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 I pay attention to the news. I like to know what is going on and try to understand what is happening in today’s culture. While I do keep up with trends and interesting cultural things, I generally don’t care much about “celebrity” news. I am not interested in who is the favorite singer at the time or who is getting married or who is getting divorced, but sometimes something does stand out.

The wedding of Amazon founder, Jeff Bezos, just got married to Lauren Sanchez. The thing that caught my eye, as you probably have already guessed, is the estimated wedding cost is 45.5 million dollars to 55.6 million dollars. First, you know the people are rich when they estimate a cost and the “estimate” is a 10-million-dollar swing! This was obviously a big wedding, 90 private jets, organizers have booked more than 30 water taxis, and I am sure the cake, dress and flowers are over the top. The guess list is supposed to include many important people including Donald Trump’s family, Khloe Kardashian, Tom Brady and Oprah.

I guess if you are Jeff Bezos, who is estimated to be worth $226 billion, money spent on a wedding is not that big of a deal, but should it be? The reality is that marriage in our culture has become something very different than it once was. Whenever I am going to officiate a marriage, I have a question for the prospective bride and groom. Who created marriage? Many assume God, after all I am the preacher. Some assume the government must have. Some assume maybe the church created marriage-at least the ceremony. Do you know?

The answer is God. In Genesis 2:22-25 it says:

22 Then the LORD God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man. 23 the man said, “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh, she shall be called ‘woman,’ for she was taken out of man.” 24 For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh. 25 the man and wife were both naked, and they felt no shame.

This is the picture of marriage, the reason the father gives the bride away. But something is also worth noting, the very next verse if Genesis 3:1:

1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made.

You know how that turned out. Sin first attacked marriage. Today we see marriage has been and is under attack. Today, only 30% of Americans who were married in the last decade were officiated by a religious leader. But we should not be surprised since the number of Americans who are religiously unaffiliated has increased nearly sixfold over the last three decades. If people are getting married and see little need for God, imagine how the family structure may become.

As I thought about my interest in this story, I realized that my interest was not in where they got married, or who, even in their common interests but what caught my attention was the cost. Isn’t it funny how when we talk about someone else’s money, we are surprised at how wasteful “they” are. My focus should be more about how I spend the time and money God has blessed me. The year is halfway completed and now may be a good time for all of us to evaluate how we are spending what God has blessed us to use. I want to challenge you to consider, how am I spending my time, my money and my family?

As we enter the second half of the year, ask yourself am I being obedient in my church attendance, my tithe, my sharing of the hope found in Christ. The good news is you still have six months to improve. I will see you Sunday!

In Christ,

Brother Alan

 I had an amazing time at camp! Thank you all for trusting me with your kids, they had a huge impact on my life, and I hope the Lord spoke to their hearts. While at camp, we were in the book of Daniel. Our theme was being fearless. Being fearless friends, being fearless in prayer, and being fearless in the fire. As we enter July, I want to encourage us to be fearless. Fearless in our friendships, prayer, in the fire, and our worship.

There was a night during camp at about 11 PM, the lights are out, I am trying to rest, of course the boys are being boys making noises, giggling, and laughing. Then one of them asked “Hey Tyler, can we pray for our friendship?” Later I thought of Shadrach, Meshach and Abendego. I wonder if they had nights like that. I’m sure they prayed over their friendship and that God would be the center of their relationships. I believe God was the center of their friendship. They stood together through it all, they encouraged one another, they stood side by side all the way to the flames, knowing God was with them!

When Daniel faced hard times, he still prayed 3 times a day. Why? Because he knew God was for him! In Luke 11: 5-13, Jesus uses the image of a friend continuously
knocking on his neighbor’s door at midnight to show the importance of persistent prayer. Run to God with whatever you may be going through. Know that He is with you always.

He is with you just like he was with Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego in the fire. You know that’s one of my favorite passages in Daniel when they told king Nebuchadnezzar that “even if our God doesn’t rescue us, we are still not bowing.” (I’m paraphrasing here). WOAH! That kind of faith is crazy y’all! I know that had to been scary, but they knew God was for them and with them! It’s kind of like our worship, I know it can be scary to worship in front of others, but it’s not about performance, it’s about presence. God's presence. It’s about experiencing Him and all his goodness. Worship is about freedom not fear.

As we look ahead, I am excited to about what God is doing in our church! We've got some great songs coming, and a choir special! We are extremely blessed to be able to come together and worship the one true King! Let’s keep showing up, singing boldly, and trusting that God is doing great things both in us and through us!

2 Timothy 1: 7 “God did not give us a spirit of fear, but of power, love and self-control.”

Much love,

Tyler