This is the rock on which I will put together my church,
a church so expansive with energy
that not even the gates of hell will be able to keep it out.
Matthew 16:9
We spoke in a downtown church in Seattle some time ago that had a sense of humor. How do we know?
Because this was on the sign in their parking lot: “Church parking only. We will not forgive those who trespass against us.”
Every church has it’s own personality. And when you find a church that fits with yours, as a couple, you are blessed.
Research shows that couples who attend church, even once a month, increase their chances of staying married.
Studies have also shown that churchgoers feel better about their marriages than those who don’t worship together.
How can this be?

The perfect church service would be one we were almost unaware of.
Our attention would have been on God.
–C.S. Lewis
Well, to start, attending church provides couples with a shared sense of values and purpose in life. It also provides couples with a caring community of support – and every couple needs help from time to time.
We have a friend who likes to say that cultivating spiritual intimacy in your marriage without incorporating the church is like tying to drive a car without a steering wheel.
He’s a pastor. Big surprise, right? But we couldn’t agree more.
From the beginning of our marriage, worshipping together in church has been a systematic time of rest and renewal for our relationship.
On Sunday mornings these days, we pile into the car with two boys in the back seat, turn on the Sunday play list, and head to our church where we each disperse into different directions – the boys to their classes, Leslie helping the youngest one, and Les to the sanctuary, reserving a seat on the front row off to the side (before the seats fill up) where Leslie soon follows.
It’s our ritual. Our routine.
But it’s couched in the soul of our marriage.
And it almost always lifts our spirits to worship with others who, like us, are doing their best as a couple to walk in the footsteps of Jesus.
Reflect and Respond
What church do you attend, and how does your participation there bless your marriage?
Go ahead, tell us in the comments.
Related Resource
Offering wisdom and insights for applying biblical truths to our relationships, this book encourages couples to connect and communicate every day. This practical, uplifting guide is perfect for busy couples who long to experience a stronger relationship and better communication. Easy-to-follow daily readings focus on loving each other the way God loves us.
I have yet to find a church that isn’t controlled by a handful of families, or where the church isn’t the image of the pastors desire for a bigger state of the art kingdom here on earth. The typical excuse given is that “the church is comprised of imperfect people” and so it is, immorality has become part of the church, compromise and excuses for every issue it tollerates. If we don’t look any different than the world what do we have to offer but hypocracy
Ouch. So sorry to hear this, Linda.
Linda, I feel your pain. I’m so sorry. Finding a body of believers wherein you not only fit in, but wherein the believers are humbly seeking the Lord, desiring in anguish for holiness and, in fear of Him, desiring to be made separate from the world — working out one’s own salvation with fear and trembling on a journey with other believers who walk in like manner is a challenge in America today. (Phew…. that was a mouthful!) BUT — It’s not impossible!
God has a plan for those who choose to walk after Him in the Light, forsaking the love of money, big houses, and all the things — treasures — this world has to offer. Many times, even if folks are poor by worldly standard, they may still find themselves in love with money and the vanities of this world. It’s quite a journey to be in this world and not if it.
The Lord is choosing special people for His perfect purpose, not to judge those whom He is using for His purposes and whose lives appropriately line up with His Word, but to compliment one another as we travel On this journey together! Consider The human body, for the Lord uses the simple things of this world to show us the spiritual counterpart for His glory. The body is not just a heart pumping blood which is the life thereof, but it is the lungs, the liver, the kidney, the pancreas, and other vital organs that sustain the body. After the body remains alive, if it only sits or lays about, what use is it? To make the journey, the walk of the body must be profitable. The hands do not tell the heart to pump, but they prepare food and administer the intake thereof. The feet tell not the stomach how to digest the food, but carry the body onward; as the eyes focus on the Light, the feet do follow. You see, the Body of Christ (the one true church) all over the world is seeking to obey God and store up treasures in Heaven!
There are, indeed, wolves in sheep’s clothing carefully positioned to attempt to lead the body into darkness, but God is mighty! As He leads, through much fasting and prayer and seeking HIM, as HE knocks, waiting patiently for the door to be opened that He may dine with us, we begin to see His desire for our lives.
It’s easy to judge those families that seem to DO it all. Some are self – serving, pompous, prideful and far removed from Truth, BUT others are not. They do it all because no matter how much they make needs known, the response is little. Soon, they find themselves in a prayer closet begging the Lord for laborers to bring in the Harvest! Linda, is that you? Are you one of those laborers so desperately needed?
God has a PERFECT plan. He sets it all up that He may be glorified! We will not agree with everyone with whom He allows us to fellowship, but He is Sovereign and in control. Yielding to the HOLY SPIRIT, the surrendered Believer can utterly raise the dead! Examine your own heart. Trust that adversity strengthens us only when we humble ourselves before the Lord. He places us in the midst. Sometimes the meaning/learrning is for us; sometimes, it is for those around, those we meet, or those watching our lives!
Accepting the Lord’s sovereign plan without complaining is the first step. An example: when my mom had stroke, the ambulance took her to the ER while I rushed to be by her side. My dad and I took turns. He was hard of hearing; only one could be with her at a time; and he wanted me to with her when the doctor came in. They did NOTHING to help her. They didn’t give her the drug for stroke — you know, the one that only works in a very small window period. The didn’t even give her an aspirin! The nurse was a nasty, uncaring, lazy tyrant. She was mean-spirited, condescending, interrupted with her grand knowledge — far superior to my own, even though I was answering questions regarding my own mother. Then she left and never came back to even check on Mom. I felt the Spirit of the Lord leading me in prayer. It began with my own repentance. Ouch. Suddenly, Mom had another stroke right there in front of me. Her sweet eyes rolled back into her head and the right side of her face instantly drooped. Mom was not even there in mind. The second stroke was far more severe. Had her nurse had been proactive, it likely would not have happened! I opened the door and called out, “Mom’s having a severe stroke right now! ” I was sent immediately back to the waiting area. Dad was there and by now my sisters and brother. The Spirit of the Living God prompted me to open my mouth and pray for that nurse. Crazy, right? Not for my mom, but for the lousy nurse! He showed His Righteousness and demonstrated His Power! I prayed fervently with all my heart for her life, for her blessings, and with a profound knowledge that GOD LOVED ME! THAT GOD LOVED MY MOM. And, in that love, of course, if THAT nurse was there, then she was positioned there by Lord in perfect placement! She was, therefore, the best and most competent nurse who would see to it that the best and most competent staff would administer care! I prayed out loud, and loudly! People, strangers –including an amazing security guard who is a brother in the Lord through and through– surrounded us. There were AMENs and HALLELUJAHs. There was a PEACE that fell upon not just me, but all the people! About 45 minutes later right about the time we quieted in prayer, Dad and I were both called back. Mom was awake. She was there again. She would need some therapy, but all was well. The nasty nurse, OH my! She was THE SWEETEST, NICEST, BEST nurse — better than if I had designed her personality and level of knowledge and compassion myself! Either this nurse’s evil twin left and let her perfect good twin replace her, or God worked a miracle in that nurse’s heart! It was a Night and Day transformation!
I may never know everything the Lord did for the rest of the people in that hospital waiting area but I’m confident it was life changing!
I learned that as we walk on this journey we call life, to walk in PEACE and obedience is to trust that things are not always as they seem! We must walk by faith and not by sight. We must know the power and sovereignty of the Lord! We must obey in the command of the Lord to love and not to condemn. ♡♡♡ We must know His love for the humble and choose to be humble.
I pray that the Lord will begin to show you where He desires YOU to serve! I pray He humbles your heart and reveals truth, blessing you with a greater blessing then you could have ever conceived!
Love in Christ, Elle
I really did type with well – defined paragraphs. Lol and grrr….
My attendance of church matters continuously less since my moment of exceedingly powerful salvation some 40 years ago by suddenly seeing the vision of Jesus Christ’s self-revelation, a.k.a., “my church”, which “not even death will ever be able to overcome”. It’s a far cry from the organized church. Isn’t it?
Hallelujah!
(Matt. 16: 18, 27-28)
YES, YES, YES, finally somebody, who speaks my language, I surrendered and confessed my life over to JESUS on the 3rd of March 2016 and have since been living fully for Him. I watch the Faith, TBN and God channels daily and in that way I go to church at home everyday, trusting God fpr everything. My life will NEVER be the same again. God is SO faithful, Praise his Name!!! Jesus is now the cornerstone to my church. Thank-you Ephrem for putting it so simply.
(Acts4:11-12)
We’ve been a part of Lifeway Church in Derry, NH for 10 years now where, after more than 20 years of marriage, we finally learned how to pray together. And it has made all the difference!
Ginny: So awesome to hear!
We attend NewPointe Community Church in Ohio. As for how it blesses our marriage: numerous ways. First, we have amazing conversations after the service, and we can reference the message points throughout the week. Second, we get more than a history lesson; we get actionable steps to apply in deepening our relationships (with God and with each other). Third, through our church we have been plugged into two different small groups with other married couples…these have made the biggest difference. Finally, we have a pastor who get’s marriage. When he talks about marriage, he doesn’t start out with….”Marriage is hard.” This is such a terrible message from the church. The challenge is, so many pastor only deal with crises marriages. Their view on marriage get’s warped. Marriage takes work; yes. But marriage isn’t hard. It’s a blast. It’s a rewarding. It’s fulfilling. It’s a gift from God. Our marriage is blessed by our church mostly because it helps us set and live priorities. My wife, nor my kids are the most important thing in my life. It’s my relationship with Christ first. It’s my physical, emotional and spiritual health. Then, it’s my wife. Followed by my kids. Closed out by extended family, work, friends and my community. My marriage has never been an idol before God…thanks to my church.
Eric: Sounds like you are especially blessed to have your church in Ohio and your pastor … and we’re sure you are a blessing to them as well.
My husband Simon and I attend and work at Rivers Church in South Africa – our participation in church from our early 20’s has caused us to build our marriage on biblical principles, but the major influence has been gleaning from our SNR Pastors, Ps André and Wilma Olivier, who have been married for over 40 years and it’s been a blessing to receive wisdom and practical teaching from the mom and dad of the house!
Awesome! We love South Africa – having traveled there for the first time a year ago. We’re eager to get back there someday.
My husband and I attend the Vineyard Community Church in Hopewell Jct, NY. We are blessed when we are serving along side each other at the church. We love blessing and helping other married couples and praying for them. Church is the place we go to get recharged and refilled, so that we can bless others.
Dawn: Fantastic! Sounds like you two might be marriage mentors at your church (and if not, might want to look into it). 🙂
My family and I go to Mountain Lake Church in Cumming GA. Going to this church has changed my life and my wife and kids life forever. Our church’s mission when they started 14 years ago was to be a safe Place where you could BELONG, a place to BECOME more like Jesus and a place where you could BLESS the world. They are really big on getting the whole body of the church involved in small groups and involved in volunteering and helping our community, helping our nation and our world. My entire family accepted Christ into our hearts here and it has inriched and changed our lives and strengthened our marriage like nothing else. It use to be all about me and no matter how successful I was I was never satisfied. Now it’s all about God and what we can do for others and now I finally have peace and I feel not only satisfied by my heart feels full and I feel blessed and my heart feels content exactly where we are now. It’s a good feeling.
Andre: Wow! What a testimony you and your family have. Thanks for sharing this! You’re an inspiration.
We totally agree with this. In the past, we just attended church as a ritual, but moving and finding a new church, a full gospel, spirit-filled church changed our lives and our marriage. Being part of a “family” of believers we share in the sorrows and the joys of this life. We have also seen the opposite with “friends” who do not worship together, theirs is a life in turmoil. Thank you for your weekly devotional, we truly enjoy them.
You are SO welcome, Mark and Tammy. Glad you enjoy these Devotions.
Well I can tell you this is very true and my marriage is a perfect example of how the opposite is also true. My husband and I grew up catholic and since we were married attended church together. After 15 years of marriage, I met Jesus and my life truly changed. The first Sunday I went back to church I knew I was not at the right place. My born again spirit wanted to be with other born again believers. I begun attending a bible teaching church shortly after and my husband attended for a while but then soon after went back to his catholic church. We were married for 7 years afterwards but in Feb of this year my husband decided our marriage is over. A real tragedy but I am doing ok with it all. I know the Lord has a plan and I am trusting HIM day by day.
Oh, Lisa. That’s tough. We’re saying a prayer for you.
I just wanted to say that the reference that you used at the opening is from Matthew 16:18 not 16:9. The only reason I know this is because I looked up the reference. The reason I did look it up was because I have always been under the impression that in this verse Jesus is referring to the Church universally that all born again Christians belong to, not the local groups of believers. Unfortunately local churches can be totally destroyed because of carnal Christians who are not living in the Spirit and who can cause divisions.
I do totally agree with your principle though. Actually it is our belonging to a Home Group (aka Small Group) that has really made a big difference. We really have felt a warmth and support from our group and because we faithfully attend it together, it has helped our marriage become stronger.
We love reading your posts and my husband and I are reading through one of your books. Thank you for your desire to help other marriages to be all that God intended them to be.
Ah, nice catch, Heather. And thanks for your insight – as well as the complimentary words. Blessing to you two.
We have been devoted church members since before we married — each at our home churches growing up, then after we became engaged, we would attend both his home church and mine each week because the timing worked out. After marrying we settled in one of them. Given what we have been through in the past 26 years of marriage, I firmly believe that it would not have survived without our faith, and that faith would not have been nearly as strong without weekly church attendance. Additionally, it is an example of life that we want to model for our children.
Jodi: Thanks so much for sharing this. We know what you mean!
My family and I attend Integrity Life Church in Federal Way, WA. Our participation blesses our marriage just the simple fact that we worship TOGETHER. Also, we share a passion for marriages and families with our Pastors. Our Pastors are great examples of what a Christ centered marriage looks like. It blesses our marriage to see our Pastors in a healthy marriage and when you have healthy leaders in the body of Christ you have healthy marriages and families.
Fantastic, Lawanna. You nailed it on that “togetherness” aspect. Thanks.
Riverside Christian Assembly
Great Church Great Pastor, Great Word
We Are definitely Blessed!
Awesome, Buck. Thanks.
It has made a definite, positive impact on our marriage and the contrast to the years we did not belong to a community of Jesus followers is vivid. My husband and I were both raised in Christian homes, attended Christian schools and had a great foundation and some good role models. When we married, our focus shifted and slowly we drifted into a very shallow and unsatisfying life. Our wake up call came with our move into parenthood – that drove us to seek support and to experience the Love of God, not just learn about it. More recently, we feel at home at a church that lives out the slogan “high grace, low shame”. Yeah for Timberlake Church in Redmond! Their emphasis on Growth Groups are essential to our renewed intimacy… after 30 + years of marriage. (Plus they get top notch guest speakers 😉
Love that, Doreen … “high grace, low shame.” And thanks for the wink – we love speaking at Timberlake. What a great place to worship!
Our family used to all go together to church- it was pure happiness to see both our son and daughter worshiping with us. Now, they are grown and making their own choices and sadly, one not even going to church currently which breaks a mother’s heart and brings sadness in where there used to be joy. God isn’t done with her, though 🙂 My husband and I love our church and drive there separately and are off to our serve areas- he is an elder & on the worship team and I am a greeter, serve communion, and count money. We sit together for the message and chat all through lunch about people we talked with as we were apart- it’s fun!
On another note, we have had a home couples group for 19 years now and love your group studies! We have used them there, taught them in a class for marrieds at church, and used them with our FamilyLife team ( we are Area Directors here in Ohio, on staff with Cru). Thank you so much for all that you do! May God bless your marriage and family!
Thanks, Jane. We’ll say a prayer for your wandering lamb – as well as your important with with Cru. Sure appreciate you sharing.
P.S. If you happen to use Small Group Insights with your group studies, we’d love to know how you might make any changes (we’re updating that online assessment tool).
My husband & I attend New Salem MBC in Memphis, TN. We teach the marriage class every Sunday during Sunday School and we sit in the same spot on the second row during service. My husband also sings in the choir 2 Sundays of the month. We also teach a marriage class at our former assistant pastor’s church on 2nd Sundays & then rush back to our church for service. We are teaching the marriage class this week during Vacation Bible School, there. Then we also attend noon bible study on Wednesdays together. We enjoy worshipping, learning, & teaching together. We take notes & have discussions when we come home. Our 22 year son jumps in the discussions about service & has often left church wanting to read a whole book of the bible because he wanted to find out what happened to the character the pastor was talking about! We’ve attended the same church for years and find that worshipping together is necessary for our growth as individuals and as a couple.
Wow, Zina, your family sounds like a pastor’s dream. Love all of your involvement and hearing how you minister while being ministered to. Terrific!
We are part of the lay ministry for Marriage Mentoring at our church in busy Southern California (Pomona, CA) at PFB/Purpose Church, one of the oldest churches in the Inland Empire of San Bernardino County at 145 years old. My husband and I lead a cadre of 15 trained mentor couples who mentor seriously dating couples, engaged couples who marry in the church or by one of our church pastors, and also married couples who are in need of assistance through mild, temporary times of dysfunction. Although we mentor mostly church folks, it’s been a blessing to be mentoring folks who are outside our church doors because couples. Christian Couples or couples who have faith in the Lord or know of Him today are searching for solid ways to become a solid couple and what better way than to go back to the church for assistance. After all God did design Marriage. Our marriage mentoring manual is based on biblical principles and has been a thriving ministry to couples for 10 years now.
My husband and I have been going to church since we married 30 years ago. It’s been the basis of our marriage/family (2 adult sons) and our church family has been there for us throughout our marriage. We believe that church attendance makes a difference as well as being accountable to other church going couples. We also believe that couples should be yoked with other Bible believing couples as family as we journey together. We just celebrated a wedding of one of those friends’ children this last weekend and what a blessing to grow together as families in Christ!
Our church believe strongly in biblical marriage and we have 2 Marriage Education classes (8:30 a.m. and 11:11 a.m.) which are the same class format at 2 different hours. We watch biblically based marriage DVD’s from today’s top speakers on marriage and have wonderful discussion afterwards. It’s been a blessing to be part of the thriving ministry to marriage here.
We also believe that married couples need to minister together whether it be AWANA, serving meals to homeless or shut ins, leading home bible studies, or mentoring together to other couples etc. Finding something like that helps your marriage gel throughout the years!
Maria: This is SO great to hear. We love knowing about couples who are marriage mentors. You two are obviously making a HUGE difference in the lives of other couples. God bless your continued ministry.
Westminster Chapel, Bellevue WA….my background is Southern Baptist, my husbands is Lutheran…yet we have found the love from WM to be exactly what we both need. Ronnie works with the children’s ministry in the first service doing video help, while I am in the atrium talking with those who just need a listening ear, then for the second service we both usher and love doing it. We’ve helped with many other things in our church as well…the Alpha program, the singles and belong to a Community Life group, that we hope to be able to expand one into our new home in the Renton area. We love our church, we love the people who go there as they are our rocks of support when we need them and our pastors are ready to help and listen when we need them. We are so blessed.
Sandra: We love your church, too. You have a GREAT pastor (say hi for us).
Nosotros compartimos en la iglesia catolica el centro missionero san juan diego, en Fort Pierce, Florida. Nuestro sacerdote es Padre Jaime Dorado y es un gran instrumento de el señor. Aunqie yo y mi esposa somos de puerto rico, la mission sorve a la gente de mexico. Nosotros estamos muy activo en todo de la iglesia, pero sentimos una gran recompensa al servir en vez de ser servido :).
Mike: We don’t have a spanish translator handy but we sure appreciate you sharing!
what Mike said (use “Google Translate, copy & paste the spanish text )
We share in the Catholic church missionero Centro San Juan Diego , in Fort Pierce , Florida. Our priest is Father Jaime Dorado and is a great instrument of the Lord. Aunqie I and my wife are from Puerto Rico , the mission Sorve people from mexico . We are very active in all of the church , but we feel a great reward to serve rather than be served 🙂 .
Bethany (Green Lake) Seattle, WA. Love it. Always challenged, and always encouraged – thus a great experience to share with my wife as we grow individually and as a couple.
For sure, Brad. We are going to miss Richard while he’s on sabbatical for the next few months. Say hi if you see us in the foyer (we attend 11:00 in the main sanctuary).
My wife and I cherish the time we spend in worship together. We come away from our time of worship feeling invigorated as individuals and as a couple. Of course, the intimacy we enjoy as a result of worship is only somewhat new. For years we worshiped together and did not seem to grow any closer. It was only when the Holy Spirit instilled a new sense of purpose for my life in Christ did my wife and I come to cherish our time together in church. I had to grow as an individual, and find my place in Christ as a husband, before the blessings of corporate worship could truly be felt between my wife and I and our family.
On a side note, I want to thank Les and Leslie for their materials and emails. My wife and I have used many of them to grow more intimate in our relationship with each other and in Christ.
Michael: Sure appreciate your authentic sharing here. You’ve got a fantastic testimony. And thanks of your kind words about our recourses. That’s so kind of you.
I had always grown up in the church and it was just part of my life until I moved across the country. I didn’t lose faith, just a home church. Then one day the man I was dating asked if he could go to church with me. This really excited me and we started attending a non denominational church called westside kings church in Calgary alberta. My boyfriend wasn’t religious at all but he was excited to learn and this church made him feel welcome to do so and made me feel at home in the church again but also in my new home in Calgary. My boyfriend went on to become my husband, he was baptized in our church and we teach Sunday school together there. We now have a four month old baby girl who we had dedicated at WKC and are excited to raise with god and the community there. The church has been an amazing place for us to discover ourselves seperately and as a couple and explore our values and beliefs and build both a family together and with our daughter but also with the church community.
Jenny: What an incredible story. We loved hearing this. Very powerful witness to what God does in people’s lives. Thanks.
I love this article and believe it to be completely true, but through a slightly different perspective. About 10 years ago we were led to start a church. Over the years the Father brought various people into our lives that began to plant seeds of a different perspective, which is this. WE, people, are the church. The Father is all about relationships, with him as well as with others. Nine years later, we closed the doors on our building and began the process of llearning how to live out church in our daily lives. We’ve connected with people in new ways and often in unexpected places because now we are looking for ways the Father wants to connect us with people – to share joys and hardships as we walk along side each other in our journeys.
My relationship with my husband is so much stronger because we are learning how to worship and grow in our faith together instead of relying on someone else to do that for us. In our personal lives as well we are learning how to truly worship the Father and look to him for our spiritual food.
So where do we go to church? Everywhere we are; every single moment of every single day no matter where our physical location may be because we are His church. I’m in no way saying that I think the ritual of attending weekly meetings in a traditional church setting is wrong. I’m simply saying that for our family at this point in our journey the traditional church had begun to be a distraction in our lives and filling up so much of our time with the obligations we had that we were missing out on relating to the Father, to each other, to our children and to other families. What amazing time of growth this has been!
My husband, of fifty years, and I are both “Cradle Catholics.” I was one of those that went to church and counted bricks and light fixture because I got nothing out of going. I was much like Linda who left the first comment, that was until September of 2004!.
That’s when I went on a retreat given through our church, St. Joseph of Manchester. Mo. My husband had gone two and a half years prior, but because we had been involved in many retreats given for the inmates that we have been ministering to for over twenty-five years, I didn’t “feel” a “need” to go myself, so I dug in and refused to go. I had finally painted myself into a corner, so to speak, and God took that opportunity to pounce on me like a cat on lunch!
To say that I am changed would be a gross understatement! We are now, and have been for some time, what I call “professional volunteers.” We are blessed to both be retired and have the same mission. “To delight in the facilitation and growth of self, and others, and that we do! We are involved in so many programs through the church and the prison that to go into details, would sound like bragging and I don’t want to do that! Let me just say that we have to keep joint calendars on our phones so that we don’t double-book ourselves.
To answer your question on how does our participation in church enhanced our marriage? We are crazy in love!! It’s the best it has ever been.We both attend daily Mass. And our daughter and her family are in the front row with us every Sunday morning. We also have two sons living out of the country and they, sorry to say, live in the secular world, but our son and his family, still living in the states goes to weekly Mass. His wife is a recent convert and she is so on fire that he can’t help but get singed.
I do want to brag a little, last Sunday, all nine of us (including granddaughters) had our first session of the 12- week program “Family Project” based on the movie “Irreplaceable” by Focus On The Family, and they have all agreed to complete the program.
My wife and I attend Faith Baptist Church in Cabot Arkansas. We have been married for 8.5 years. After our marriage we felt that God wanted to use us and He lead on our hearts to start a Marriage Mentoring Ministry. With our pastor’s consent we put together a marriage mentoring ministry that includes four other couples. We are currently between pastors right now, so please pray for Faith Baptist Church. We used your material to prepare for this ministry. I want to thank God for giving you a heart for marriages. Satan is working over time to destory marriage and we need to be ready to help those who are in need. My wife and I enjoy attending and working together in God’s church. I am also the head usher and my wife supports me in every way that she can. May God bless your marriage ministry in Settle, WA.
P.S. Would like some information about how to have you both for a marriage conference, in person, at Faith Baptist Church in Cabot, Arkansas. Please advise.
What church do you attend, and how does your participation there bless your marriage?
My husband and I are part of a small Messianic Jewish Congregation here in Pittsburgh. We love the intimacy of fellowship we share with our pastor, his wife, and the other congregants. Stephen and I are able to serve Yeshua (Hebrew for Jesus) together, in and outside of the church. One of the biggest blessings for our marriage has been taking the Gospel outside of the church, bringing it to Jewish Pittsburgh and beyond. We love our “Mishpocha” (Hebrew for family).
We attend Adams Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal Church, Charlotte, NC. I feel confident to follow & serve with my husband as he follows & serves our Lord & Savior Jesus Christ. It also provides our adult children a visible, measurable standard.
C.S.Lewis is right.
What Jesus called “my church”, which “not even death will ever be able to overcome”, is necessarily a lesser claim of his own divine identity and absolute authority over death and life reserved for demo by greater deeds on “the right time”. (Matt. 27: 50-56)
In other words, the Christian church is an ID theft from who Jesus Christ is. They are incompatible.
So I am struggling with this in my life! Since I was born I have attended church every weekend even after I was graduated and moved out of the house. I had my son at 19 and took a fee wrong turns in life. I am happily married now with three children. It drives my dad insane that I don’t go to church every weekend or rarely at all. I told him I have a strong relationship with God and I have my beliefs and I don’t feel that I need to go to church ALL the time. My husband refuses to go, but I know he has a relationship with God. My question is, why do we have to go, to go to heaven or be Christian people?