Marriage: The Aroma of Love
Sermon
ROSES, RINGS & REJOICING
Oh Lord, we come to you today to praise you and to make ourselves available for your blessing. ____ and ____ have committed their lives to each other. They want to serve each other and You. Today we pray, help them to receive the love that You will give; help them to know and to live the peace that is Your peace; help them to know the confidence and security of this relationship with You.
In Your Spirit, Oh Lord, the issues of each day will be growing experiences, and togetherness will be most complete. You will make us of one spirit as we maintain our own persons. You will be our Lord as we both laugh and cry together.
We say thank you for the blessings of this moment. Our future prayers of praise and need will be to You and we will present ourselves in Jesus' name. Amen
The most beautiful experience in life is finding that one who makes you feel whole because you feel a completeness with each other.
We have come together today because ____ and ____ have found this completeness with each other and with God and wish to be joined by God in holy marriage.
Love is a soul quality, not of the senses, but of the mind, and is therefore an eternal quality. It knows none of the negative qualities of selfishness, envy, or jealousy.
Love cannot be possessed; therefore, ask not for love, but give it — for in giving love, you are giving yourself in all you do. This is the one principle of love.
Love is like the ascent of a mountain. It comes nearer, ever nearer to you as you go nearer to it. Meeting all of life's challenges with a loving attitude keeps romance bright and fresh.
All the seemingly unpleasant chores are in reality chores of loving service. They give us the opportunity to serve each other — and to serve each other is our great purpose in life.
True love is the expression of the spiritual, mental, and physical harmony which grows out of deep respect, one for the other. Love, the surest foundation of all, provides strength on which true marriage rests. Its bonds create harmony, its practice draws the smile of God.
We have come to participate in a service which will nurture life. Marriage is the embodiment of the fundamental freedom of every human being, the freedom to love. Such then, is marriage: the choosing to love without reservation, the choice to risk oneself, to commit one's life to caring for another.
____ and ____ , in coming to the marriage altar you are performing an act of absolute faith, believing in one another to the end. But marriage is not only living for each other; it is two uniting to serve God. God is joining you together. He will seal your covenant with his. Thus, you will be the instruments of his will. You, in your freedom, have joyously responded to God's love within you. He is creating something beautiful out of your love. Thank God for his love — his first, then yours.
Marriage is more than your love for each other; it is God's holy ordinance; it is his act — not yours. By the will of God you belong to each other as long as you both shall live.
Marriage is a holy covenant between two people pledged to love each other, trust each other, and face life together. Marriage speaks of separation — separation from selfish aims, separation from personal gain. And marriage speaks of unity — unity in purpose, unity in responsibility, unity in joy. These, now two, shall be one.
There is no relationship which is stronger, yet more delicate, than this union to which you have now come to commit yourselves. The vows you take today will last for life. There will be days of adjustments and periods of change and growth. But love that binds you today will bring joy far surpassing any problems you may encounter in your life together.
—Randall S. Lehman
Church of the Brethren
Muskegan, Michigan
In Your Spirit, Oh Lord, the issues of each day will be growing experiences, and togetherness will be most complete. You will make us of one spirit as we maintain our own persons. You will be our Lord as we both laugh and cry together.
We say thank you for the blessings of this moment. Our future prayers of praise and need will be to You and we will present ourselves in Jesus' name. Amen
The most beautiful experience in life is finding that one who makes you feel whole because you feel a completeness with each other.
We have come together today because ____ and ____ have found this completeness with each other and with God and wish to be joined by God in holy marriage.
Love is a soul quality, not of the senses, but of the mind, and is therefore an eternal quality. It knows none of the negative qualities of selfishness, envy, or jealousy.
Love cannot be possessed; therefore, ask not for love, but give it — for in giving love, you are giving yourself in all you do. This is the one principle of love.
Love is like the ascent of a mountain. It comes nearer, ever nearer to you as you go nearer to it. Meeting all of life's challenges with a loving attitude keeps romance bright and fresh.
All the seemingly unpleasant chores are in reality chores of loving service. They give us the opportunity to serve each other — and to serve each other is our great purpose in life.
True love is the expression of the spiritual, mental, and physical harmony which grows out of deep respect, one for the other. Love, the surest foundation of all, provides strength on which true marriage rests. Its bonds create harmony, its practice draws the smile of God.
We have come to participate in a service which will nurture life. Marriage is the embodiment of the fundamental freedom of every human being, the freedom to love. Such then, is marriage: the choosing to love without reservation, the choice to risk oneself, to commit one's life to caring for another.
____ and ____ , in coming to the marriage altar you are performing an act of absolute faith, believing in one another to the end. But marriage is not only living for each other; it is two uniting to serve God. God is joining you together. He will seal your covenant with his. Thus, you will be the instruments of his will. You, in your freedom, have joyously responded to God's love within you. He is creating something beautiful out of your love. Thank God for his love — his first, then yours.
Marriage is more than your love for each other; it is God's holy ordinance; it is his act — not yours. By the will of God you belong to each other as long as you both shall live.
Marriage is a holy covenant between two people pledged to love each other, trust each other, and face life together. Marriage speaks of separation — separation from selfish aims, separation from personal gain. And marriage speaks of unity — unity in purpose, unity in responsibility, unity in joy. These, now two, shall be one.
There is no relationship which is stronger, yet more delicate, than this union to which you have now come to commit yourselves. The vows you take today will last for life. There will be days of adjustments and periods of change and growth. But love that binds you today will bring joy far surpassing any problems you may encounter in your life together.
—Randall S. Lehman
Church of the Brethren
Muskegan, Michigan
