Welcome to Eastern Hills Baptist Church
We are so glad that you decided to join us in worship today. Here at Eastern Hills we realize that we are all in different places on our journey with Christ, and that's okay. Whether you are a seeker, looking for answers, or a long-time follower of Christ, you are welcome here.

On the one hand, cohabitation in the United States has increased by more than 1,500 percent in the past half century. In fact, more than half of all marriages are now preceded by cohabitation, even though evidence indicates that “couples who cohabitate before marriage (and especially before an engagement or an otherwise clear commitment) tend to be less satisfied with their marriage—and more likely to divorce—than couples who do not. Those negative outcomes are called the cohabitation effect” (quoting Meg Jay, “The Downside of Cohabiting Before Marriage”, New York Times).

On the other hand, we are seeing a rise in what some call “Grey Divorce,” with there now being a significant number of persons divorcing after the age of 50. For the first time in our country’s history, “more Americans 50 and older are divorced than widowed, and the number is growing” (quoting Sam Roberts, “Divorce After 50 Grows More Common”, New York Times).

— Daniel Akin, Exalting Jesus in Song of Songs

TODAY'S OUTLINE:

1: The beauty of encouragement (1:15-2:3)

2: The beauty of longing (2:4-2:6)

3: The boundary of waiting (2:7)

A HIDDEN AUDIBLE ALLUSION TO GOD?

"Lord of Armies, God Almighty"
Yahweh-Tsebaoth El-Shaddai

"gazelles or wild does of the field"
sebaoth o ayeloth hassadeh

She tells them not to arouse love itself. The charge is that the girls should not allow themselves to be aroused sexually until the proper time and person arrives. The natural joy of sexual awakening is ruined by premature experimentation.

—Duane A. Garrett; The New American Commentary, Vol. 14: Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs

TAKE IT HOME QUESTIONS FOR THIS WEEK:

— Do you usually see rules as a good thing, or as a bad thing? Why?
— What is one encouraging thing you can say to each member of your family this week? Why is encouragement so important in strengthening relationships?
— What is an area of life where it is difficult to wait on God's timing? How can remembering that God's boundaries are meant for our good help us trust Him more?