Elijah and Meghan

Lesson Transcript

Our hearts are empty without you, barren and cold, but for the bold hope that you yourself planted within and dead within. In the mighty name of Mary, of God, in the saving name of Jesus, in the strong name of the Spirit, we come, we cry, we watch, we wait, we look, we long for you, for you. We come, we cry, we watch, we wait, we look, we long for you. We look, we long for you, for you. Sometimes we long for the morning, for a refreshing bell that rings in the night. Draws us to you. Draws us to you.

In the mighty name of Mary, of God, in the saving name of Jesus, in the strong name of the Spirit, we come, we cry, we watch, we wait, we look, we long for you, for you. We come, we cry, we watch, we wait, we look, we long for you, for you. We come, we cry, we watch, we wait, we look, we long for you. We look, we long for you. Our hearts are empty without you, barren and cold, but for the bold hope that you yourself planted within. Planted within within.

In the mighty name of Mary, of God, in the saving name of Jesus, in the strong name of the Spirit, we come, we cry, we watch, we wait, we look, we long for you. We come, we cry, we watch, we wait, we look, we long for you. We come, we cry, we watch, we wait, we look, we long for you. Lord, let your light, light of your face shine on us. Lord, let your light, light of your face shine on us, that we may be saved, that we may have light to find our way in the darkest night. Let your light shine on us.

Lord, let your grace, grace from your hand fall on us. Lord, let your grace, grace from your hand fall on us, that we may be saved, that we may have light to find our way in the darkest night. Let your grace fall on us. Lord, let your love, love with no end, come over us. Lord, let your love, love with no end, come over us, that we may be saved, that we may have light to find our way in the darkest night. Let your love come over us. This is the day that the Lord hath made, and I'm so glad he made you.

With each rising sun, you are here by my side. You are more than a dream come true. All to have you, to hold you, to love you, to pray, to share with, to carry, to hold hands and say, "This is the day that the Lord hath made," and I will rejoice, I will rejoice, I will rejoice with you. This is the birth that the Lord hath made, that you and I will know. Love's mystery is unfolding today, waiting for us in the cell. All for beautiful words, for rich or for poor.

Each day that passes, I'll love you more 'cause this is the day that the Lord hath made, and I will rejoice, I will rejoice, I will rejoice with you. This is the day. This is the day. This is the day. For the beauty of the earth, for the beauty of the skies, for the knowledge from above, of enduring despise, of enduring despise. Lord of all today's, this our joyfully now praise.

For the beauty of each hour, of the day and of the night, hill and valley, hill and valley, tree and flower, tree and flower, sun and moon and stars of light, sun and moon and stars of light. Lord of all today we raise, this our joyfully starting of praise. For the joy of human love, for the joy of all brother, sister, parent, child, for brother, sister, friends on earth, friends on earth and friends above. For all gentle thoughts and mouths, for all gentle thoughts and mouths.

Lord of all today we praise, this our joyfully starting of praise. For each perfect gift of thine, through our rest so freely given, grace aduned and divine. Flowers of earth and birds of heaven, flowers of earth and birds of heaven. Lord of all today we raise, this our joyfully starting of praise. This our joyfully starting of praise. Good morning. On behalf of the Zimmermans and the Martins, I just want to welcome you here today to one of the most important days in the life of Megan and Elijah.

We're so glad that you're here and so glad that you could help make this day special for them. Shall we pray? Father, we thank you for the beautiful day. We just ask that you would bless Megan and Elijah. Ask that you would bless all those that take part here today in the wedding and make this day a special day. We also want to ask your presence here as well. Bless us with your presence. Bless us with everything that we need to put Christ first in this service. We pray in Jesus' name. Amen.

I want to invite you to take out your songbooks and join in worship as we sing number 97. Praise to the Lord, the Almighty. Number 97. Praise to the Lord, the Almighty, the King of creation. All my soul praises for he is thy health and salvation. All ye who hear now to this temple draw near, graced him in glad adoration. Praise to the Lord who o'er all things so wondrously reigned. Shelters thee under his wings, ye so gently sustained.

As thou wast seen, how thy deeds are there have been, granted in what we ordained. Praise to the Lord who doth prosper thy worth and defend thee. Surely his goodness and mercy here daily absend thee. Honour, honour what the Almighty can do, live with his lovely befriend thee. Praise to the Lord who let all that is in thee adore him. All that hath life and breath come now with graces before him. Bless thee our men, sound from his people are yet. Gladly foray we adore him. Number 689. 689.

So Lord, we thank thee for the pleasures that. Our hand thee the lifetime gives, for the boundless worth and treasure of a soul that ever lives. Mind that thoughts before and after lifting eyes to things above. Human tears and human laughter and the depths of human love. For the rhythm thee of endless hour ghosts its glowing breath, in for every touch a sadness that may bring us nearer thee. March above all other kindness, find an altar of whole love. Wish to heal our sin and blindness sent thy dear Son from above.

Teach us so our days to number that remain the early wise. Dreaming mist or flower summer never dawns our ever eyes. Hearts eat thee our work and willing hands to thee and not to them. For we love our souls fulfilling his intent and are till then. Number 310. 310. Gentle Holy Spirit bring refreshing breezes on these people gathered here today. Promise Holy Spirit that we shall descend upon our way hearts we pray. Holy Spirit, gentle down resting upon us spirits of love.

Gentle Holy Spirit riant now each restless heart to travel thy strength willeth heed. Tender Holy Spirit open every heart to hear you sing quietly. Holy Spirit, gentle down resting upon us spirits of love. Gentle Holy Spirit wind of black gown move among us bending breaking filling true. Thy dear Holy Spirit thou went power us to show thou thou in all we do. Holy Spirit, gentle down resting upon us spirits of love. Gentle Holy Spirit see our spirits long to worship Jesus as we truly are.

Gracious Holy Spirit we work better praise the Father thine word and thought. Holy Spirit, gentle down resting upon us spirits of love. Good morning. Greet you all in Jesus' name this morning. It is truly a privilege to be here and join in this service. As we sat here and sang those songs this morning, two of those were sung at my wife and I's wedding almost 11 years ago.

And Elijah and Megan, I know it seems like a long time until you get to this point, but I just want to warn you that from this day forward it goes very quickly. Time passes quickly. When Elijah asked me to share here at this service, I asked him if there was any text he had in mind. And basically the only direction I got from Elijah was stay 20 to 30 minutes. So I'll try to do that this morning. He did give me a little bit of direction. We'll try to get there later in the message. But weddings are special times.

For friends, for family, we get to witness God join two lives together into one. It's a joyful occasion, but it's also very sacred as we sit back and watch God do a work into two lives. It inspires me to see young men and women who are serving God individually come together in marriage. It's the building of the church and it's such a beautiful thing. It's a commitment to God and a commitment to each other. And strong marriages and families are essential for the future of the church.

As I was studying, I read an article written by a pastor and his thought was that we don't really see a marriage ceremony in the Bible like we're experiencing here today. So is it really all that important to have a couple come together with their friends and their family and make vows to God? He gave the thought that maybe social marriage was the most biblical. Just two couples who live together and maybe more specifically have children together, they just be treated as a married couple in the church.

I want to read a quote from his article. "The church supports marriage and family the best, I think, when it recognizes that couples who intend to share their lives together represent a type of marriage. I do not know why an increasing number of couples in our society are choosing to not legally marry. But we are doing them no good by rejecting them.

Let us instead welcome them, treat them as if they were married, and advocate for the benefits of public and religious ritual and legal status." My heart was saddened as I read that article. We're here this morning because we reject that idea that a man and woman can just live together and have children together and act as if they are married without the commitment to God and to each other. There is no future in a church who doesn't have strong marriages and strong families.

The verses from Ecclesiastes came to mind as I was studying for this service here this morning. Ecclesiastes 4 says, "Two are better than one because they have a good reward for their labor. First they fall, the one will lift up his fellow, but woe to him that is alone when he falleth. For he that hath not another to help him up. Again, if two lie together, they can have heat. But how can one be warm alone?

And if one prevail against him, two shall withstand him, and a threefold cord is not quickly broken." The end of verse 12 there is what caught my attention, the threefold cord. In this context, he's talking about two. And then in the end of verse 12, he mentions a threefold cord. There's many comparisons we could make to that threefold cord this morning, but this morning I want to think about strong marriages that make strong churches and working together to build the kingdom of God as a threefold cord.

It's my desire for you, Elijah and Megan, that you have a strong marriage that can be a blessing to your church, to your community, and to the world. I'd like to look this morning at five parts of a godly marriage. And to give us a visual this morning, I'd like to compare the five parts of the physical building process in our subject this morning. Building a godly marriage. Number one, we follow the blueprint.

If you want to build something, you don't just stop by Lowe's and load up two by fours and plywood and head home to build your project. One of the first steps in building a house is coming up with a plan or a blueprint that fits what you're trying to build. You have a goal in mind of what you want the end product to look like when you're finished. This morning, we want godly homes. Elijah, we want you to have a godly home. So I want to give you a blueprint to build off of this morning. It's not new.

You know what it is, but I just want to remind you. In building a godly marriage, there's not a list of blueprints that we can choose from. God has given us his blueprint in his word. There's only one plan, one blueprint that works. This is not man's idea, but it's God's idea. I want to go back to the beginning for the blueprint in Genesis 2. God lays it out very clearly, his plan for a husband and a wife, for a marriage. Genesis 2:18, "And the Lord God said, 'It is not good that man should be alone.

I will make him a help meat for him.' And out of the ground, the Lord formed every beast of the field and every fowl of the air and brought them to Adam to see what he would call them. And whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof. And Adam gave names to all cattle and to the fowl of the air and to every beast of the field, but for Adam there was not found a help meat for him.

And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept, and he took one of his ribs and closed up the flesh instead thereof. And the rib which the Lord God had taken from man, he made a woman, and he brought her unto man. And Adam said, 'This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh. She shall be called woman because she was taken out of man. Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother and shall cleave unto his wife, and they shall be one flesh.'" We'll stop reading there.

This is the only plan that works in marriage, the one that God designed, one man and one woman who leave their father and mother and they cleave to each other. The word cleave here means to adhere or to stick to and become one, even though these two become one in God's plan or blueprint. They each had their distinctive roles. We see that here in this passage. The man is the leader. In this account, God created Adam first, and he gave Adam his distinct responsibilities. He was to name the animals.

He was to care for the garden. And God saw that Adam needed a help meat. This was not an afterthought of God. This was part of God's plan from the beginning. But he created a woman to be a help for man. He created them perfect, and God created us each with our unique deficiencies that the opposite sex is created to meet. We're created to complement each other's weaknesses. We're created to help each other in the journey of life. I also want us to notice the spiritual responsibility that God placed on Adam.

We know how the story goes here in the end of chapter two. Here, Adam and Eve were in this beautiful garden. Everything was perfect. But then Satan, who set out to destroy everything that God creates, he tempted Eve and she ate of the fruit. We know the story here in verse nine of chapter three, "And the Lord God called unto Adam and said unto him, 'Where art thou?'" So Eve took the fruit, she ate of it, and she also gave it to her husband and he ate. But we see God calling Adam into account here first.

He says, "Where are you, Adam?" God knew where Adam was, but God was calling Adam. He was the spiritual leader in this relationship. Elijah, from today forward, you are spiritually responsible for the spiritual well-being of Megan and your family. Of course, you both still have individual choice, but the responsibility to lead your home in a godly way lies on your shoulders. Megan is your responsibility to help Elijah in that.

This is God's plan, man to be the leader and the wife to be the help, the help meat or help suitable for him. Sometimes when we build something, we have a plan and we follow it, but it doesn't turn out quite like we thought it should. And we have to send the plans maybe back to the engineer, or we have to do what's called an as-built, which is adjusting the plan to fit what actually worked out in real life. It's not that way with God's plan for marriage. His design is perfect.

It works and it does not need to be revised or updated. Let's follow God's plan in your marriage, Elijah. The second step in a building is a foundation, a firm foundation. "A godly marriage is when two people who deeply love God decide to love him together." It's a quote. "A strong marriage is built on the foundation of both individuals having a vibrant relationship with God and him being the center of their relationship." If we look at the relationship of Adam and Eve in the garden, I believe it was bliss.

They walked with God. They talked with God. And the relationship between the three was perfect. But then we come to the end of Genesis 2 and that perfect scene is broken in chapter three. Satan appears on the scene and he succeeds in deceiving first Eve and then Adam. Then we see what happens in their relationship. God is no longer part of their relationship and it doesn't take long for that relationship to deteriorate.

Verse 12 of Genesis 3, "And the Lord God said unto the woman, 'What is...'" I'm sorry, verse 12, "And the man said, 'The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree and I did eat.'" Verse 13, "And the Lord God said unto the woman, 'What is it that thou hast done?' And the woman said, 'The serpent beguiled me and I did eat.'" You see, God is no longer part of their relationship and it begins to fall apart. They begin to point fingers and blame the other for what had happened.

This morning, Elijah, make God the foundation, God's word the foundation for your home. Read God's word and allow it to be your guide in life. From being your friend, I know you're a visionary. Your vision and passion for serving God has been an inspiration to me. Continue to use that as your foundation in life. And as you stand at this point in life and look to the future and you see many possibilities where God may lead you, I just encourage you to keep God as your foundation.

The third part of the building is the walls. I'd like to turn to Ephesians 5 for this part of our building. Elijah asked if I would speak a little on Christ and the type of Christ in the church, which is taken from Ephesians 5. Read verse 21 through 23. Ephesians 5:21 through 33. I'm sorry. "Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God. Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands as unto the Lord.

For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church, and he is the Savior of the body. Therefore, as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything.

Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ loved the church and gave himself for it, that he might sanctify and cleanse it through the washing of the water by the word, that he might present to himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that it should be holy and without blemish. So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife, loveth himself. For no man ever yet hated his own flesh, but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church.

For we are members of his body and of his flesh and of his bones. For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother and be joined unto his wife, and they too shall be one flesh. This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church. Nevertheless, let every one of you in particular so love his wife, even as himself, and the wife see that she reverents her husband." Walls are what make up a building, though the supports for the roof and the rest of the house.

I'd like to look at a number of walls or a number of supports here from Ephesians 5 that will build a strong marriage if it's built on the foundation of God. Verse 21 is humility. "Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God." Humility in marriage goes a long way. Being willing to admit that I'm not always right. I don't always have the solution to the problem, or the way I see it is not the only way to see the subject.

It's easy for us to get in our ruts in marriage and to become proud, especially for us men, and to not take into account what our wife shares with us, or to just barge ahead, do what we think is best. But to have a strong marriage, there needs to be humility. Philippians 2:3 says, "Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem the other better than themselves." And it's easy to do that this morning, Elijah and Megan.

It's easy to look at the other and say, "I don't deserve you. I'm better than you. You're better than me." But when the pressures of life come and our selfishness wants to creep up, it's easy to want to choose to lift ourselves up. I just encourage you to be humble in your marriage. Second pillar is love. Verse 25 says, "Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also hath loved the church and gave himself for it." Love is more than just a feeling that you have towards each other this morning.

Yes, you love each other. Yes, you have that emotion. But as we go through life, it gets much deeper than that. C.S. Lewis compares love to an engine. When an engine starts, there's that initial spark that gets the engine going. But then there needs to be that fuel that continues to come into that engine to keep it running. That's what love is. Yes, it's an emotion, but it's a commitment. It's a commitment to each other, and we'll look at that a little bit more later.

Paul calls us here to, as husbands, to love our wives as Christ loves the church. Christ gave his life for the church. We think of love as a feeling, and it is. But love is about sacrifice. Love is about giving. That's the example that Christ gave us. He held nothing back, even when we obviously do not deserve the love of Christ. He poured it out completely for us. A sure way to kill love is selfishness. It's a sure way to hinder a strong marriage when it's my desires and my needs at the expense of my spouse.

The depth of our love is shown by our willingness to sacrifice for the other. The third pillar I'd like to look at is respect. Verse 29, "For no man ever yet hated his own flesh, but nourisheth and cherisheth it." Respect for each other. When we live together, it's easy for that to break down and just become commonplace. But continue to respect each other.

1 Peter 3:7 says, "Likewise, you husbands, dwell with them according to knowledge, giving honor unto the wife as unto the weaker vessel, and being heirs together of the grace of life, that your prayers be not hindered." You are equal in your relationship with God. Respect each other in that way. There's many ways that you can respect each other, whether it's encouragement, whether it's acts of kindness, but be respectful of each other. Another pillar is trust.

Strong marriages are built on trust, trusting each other completely. Elijah, be a man that Megan can trust. If you're coming home late from work, she can trust that the reason you give is accurate. Megan, be a woman that Elijah can trust. He's trusting you with his finances, with his household. Be a person that he can trust. It builds strong marriages. And together, be a couple that God can trust to carry out his work in whatever community that you live. Another pillar in marriage is communication.

We live in an age of easy communication. We can send text messages, WhatsApps, whatever it may be. It should be very easy to communicate, but it's so easy to just keep our thoughts to ourselves, get caught in our own little world, what we have going on at work or what we have going on at home. Let's communicate. It's what builds strong marriages. Communicate with God. Spend time in prayer together as a couple. Share your heart to God in that way. It draws you together.

The next part of the building I'd like to look at is the roof. And I'd like to compare that to commitment, commitment to each other. Matthew 19, the Pharisees came to Jesus and were questioning him about divorcement, getting a divorce. Jesus did some teaching on marriage, and he quotes from the Old Testament.

Matthew 19:4-6, "Jesus is answering them, and he says, 'Have you not read that which he that which made them at the beginning made them male and female and said, 'For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother and shall cleave to his wife, and they twain shall be one flesh? Wherefore they are no more twain but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.'" A godly marriage requires commitment. This word cleave here means to glue, to glue together.

In a few moments, you're going to share vows and make commitments to God. And it's those commitments that pull us through those tough times in life. When there's difficulty, when there's pressures of life, it's that cleaving or that commitment to each other that brings us through those times. Commitment is the roof where it sheds the rain, the rain of life. The difficulties in life, our commitment to each other brings us through those times.

Don't know what all God has in your journey, but be committed to each other and be committed to him, and he will bring you through. The fifth part of the building I'd like to think about is the landscaping. Once the house is complete, our building is ready to move into, we do a little landscaping around it. Maybe it's on the inside. There's a little bit of decoration. We hang a few pictures and make the house a home. It's those little things that make such a big difference around the house, isn't it?

Something can look pretty shabby, but if you plant a few plants, put a little bit of mulch around, it looks like someone lives there. It looks like a place you want to call home. And that's the way it is in marriage a little bit. It's those little things that make such a big difference. One of those is kindness, showing kindness to each other, whether it's holding the door open or a little note in a lunchbox. It's those little things that make the marriage beautiful. Laughter. Laugh together.

Sometimes you just need to do that. Last night at the supper table, things were just kind of going from bad to worse. And those of you who have families can kind of connect with that thought. The olives got spilled on top of the pizza, and next to a glass of water got spilled on top of the pizza. Things were kind of in chaos, but we just laughed about it, and it can just ease the tension of the situation. So laugh together. Compliment each other.

It's easy to, after you've been married for a couple of years, just forget to do that. But keep doing that. Keep complimenting each other. And forgiveness. Be quick to forgive. Little things come up in a day. Be quick to forgive and to move on. It just makes the marriage a lot more beautiful if you don't carry those things with you from day to day. But be quick to forgive. I mentioned laughter, and I wanted to add this yet with that point. Don't laugh at each other, but find the humor in life.

It's easy to do that sometimes to make fun of the other person or to take a situation that's humiliating and to laugh about it. But laugh together. Make sure you're laughing us together and not at each other. In this building project, I'd like to leave you with this verse, Elijah, Psalm 127:1, "Except the Lord build the house, they labor in vain that build it. Except the Lord keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain." It's a big project to start your own home, but God's with you.

God will help you build it if you look to him for strength. I want to wish you God's blessing in your married life together. Keep God the center of your home, and you'll not be disappointed with the result. God bless you. Let's bow our heads for prayer. Our Father in heaven, we thank you again for this opportunity to worship you this morning. Lord, I want to thank you for Elijah and Megan and their life. Lord, I just pray that you would continue to bless them as they go from this place.

Give them courage to face the difficult things in life. Also, bless them with joyful things. Lord, I just pray for their families as they also pass this milestone. Pray that you'd be with them. Lord, I just pray that you give us strong marriages that make strong churches, and that we can build your kingdom here on earth. Again, we ask your blessing on this day and the events of it. We ask it in Jesus' name. Amen. Well, congratulations. Your special day has come. Here we are.

Thank you, Brother Sonny, for that rich instruction on just the practical details of marriage. When we do messages like this, a lot of times we speak to the couple, and we speak about marriage, and that's good and right. There's another aspect to marriage I was thinking about this morning. When John the Revelator was taking his little tour of heaven there in Revelation 19 and Revelation 21, he uses this picture when he sees the coming together of God's people and the bridegroom, God himself.

And he talks about preparedness, both of those places, as a bride is prepared for her husband, a picture of the church, of the saints of God. And I'm sitting here thinking, for the rest of us, what can we learn from a prepared bride? What can we learn? What can we take away today from a prepared bride? To the Martin family, I'm sure they had this firsthand experience for the last weeks and months. We just had it in our home.

Our daughter got married two weeks ago, and I lived with a bride being prepared for this day for months, days, weeks. It was about the wedding. It was the preparation for this special day. What's that for? Where did it come? It's for the wedding. We're going to have the best food for the wedding. The dress is for the wedding. It's all in place. And I'm thinking, I understand when John wrote Revelation, he was an old man.

So I'm guessing he saw and witnessed a lot of weddings in his lifetime, and he saw what it looked like, a prepared bride. And I'm here today putting out a challenge to all of us as the church. What does it look like today for men to look at the church to say, and without a doubt, it's a prepared people for that day where we devote our time, our attention, our energies, our finances, our everything we do is devoted to this day?

And he gives us an invitation if we read in Revelation there that every one of us is invited to that special day. And I want to take a challenge away today. Let's continue to paint a beautiful, glorious picture to the world today, what it looks like to be a prepared bride today. And we have a good example sitting in front of us today. So God bless us all. God be with the families as you say or you leave and cleave, and that is a pooling on the families.

And God bless you and give you special grace in the coming days and weeks and so on. So with those thoughts, we're going to ask the bridal party to stand and come forward, please. All right. A few questions before you exchange your vows. And the first one is for both of you. Elijah and Megan, do you believe that matrimony is an ordinance instituted of God and confirmed and sanctioned by Jesus Christ and that you must enter upon it in the fear of God? I do. I do. All right.

Elijah, do you confess and declare that you are unmarried and free from all other marriage relations and engagements whatsoever? I do. Megan, do you confess and declare that you are unmarried and free from all other marriage relations and engagements whatsoever? I do. All right. You can exchange your vows at this point. I, Elijah Zimmerman, in the presence of God and these witnesses, take you, Megan Martin, to be my wedded wife.

I will love and cherish you, protect and care for you in health and sickness and prosperity and adversity. Exercise patience, kindness, and forbearance toward you. Live with you in peace as becomes a faithful Christian husband. And forsaking all others, keep myself only unto you as long as you both shall live. I, Megan Martin, in the presence of God and these witnesses, take you, Elijah Zimmerman, to be my wedded husband. I will love and cherish you in health and in sickness and prosperity and in adversity.

Share with you the joys and sorrows of life. Exercise kindness, patience, and forbearance toward you. And will live with you in peace as becomes a faithful Christian wife. I will keep myself only unto you as long as we both shall live, forsaking all others. Okay. You may now join your right hands. May the God of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, be with you and bless this union abundantly through Christ, our Redeemer. And what God hath joined together, let not man put asunder. Go forth as husband and wife.

Live in peace. Fear God and keep his commandments. Amen. All right. We're going to ask the congregation to stand while we kneel for prayer. Dear God, we thank you for this special day. We thank you for Elijah and his testimony of your grace and love in his life. We thank you for Megan. We thank you for the picture of preparedness that she demonstrated to us, Lord, in this practical event, this day of their special day. Lord, we do pray your blessing, your protection, and guidance.

Give them and fill them with the Holy Spirit as they walk and begin their life together. Lord, we just pray that you be with their families as they also, this is a day for them, a special day. Just give them the grace they need, Lord, to be part of this and the coming days and weeks and so on. Just bless and protect them as they travel from here and whatever they face in life, that you would be the center of their home and that they would, at an early start in their life, put you first in all their decisions.

We pray these things in Jesus' name. Amen. All right. The congregation may be seated at this point. And we are pleased to present to you, Mr. and Mrs. Elijah Zimmerman. Come away to the skies, my beloved, arise and rejoice in the day you were born. On this festival day, come exalting away and with singing to thy unreturned wife. For thy glory we were first created to share both the nature and kingdom divine. Now created again that our life's remain throughout time and eternity, thou.

We with thanks to approve the design of that love which has joined us to Jesus' name. So united, wondrous things has done in English, we'll rejoice in. Come away. Come away. Come away. Come away. Come away. Hallelujah. We sing to our Father in prayer of the house as praise goes within to the land that was saved. Hallelujah again. Sing all heaven and fall at his feet. Come, come away. May these vows and this marriage be blessed. May it be sweet milk like wine and honey.

May this marriage offer fruit and shade like the dates come. May this marriage be full of laughter our every day by day in paradise. May this marriage be a sign of compassion, a seal of happiness. Hear and dear after. May this marriage of affairs and of good mean and all man as welcomes the moon in a clear blue sky. A realm out of words to describe how spirit mingles in this marriage. Well, thank you all for your participation thus far. And right now it's time for the reception, which will be in the basement here.

The ushers will be in momentarily to dismiss you bench by bench. And you will go out the back doors, straight out the back through a receiving line, and then off to my left down the ramp. And at the bottom of the ramp, you'll get your appetizers, continue around the building, and enter the basement on this side of the building. So the ushers will be in momentarily. Turn to number 690. Number 690. Nothing we owe our God with our tenderness and voices. Wondrous things have done in whom His breath rejoices.

Through from our mother's arms hath blessed us all our way with brother's tears of love and stillings ours to the day. Oh, may this country of stone through all our life be pure as we ever joyful are. And let's then teach through cheer us and heal us in this rage and guide us when we're blessed and free us from all ills in this world and ahead. All praise and thanks to God. Love Father now begin. Let us sigh and hear Your praise with Heaven highest ever. The one eternal God who birthed and held the dawn.

For thus it was is now and shall be evermore. Number 375. 375. Don't be the marriage of the Lord of my heart. Let me all else to be safe as the heart. Now my bless of my day or my night. When He calls within my presence my life. Be thou my wisdom, be thou my true word. I ever believe and thou with me Lord. Now I thank Father, I'm thy true son. Now in thee dwelling and I in thee one. Be thou my mother, my sword for the fight. Be thou my dignity, thou are the light. Now my soul shelter, now my light shall.

Praise thou thee ever, thou power of thy God. Riches I need not nor man's empty grace. Thou my inheritance, thou angel grace. Thou and thou only first in my heart. Thy kingdom and in my treasure thou are. Thy kingdom heaven when victory is won. May I reach heaven joys of brother and son. Heart of my heart, whatever befalls. Still be my mission, O ruler of all.