Post on 07-Apr-2016
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Re-launch of Married Couples Ministry (MCM).
The re-launch of the Married Couples Ministry coincided with the more integrated approach of
the Family Life Ministries, which sought to incorporate the various focus groups into the Family
Training Hour (FTH), with each group being assigned a particular Sunday in each month.
Consequently, our first FTH aligned program under the guidance of the new Executive team,
took place on Sunday February 16, 2014 under the theme “A Richer You”. O what a Blessed
launch it was! The evening was a tremendous success, which saw the presentation of our new
Logo, as well as the freshly minted Mission Statement and Ministry Objectives.
Coming so soon after Valentine’s Day, we decided to continue in the vein of Love and Romance
as it would dove-tail seamlessly into the Financial, Emotional and Spiritual benefits of being a
part of a healthy, God centered Marriage. As such, the programme contained highlights such
as the presentation of decoratively wrapped Bobbies to each Married Couple, prepared Love
Notes which were read to the Wives by their Husbands, while being toasted with wine (Non
Alcoholic of course!). We also had a few Husbands serenading their Wives as an extra treat.
Our guest speaker, Sister Blossom White, was absolutely phenomenal in highlighting the nu-
merous benefits of a wholesome Marriage, and ended the evening on a highly entertaining yet
edifying note.
This issue
Re-launch of MCM P.1 God’s Plan for Marriages P.2
The ASHES series P.3 Activities for the Quarter P.4
OBJECTIVES
To provide the tools to facilitate, maintain and encourage healthy mar-riages;
To provide opportunities for sharing practical solu-tions for a successful marriage relationship;
To provide support to newlyweds as well as those who are engaged to be married; and
To provide a deeper rela-tionship with God, spouse and others.
MISSION STATEMENT
The Married Couples Ministry
is committed to building
healthy marriages on the
foundation of biblical stand-
ards through the provision of
practical solutions
Portmore New Testament Church of God
Quarterly Newsletter
ISSUE 01 September - December 2014
Married Couples Ministry
GOD’s Plan for Marriages.
Welcome to the grand launch of the
first Quarterly Newsletter for the Mar-
ried Couples Ministry of the PNTCOG!
As we embark on this exiting journey
for the Married Couples Ministry
(MCM) for the 2014—2015 church
year, we intend to use this medium to
convey all the happenings in the Minis-
try and its impact on you. This news-
letter will serve to keep you up-to-
date on upcoming events at our
church, as well as nationally, in addi-
tion to providing tips and biblically
sound advice for building and main-
taining healthy, God-centred marriag-
es.
It is not by chance that we have em-
braced the increased use of technology
in highlighting the work of the minis-
try, given its increased accessibility and
use in our society. The ability to con-
nect to our members using a variety
of tools is an exciting prospect, as it
provides you, our valued members
with multiple options for our interac-
tion.
What an exiting year ahead this prom-
ises to be! We stand ready, willing and
able, to serve you, our Married Cou-
ples, with the grace and humility that
our Lord and Savior expects of us. This
is indeed a partnership encompassing
the Church, the Executive Committee,
and our members, realizing that
through Biblical nourishment, we can
and will reduce the number of trou-
bled and failing relationships and repel
the attack of the enemy against our
marriages.
“For with God nothing shall be impos-
sible” Luke 1:37
The downfall of the family unit in society is
one of the most tragic things facing man-
kind. The destruction of the family unit all
begins with the destruction of what starts a
family - the marriage of a man and a woman.
Divorce is so commonplace now that it
would seem to be the rule rather than the
exception it was even fifteen years ago. Why
is this so? Because, the institution of mar-
riage and family in general is not held in the
esteem that God meant for it to be.
The family was God's first institution, but
today many seem to think it is the worst
institution. In the beginning, God created
man and woman and joined them together
for life. Genesis 2:24 declares: "Therefore
shall a man leave his father and his mother,
and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall
be one flesh." In these words, God instituted
the marriage relationship and ordained the
family unit.
Satan is busily attacking God's plan for the
family to the point that he has begun to in-
fluence certain segments of our society to
accept the idea that a "family" need not
consist of a husband and wife. It may be two
or more people of the same sex just "living
together." However, we as Bible believing
Christians will pay keen attention to what
Jesus said about marriage: "Have you not
read that He who made them at the begin-
ning made them male and female, and said,
'For this reason a man shall leave his father
and mother and be joined to his wife, and
the two shall become one flesh.' So then,
they are no longer two but one flesh. There-
fore what God has joined together, let not
man separate" (Matthew 19:4–6). Jesus
clearly puts God squarely in the picture and
we should follow suit.
Marriage is God’s provision to meet our
deep longing for a close and intimate rela-
tionship. He puts a man and woman togeth-
er and uses their respective strengths and
weaknesses to make them stronger as a
team. It is in marriage that God calls people
to put aside their selfishness, commit them-
selves to another person unconditionally,
and assume responsibility for others. We
are uniquely different and wonderfully so.
Her parts and his parts each have their own
order and function. Together and rightly
ordered, their united differences ignite the
power and glory of creation itself, which is
the consummate activity of God from the
beginning.
So God does a two stage creation of man.
First he makes the fully formed being (Adam,
which in the Hebrew means, mankind). Then
in phase two, God removes the rib from Ad-
am's side and makes Eve a separate being,
though of Adam's substance, designed to
ultimately reunite to her source through the
mystery of Holy Matrimony. Without a
doubt, the power of that union is meant to
gloriously reveal the very image of God to
heavenly beings as well as all mankind. That
is why Satan fights tooth and nail to pervert
and distort rightly ordered human sexuality,
holy matrimony, the family, and fatherhood
in particular. In fact, the amount of time and
effort that Satan expends to destroy the
image of God reflected in marriage, father-
hood and human sexuality, serves as a ba-
rometer of just how incredibly important it is
to God's plan and the expression of His
glory.
We, as married couples must realize that we
are the custodians of God’s original Institu-
tion. Some may argue based on the spiraling
divorce rates that the Institution of Marriage
is a dead or dying one, but we know that
only He that created Marriage, can declare it
as dead, and that day will never come.
Examining the importance of Marriages to GOD ‘s plan for Mankind
Editor’s Welcome
The ASHES Series The questions on our flyer asked: “What is
your ASHES”? Is it Communication, Lack of
Intimacy, Infertility, Sexual Dysfunction,
Abuse, Money…? The response we got was
nothing short of astounding!
The ASHES series was born out of an urgent
need to have some of the deep rooted and
extremely problematic aspects of some mar-
riages highlighted and addressed. One of the
misconceptions many persons in troubled
Marriages have is that they are alone with
no one to turn to; that their suffering is
unique to them and their situation; that they
somehow brought their suffering onto them-
selves.
Nothing however, could be further from the
truth. So to effectively address those mis-
conceptions, we endeavored to create the
kind of environment where persons would
feel comfortable and relaxed enough to
share their views and experiences during
the evening’s discussion.
The main topic of the series was ‘Abuse and
its effects on Marriages’. This was held at the
Family Life complex on May 16, 2014. The
turn out was encouraging and the discussion
was vibrant and enlightening. So much so
that topic had to be turned into a two-part
series which was concluded in June.
On both occasions, the presenter was Pastor
Baker-Thompson, who used a combination
of her personal experience of being both
abused and abuser, along with Scriptural
references and various counselling tech-
niques to engage the attendees and gave
practical advice. Many chains were broken.
Meet the Executive Members
Eaton & Christine Hendricks
President
Kevin & Julian Quelch
Secretary
Corey & Annmarie Senior
Public Relations Officer
Geoffery & Haroldene Shields
Vice President
Rexroy & Deidre Parchment
Public Relations Officer
Kenneth & Norma Williams
Resource Couple
Jethro & Cutie Dennis
Treasurer
Jerome & Veon Moodie
Treasurer
Did You Know ?
A marriage ceremony typically
ends with a kiss because in
ancient Rome, a kiss was a
legal bond that sealed con-
tracts, and marriage was seen
as a contract.
Marriage does more to pro-
mote life satisfaction than
money, sex, or even children,
say Wake Forest University
psychologists.
Eighty-one percent of happily
married couples said their
partner’s friends and family
rarely interfered with the rela-
tionship, compared to just 38%
of unhappy couples.
Married Couples Ministry
ISSUE 01 Sept. - Dec. 2014
EMAIL: portmorenewtestamentmcm@gmail.com
February 15, 2015: Love Serenade – Celebration of Love
January 30, 2015: There’s a Doctor in the House
(Talking Sex Medically)
January 18, 2015: Let’s Begin Again ... Pillars that support a
successful Marriage
Activities for next Quarter:
March 2015: Daniel Fast (NO Meeting)
February 28, 2015: Marriage Seminar – It’s A Love Affair