Sermon Tone Analysis

Wedding   Val Klev ~/ Steve Dorff  6.27.98

Texts: Eccl 4.9-12; 1 Cor 13; John 15.9-12

Why in the world are you two getting married?

one answer: it was inevitable: you resisted blind dates; you meet at a party but he never gets around to calling; it took long enough for you to finally go out, but once you did, ahhh, love

 

obvious, simple answer: getting married bec you are in Love

whole lotta love in passages you’ve chosen

yet are we all here today /just/ bec you in love?

 

love great, but you know true LOVE is anything but simple as you try to live it out in your daily lives; \\  you know how hard it is to balance work and time together, know how difficult it is to keep the romance alive - you got him to turn off TV when he proposed, but may not always be the case!

 

if we’re here just bec you love each other, ask: Will you be able to stay in love?

 

the 1 Cor 13 passage can help us discover diff between a true LOVE that never ends and simple,worldly  little thing called LUV - uc

- you can fall in LUV at first sight, but you must grow in LOVE

- LUV is an impulse, but LOVE involves decisions ~/ commitment,

- LUV is impetuous and filled with intrigue, LOVE is patient and kind

- LUV can be selfish and suspicious and jealous, but LOVE is not envious or boastful or arrogant

- LUV comes quickly, easily, and just as quickly~/easily disap’ears

         - LOVE takes time and energy, but also ... LOVE never ends

 

we most often think of love as a feeling (LUV), but in the Bible LOVE is an action

the Greek language of Bible has separate words to describe these loves: the LUV word has to do with feeling, emotions, passion, chemistry - knee wobbling, butterfly in stomach - not a bad thing: doesn’t even appear in the NT - more impt: that luv can’t be commanded

 

BUT LOVE arises from a keen sense of the value and worth in the object of our love - it is something you can do and I want you to remember to do throughout your marriage: value, treasure, appreciate - to plan for and nurture your relationship

 

in John 15: "This is my commandment, that you love one another

Will you indeed not just be in luv BUT also LOVE one another?

It’s almost too much for any human being to promise, but here is where you begin to realize that you are not alone in your marriage and that w~/ every command God makes, God also provides way of keeping it

 

joh 15 again: "This is my commandment, that you love one another/ as I have loved you./

why in the world?

bec God has brought you to this day; God’s love gives you the freedom to love each other in an active way; that holds up thru better~/worse all years bring; (Eccl: God’s love is the third cord that holds you together)

 

SO, Why in the world are you two getting married?

you are in love BEC GOD’s love for you has drawn you together

 

that’s why in the world /we/ are are here at your marriage: to celebrate this love of God which has been manifested in your relationship.

And throughout your marriage, I pray that you will not only be in LUV but also find the ways to LOVE each other just as God loves you.

AMEN.