Sermon Tone Analysis

*Wedding Talk – Julian to Kaigan*

/ /

/ our need for hope/

By nature we are people who need hope for the future.

We need something to wake up too, a reason for living, bright prospects for the future.

Life is indeed grim if we have nothing to look forward too.

A number of years ago researchers performed an experiment to see the effect hope has on those undergoing hardship.

Two sets of laboratory rats were placed in separate tubs of water.

The researchers left one set in the water and found that within an hour they had all drowned.

The other rats were periodically lifted out of the water and then returned.

What happened, the second set of rats swam for over 24 hours before they drowned.

Why?

Not because they were given a rest, but because they suddenly had hope!

Those animals somehow hoped that if they could stay afloat just a little longer, someone would reach down and rescue them.

When we talk about hope for the future, it is more often than not a hope mixed with uncertainty.

"I hope I have good health when I'm older" – but you're unsure.

"I hope I make lots of money from this investment" – but you're unsure.

"I hope NSW wins the State of Origin" football – but you're unsure.

When the Bible speaks about hope, it does something that we cannot do, it speaks of certain hope for the future.

The Bible speaks about hope that will not be disappointed, hope that sustains people through the rough times, hope that will not collapse because its stands on the promises of God.

 

/the nature of Christian hope/

The hope Christians have is a hope founded on the cross of Christ.

We've already sung about it:

 

/When I survey the wondrous cross/

/on which the Prince of Glory died,/

/my richest gain I count as loss,/

/and pour contempt on all my pride./

/ /

and verse 3 of the same hymn:

/ /

/See, from His head, His hands, His feet:/

/sorrow and love flow mingled down./

/When did such love and sorrow meet,/

/or thorns compose so rich a crown?/

The hope that Christians have for the future is a hope based on promises relating to Jesus.

Christians have hope for the future because when God makes a promise he keeps a promise.

This is why God sent Jesus into the world – because he is a God of love who keeps his promises.

Many of us have heard these words, "For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him will not perish but have everlasting life".

This is a promise that creates hope for the future.

Commit yourself to Jesus and his death will cancel your debt to God – commit yourself to Jesus and you will know life in abundance and it will be everlasting life.

Even in the midst of pain and anguish there is hope because when God makes a promise to wipe away debt he keeps his promise.

/hope in the wedding vows/

The commitment that God makes to us in Jesus is the same type of commitment to be imitated in marriage.

We heard these words from 1 Cor 13, "Love is patient, love is kind.

It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud".

Martin Luther, a 16th century Christian, said that "marriage is God's best way of explaining himself".

Marriage ought to be a place where God's love and commitment to us is experienced at the most profound level - the relationship between husband and wife.

A man promises to minister to his wife, making God more real.

And she becomes the minister of God to him, giving him a clearer picture of how much he is loved and respected by God.

A Christian marriage is a conduit whereby the love of God finds practical and daily expression.

A Christian marriage is modelled upon God's love for us and is based upon a set of promises that give a relationship hope for the future.

Now I suppose we could have worded the marriage vows something like this:

 

"I, Kiminori, take you Alison, to be my /occasional/ wife; and if I feel like it, I will have and hold you from this day forward - only for the best, only when we’re rich, only when I can go kayaking whenever I want too, only while you remain in good health.

I will love and cherish you until the day I change my mind.....".

There's no hope for the relationship in these wedding vows.

Kiminori and Alison are doomed to failure if these words become the foundation for their lives.

The vows we are using today have been carefully thought out.

We are using vows that reflect the true nature of love for love is not only a feeling but an act of the will.

Earlier we read from 1 Corinthians 13:

 

"Love is patient, love is kind.

It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.

it is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.

Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.

It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres".

The marriage vows that Kiminori and Alison have chosen defines the nature of love, a love which secures hope for the future….whatever the future holds ~/ I will love you and stand by you ~/ This is my solemn vow and promise.

With these promises a couple creates a new family with bonds that cannot be broken because they are founded on promises that are designed not to fail.

This is why no-one should enter into marriage lightly for "marriage is an exclusive union between one man and one woman which is publicly acknowledged, permanently sealed and physically consummated".

/the family making the vows/

Kiminori and Alison, never forget the significance of the vows you are making to one another today.

When all excitement dies down, when you’re back home and the hectic pace of life starts all over again, remember your vows which bind your future together, remember sacrificial, unselfish love.

The essence of love is sacrifice for one another.

Be other-centred in your relationship – trust the God who made you and wants your marriage to work.

We know that you want the absolute best that marriage has to offer.

God wants it for you.

I want it for you.

Your parents want it for you.

Everyone here wants it for you.

So remember your vows - remember the God who made you and the God who models true love for you.

Remember the God who empowers you to have a marriage that truly satisfies.

There is HOPE for the future – the God who offers you hope when you trust in him – the hope that you place in one another – the hope and aspirations of any couple facing the future together.

Our prayer for you both is that you remember the promises made here today, that you will prove trustworthy to one another, and that you may have many happy years together.

And as you celebrate your golden wedding anniversary on 26th May, 2059, may you be able to look back and say, “Yes, I’ve been faithful, and it was so easy, because my lover is still my best friend”.