Marriage Disclaimers

(from one Pastor regarding one message on Marriage in which a single sermon isn’t going to be able to address most of the nuances and difficulties of two people living together in love for a lifetime in a fallen world without going insane). This weekend at Overlake, MARRIAGE is the topic in our LOVE: THAT 4 Letter Word Series. Here are the disclaimers in advance:

D1: There is no way 30 minutes, regardless of how skillfully crafted (oh, and this one IS skillfully crafted, friends) can address every situation or season a marriage faces.
D2: This message will be infinitely helpful as a Biblical target to strive towards.
D3: This message is not designed to exclude single people. If you are single, and someday hope to be married, I believe this is a phenomenal message to be challenged by. If you are single and have decided that your singleness is God’s Gift to you, and do not plan on ever marrying, then you will be WONDERFULLY encouraged by this weekend’s message. You won’t have to deal with any of this mess.
D4: If you are married currently, this message will be infinitely challenging. Hopefully and helpfully challenging.
D5: If you are married currently, and your personal emotional stance regarding your marriage is somewhere between “hurting” and “ridiculously broken” then I sincerely want to pray for you, and provide any resources that OCC has to come alongside you in your journey. We believe that God has health and wholeness for you. Please contact Pastor Larry for a full rundown of the counseling resources and support groups that are offered currently. He’s at larryb@occ.org
D6: If you’re currently engaged to be married, this message will cause you to break off your engagement. Just kidding. That was a joke. Seriously. You can breathe again. I believe this sets an INCREDIBLY helpful mental posture as you head into marriage. DO get into one of OCC’s pre-marital counseling classes (you can hit Pastor Larry for that as well).
D7: If you are divorced, there will be no shame or judgment levied against you. But I do predict that you will agree that if both parties in your previous marriage strove towards the Biblical Perspective we are talking about, then the whole shooting match would have turned out differently. And OCC has resources to come alongside you as well.
D8: If you are currently head-over-heels in love with your spouse, then you’ll leave OCC going “why the disclaimers? Mike was just ON. I love it when he PREACHES it. Now get over here and French-Kiss me wildly. It's business time.”

FINAL DISCLAIMER: There is very little substitute for pure grace offered to one another without any expectation in return. It is simultaneously the most difficult AND the most Christ-like thing that you could ever offer in any relationship. As you pursue health, wholeness, communication, love, desires, needs, and plans, never forget that you stand knee-deep in grace. God’s Grace is for you. God’s grace is for your spouse. Receive His grace, and then offer it to others…