A word in our text that sparks a whole host of questions we must answer before going any further. Next week, Lord willing, we'll examine the elements of the text, but for this morning, four questions that will serve as an outline. Why and where did slavery exist- What stipulations did the Bible place on slavery- Why did God allow slavery to continue- What about the Transatlantic Slave Trade and American history-

What good are creeds- In summary, they help us define what we believe about the Bible. And the Apostles' Creed, the one we begin studying monthly this evening, is the foundational creed for those that follow.

We describe other people as depraved, but what does this word really mean- As we examine what the Bible has to say about human depravity, we'll see that this is a condition we all share. Thankfully, we also have an answer for this condition in Jesus Christ.

From our Sunday morning Bible readings.

Now that we've finished this extended introduction to the Book of Revelation, it's worth our time to pause and reconsider these seven churches. The Lord intended these messages not simply to the named churches in Revelation but to all who have ears to hear. His messages, then, are for the modern, western, evangelical church. As we examine the peaks and valleys of the church surrounding us, we cannot help but see how His Revelation comes to bear on us all.

Family relationships can be difficult at the best of times. Yet, what the Lord calls us to is not just being better children and parents, but worshiping Him through our being filled with Him. Both children -and- parents are to submit to one another in varying ways in Christ.

As hard as it is to believe, the state of this church was even worse than that of Sardis, which the Lord described as dead -Rv 3-1-. There is nothing praiseworthy in this church, nothing our Lord commends. In fact, He pictures Himself as completely outside the fellowship. What do we learn from this church-

What should the love of husbands look like, and how long should such actions continue- We're continuing our look at this passage this morning, and that doesn't just mean continuing to define love. We also want to consider why the Lord intends our marriages to be for life. Behind all of this is the gospel of Jesus Christ, leading us toward a proper view of marriage through the eternal hope He provides.

From our Sunday morning sermons.

It's only in Christ that we see precisely the kind of love men should share with their wives. We can divide the lessons in this passage into two parts- Husbands must love as Christ does -vv. 25-30- and wed as Christ does -vv. 31-32-, with v. 33 serving to sum everything we've studied concerning marriage. Unfortunately, we won't be able to get through all this passage today, so for part one, let's consider the first point.