Talks, Sermons and Reflections

Song of Songs 8:6-7 “Set me as a seal upon your heart,      as   a seal upon your arm, for   love is strong as death,      jealousy is fierce as the grave. Its flashes are flashes of fire,      the very   flame of the   Lord . Many waters cannot quench love,      neither can floods drown it. If a man offered for love      all the wealth of his   house,      he would be utterly despised. ” Many congratulations It is a real joy and a privilege to celebrate your wedding and your love for each other. You’ve chosen two remarkable passages. When I read ‘The two of us’ to Alison, she said: ‘Why didn’t we have that at our wedding’ ? And I’m delighted that you’ve chosen some verses from the Song of Songs. I love this book. It is about a wedding, but it is a love poem, in which lover and beloved speak of each othe...

It is a real joy to share in your extended wedding celebrations. Thank you for the privilege of allowing me to speak. Steve: You must love Emma very much having this today! I note the timetable concludes at 5pm, but then it is not a particularly significant match.[ England playing Wales in decider for the 6 nations grand slam ] Anyway, with apologies to Emma, Alison and myself decided to buy you a small gift as a momento of the day. [ produce rugby ball ] There are three things I would like you to remember about this 1. The Rugby ball is made by having the panels stitched together. It is pretty useless if they come apart. State marriage is about a legal contract that you make with each other. But when you come to church to have your wedding blessed in the presence of God, something much bigger happens. You’ve been stitched up! You become bound together, not just by law, but by something that is bigger than law. Emma, the bad news is that you no l...

Genesis 2:18-25 On the occasion of a wedding You’ve asked for the reading from Genesis which speaks of one of the earliest understandings of the origin of marriage.  We can’t expect it to be a scientific description because it describes an event which happened before what God-thinkers call the fall, when men and women rebelled against God and space and time were radically corrupted. So we can only use picture language to describe what happened before that moment. But it is worth spending a bit of time with, because – however we understand this story – it tells us some pretty astonishing stuff about the unique place for marriage. 1.  It speaks of the equality of husband and wife.  At the very beginning, the first man seems to have been a pretty androgynous character. Woman was still in him. 'He' was both man and woman. And it was as man and woman that 'he' names the animals. And the original purpose of God was that man and woman were crea...

A talk on the occasion of the wedding of Philip Taylor and Maaike Schoute Based on Psalm 84 Many congratulations Today is a day of great joy. We delight in your love for each other and in your delight in each other. Psalm 84 speaks of a journey Today marks the beginning of another journey. I say ‘beginning’, even though you have been together and been committed to each other for some time, and God has blessed you with Noa. But it is a new beginning. A new beginning with a new identity: Maaike literally has a new name; but it is a shared name. People will see you in a different way; literally as part of each other. A new beginning with a new role in society: up to now your love has been about a personal commitment that you made to each other. Now you’ve gone public. It is something that is bigger than either of you or both of you – and it will make you bigger people. Today God crowns your relationship. People often speak of marriage as being ‘proper’....

Colossians 3:12-17 Congratulations. A great passage to choose, because it begins with God's 'yes' to his people: "Holy, dearly beloved, chosen". God has given us so much: he has given us this life and love and each other. And even though we have walked out on him and badly messed things up, he has not walked out on us. He has given us Jesus Christ his Son, forgiveness, new life, hope of heaven. He has given us 'All things'. And this 'yes' of God to his people is the starting point of all healthy relationships 1. It sets us free to love Paul writes, "Clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience" Because God has said 'yes' to us, we can say 'yes' to each other. We don't need to prove ourselves. I remember hearing a couple interviewed who had reached their 80th wedding anniversary. It was a record. He was asked the secret of the success of their marriage. He replied, "Two word...

The story is told about the bride who was walking up the aisle. She was trying to remember the order of the service, and she was heard muttering under her breath, ‘Aisle – Altar – Hymn’ It is a dodgy attitude to go into marriage with. Marriage, people say, is about give and take. There is the old quip: “She gives – I take” But I would suggest that marriage is about give and give and give, and when you’ve given everything you can, you give again. It is about GIVING TIME TO THE OTHER. We live such busy lives. And in the middle of all the activity, we need to give time to the other person. Yes, we need time to be alone (but that is often not a problem). We also need time to be together. We need to give time to do the things the other person wants: going out; doing what they enjoy And we to give time to talk to each other and to listen to each other. Many couples I know will try to put aside one evening a week, even when – particularly when – there are children, in order to do something to...

A SERMON PREACHED ON THE OCCASION OF ADRIAN MARPLE AND RUTH HULLEY'S WEDDING Saturday 15th July 2006 BASED ON PSALM 127,128 Congratulations. This service is such a joy And thank you for the readings that you have chosen A new family, a new 'house' is being established today. People try to build marriages, 'houses' on many foundations Shared feelings Shared interests Shared dreams And all of that is so important But Psalm 127.1 says, "Unless the Lord builds the house, the builders labour in vain" Psalms 127 and 128 are Psalms of Ascent. As people journeyed up to Jerusalem, to the temple, to meet with God, they would sing these songs. And both these songs are declaring that if we wish to see the house established, the city protected, the work completed - then we must put God in the centre. Feelings change and hopefully mature: for instance, we cannot constantly remain in a state of 'being in love'. You would never eat and nothing would ever get done....