Sermon Tone Analysis

*Marriage 411 - Take God at his word!*

*Husbands, point her in the right direction!*

*(Love & Marriage – A child’s perspective-Video clip*)  Use green intro if video doesn’t work.

Kids have such a unique perspective on practically everything – why would love and marriage be any different?

One little boy, Roger age 6 was asked, How would you make marriage work?

And he replied, “/Don’t forget your wife’s name – that will really mess up love.”/

I totally agree that forgetting your wife’s name will really mess up love.

Call her the wrong name and you are in deep trouble.

But the question is still out there, */“How would you make a marriage work?”/*

Kids have such a unique perspective on practically everything – why would love and marriage be any different?

I particularly liked the last question.

*/“How would you make a marriage work?” /*/ /I totally agree that forgetting your wife’s name will really mess up love.

Call her the wrong name and you are in deep trouble.

But the question is still out there, */“How would you make a marriage work?”/*

Sharon Jayson wrote an article back in December in the USA Today entitled, /“Doomed if “I do…”/  She said, “People who have doubts about getting married should listen to those doubts.

She quoted Carl Weisman’s survey stating that 8 in 10 people getting married felt “somewhat” or “extremely certain” the marriage would end in divorce.

Bill Hedrick, Executive Director of Pastoral Counseling in Norfolk, VA said, /“I have had people who came to a pre-marriage workshop, and it became evident they shouldn’t be married…”/  Hedrick believes many people don’t know what a good marriage looks like.

/“More than any generation in the past we have the most unrealistic expectations.”*[i]*/

Maybe that’s one answer to our question – we have unrealistic expectations of what a spouse is supposed to do which often prevents a marriage from working.

The Apostle Paul would agree.

*Turn in your Bibles this morning to Ephesians chapter 5.  Do you need a Bible today?

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The Apostle Paul spoke about marriage quite often.

When you study verses 21-33 you can see three “do’s” for husbands and three “do’s” for wives.

The first do for husbands is found in verse 25.  */“Husbands, love your wives.”/*

Guys, if you want your marriage to work – here’s our first “DO.”

Do this.

Love your wife.

Love her for her.  *Here’s a bazaar story coming out of Shanghai.*

“A Chinese woman is seeking extensive plastic surgery to look like U.S actress Jessica Alba, mainly because she hopes to win back her boyfriend who has always wished she’d look like the Hollywood actress.

Obviously that man has issues, but here’s the crazy part.

*She agreed to the surgeries*.

She said, /“I have never been able to let him go.

If in the end he still does not accept me after I undergo the plastic surgeries, I will give up.”*[ii]*/

*Yikes!

That’s not love – for either person.*

Do you know what love is?  *Go back to verse 25.*  Love in one word is giving.

It’s giving, not getting.

Love is sacrificing.

Love is being selfless not selfish!

The example Paul uses in none other than Jesus himself.

Husbands, if you want your marriage to work – let Jesus be your example.

Here’s how Jesus sacrificed for the church!

*Look at verses 25 & 26.*

The first time I read verse 26 I went huh?

The 2nd time I read it – I thought, “Hmmm?”

But I kept reading it and then it dawned on me.

*Here’s the second “DO” for husbands*.

*Husbands, do this – point your wife in the right direction.

Point your wife to Jesus!

And here’s why…  Go back to verse 26.

*/(to make her holy…)  The “her” pronoun has a two fold purpose.

Paul is speaking directly about the church and indirectly about wives.

/*Let me ask a question*.

Does the church stand a chance to be holy without Jesus?

Holy means /“set apart for God’s purposes”~/to be cleansed externally~/ renewed internally~/to be free from the guilt of sin.*[iii]*/

Does a wife stand a chance to be holy – to be all that she was created to be without Jesus?

And let’s not forget husbands – does any husband here stand a chance to be holy apart from Jesus?  *Go back to verses 26 & 27 again.*

Do you consider Westerville Christian to be a radiant church?

What does it mean to be a radiant church?

John Chilcote told me about a voice mail that Pastor Bobby Gruenwald from lifechurch.tv received from an irritated caller.

/Listen to what irritates this guy/.

*(Play angry caller clip)* 

            First of all, John Chilcote and I have made a pledge that we will never distribute Westerville Christian Church bumper stickers or license plate holders – EVER!  *I don’t need anymore phone calls.*

Something tells me this man does not consider Life Church to be a radiant church!

I’m really not being critical of him, but I don’t think he thinks any church is good let alone radiant.

The church is called many things.

Some good and some bad.

I would call this church stiff since it’s made entirely of *Lego’s!  *Luke calls the church *“the way”* in the book of Acts.

Peter calls the church *“the flock of God of which Jesus is the shepherd.”

*Paul calls the church the *“body of Christ.”*

We are Jesus in the flesh.

Paul also calls the church *“the Bride of Christ.”*

Why?

What a weird comparison.

Because that’s how God sees us right now.

As radiant as a bride at her wedding.

How many of you have been to a wedding?

Everyone’s all dressed up.

People are looking good.

Smelling good.

The groom has on his tux and the bride – the bride is beautiful.

Dressed in white and lace and all kinds of frilly things.

The day is a day to remember.

*Except for one bride*.

A minister long time friend of mine, Jim Borton, told me about a bride that had too many mints and way too much diet coke before the wedding.

Not a good combination.

Her dress was white but so was her face as she started to walk down the aisle.

And you guessed it.

She threw up - at her wedding – with everyone watching – video cameras rolling.

I imagine she tries hard to forget her wedding day.

*Go back again to verse 25.*

What makes us holy?

Our acceptance of what Jesus did.

*BS & AS – BC & AC.*  Everything changed after the cross.

I often forget that.

I bet you do too.

When Jesus died on the cross – all debts were paid in full.

Yours and mine.