The primary difficulty in writing a summary of any seminar session or message is the complete loss of context and foundation for any of the quotes or conclusions presented. With Dr. Art Azurdia this is even more complicated, as he so carefully builds a foundation on the Bible, then articulately extracts incredible truths that are clearly based on both the immediate passage and the “meta-narrative” or over-arching story of the Bible. However, I would still like to try to present a brief summary.

Had the conference ended Friday night after the first session, we would have had enough to think and meditate on for months. But Azurdia continued Saturday with three separate sessions, the last of which was a in a question-and-answer format with Dr. Azurdia, Jeff Seavey (pastor of Living Water Community Church), and Dan Morse (pastor of Christ our Redeemer Church). I would also be remiss if I neglected to mention the incredible blessing that the music was during this conference. The songs focused consistently on the cross and the work Christ performed, and really helped establish a proper Christ-centered approach to the sessions.

The first session, from Ephesians 5:15-22, was based on the premise that the holy dignity of marriage is grounded in the fact that its ideal can be recovered by the means of the Christian Gospel. In this session Azurdia emphasized that the Old Covenant brought sin to light without any power to overcome sin, while the New Covenant provided the power and ability, through Christ, to overcome sin. The problems in a marriage are a result of the Fall, so the solution for the problems in a marriage is the same as the solution for the effects of the Fall: the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

  • Husbands are not commanded to be the head of the wife. The husband is the head, and his example for how to love his wife is exemplified by Christ’s love for the church: sacrificial (Christ died for the church), exclusive (Christ loved “her” — specific and exclusive), and undeserved (love her as a sinner, not a saint).
  • I don’t need to be a better husband, I need to be a better Christian

The second session on Saturday continued with Dr. Azurdia’s third point: the holy dignity of marriage is grounded in the fact that it exists ultimately for God and His glory, not for our own self-enhancement, self-fulfillment, or self-actualization.

  • A healthy Christian family, like a healthy Christian church, has been designed for a purpose outside itself.
  • The purpose of every created thing is to bring glory to God. As “idol factories,” we end up making idols of anything, and consistently in the American church, this includes making an idol of the family. “The family” becomes the end, not the means or channel to the end.
  • You shouldn’t marry for love. You marry in love for the advancement of the kingdom.

The final session was more informal and involved Dr. Azurdia, Jeff, and Dan answering questions that had been written and dropped into a box throughout the day. There were far more questions submitted than there was time to answer. Without going into any detail, these men address issues from the “exception clause” regarding divorce, to birth control, to the benefits and pitfalls of “full transparency” in a marriage, and how to practically apply the truths learned over the weekend. For me, one of the more refreshing aspects of this time was the humility expressed as these men discussed things for which their opinions differed. There were no egos to be fed, and there was not a hint of pride or divisiveness.

On a side note, one of the quotes from Dr. Azurdia that I found quite humorous was something along the lines of “I tell my students they can preach one topical message per year, but they must immediately confess and repent afterwards.” It would be an understatement to say that Dr. Azurdia preaches expositionally, with complete and utter devotion to the importance of both the individual words and structures of the text, and the importance and and significance of any passage in its book.

As I stated above, this post doesn’t even come close to doing justice to Dr. Azurdia. There are so many more things I could write, but if I could summarize the weekend briefly, it would have to be using a conglomeration of statements Azurdia made: Marriage is divinely designed by Sovereign God, and it carries an ultimate purpose outside itself, extending to the magnification and propagation of the Gospel and the furtherance of the Kingdom of God. The supreme end of marriage is the Gospel, not the marriage, and a strong Christian marriage is characterized by the willingness of each spouse to sacrifice the marriage for the sake of the Gospel.

Finally, Living Water Community Church has made the audio from this weekend’s conference available on their web site (God, the Gospel, and Your Marriage — scroll down to May 9-10). I can highly recommend that couples devote some time to listen to this together. You will undoubtedly benefit more than you can imagine.

If you are interested, Dr. Azurdia has a series of previous messages on the Christian Family available on his web site (The Holy Responsibility Of The Christian Family — scroll down). I haven’t had opportunity to listen to these messages yet, but expect to in the near future.