Ethan and Katie's Wedding

Introduction

Katie and Ethan each have a surprising and a beautiful gift. This is a gift that was given to each of them seperately many years ago. Ethan and Katie grew up never Knowing eachother. They went to seperate schools, at Menai and Grays Point and Kirrawee. They attended different churches at Menai, and Gymea Anglian and Soulies. They played different sports, basketball and football. They had different friends and family. Both had different interests and liked different books and movies.

Yet they happened to be given the exact same gift as children that they have cheerished as teenagers and now see as more precious than gold as adults.

This surprising and beautiful gift is a story. In a time of unbelief two seperate familes believed in a story. One family passed the story onto their daughter Katie, and the other family passed the story on to their son Ethan. To the delight of both familes, both the daughter and the son, when they were old enough to understand, believed the story too. Even though they too lived in a time of unbelief.

The story has a name, it is called the Gospel. This is an old name and it means good news. Although that literal meaning is a bit of an undertsatement. Ethan and Katie were not just given Good news when they were young they were given the best good news.

What Story is such good news that it was given as a precious gift(Titus)

We can read about the Gospel in Titus 3 verse 4 to 7

Titus 3:4–7 NIV

4 But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, 5 he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, 6 whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7 so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life.

The good news Paul shows us here is that we can know God and he is good, and he can change our life.

Here Paul divides the good news story God is greater than we ever hoped or imagined him to be

v 4 says God is Kind, God is love

V5, 6, 7

Chapter 2: We are lesser than we like to admit

Chapter 3: The great kind loving God can save the lesser human being so they can live their best life.

God saves us through Jesusv6 cross, washes us clean by the Holy Spirit, and gives us a new start in life like we were being born again.

Ethan and Katie heard and believed this story when they were just starting out in life but the best good news is that this new start begins whenever a person believes it. All of us start out as unbelievers in an unbelieving World but when we believe we are born again like we are little again, when life had not already hurt us

He gives us the gift of hope of a new eternal life. When Katie and Ethan believed this story they were given

Both ethan and Katie first heard this story from thir parents in their household. Because both came from believining houselholds. It is surprising that there are believing households in a time of unbelief.

They want to serve the lord (Joshua)

The surprising thing about this story is that while it wasgifted to them by their families, it was actually God through his Holy Spirit who gave them the gift. He gave them the eyes to see and the ears to hear and he softened their hearts so it could npt just be the story of their parents but it was their story too

today you are starting your own family that is the ongoing story of 2 families of 2 Christian families.

Ethan is both a Crawshaw on his fathers side and a Girling on his mothers side. Ethan was born into these two house and both households served the Lord. His mother, his grand mother Grany annie and his Uncle Tony and Aunty Karen all served the Lord. His Grand pop Col came to believe in the Lord later in life. Lou and I have passed on this storyto our two boys

As for ethan and his house he has served the Lord with faithfulness Crawshaw Girling households and the Anderson/ house hold.

Just as Joshua wanted to serve the Lord Katie and Ethan recognise his abundance of blessing and want to serve him. The giver of gifts.

Lets hear from Katie and Ethan themselves:

Katie has told me: God has always been the foundation and centre of our relationship and will now be the centre of our marriage and family. We seek to serve the Lord in everything we do.

Ethan has told me:

Serve till the end

All this is easy to say as they start out. but the Joshua speech is at the end of this mans life. I am here today and I will not be here at the end, but remember this decision today all the years of your life at each anioversary read these two readings again, review and plan to enact them. teach themm to your kids, teach them to my grand kids and then at the end of your lives when you read these verses again for the last time may they have been true that not only you will have lived them but that your house will live them.

The story os a gift for you and me too