Wedding - David Givens and Katherine McCrary

Processional

GIVING THE BRIDE - ***Audience stands as bride enters

WELCOME - DO NOT SEAT AUDIENCE

We are here this evening to witness the union of David and Katherine in marriage.

What we are about to witness is one of the most sacred moments on earth - where two of God’s children are united together as one.

On behalf of the couple, I would like to thank you for joining them for this special day.

I would also ask that you commit to praying for them and their marriage:

1. that they would be rooted firmly in Christ

2. that their marriage would display Christ to a watching world.

** Who gives this woman to be married?

David, please receive your bride!

PRAYER

Asking the Lord to bless this time and be the central figure.

Have congregation be seated

Sermon

It is a tremendous honor to be standing here today.

Katherine was our adopted Aggie at my church in Bryan back in 2018 or so.

We loved getting to spend time with her over meals, coffee, and simple hang times out at our farm.

One of the amazing things about Katherine is how engaged she is when she is with you.

She pays attention - she seeks to truly know you - no matter who you are.

Many times when she is at our house, she can be found jumping on the trampoline with our kids, talking to them about whatever they’re passionate about at the time - Thomas the Train, Legos, Star Wars, or random facts about each of the States in the US.

She is precious to our family and is dearly beloved by my children - all of whom are playing some sort of role in the ceremony today.

We got to meet David not quite a year ago, when they came to visit - and that was also the same trip where he let us know that he would be proposing to her!

After I got done giving him the side eye, I actually started to get to know him a bit and hear his heart for Katherine.

David has an intensity about him - and that comes out in the things that he devotes himself to - whether that is coffee or Katherine.

I have appreciated over the past year getting to see David’s authenticity and transparency with me as he seeks to become the man that Christ is calling him to be.

David, Katherine, thank you for the honor of getting to stand up here with you today.

You have mine and Cammy’s blessing on your marriage.

You have our prayers

And you have our ears whenever you need someone to talk to about life and marriage.

We aren’t perfect, but whatever wisdom we have gleaned over the years we offer freely to you!

But, don’t find your peace in what i say about you…

Find it in what the Lord says about you!

MESSAGE

This is a great day today - amen???

It is a day worth celebrating.

Proverbs 18:22 says that “He who finds a wife finds a good thing and obtains favor from the Lord.”

A wife is a good thing, because marriage is incredible!

Marriage is one of the biggest sources of blessing and favor from the Lord.

He LOVES marriage!

One of the first stories that we read about Jesus in the book of John, after He gathered His disciples was of Him attending a wedding at Cana.

If you don’t know the story, Jesus saved the day when the young couple ran out of wine at their reception.

In His first public miracle, He made water into wine to gladden the hearts of those in attendance.

He celebrates marriage!

Weddings are meant to be celebrated - and we intend to celebrate this one!

But, my challenge to all of us is that in the midst of the celebration, we direct our praises to the correct place.

If our celebrations only center around these two or the festivities of the day, then I think we will have missed the bigger picture.

Today, we must celebrate the Lord, who created David and Katherine,

We must celebrate Jesus, who is uniting them together as husband and wife.

So while you behold this couple, adorned in beautiful clothing, and shining with radiant joy, let it draw your gaze to someone even more radiant - Jesus.

David, Katherine, it is for HIS glory that you stand here today, and it will be HIS strength that will hold your marriage together.

Your marriage is designed to be something other-worldly that does more than just fulfill your own personal needs.

It is meant to display Jesus to a watching world. THIS IS YOUR MISSION!

So how do you do this?

In the book of Hosea, we are told the story of the prophet of God who is commanded by the Lord to marry Gomer - a prostitute and woman of ill repute.

As you can imagine, marrying a prostitute carries occupational hazard.

Gomer was unfaithful to her covenant with Hosea - I know, shocker, right?!

The prostitute wasn’t interested in settling down.

But while they were married, Gomer had three children, Jezreel, who was Hosea’s biological child, but there were two other children born, who it seems were not his.

One was named Lo-Ruhama and the other was Lo-Ammi.

These names mean “no mercy” and “not mine”

It’s fair to say that Hosea’s calling is not one that any of us here today would relish.

But there was a purpose to God’s call for Hosea to marry this woman.

That purpose was to display true love, true grace, and true covenant keeping promise.

Look at what we find in the book of Hosea - I want you to make core to your own marriage.

In Hosea 2:14-15, it says: 14 “Therefore, behold, I will allure her, and bring her into the wilderness, and speak tenderly to her. 15 And there I will give her her vineyards and make the Valley of Achor a door of hope.”

First, allure one another

To allure someone, you must know them well enough to know what they will be drawn to.

David, what is it that will allure Katherine?

Katherine, what is it that will allure David?

This is going to take work.

You must pursue one another!

Do not give up the chase!

This is exactly what most people do - they get lazy.

They sit back because they’ve already “won the prize.”

They fail to understand that this prize is not one to be put onto a shelf, but one to be cultivated and cared for.

Go to the wilderness together - often

Imagine a couple stepping out of the party into the garden because it’s quiet and they can woo one another.

Get alone together often so that your full attention can be given to the other.

When you get there, speak tenderly with one another.

The Hebrew of speak tenderly literally means to speak to the heart.

This cannot be rushed.

It will take time

It will take effort

The Lord said in v. 15 that there He would give her vineyards!

Vineyards take an incredible amount of focused time and care to thrive - and your marriage is the same.

He said that he would make the Valley of Achor (which means trouble) a door of hope.

Your marriage needs to be the safest place on earth - that place where the seemingly endless valleys of trouble that you walk through become doors of hope to walk thru.

Make it your aim to allure one another.

Pursue Quality Time

Give your Undivided attention

Provide Loving Care for one another

Establish a covenant of true Safety with one another.

Hosea 2:19–20 - “19 And I will betroth you to me forever. I will betroth you to me in righteousness and in justice, in steadfast love and in mercy. 20 I will betroth you to me in faithfulness. And you shall know the Lord.”

Second, recall and reaffirm your promise often

Three times, this passage says “I will betroth you to me…”

A betrothal is simply a promise to marry

You are making promises to one another today, but these promises are not meant to be something that is said once and left in the past.

Your promise is to be renewed daily

This is connected to the last point of alluring one another.

Part of the allure that will draw one another in is by continually recalling an reaffirming your covenant promise to the other.

Cammy and I have our vows framed on a picture of us on our wedding day.

This serves the purpose of helping us to remember the words that we spoke 16 years ago - and not only remember, but to restate them.

Notice in that passage that He says: “And you will know the Lord.”

This is one of the most beautiful things about hearing this over and over from the Lord - we are reminded of His deep and abiding covenantal love for us, and we get to know Him more.

The same is true for you…

Want to know one another more?

Recall and reaffirm your promise of love for one another often.

This is a life long journey of knowing one another - you should never “arrive” in this journey.

The last thing I want to point out from Hosea comes from verse 23…

Hosea 2:23 - “I will sow her for myself in the land. And I will have mercy on No Mercy, and I will say to Not My People, ‘You are my people’; and he shall say, ‘You are my God.’”

Third, be quick to forgive one another

Remember, Hosea’s children were named No Mercy and Not Mine…

The calling for Hosea was to embrace a woman who had sinned greatly against him and raise children that were born to another man.

What you need to understand is that in your marriage, there WILL be a break in relationship at some point.

Lord-willing, these breaks will be small and easily mended, but be sure that at some point, you are both going to sin against the other.

Do yourself a favor now and reject the fairy tale narrative about what marriage is supposed to be about.

But the beauty of marriage isn’t displayed by a “happily ever after” fairy tale story.

The beauty of marriage is displayed when sin and brokenness are met with grace and forgiveness, rather than wrath and retribution.

And what is this forgiveness supposed to look like?

What did the Lord say in Hosea 2?

I will have mercy on “no Mercy” and I will say to “not my people” you are my people.

Forgiveness looks like giving mercy, when mercy is not deserved.

Forgiveness looks like choosing relationship over retribution.

My challenge is to make forgiveness be a defining feature of your marriage - holding NOTHING against one another!

You will be able to display how two broken sinners are able to love one another with an other-worldly love that doesn’t quit.

You will be a living grace story

That grace is meant to point to a bigger and more sure grace, found only in the forgiveness of God through Jesus.

Do you want to know a little secret?

The story of Hosea and Gomer is really a story about Jesus and His people

He saw our brokenness - and still came to live with us!

He gave himself up, by dying a sinners death on a cross as punishment for our brokenness

He rose from the dead on the third day.

He gave us his own righteousness in exchange for our brokenness

Now, instead of seeing any of our sin and shame, the Lord sees us as completely innocent and cleansed from our sin - clothed in the righteousness of Jesus!

He welcomes us into His family, without strings attached, knowing that we are going to blow it again, and again…

This is the gospel - the good news about Jesus.

there may be some in this room who have never experienced this type of love - and maybe you would like to know God in this way.

I will tell you this:

First, the Lord is not interested in how good or religious you are - He is interested in relationship - a relationship that transforms every aspect of who you are.

You don’t have to earn His love thru good works.

He already accomplished the good work on your behalf.

We do not work FOR salvation, we work FROM salvation.

Second, the path to knowing God is found in Christ alone.

There is no other way to get to heaven, except through a bloody cross where a sinless savior gave up His life and stood in our place.

But you must repent and believe.

Romans 10:9 (ESV) if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

If you ask Him to save you, He takes your brokenness and gives you His righteousness.

No more stains, no more sins, no more condemnation - no matter what you’ve done - He’s powerful enough to take it all.

Third, It takes a village to raise someone up to maturity in Christ.

Get in Christian community.

If you do not know where to go, then talk to people and find a Jesus loving, gospel-centered, mission focused church.

David and Katherine may be a great resource for you on this - as they can help point you to a great church.

Fourth and finally, if you came to know Jesus today, or because of the influence that David and Katherine have had on you, please tell them that!

I can guarantee that it will be one of the big highlights of the day for them.

Corporate Prayer time

David and Katherine have a deep desire for their marriage to be saturated in prayer - and they want to begin their marriage that way.

At this time, I am going to invite those who feel led to come forward to gather around David and Katherine.

If you are able to lay a hand on them, thats awesome, if you are not that close, you can extend a hand to them if you like.

I will give you a moment to make your way up here and then I will lead us in prayer.

VOWS - David First, Katherine Second

At this time, David and Katherine are going to exchange their vows.

Vows are the promises that I referenced earlier - the ongoing “betrothal” of one to the other.

They will need to rely on the power of the Holy Spirit living in them to empower them, to embody these promises

With the Lord’s strength, they will live faithfully with one another and thereby bring glory to the Father.

David, we will start with you.

I, David/Katherine, --  take you, Katherine/David, -- to be my lawfully wedded (husband/wife), -- my constant friend, -- my faithful partner -- and my love -- from this day forward. -- In the presence of God, -- our family and friends, -- I offer you -- my solemn vow -- to be your faithful partner -- in sickness and in health, -- in good times and in bad, --  in joy and in sorrow. -- I promise -- to love you unconditionally, -- to support you in your goals, -- to honor and respect you, -- to laugh with you -- and cry with you, -- and to cherish you -- for as long as we both shall live.

BLESSING OF THE RINGS

David and Katherine are exchanging rings as a symbol of the covenant that they have made.

Although small, these rings are made of precious metals and are in a perfect circle to signify the preciousness and ongoing nature of your covenant.

The rings do not make you any more or less married, they are simply a reminder to you of the covenant promise that you have made to God and each other.

EXCHANGE RINGS

David, place Katherine’s ring onto her ring finger of her left hand

Katherine place David’s ring onto his ring finger of his left hand.

“I offer you this ring -- as a symbol of my vow -- and my promise -- to love you unconditionally -- for the rest of our lives. -- Let it remind you -- of the covenant we’ve made today -- before the Lord -- and our family and friends.

Marital Charge

Before we close, I want to give you a marital charge or exhortation

Together, Keep Christ at the very core of who you are as a married couple.

If you do this, you will find fulfillment and happiness.

But not as this world brings fulfillment and happiness.

it will be a fulfillment and happiness that will be based on HIM that doesn’t fade.

Do not forget:

Allure one another

Recall your promises

Forgive one another

David, my charge to you, as the husband, and the Biblical head of your household is this:

Discover how to be a servant leader to Katherine, and one day to your children.

Fight to become the Christ-centered shepherd/pastor of the little flock that the Lord entrusts you with.

Be the one who is most concerned with providing your family with fertile soil in which to grow in the Lord - making biblical community, worship, and service a priority and not an afterthought.

Spend the rest of your life trying to find out how you can better love your bride and elevate her.

At the end of the day, the buck stops with you.

When the Lord wants answers about the spiritual condition of your family, He will come to you - not Katherine.

You cannot do this on your own.

You will need to rely on the strength of the Lord, and the fellowship of Christian community which will empower you to glorify Him in this role.

Katherine, my charge to you, as the wife is this:

You are becoming David’s biblical helper as described in Ephesians 5.

You will be the most uniquely gifted person on the planet to help Isaiah as he seeks to live out the will of the Lord.

David’s leadership is designed to operate at its best when you are functioning as his biggest supporter, advisor, counselor, lover, and friend.

Resist the temptation to get out in front of his leadership but also fight the urge to stay quiet when you know you need to speak up - but do so with respect and love.

While the Lord comes to David to get answers about the Spiritual condition of your family, He holds you accountable for being the best helper you can be.

Guard David’s heart and lean on the Lord to give you the wisdom required to fulfill your calling as his bride.

CLOSING COMMENTS

Now we come to the fun part…

By the power entrusted to me by our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, I now pronounce you, husband and wife, David you may kiss your bride.

PRESENTATION OF THE BRIDE AND GROOM **Audience Stands**

Would you please STAND - May I present to you, Mr. and Mrs. David Givens.

INVITATION TO RECEPTION

On behalf of David and Katherine, I want to invite everyone to a cocktail hour, outside before the reception begins.

If you are immediate or extended family, please remain in the room for photos.