A Wedding Message

Guiordany & Rachel

Congratulations – two months ago you were on the mountain side you were saying your vows – it was a beautiful day

I brought something for you to help you remember the message you heard that day. – It was a world cup T-shirt…. Mexico was doing so well in the world cup but had lost their match just a couple of days before your wedding…. You may not be in the world cup – but you’re going to be on the same team now with many challenging matches ahead!

Not every day is going to feel like a winner. There will be days ahead with disappointments, misunderstandings, and disagreements. So you need to remember that - To keep growing in your love for each other it takes more than just excellent skills. It takes more that awesome endurance. – it takes GRACE - GRACE is the ultimate expression of Love.

Grace is about being favored when you deserve the opposite.

(NCV) 22 …people are the same: 23 Everyone has sinned and fallen short of God’s glorious standard, 24 and all need to be made right with God by his grace, which is a free gift. They need to be made free from sin through Jesus Christ. 25 God sent him to die in our place to take away our sins…

Instead of treating us as we deserve Jesus pays our debt and offers us forgiveness and new life in His name - that’s GRACE.

It is through Jesus, who was crucified and is now risen from the dead, that God gives us what we don’t deserve – God’s GRACE is for anyone who will believe in Jesus and follow him. So Guiordany and Rachel – Because you both believe in Jesus you now live by his GRACE – Which means you can treat one another with GRACE because you have received God’s GRACE.

GRACE happens – when you forgive your debtor and offer him a gift! GRACE happens when someone pays the fine for you and gives you a blessing.

But our Natural response is not GRACE. We naturally want to win the argument. We fight hard to prove our point. We try to force the offender fix their mistake. We hold onto our anger until we get an apology. We want the offender to pay for what he/she has done! So we must keep choosing GRACE –

It is by GRACE that you can accept when you’ve done wrong and forgive one another because God has already forgiven you – Christ’s sacrifice has completely satisfied your every sin.

It is by GRACE that you can continue to delight in each other – Because God already delights in you! - Jesus has secured your place in God’s eternal family, making you God’s beloved children.

It is by GRACE that you can remain faithful to each other because God is already faithful to you – Christ completely fulfills his every promise.

It is by GRACE that you can fulfill the true purpose of Marriage – to point others to Jesus that they too may receive God’s Grace.

So I’m guessing that after a couple of months of marriage you probably have had some opportunities to practice GRACE

So today I just wanted to remind you and courage you to keep learning to treat each other with GRACE. May God grant you the humility to continue to walk in his Grace – may it be said of your marriage and your family that ‘GRACE happens here’ may your experience of God’s Grace overflow to others around you – AMEN