an ill bird that fouls its own nest’; so is an ungodly man who makes his own home wretched.”

“… provide children with a biblical, godly, loving environment to grow up in. By cultivating a warm relationship based on love and care, happy parents help their children to be happy and well adjusted.”

“Not to chasten our children betimes (promptly, early) is disastrous, and it would result in ourselves being ‘chastened’ by the LORD for our neglect of duty!”

“Many Christian homes will be in a better condition, with their children under better care and discipline, if the mothers are not out of their homes,…”.

“Without question, a father’s unceasing prayer for his children will have a significant bearing on their spiritual well-being.”

“God offers His special promise of mercy to the children of those who fear Him and keep His covenant. The following are indispensable spiritual responsibilities which fathers ought to shoulder in the leading of their children.”

THEOLOGY OF MARRIAGE
(A Basic Theology for Everyone Course)

“Marriage is honourable in all, and the bed undefiled: but whoremongers and adulterers God will judge.” (Heb 13:4)

In the age of the internet when all kinds of information, good and bad (mostly bad), are so widely available and accessible, young people are curious and want to explore, and their lustful desires drive them to experiment with things that should only be experienced after marriage. Young people today are experimenting with sex, having boyfriends and girlfriends and teenagers playing husband and wife when they are not even married. Pornography is so accessible, just a click away. Thus, premarital sex, teenage abortions, and crimes like indecent exposure, voyeurism, molestation, rapes etc are on the rise. “Curiosity kills the cat.”

Our young people should not be getting their first information about male-female relationships from the mass media or social media. There are a whole lot of bad philosophies and evil lifestyles in the world which influence people towards a sexually permissive and immoral lifestyle, or worse an unnatural and perverse LGBTQ one.

Engaged couples often seek premarital counselling. Premarital counselling may be helpful if conducted by the right people but they are not the magic pill for a happy and successful marriage. My pastoral counsel is to start studying God’s Word devotionally and systematically, and to make it a life-long habit. Besides worship services and daily RPG-QTs, start attending Sunday School, take FEBC classes on-campus or online, be involved in spiritual activities and keep on growing in your faith and spiritual life because faith in God and obedience to His Word is the key to your success in marriage and a happy and healthy family life.

With this in mind, this BTFE course on marriage is aimed to be protective and preventive, to warn people of the dangers of sexual immorality and promiscuity, and to help people know God’s Word and discover God’s will for their lives.

This course will attempt to answer certain questions: Whom should I marry? Why do we want to marry? Who or which one should I marry? How to find a husband or a wife? What is the parents’ role in their children’s marriage? How about matchmaking? Is there a need to get engaged before the wedding? How to prepare for the wedding? How should the wedding service be conducted? How to have a happy marriage and family life?

God’s rules are found in God’s Word. All courting couples as well as married couples should be studying the Holy Scriptures constantly and together. Here is wisdom: “Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word. With my whole heart have I sought thee: O let me not wander from thy commandments. Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.” (Ps 119:9–11). “Thou shalt keep therefore his statutes, and his commandments, which I command thee this day, that it may go well with thee, and with thy children after thee, and that thou mayest prolong thy days upon the earth, which the LORD thy God giveth thee, for ever.” (Deut 4:40).

It is still not too late to register for this course which had its first class last Thursday (July 21). Hurry and register now at www.febc.edu.sg.

Classes are held at Far Eastern Bible College, 9A Gilstead Road, Singapore 309063. JK

THANK YOU

Dear Pastor, Session members and church brethren of True Life, and also directors, lecturers, staff and students of FEBC,

I and my Charlotte wish to thank everyone for your gracious words of encouragement and condolences, and even your presence, on the Homegoing of Barnie. Please continue to pray for Charlotte and me to draw closer to the Lord.

The Lord kept sending this verse to me that few days, “For I know that my Redeemer liveth, and that He shall stand at the latter day upon the earth: And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God” (Job 19:25–26). And Pastor mentioned this verse at the wake. Thanks to our Living & Loving Redeemer.

Because our Redeemer liveth,
Ling Ling & Charlotte

Dear Pastor,

We are grateful for all the love, prayers and encouragement from God’s Word received from Pastor and the church members after the sudden loss of our beloved husband, father and grandfather. We are also thankful to the choir for the song item presented during the vigil service to encourage our hearts as that was the last song his grandsons sang for him. We thank the Lord for all these tangible expressions of our Heavenly Father’s immeasurable love, and have been greatly comforted in this time of grief.

In Christ,
Auntie Molly, Candice, Andrew, Ezekiel and Ebenezer

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