https://youtu.be/3SSqYx9jkiE

Mark 10:1-11

DivorceThere is not a subject within Christianity that is more important and more divisive than thisBefore we start- we must agree- the Bible says what it says and we must allow it to speak what it speaks. My parents got divorced when I was 3. I hated divorce. Yes God has used it in my life, but that wasn’t his original design. His design was for my mom and dad to stay together.40 years later, there is still sting. Its not my fault, but many of my emotional problems can be traced to the divorce of my parents and the abandonment of my father.Story of Crystal and I and our kids. God can redeem. It wasn’t God’s design, but he turns all things to Good. My experience doesn’t trump the Word of God. It doesn’t justify. It doesn’t validate.There is not a person in this room who hasn’t been affected by divorce in some way or fashion

Either through your parents, yourself, or a friend that you have that has gone through it.As Christians, we have been fighting a moral war over marriage in the past few decades regarding gay marriage, and one argument that comes up is that Christians don’t eve respect marriage, so they have no moral standing to speak against gay marriageThere Is a certain truth to that, but that doesn’t mean that we can’t live by God’s holy standard for marriage within our own lives and let the Bible speak what it speaks.You may have been divorced, or dealt with divorce, but this is why we go through the Bible. Allow yourself to be influenced by the scriptures today. Allow God’s word to reign supremeGroups we will talk about today:People who have been divorced God can forgive you. People who have remarried after divorce God can forgive you. People who are considering divorce if there is ANY other way- DON’T GET DIVORCDD People who are married DON’T GET DIVORCED People who are going to get married CHOOSE CORRECTLY- Find someone who hates divorce

Different mindsets that people are going to have today

Was I wrong to get divorced- Maybe you were, but God can forgive you of it.Can I get divorced- Maybe you can, but God doesn’t command it. God wants reconciliation

READ Mark 10:1-10

Lets start by Talking about this scripture in Mark 10

Divorce was happening 3000 years ago

Its interesting that the Pharisees came to Jesus and asked him about his views of Divorce. There must have been some sort of struggle within them, to want to hear what he said on the subjectPeople were getting divorced back then.For whatever reason. Marriage is HARD- I’ve wanted outWhat was happening during this time was that they Pharisees were no longer allowing Scripture to influence their decision making- they were doing what the Rabbis of the time were telling them to do. Even today, people are getting divorced based on counselors and friendsThere was this famous Jewish Rabbi during the first Century named Hillel and many of the Pharisees followed his teachings, not the scripturesHillel would allow divorce for any reason based on his interpretation of Deuteronomy 24READ Deuteronomy 24:1-4

What is interesting about that verse is 24:1 isn’t a COMMAND it says “and it happens that” Moses never commanded divorce, he merely lays out what should happen “if it happens that” how it should be dealt with.If your hardened heart brings you to a point of divorce, and you divorce your wife, you can’t have her back is what Moses saidThis scripture is more about protecting the wife, than giving the man justification for divorce.If a man is dumb enough to divorce his wife, he can’t abuse her by welcoming her back after the fact. There’s no swinging door in this thing.