Wolfe Stew

(Updated 2/9/2024.) Your marriage is meant to be beautiful.   It’s meant to be a gift.   Do you know that?   God’s design of marriage is symbolic of the love Jesus has toward His church ( Ephesians 5:22-32 ).   That never-ending, self-sacrificing, all-consuming love.   Does your marriage feel that way?   Are you enjoying your marriage?   Do you feel blessed by it?   To be honest, I don’t always feel blessed in my marriage.   There are times my marriage is not enjoyable, and perhaps the furthest model from Jesus’ love for His church that you can imagine. Sometimes it even leaves me wondering: In an attempt to answer these questions, we’ll explore current cultural views on marriage, compare it with a Biblical perspective on marriage, and then discuss ways we might come to view marriage as a blessing and yes, even to rejoice in it. Current Cultural Views on Marriage More popular than ever before is the notion to not even get married.   Described as antiquated, th

Lent is coming up; it’s right around the corner (February 26th).    Have you decided what you’re giving up for Lent?   Should you even give something up for Lent?   Normally, I don’t.   The first time I even honored Lent was a few years ago as a challenge issued by my pastor.   His explanation of Lent was that we sacrifice something to reflect on Jesus’ sacrifice for us.   It wasn’t easy for me to choose what to give up that Lent, but this Lent the choice presented itself to me.   Quite honestly, I had no intention of participating until it was thrust into my lap.   And, as a fellow stone in the wall , I intend to do the same to you.   Today, I want to challenge you to give up something for Lent that will bring good to others.   God wants us to be good to others.   Do to others as you would have them do to you.   Luke 6:31 Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.   Matthew 5:45 Be devoted to one another in love.   Honor one another above yourselves.   Roman

(Updated 5/13/2022) Happy Monday to You, Leaders! I hope your weekend was restful and you’re stepping with energy into another week.    Last week, we shared some ways to bring fall leaves into learning .  Then, on Sunday our church delivered a message rooted in trees. I never interpret the interconnectivity of random events randomly. I choose to see them as God's design.  But I don't want to stop there. I want to give God the recognition for the connection. In response, I'm sharing the connection with you today because the main point of the message was that we are stronger in community .  That is how God intended us to live.   The prop from nature that the pastor used to demonstrate God's desire for our interconnectivity was redwood roots.    When one redwood tree is sick, all the other trees stop growing and send their nutrients through the root system to the sick tree to help it heal.    Moreover, if the tree is to die, many new trees grow from it.    Look at the