Carly & Dan Wedding: New Wine

Welcome & Intro

You all can be seated.

Well, welcome to one of the most anticipated days of the year.

Before we do anything else I just want to talk to you two. I want you two to take just a minute in silence. I don’t want you to rush through this ceremony. Have this moment with God and each other. In a moment I’m going to invite you to look up, to look around, to look over your shoulders at your friends, your family, your people. Take in their smiles, their anticipation, their love. It might feel silly but I want you to pause and remember what today smells like. How the air feels outside. What it looks like, and how you feel standing up here.

Take this next minute and do all these things.

What I love about weddings and about marriage is that, yes, they are life-changing and individually important for the two who are getting married...but it is also life-changing and individually important for those of us who get to stand in witness of the marriage of whoever is getting married- in our case you, Carly & Dan. Many people who stand up in the position that I am in say these words: You are here because the bride and the groom, in our case Carly & Dan, have chosen you to be the people that have the privilege and the blessing to watch them covenant together in marriage.

And those of you standing beside them, their wedding party, you have a big responsibility. First of all, don’t lock your knees, because we aren’t stopping for anything so you’d just lay there and miss out on something really special thats happening up here. And secondly, and obviously more importantly, to hold them accountable to all of the things that will be said tonight. You are their closest people, the people they’ll need in the good, the bad, and the ugly. So understand that you too have a role tonight. And its so much deeper than just standing here and looking good in pictures.

And most importantly there is another who is present with us tonight who is ultimately the reason why we are doing this. And His name is Jesus. And candidly, my hope is that tonight you encounter Him. For the first or the hundredth time. So I think its fitting that before we go any further we thank Him for all He has done.

Lets pray.

Scripture Reading - Donna

John 2:1–11 ESV

On the third day there was a wedding at Cana in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. Jesus also was invited to the wedding with his disciples. When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus said to him, “They have no wine.” And Jesus said to her, “Woman, what does this have to do with me? My hour has not yet come.” His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.” Now there were six stone water jars there for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or thirty gallons. Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water.” And they filled them up to the brim. And he said to them, “Now draw some out and take it to the master of the feast.” So they took it. When the master of the feast tasted the water now become wine, and did not know where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew), the master of the feast called the bridegroom and said to him, “Everyone serves the good wine first, and when people have drunk freely, then the poor wine. But you have kept the good wine until now.” This, the first of his signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested his glory. And his disciples believed in him.

Message

I love this story of Jesus’ first miracle. I love the implications it has for us as twenty-first-century followers of Jesus. And I love what it communicates to those who don’t know Jesus too.

Now you might be thinking Matt this is such a strange passage to be using for a wedding ceremony message. What in the world are you thinking where in the world are you going with this...well, let me tell you. Behind the scenes of this story are some details that really impact the way we read and experience Jesus’ first miracle. First of all, it was a personally important wedding to Mary, the mother of Jesus.

The fact that Mary was concerned about the lack of wine in verse 3 suggests to us that she may have been involved in the planning and organization of the wedding. The fact that after the wedding Jesus’ brothers traveled with him to Capernaum, which we read in the verses following the ones I read indicates that Jesus’ whole family was present for the wedding. It very likely could have been a close family friend or a close family member who was getting married. And, more importantly, such a connection would explain Jesus’ presence at the wedding. But this doesn’t explain the miracle. Why did Jesus choose a wedding to perform his first miracle?

You go around in Biblical scholarship and you can find all sorts of reasons why people much smarter than me believe jesus turned water into wine but I choose to believe it was for a subtle and simple message: That Jesus was saying to us... I am the new wine.

My favorite part about this whole story is the quality of the wine that Jesus made. Verse 10 tells us that it was far superior to any of the wine that had been served thus far. The quality of the wine actually stunned the host, or the wedding coordinator per say, we read, when the master of the feast tasted the water …[he] called the bridegroom and said to him, “everyone serves the good wine first, and when people have drunk freely, then the poor wine. But you have kept the good wine until now.”

Friends, Jesus’ creation of wine held significant prophetic meaning. Jeremiah, a prophet who lived thousands of years earlier had foretold that in the Messianic age or the time when the Messiah would live, they will rejoice in the bounty of the Lord-- the grain, the new wine…” Jeremiah 31:12. Prophetically, the Jewish people related the age of the messiah with a time of plenty, and specifically a time which included freely flowing wine.

So we see that Jesus’ miracle of making fine new wine has significant meaning but we are still left to ask- why at a wedding? And I actually think it's simple. By his attendance, Jesus was placing His stamp of approval on the marriage covenant, and with His miracle He shows from where the blessings in a marriage spring. The love and joy and celebration of weddings and the marriage covenant are inherent in a wedding ceremony but they are also inherent in the character of Christ. John 3:16 tells us that He came into this world because of love and Luke 2:10 tells us that He brings joy to all who believe. A wedding, an ordinary tradition that crosses all cultural boundaries was the place where Jesus went to first showcase His supernatural power.

I think that Jesus still visits weddings to showcase His supernatural power. I think that this afternoon Jesus is present with us proclaiming new wine in the lives of each of you, but also in the covenant between you- Carly & Dan. See, wine was associated with blessing. In fact, so much so that a lack of wine in Jewish culture at a wedding would bring dishonor to the host family. And so if Jesus is our new wine then the very thing that you need to have freely flowing in your marriage is Him.

He is the source of honor in your marriage, not the vacations you go on together, not the amount of money in your bank account, not the number of times that you don’t fight in comparison to the number of times that your friends do, not the time that you spend together, or even the family that you will someday hopefully share. All of those things are good, and all of those things can honor Christ— but none of them are the source of honor in your marriage. That spot belongs solely to Jesus.

I look into our culture today and I see one marriage failure after another and I ask myself what is the cause and I see only one obvious answer- a lack of the free flowing new wine of Jesus Christ which represents new and abundant life in Him.

And so tonight, and this is going to be a strange and maybe new charge for you to receive— I want you to enjoy a glass of wine (or juice), and when you drink be reminded that Christ creates new wine in the lives of his believers with the intention of communicating to us that He has come. This Messianic age has come, the wine is to flow freely, and the blessing, the love, the joy, the celebration of marriage now holds more meaning than it ever did.

The Apostle Paul says this about the marriage covenant in Ephesians 5:31-32

Ephesians 5:31–32 ESV

“Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church.

Maybe you’re in this venue and you have strayed away from Christ, I would plead with you also to be reminded of the new wine of Christ that has come to bring peace, joy, celebration, and love. To see this beautiful mystery of marriage that is profound as a reflection of the Gospel, of Jesus leaving his Father in Heaven and coming down to be with His bride, the Church. I’m reminded of the similarities between the wedding at Cana and the story of the prodigal son. Christ has a habit of throwing a party when those whom he loves return to Him. I can promise you and speak on behalf of Carly and Dan. The only thing that could make today’s celebration better is if it was also a celebration of you— whoever you are, giving your life, your soul, your eternity, over to Christ by the confession of your mouth and the belief in your heart that Jesus Christ is Lord. My prayer, and their prayer, is that this celebration would lead you to the celebration awaiting you when you return to Christ.

Call me crazy, but I’m going to enjoy a glass of wine tonight- and when I am drinking I will be remembering just how much Christ loves each of us, and just how much He loves marriage.

Pray to transition into worship.

Worship - Kalli & Caleb

Vows

Carly and Dan have decided to write their own vows to one another for all of us to witness and hold them accountable to. Dan, we’ll start with you.

Exchanging of Rings

Many people ask how the wedding ring originated. There are many different ways we can talk about the rings— most say its a sign of infinite love, a closed circle. But I think the most significant part of the rings is the finger that they sit on. The ancient Romans held the belief that the ring finger had a vein that ran all the way to the heart, which has always been called the emotional center of the body. They even called this vein the “vein of love.” And so they chose what we now call the ring finger because of it. Sadly, there is no vein that runs to the heart from the ring finger. But the meaning of the tradition is still powerful. And like many, Dan and Carly have chosen rings to be a sign of their covenant together.

So, Dan, if you’d grab the rings from your brother and grab Carly’s hand. You can repeat after me and then place the ring on her finger.

Carly, I give you this ring as a sign of my love, and with all that I have, I honor you and take you as my wife.

Carly, you can take repeat after me and then place the ring on his finger.

Dan, I give you this ring as a sign of my love, and with all that I have, I honor you and take you as my husband.

Family Prayer - Ken Fink

Carly and Dan’s family is going to spend some time in prayer together. I’d encourage you to take this moment to lift them up in your prayers.

Kiss & Pronunciation

Deep breath… the moment we’ve all been waiting for but Dan has been waiting for more than anyone else.

It is my honor, and my privilege, by the power invested in me by the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit, and God the Father.

I know pronounce you husband and wife. Dan, you may kiss your bride.

AND FRIENDS! For the very first time I introduce to you Mr. and Mrs. Dan and Carly Fink.