A Wedding Sermon

A few weeks ago I got the opportunity to perform the wedding ceremony for my dear friend from high school, Ann. I found this sermon on-line & had to use it. I also preached a modified version the following Sunday morning. Both were a success. Feel free to borrow...

Well. Here you are, Eric and Ann, all dressed in your wedding finery. You are a very attractive couple on this most significant day of your lives, a couple I like very much -- each of you separately, and as a couple. Behind my affection for you is my respect: you’ve done a lot of work to prepare yourselves for this wedding day. And here we are. Your friends & family. Your wedding party. Yourselves – all dressed up in a nice suit & in a beautiful wedding dress. It took a little longer than normal to get dressed up for this special moment…

But when you take off your wedding clothes, what are you going to put on?

What are you guys thinking about? Get your minds out of the gutter!

For the last several months, your thoughts have been consumed with preparing for this day. But, you know, a marriage is more than just the wedding day. And Paul, in Colossians 3, has some suggestions for a marriage wardrobe. And he introduces them by saying “clothe yourselves” with these virtues. These aren't just simple actions that you do once & then toss away. Clothe yourselves with these qualities, Paul says.

So how does one dress for success in a marriage? What are you going to wear to keep your marriage warm in the face of a cold, harsh world?

First, put on Compassion. Literally, compassion means "a heart of pity." Compassion is an inner attitude you each have toward the other — a fullness of tender caring for and about the other’s vulnerabilities and strengths which will overflow into how you treat each other, in public & in private.

On top of compassion, put on Kindness. Now there’s an article of clothing that gets to be in short supply in a marriage sometimes! When you are clothed with kindness you will be seeking the other’s good as you deal with each others’ weaknesses and sore spots.

Then there’s another item of clothing that does a marriage good: Humility. If ever there is an arena where pride and the need to be right and the struggle for power occur, it’s in a marriage. Lack of humility leads to every kind of struggle. Humility recognizes the other’s equal status, recognizing that each has needs, plans, hopes, & values which are just as important as your own.

Gentleness is another worthy garment for a marriage. Gentleness is the garment of the self-controlled person. Badgering, Nagging, Berating, Harassing, Heckling, Hounding, Complaining, and even a lot of teasing –- these are not gentleness. When gentleness is absent, your partner has to put on the helmet of wariness & the breastplate of fearfulness just to survive. And how can you be intimate with someone in armor? When you put on gentleness, the other can take off the self-defensive armor. And when that happens, trust can thrive & intimacy can reside. Every marriage could use several garments of gentleness...

Now, here’s an absolutely necessary article of clothing for a marriage: Patience. Each of you has lived long enough to realize that you can’t expect perfection from each other. Each of you will discover, if you haven’t already, that the other has the capacity to drive you crazy! It doesn’t matter what the issue is: marriage takes patience.


Another essential garment for a marriage is a spirit of Forbearance and Forgiveness. There’s a lot that needs to be endured in a marriage, a lot that requires forbearance. It is a spirit of forgiveness that makes difficult things endurable, maybe even erases them. Nowhere more than in marriage will you have to say, "I’m sorry." Don’t say it to get out of a tight spot. Say it because you know that in no other relationship is the other so vulnerable, so easily hurt. And when the other has asked forgiveness, grant it.

If compassion is marriage’s inner, garment, and if kindness, humility, gentleness, patience, forbearance and forgiveness are its active-wear shirts and pants and skirts and socks, then love is the overcoat. "On top of all these things," Paul says, "put on love." Love keeps a marriage warm.

Love is not merely an emotion. Love as an emotion can wear thin and threadbare when feelings ebb. Love, as the overcoat that keeps a marriage warm, is made up of two things, both of which must be there for marriage to endure: commitment and caring. It’s the solid ground on which your marriage rests. "No matter what, I will be there for you. No matter what others may think - they may forget you, lose confidence in you, or turn their backs upon you - but I will not.” That’s the commitment you make with your vows. But what good is commitment without caring? Caring says, "You’re more than just another obligation in my life. You are precious to me. I value you above all others."


These clothes Paul invites us to put on are not made of natural fibers. They are woven of spiritual stuff. Try as you might in your own power to create them, you need God to create them. For instance, human nature says, "I’ll do my fair share but no more." Or, "She deserved it." Or, "It’s his turn to give in." Compassion, humility, kindness, gentleness, forgiveness, love -- these don’t come naturally. They are gifts God gives us when we turn to Him.

It is a cold world out there. A world so biter & harsh that wants to steal the warmth of your love away. But do as Paul says:

"Therefore, as God's chosen ones, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony."

I'm a Blogging Slacker

Wow. It's been weeks. I guess when people show up on a regular basis to listen to what you have to say, there's a sense in which I feel a little less urgency to share what I have to say in this other forum. Anyway. Whatever.

I still wanna blog some stuff about morality. I'll do it whenever I feel like it, I guess. It'll happen when it happens.

So don't delete me from your favorites, but don't hold your breath either. ;-) I'll be back...

A Day to be Remembered

¹⁶And now what are you waiting for? Get up, be baptized and wash your sins away, calling on His name.

Acts 22:16 will always hold a special place in my heart from now on.

Lately, things have been going well with my sister, Katie. She was invited to be a part of a church softball team at the Jenks Avenue Church of Christ, and has loved it. She's made a lot of good friends, primary among those being Rachael C. She had started coming just to Wednesday night Bible Studies... then expanded to coming to bi-monthly Young Adult Bible Study Devotionals... then found out about the Tuesday morning Ladies Bible Study... and has even started coming on Sunday's. She'd even started talking about baptism.

Well, Tuesday, she was sitting in the Ladies Bible Study, and the Lord spoke to her through Scripture. As she read Acts 22:16 with the group, she posed the question to herself. "What AM I waiting for?" So tonight, with Mom able to drive down for the occasion, she came forward during the invitation extended by Daniel C. I made some personal comments before the church before I took her confession, saying that among many testimonies that Katie's baptism was a testimony to prayer & perseverance. (And for those of you reading with fathers, mothers, sisters, brothers, spouses, or children who haven't yet put on Christ, don't give up hope.) I then took her confession, she went back to change & I put on those hip-looking waders, and I immersed her into Christ.

Luke shares Paul's conversion account 3 times in the book of Acts. I'm so appreciative now that he included verse 16 when he was penning chapter 22.

Take Me To Your Leader

We aren't a pushpin on the map yet, but we will be soon! Since September 1st, 2006, Justin Sailor has been traveling around the nation in an effort to experience the culture of all 50 states. He is sponsored by JEEP (apparently it's pretty easy, he says -- he had a connection with a professor, wrote a proposal, and -BOOM- JEEP lends him a brand-new 2007 vehicle to trek around the country in).

Justin stayed in my Dad's RV last night & is also there tonight. Tomorrow he will be moving on to the Tampa/St. Pete area. And from there Key West. And beyond that, you'll have to check out his web site to follow his adventures. Today, he chilled with my sister & I some, went to check out Panama City Beach, attended a Bible Study at the Cherry residence, and watched part of a women's softball game.

Check out his adventures at <http://www.hometowninvasion.com/>.

Comedic GOLD!!

I don't care who you are, that's funny right there...

Don Imus & Duke Lacrosse

So apparently Don Imus' sin warrants the loss of his contracts with MSNBC (television) & CBS (radio syndication). What he said was hurtful and reckless, but I think the scapegoat approach by the two networks is short-sighted. In 6 months, Imus in the Morning will simply move to Sirius or XM where there are no FCC regulations. He will get his money there & he will have learned no lesson.

So since the NACCP & other bleeding heart liberals are so concerned with how one gray-haired white man irresponsibly used his words, what will they do next? Will they go after Mike Nifong, Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton, and others who made it their business to do a public smere campaign on what a state Attorney General calls three innocent young men. Here's a group of students who will probably still carry the stain of these allegations throughout their professional careers.

Is there a double standard in our society regarding who is allowed to be reckless with their words & who is not?

You Got Owned

Spent half the week in the hospital looking over my mother & catching up on sleep in the roll-away bed from having to rush her to the ER at midnight Sunday night. And the ER was 2 hours away -- it was a challenge making that drive. I promise that the serious blogging resumes next week. And that doesn't mean sports & YouTube clips I promise. :)

But for now, I found this on an internet forum. For Bob...

Florida President unsure of what to do with Ohio State

By VERN JACKSON
Gainesville Sun Staff Writer

April 4, 2007

GAINESVILLE – In the wake of Florida's unprecedented dual championship victories over Ohio State, the University finds itself with a unique and somewhat perplexing problem:

What to do with Ohio State now that Florida owns it.

According to little known and never before used "Clause 121" of the NCAA charter, when a University defeats another member University for two consecutive national championship games by "convincing margins", the defeated University becomes the sole property of the victor.

University of Florida President J. Bernard "Bernie" Machen readily admits that he was unaware of Clause 121, and is unsure of what to do with Ohio State. "They have, what is it, over 54,000 students? Plus, it's in Columbus, Ohio. This is all very inconvenient."

The University of Florida Board of Trustees is holding an emergency meeting this Friday to deal with the unprecedented situation. According to sources on the Board, initial ideas include:

Sell It – The easiest move the Board might make is simply to sell Ohio State. However, due to the University's size, and its location in the relatively depressed real estate market of central Ohio, it may be difficult to find a willing buyer. "We are looking into this option," Machen says. "We have contacted the Solid Waste Authority of Central Ohio to see if they need more land."

Keep It – This option has several difficulties, but may be the only one if Florida is unable to get a buyer for fair market value. Primary among the difficulties is the large student body population of Ohio State. However, sources on the Board did say since OSU's student population is near Florida's 50,000, there may be a situation where Ohio State students could be lent to Florida students on a semester by semester basis as personal valets.

Florida junior Kevin Young thinks the valet idea is just swell. "Everyone should have their own pet Buckeye," said Young. "It would be like having your own personal fraternity pledge. I think the idea rocks!"

Were Florida to keep Ohio State, issues of whether to allow OSU to keep their current team name and mascot, as well as whether to allow them to continue to play in the Big Ten, would have to be resolved. Says Machen, "I think we could reach some sort agreement that would allow them to keep Brutus Buckeye and play in the Big 10. After all, what would we do – move them to the SEC? They would only get hurt. Since they are our wards now, we could never allow that."

The prospect also exists that Florida would have dissolve Ohio State athletics. In that case, the issue of what to do with the student athletes is uncertain. Florida football coach Urban Meyer, when approached with the prospect of having to absorb Ohio State's football team, paused for a moment and said, "I suppose they could be a scout team for our scout team. They really aren't fast enough for anything else."

Finally, there is one other idea University officials have floated, and that is simply to donate Ohio State to charity. "As I understand it, thousands of Hurricane Katrina refuges are still displaced. We could give OSU to the Katrina Relief Fund, and allow people to relocate there," Machen said. "That could be the win-win situation everyone is looking for."