(Malachi 2:13-16) You flood the LORD’s altar with tears. You weep and
wail because he no longer looks with favor on your offerings or accepts
them with pleasure from your hands.
You ask, “Why?” It is because the
LORD is the witness between you and the wife of your youth. You have
been unfaithful to her, though she is your partner, the wife of your
marriage covenant. Has not the one God made you? You belong to him
in body and spirit. And what does the one God seek?
Godly offspring.
So be on your guard, and do not be unfaithful to the wife of your youth.
“The man who hates and divorces his wife,” says the LORD, the God of
Israel, “does violence to the one he should protect,” says the LORD
Almighty. So be on your guard, and do not be unfaithful.
COVENANT
Covenant – a solemn agreement between
two parties for the purposes of
creating and maintaining a successful
relationship.
BLOOD IS THICKER THAN WATER
(Luke 22:20) In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying,
“This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for
you.”
Covenant is based on mutual
commitment.
Contract is based on mutual distrust.
(Romans 12:5 NLT) “…Since we are all one body in Christ, we
belong to each other, and each of us needs all the others.”
Covenant surrenders rights and
assumes responsibility.
Contract protects rights and
shirks responsibility.
(1 Corinthians 13:5) “(Love)… keeps no record of wrongs.”
Covenant has the interest of the other
in mind.
Contract has personal convenience
in mind.
(Philippians 2:4) “Each of you should look not only to your own
interests, but also to the interests of others.”
THE DILEMMA
I can’t do it!
(1 John 4:19) We love because he first loved us.
Video
https://www.churchofthehighlands.com/media/message/blood-is-thicker-than-water
Discussion Guide
https://www.churchofthehighlands.com/files/groups/guides/10-2-11.pdf
Chris Hodges, Church of the Highlands
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