Just You and MePastor Ryan and Cathy StoryHave you noticed that in Song of Solomon there are very few people involved in the book? We see the bride, the bridegroom, and the “others.” The focus of the book is on the bride and her beloved, which mirrors what should be important in a marriage.One of the best pieces of marital advice, the advice I continue to share with others, was to not complain abo...  Read More

Lost InterestPastor Ryan and Cathy StoryCan you think of a time you lost interest in something you really wanted? As a child, maybe there was a toy or game you just had to have. How many days did it take for that interest to fade away after you got that item? Maybe you think about the job you were so certain was going to be so much better or just perfect, but a few months in you realize you do not...  Read More

The Way They ArePastor Ryan and Cathy StoryHave you ever looked at your spouse and thought (or said), “Why are you the way that you are?” While typically a rhetorical statement, sometimes we really do wonder why someone is acting the way that they are. What causes someone else, especially our spouse, to make the choices that they make? You may question why your spouse loads the dishwasher in the w...  Read More

The Standard of BeautyPastor Ryan and Cathy StoryTruth be told, I am a bit of an awkward guy. I love to think of myself as a conversational artist, but that is hardly the case. When I was first pursuing my wife, I was put in the dreaded “friend zone” about three times. I think it has to do with, instead of just asking her out for coffee, I asked her if she would want to “meet at a local establishm...  Read More

Worth the WaitPastor Ryan and Cathy StoryWe live in a hurried society that wants things now. We live in a world where if we are going to order something online, we choose Prime so we can get it overnight. If we are in a grocery store, we will leave a lane to get into the lane that is seemingly moving faster. We get aggravated when our cell phones take longer than a second to load a website or an a...  Read More

God’s WayPastor Ryan and Cathy StoryWho would you go to for marriage advice? Some answers I am going to assume will pop to your mind will include parents, grandparents, pastor, author, or that sweet couple who has been married for 60 plus years who you see every Sunday at a Gathering. All of these would be amazing answers. Odd that no one said a polygamous, idolator who had God-given wisdom beyond...  Read More

Galatians 6ESVBear One Another's Burdens1 Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted. 2 Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. 3 For if anyone thinks he is something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself. 4 But let each one test his own work, and th...  Read More

Galatians 5ESVChrist Has Set Us Free1 For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.2 Look: I, Paul, say to you that if you accept circumcision, Christ will be of no advantage to you. 3 I testify again to every man who accepts circumcision that he is obligated to keep the whole law. 4 You are severed from Christ, you who would be justified b...  Read More

Galatians 4ESVSons and Heirs1 I mean that the heir, as long as he is a child, is no different from a slave, though he is the owner of everything, 2 but he is under guardians and managers until the date set by his father. 3 In the same way we also, when we were children, were enslaved to the elementary principles of the world. 4 But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born o...  Read More

Galatians 3ESVBy Faith, or by Works of the Law?1 O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified. 2 Let me ask you only this: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith? 3 Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh? 4 Did you suffer so many things in ...  Read More

Galatians 2ESVPaul Accepted by the Apostles1 Then after fourteen years I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, taking Titus along with me. 2 I went up because of a revelation and set before them (though privately before those who seemed influential) the gospel that I proclaim among the Gentiles, in order to make sure I was not running or had not run in vain. 3 But even Titus, who was with me, ...  Read More

Galatians 1ESVGreeting1 Paul, an apostle—not from men nor through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead— 2 and all the brothers who are with me,To the churches of Galatia:3 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, 4 who gave himself for our sins to deliver us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father...  Read More