Several years ago I was called upon to perform a wedding for a man and woman who were both in their sixties. The bride wore a blue flowered dress and carried a bouquet of artificial flowers, glass vase and all. She was cute to behold, as she had a potbelly and appeared to be toothless. The groom came to the wedding in blue jeans and wore an old beige colored shirt. He was also a snuff user as it was showing in the crevices that extended down from the corners of his mouth. With the church building filled to capacity and time for the ceremony to begin, the groom turned and asked me in a loud voice, “Is ten dollars enough Larry?” I answered “Yes, that is fine.” The bride entered and the ceremony began. Part way through the ceremony, the groom got confused and started to kiss his bride. This of course caused some chuckles from those present. After the ceremony, the newly wed husband told me in jest that in the morning he was going to suggest to his bride that she should put his pants on and when she refused, he was going to tell her, “Just remember who wears the pants in this family.” After being married, they lived happily in a one-room shanty and when visiting the neighbors, the husband drove a riding lawnmower with his new bride in a cart behind him. [Editor’s Note: Preachers are invited to submit amusing incidents that have occurred over the

Nebuchadnezzar was “the great king of the Neo-Babylonian Empire, who reigned from 605 to 562 B.C.” King Nebuchadnezzar is credited with many great accomplishments. He was a famed conqueror, having defeated many peoples. Some of those who were defeated by him were Egypt, Tyre, Edom and Judah. In addition to his victorious conquests, he was known for his great building projects. One of his magnificent projects was the beautiful hanging gardens of Babylon, noted as one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. Both biblical history and secular history bear testimony to the fact that King Nebuchadnezzar was a great and powerful ruler of the Babylonian Empire. His fame, riches, power and ability no doubt played a big part to his becoming a very prideful man. His pride is obvious from his own words, as he said, “. . . Is not this great Babylon, which I have built for the royal dwelling-place, by the might of my power and for the glory of my majesty?” (Daniel 4:30). But of course, many others since the time of King Nebuchadnezzar have demonstrated a prideful spirit. However, as a warning to us, we need to know that “pride” is one of those things that God hates (Proverbs 8:13). Because of King Nebuchadnezzar’s sinful “pride,” he was brought down and humbled before the great God of heaven, as God punished him. God, through his prophet Daniel, had this message for King Nebuchadnezzar, “. . . O king Nebuchadnezzar, to thee it is