UPSIDE DOWN KINGDOM Week 13: DEALING WITH DIVORCE, WEEK 1

I approach this subject with extra respect because it’s a passage that begs to be studied and understood in the context that Jesus taught it. And it’s an issue that affects so many - even pastors aren’t immune. It is the issue of divorce.

I would bet that in our church, as in many in our culture, divorce touches directly or indirectly at least 90% of the people. The prevalence of divorce throughout history and a variety of culture has made it necessary for the Church to address the issue, rather than ignore the elephant that’s in the sanctuary (so to speak). On one extreme we close our eyes to the issue, and on the other extreme we sit in condemnation of those who have been wounded by broken intimacy in their marriage.

Because this is an issue I deal with personally, I felt the Lord leading me to tap into the wisdom of other godly leaders who have made extensive study on the complete counsel of God regarding this issue. There are many, many schools of thought in the theological world. But for the next two Sundays, I have borrowed heavily from the scholarship of Dr. Tony Evans. Dr. Evans has written some wonderful curriculum that we use in our Marriage class here at PBCC, and has written several books on the strength and health of marriages. So he is a man whom I trust regarding marriage on the whole, and his words helped me make sense of this issue. So this sermon is essentially a summary of his book Divorce and Remarriage - but it’s really based on the full counsel of Scripture.