Wedding Sermon

SERMON ---- 3 Habits of an Effective marriage!!

A bride was very nervous. It was right before the service. She wasn’t sure she could even walk down aisle. Her mother gave her some words of calming wisdom. She said to her. “Honey, there’s only three things you need to focus on. If you focus on these three things, you’ll be fine. The first is walking down the aisle. Just focus on walking down the aisle of the church. I know its rather long, but just concentrate on that. Don’t get caught up with those on either side of the aisle. Just focus on getting to the end of the aisle. Next, focus on the altar. It is your destination today. Make your way down the aisle to the altar. There you will stand before God with the man you love and will make vows to God and him. God will also make vows to you. Focus on the altar that represents the love God has for you in Jesus Christ. Last, focus on the hymn that the soloist will sing. In poetry and song, the hymn embodies God’s love for you in Christ, your love for your husband and his love for you. So, to help you not be so nervous, focus on those three things. Walking down the aisle, standing before the altar and listening to the hymn.”The bride was very thankful to her mom for her words of advice. The family and friends gathered watched as she walked down the aisle and noticed a look of calm determination on her face. But as she passed them, they began to chuckle quietly. For along with the look of calm determination, she was mumbling three words over and over to help calm her nerves. As she passed them, they heard her saying, “Aisle, Altar, Hymn… Aisle, Altar, Hymn… Aisle, Altar, Hymn.”

There is a wonderful verse in the Bible that says, “All things are ready. Come to the feast” . NAME and NAME all the preparations have been and all that is ready is too celebrate. The celebration should never end at the reception today but it should mark the commitment you have to each other to share in each others lives and dreams

During the past few weeks we have spent some time in talking over different principals that can make a good marriage better. It not what we try and get out of marriage that makes it work but it is what we put into it. The key to keeping a healthy marriage is to establish good habits from the beginning.

Habit 1 - “Be proactive” - We are proactive when we Love each other

Being proactive means that instead of reacting to life and circumstance we are proactive towards each other. Love is more than a feeling it is a verb, it’s an action, it’s an act of our wills.

1 Cor 13:4-7 – We see that love is…love does, love does not!! All actions

4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

Habit 2 “Put first things first”

It is so easy to get caught up in life and get our priorities all mixed up in life and take each for granted –

You have chosen to get married on Easter Saturday… This is the time that we are reminded of ULTIMATE LOVE… THE BIBLE TEACHERS US THAT THERE IS NO GREATER LOVE THAN A MAN LAYS DOWN HIS LIFE FOR ANOTHER.. THAT IS THE EXAMPLE THAT JESUS HAS GIVEN US BY DEMONSTATING IT ON THE CROSS.

We love because he first loved us. This is love needs to be imitated!!!

Eph 5:1-2

Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children 2 and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to GodNIV

We live a life of Love when we put each other first… When it comes to our time, our friends, our family…

III. Habit 3 “Sharpen the saw”

Sharping the saw means taking time to renew your marriage!!

You can try to saw through a piece of wood as hard as you want but if the blade in blunt it still isn’t going to work.

NAME and NAME I want to encourage you to make time for yourselves. I know that you are both on busy schedules. Never let that get in the way of taking time to communicate with each other..

Tell each other how much you love each other… Even more important show each other how much you love each other by your actions.