The. you Could you please stand? Hey, we pray together. Our Heavenly Father, we thank you for the joyous occasion that brings us to this place tonight. Lord, how we thank you for Lloyd and for Dottie, for their loved ones, their friends that are assembled here. We pray, Lord, your blessing upon this event. Lord, we pray that the Lord Jesus would be exalted and that, Lord, this relationship would stand as a shining example of a Christian home. And Lord, to this end, we invite your blessing tonight and we will thank you for it in the wonderful name of Jesus. Amen. You may be seated. Dearly beloved, we are gathered here in the presence of God and in the face of this company to celebrate the commitment of a man and wife who, after many years, are still in love and desire to reaffirm the vows that they made so many years ago. The Lord himself ordained and blessed the institution of marriage, and he affirmed his blessings in many ways. He calls his people the bride, and he is the bridegroom. Christ performed the first miracle of his earthly ministry at a wedding, which highlights the significance of marriage. Marriage is intended to reflect the love relationship between Christ and his bride. to whom he made the promise, I will never leave thee nor forsake thee. Because of the sacredness of marriage and the love it is intended to portray, it is never to be entered into lightly or unadvisedly but in the fear of God. We therefore gather here to celebrate the marriage of this man and this woman who have remained together and after these years are saying, I love you so much, that if I had it to do all over again, I would still marry you. Lloyd and Dottie, if it is your desire to recommit yourself one to the other, would you now join hands and would you join right hands at this time? Do you, Lloyd, reembrace this woman as your wedded wife after God's holy ordinance? Will you promise to continue loving her honoring her, cherishing her, protecting her, and with love forsake all others, keeping yourself only unto her so long as you both shall live. Do you, Dottie, re-embrace this man as your wedded husband after God's holy ordinance? Will you promise to continue loving him, honoring him, cherishing Him, protecting Him, and with love forsake all others and keep yourself only unto Him so long as you both shall live. You look wonderful. Surprise. And it wasn't an April Fool. Lloyd, this is a wonderful occasion. And I know with great joy and excitement you've been planning this along with loved ones. And I know that it was a surprise, but I know that it's a blessing as well. And I could sense the love in your heart for your wife and just the glee at being able to do something special that you've talked about for so long. And this is a shining moment, I think, in the life of the Gazi home. And I'm glad to be a part of it tonight. And I know others are as well. We love you. I want to take just a moment and share a few thoughts with you. from God's word that I think are very relevant today as we gather at this moment for the Bible has so much to say about the subject of marriage. And I know from having talked to you many times that it's your sincere desire to have a Christian home. And I know that. You both have placed your faith and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ. And that doesn't make us immune from problems, but it gives us the strength, the fortitude, the wisdom that apart from the Lord, we could never have to confront those problems and see the family through them. And I want to just say that the Bible tells us in Hebrews 11 that marriage is honorable. The Lord himself has honored the institution of marriage. It is a sacred institution that God brought into existence from the very creation of man. And it is a time honored institution that you and I know has been attacked by our culture, has been impugned by the media and has been held in contempt by those who have had an ill experience with the institution. But it does not, any the less, take away from what God intended for it to be. God said, marriage is honorable. And it's curious to me that in what many people take as random thoughts in Hebrews 13, that in the very next verse after the Lord said marriage is honorable, He said, let your conversation or your lifestyle Be without covetousness. And be content with such things as you have, for he has said, who's that? That's our eternal bridegroom. The Lord Jesus himself, he has said, I will never leave you or forsake you. What a great example that God, as the bridegroom, gave to man who would take a bride. To make a commitment like, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. He admonished us to be content with what we have, and he wants us to be content with him. And I believe that you have reached a place in your relationship where You say, hey, I'm content with this person on my arm and I'm content to walk all the way to glory with them. This is the person God has given me. I want to find my satisfaction in what God has given to me. I'm content. I'm satisfied with this wife, with this husband. And might you together as the Lord, our eternal bridegroom has promised. Reaffirming your hearts. I will never leave you. I will never forsake you. And you know. A few verses later, the Lord made another profound statement, he said. Jesus Christ, the same yesterday. and today and forever. I would tell you this, that one thing is certain, and that is that change is inevitable. One thing never changes, and that is God. And He said, I'm going to love you forever. I will never leave you or forsake you. And you can count on that never changing. I'm the same always. And while our bodies change, they break down and they wear out, And while our tastes and our likes, our dislikes, they may vary and change. And certainly that happens. At the same time, we need to come to the place where. We will say. The love that I have for you is going to be constant through the years. It's as constant as the love of God. It's the same yesterday, today and forever, and if anything, it will only grow stronger through the years. I'm going to say this. In a few moments, we're going to go in to the fellowship hall and we'll have a reception there. And as I was walking around the fellowship hall, viewing the decoration for the reception, I noticed that there's a stone on the table and there's some decorations there on top of that stone. I saw a great deal of symbolism there. And the symbolism that I drew from that was that a home established upon the rock Jesus Christ is the home that will stand through the storms of life. You've had a storm or two in 14 years. I've witnessed some of those storms. Perhaps there'll be storms yet to face, but praise the Lord, you'll face them together and with the Lord and with the home established upon Jesus. You know that you'll emerge from them stronger yet with even deeper faith and a more abiding love in God and for one another. I want to tell you what a joy it is to see you here today. To see the love in your eyes and to sense the commitment that you have to have that home that would be of honor to the Lord until Jesus comes. And then I want to say something to those that are here. And that is that Lloyd and Dottie have committed their marriage, their lives to the Lord. They made the decision that Jesus Christ is the only way of salvation, and they've determined in their hearts that they will trust him as the only means of heaven. And today, the greatest joy that could come to them is not in the renewal of their vows, perhaps, but in knowing that if there's one of their loved ones, one of their family that's here that is so special to them that has never yet trusted Jesus as their Savior. They've never been joined in holy wedlock unto the bridegroom of their soul, Jesus Christ. Then today could be a wedding day for them where they're joined in spiritual wedlock under the lover of their soul, Jesus himself. And today, before all of the events of the evening are passed, if there's even one person here that has never made that decision. Why don't you let Lloyd or Dottie know that you'd like to make that decision, they'd be more than happy. to direct you to the preacher, that's me, or any number of other people that would love to take God's word. And in a few moments during a reception, show you from the Bible how you could be absolutely sure that your sins are forgiven, that heaven is your home and that you will be loved by a savior that will never leave you. Excuse me. He will never leave you. And He will never forsake you. I've got a tickle in my throat. And the whole world on the internet is watching it. But don't be nervous. The only people on four continents watching this right now. So we don't need to be nervous. Amen. Let's pray together. Lord, I pray that In these moments now, as Lloyd and Dottie recommit themselves to each other, that these words would resonate in their heart and in their soul. Lord, if they have ever spoken sincerely, lead them to be as sincere as a person can be at this moment. Bless them, I pray in Jesus' name, Amen. Katrina, would you take that bouquet? And Lloyd and Dottie, if you would turn and face one another, please. Take one another's hands. Lloyd, would you please repeat after me? I, Lloyd, recommit myself to thee, Dottie. My beloved wife, to have and to hold from this day forward. for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish until death do us part, and thereunto, according to God's holy ordinance, I hereby reaffirm my promise. Dottie, would you please repeat after me? I, Dottie, recommit myself to thee, Lloyd, my beloved husband, to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, To love and to cherish until death do us part, and thereunto, according to God's holy ordinance, I hereby reaffirm my promise. As a token and seal of your renewed covenant, we now give and receive the marriage rings and rejoin hands. We have rings. Lloyd, will you please repeat after me, while placing the ring on Dottie's finger, as a token and pledge of the vows between us. With this ring, I herewith reaffirm my promise to you, in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. I don't want to force it. I don't want to force it. Amen. Dottie, will you please repeat after me while placing this ring upon Lloyd's finger as a token and pledge of the vows between us. With this ring, I herewith reaffirm my promise to you. We affirm my promise to you in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Father God, thank you for this picture of love. These rings, a circle, no beginning and no end, symbolizing the great love of God for us, an eternal love that knows no ending. And Lord, I pray that this relationship would be a shining example of the love of Jesus Christ for mankind. And we pray this in his wonderful name. Amen. This is when you do the unity. you For as much as Lloyd and Dottie have reaffirmed together the vows that have been made and have affirmed that pledge by giving and receiving rings and by joining their hands together, we proclaim in the sight of God and in the company of these witnesses that they are one in the bonds of marriage and one in the bonds of Christ. May they always remember these vows. May they cherish one another, even as Christ has loved them. Father, I pray that tonight would begin a new beginning. Lord, I pray that this would be the start of a season of life that would be filled with a greater love and a greater joy in this family than they have ever experienced. We pray that it might be better than it has ever been. Lord, not just the good old days, but better than it has ever been from this moment forward, we commend these precious folks to you and we pray for them and your blessing upon them in the precious name of Jesus. Amen. Lloyd, would you now kiss your bride? I wonder who that was. Would you turn here and face the folks? Ladies and gentlemen, it is with a great deal of joy and pleasure that I now present Lloyd and Dottie Godsey to you. Let's give them an opportunity to make their way out. I appreciate your participation in their reception in the Fellowship Hall, and we look forward to a free time at the Fellowship Hall. Thank you for coming, gracing us here tonight.