March 10-16, 2010 Volume 3 – Issue 9
A word from our Family Pastor:
What is Wrong with Your Marriage?
There are a number of theories about what causes most marital troubles--money, children, time, sexual
intimacy etc. It has often been argued that money problems are the number one cause of divorce. Fair
enough--certainly misuse of or disagreements on the use of money can result in a tremendous amount
of conflict inside of marriage. However, I want to cite a different culprit at the heart marital discord--
people. The number one problem inside of marriage is the husband and the wife.
Let me be clear: if your marriage isn't what you want it to be, if you don't feel that your marriage is
glorifies Christ, let me encourage you with this--it is your fault. It Is not the fault of unfortunatecircumstances or differing personalities or lack of compatibility--if your marriage isn't healthy--its your
fault. I believe the same about my marriage--when there is strife in my marriage, I am to examine my
own heart.
If you are reading this, chances are I don't know much about what really goes on inside your marriageand there is a good chance that right now you are thinking that I don't know what I am talking about
because the problems in your marriages are chiefly your spouses fault. That may or may not be true,
probably it is both your faults, but the Bible is pretty clear o the fact that we are incapable of changing
other people and very clear that by faith God will change those who seek Him. Further God “opposes
the proud but gives grace to the humble” (James 4:6). So before you lump your marital difficulties on
your spouse--why not take the log out of your own eye (Matt. 7:3-5) and trust God to transform the
state of your marriage?
If you still don't believe me that its your fault, let me prove it to you from Scripture:
And [Jesus] said, "What comes out of a person is what defiles him. For from within, out of the
heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting,
wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come
from within, and they defile a person." -Mark 7:20-23
This shouldn't surprise us. What happened in the first marriage when Adam and Eve were caught in
sin? They immediately began to blame shift. Adam says, "my wife gave me this fruit and I ate it" and
Eve says, "Satan gave me this fruit and I ate it" ( Gen 3:12-13 my paraphrase). Why can't they fess
up? It is their own pride and selfishness that keeps them from admitting their failures and it is this
same pride that moves them from being "naked and unashamed" to covering themselves and hiding
from God (Gen 3:7-11).
Nakedness in Scripture is a sign of being exposed, open, and intimate. Sin has ruined intimacy inside
of marriage. Marriage was created to be a "one flesh" relationship where the husband and wife share
all things in common and are completely open and honest with one another. The intimacy for which
God created marriage is far more than physical intimacy, it is also physical and spiritual.
So how can the intimacy God designed to be experienced inside of marriage be restored from all the
damage sin and selfishness has caused it? The answer is the gospel, by which all our sins, including
those committed inside of marriage are paid for, such that when we believe on Christ we bear them no
more because of His sacrifice on the cross. The gospel leads us to a "godly grief that leads to salvation
without regret" (2 Cor. 7:10). Inside of marriage this means that the gospel frees us from hiding from
our failures and moves us to instead confess them and repent from them. Thus the gospel frees us to
move toward the intimacy (though not without setbacks) we are meant to experience inside of
marriage.
Only the gospel can truly move a man to apologize without making excuses. Only the gospel can free
us from our slavery to the sin of selfishness that refuses to recognize wrong-doing and renew the image
of God in us that will lead us to Christ-exalting intimacy and joy no matter what the circumstances we
find ourselves in.
The problem with your marriage and my marriage is not compatibility issues, circumstance, or
misunderstanding, the problem is you and the problem is me. You cannot change your spouse but God
can and will change you and as He does you will begin to see the tremendous hope and potential foryour marriage to grow in joy and intimacy and thus display gospel of Jesus Christ (Eph. 5:25-27).
Announcements:
• Spring Break Missions Projects - We will be doing 2 missions projects next week on Monday andTuesday, March 15-16.
o Monday we will be having a free car wash at First Baptist Albertville. A few of the FBCstudents will help us as well. We will wash cars and hand out gospel tracts and raise money
for Bible translation for unreached people groups. The car wash will go from 12:00 to
3:00. That night we will have a Bible Study and Student Fellowship at Drew's house from
6:00 to 8:30 P.M. (Food will be provided at the Fellowship). We will need people to
volunteer to bring hoses, buckets, and any other car wash supplies that you might be able to
help with.
o Tuesday we will meet at Grace Fellowship church at 9:15 to go to the Downtown RescueMission in Huntsville. We will help serve lunch there from 10:30 to 1:00. We will go eat
lunch afterward then head to the Benton H. Wilcoxon Memorial Ice Complex in Huntsville
to play broom hockey. Cost will be $10 per person. Bring extra money for lunch, we will
eat somewhere fast.
• M.U.D. Pheasant Shoot– Saturday, March 13. Cost $200. All donations support M.U.D. Ministries.Contact Eric Hixon for more details.
• Youth Easter Fellowship - Friday April 2 at the Gregg's house. We will meet at the Gregg's at 6:00and have a glow-in-the dark Easter egg hunt. We will cook hot dogs on the fire make smores.
• Family Easter Fellowship - April 3 at the Gregg's house. We will meet at the Gregg's house at10:00, Drew and Jennifer are going to tell the resurrection story and there will be a egg hunt for the
children and a church-wide picnic afterward. Last year everyone brought their own picnic food
and drinks. This year we are open to doing things differently, we could do a cookout and have
people volunteer to bring items. Let Drew, Regina, or Denise know if you have a preference.
• Crisis Pregnancy Center is raising money and you can help. There are baby bottles in the churchoffices that they are asking us to fill with spare change. See Jennifer Dixon if you have any
questions.
• Sunday Morning Snacks – Please see Denise Bledsoe to sign up to bring snacks for Sundaymorning.
• Track Ministry – If you would like to help with the Track Ministry, please see Ron Champion.
Praise/Prayer Requests:
• Pray for Penny Roney, Steve Hellums’ sister. Penny has a Craniopharyngioma. That's a benigntumor that affects the pituitary gland causing hormone imbalance and headaches. It can also put
pressure on the optic nerve, causing vision problems. The good news is that it isn't cancerous. The
bad news is that she may have to deal with the affects of the tumor for life. Please pray for the
doctors that the Lord will lead them to the best treatment.
• Pray for the Seckel’s grandson, Ethan, who has been diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes.
• Pray for Gloria Childress’ brother, James Pierce, who is in kidney failure and not doing well.
• Pray for Denise Bledsoe’s mother, Shirley McLendon, who is in congestive heart failure. Pleasepray for Denise as she is trying to help her mother as much as possible.
• Pray for Ruth Thompson, Wanda Parker’s mother. Pray for her husband, Dalton, as he cares forher.
• Pray for those with cancer: Linda Duran.
Missions:
M.U.D. Ministries:
If you are interested in supporting M.U.D. Ministries, please contact Eric Hixon at
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .
The Teague Family: Chris, Emily, Eden, Canaan, Bethany and Nile -
If you would like to get in touch with the Teague’s, you can contact them at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .
They are working United World Missions. The website is www.unitedworldmission.org.
Volunteers for this week:
Sunday Morning:
1’s and 2’s – Robert and Ellen Sims
3’s and 4’s – Drew Dixon and Matt Colvin
Food:
Sweet – Ashley Quarles
Salty – Jennifer Dixon
Last Sunday Stats – March 7, 2010:
Attendance: Worship Service - 63
Offering: General - 8,731.42
New Covenant Baptist Church – www.DiscoverNewCovenant.com
104 W. Alabama Avenue, Suite A - Albertville, AL 35950
256-849-2454
Sunday:
9:30am – Sunday School
10:30am - Worship Service
6:00pm – Community Groups
Wednesday:
11:30am – Men’s Bible Study
6:00pm - Children’s Activities
6:00pm – Student Activities
6:00pm – Adult Bible Study
Pastor – Brad Williams Family Pastor – Drew Dixon
Our mission and passion at New Covenant Baptist Church is to glorify God by becoming a community that
fosters the love of God with all of the heart, soul, mind and strength, and by learning to love one another as Christ
Jesus has loved us. The answer to every heart's need and the satisfaction of all our longing is found in Jesus Christ
our Lord, who is Himself the very image of Almighty God. We exist to adore Him, and to spread the knowledge
of His greatness to the ends of the earth.



