Dear family, brethren, and friends,

Thank you for praying for us during this cyclone (hurricane and typhoon also are synonyms).  Cyclone Gabrielle was expected to hit the North Island where Auckland is located about 10:00 A.M. Monday, but it weakened and slowed down.  It is just north of us and is expected to intensify as it approaches Tuesday morning.  It is already having an impact because some places in the area are losing electric power today.

We met at 6:30 P.M. with 7 in attendance and another 6 joining us online.  Our study focused on the husband’s role as “Head of the Wife” with concentration on Ephesians 5:22-33 and 1 Peter 3:7.  As happened yesterday, the open forum continued longer than the sermon as we discussed how husbands must conduct themselves if our wives are to be convinced that we truly want to lead in love.

Many of the questions and much of the discussion centered on the communication process between husband and wife.  Wives typically feel their husbands do not listen to them and do not communicate well with them.  Husbands must learn to hear their wife’s words and also to read their emotions (which may or may not match their words at times).  One helpful suggestion was that the husband should at times repeat back to his wife what she said to be sure he understood her correctly.  Online participants entered into the mix.  The level of interest, attention, and participation by everyone was quite high as we considered this very important challenge.  Someone wisely commented at the end that we men have plenty of work to do!

The rain and wind from Cyclone Gabrielle have been steady all day and we could hear the sound effects during our study. By the time our class ended, both the rain and the wind rose to hurricane force with increased sound effects.  As I write these notes I can hear the wind whistling, screeching, and roaring (“the winds blew, and beat upon the house,” Matt. 7:25), the rain falling in sheets, and the trees vigorously rustling.  The worst of the storm is expected to continue through the night and into tomorrow morning.

Tuesday morning the wind and rain of Gabrielle began to diminish.  By late morning most of the rain had stopped, but strong winds have continued all day long and can be heard even tonight.  I ventured out to walk in the late afternoon and saw only minor damage to houses in this neighborhood but plenty of debris including broken limbs and even several large trees uprooted.  By the grace of God all of the brethren are safe.

Our service began at 6:30 P.M. with 10 in the assembly and another seven joining us online from New Zealand, the Philippines, Korea, and the U.S.  Our topic was “Wives, Be in Subjection.”  The radical feminist movement declares such teaching reduces women to miserable worthless slaves to cruel dictators.  The Bible presents the wife’s role in submitting to her husband’s leadership as elevating her to be a major player in a successful, happy, stable, productive, fulfilling family!  Jesus fulfilling the Father’s plan for our salvation did not imply he was a useless miserable slave or a lesser deity but elevated him as a willing, loving servant who will bring many souls to glory in heaven.  The wife’s role, as surely as the husband’s role, is fulfilled willingly and lovingly so as to bring peace, joy, and love to the whole family.

The open forum concentrated on a discussion of how a husband’s attitude and conduct can facilitate rather than hinder a wife submitting to his leadership.  All the suggestions boiled down to this: Both husband and wife can motivate their mates to fulfill their role by showing the humble loving spirit of a servant.  That is God’s purpose for every person and His design of family life helps us learn and exemplify the spirit of a servant, following in the footsteps of Jesus Christ himself.

Many of the participants believe our theme of “Family Life: A Biblical Perspective” to be timely and effective for the saints here.

Thank you to everyone who has been praying for us during the cyclone-hurricane-typhoon, and praying for our services.  Our prayers of thanksgiving on your behalf continue to go up to God’s throne of mercy, grace, and love.

In Christian love,

Ron Halbrook

To see good Bible study material, go to:
https://www.hebronlanechurchofchrist.com
https://biblework.congregateclients.com
https://truthbooks.com
https://www.truthmagazine.com