It’s wedding season in Happy Valley. Yes, that’s one of the official seasons here. There’s Football Season, winter, Spring Break, and wedding season. That’s the official breakdown. If you want to see pics of my beautiful bride (and me with a bit of a mullet/cheezy stache, scroll to the bottom. You can read this stuff later.)
Since I’m the gathering pastor for most of the college students at Calvary I get asked to officiate at a good number of weddings. This season that number is not only good, it’s perfect: 7.
I had the privilege of joining a most delightful couple in holy matrimony over the weekend. In fact, not only did I get to pronounce them “husband and wife,” I was also a groomsman for my buddy Paul. I think I’ve only been a groomsman 2 other times, and the last time would have been in the early 90s. Let’s just say that I am significantly older than the rest of the wedding party! And what a party it was! My wife looked radiant, and we had a great time catching up with friends at the wedding.
This past weekend was chock full of wedding-ness, as I had the opportunity to preach at midtown about weddings. No, I didn’t take the easy way out and re-use my wedding sermon for Sunday morning. That would be cheating. But I did preach about why marriage matters. I know that I said some things that ruffled some feathers, and I expected to hear some “boo…hisss” from the folks who were upset, but everyone was very gracious. I haven’t even received an angry email…maybe no one was listening.
To help me prepare, my friend Noel sent me this article with a lot of background detail about the evolution of weddings. It was a very interesting read. Click on over, I think you’ll like it.
I started my sermon off with a bit of humor. Ed Stetzer posted a list of 16 Biblical ways to find a wife on his website last week. I believe that the list has its origins with the Westminster Seminary (California). Here’s the list:
1) Find an attractive prisoner of war, bring her home, shave her head, trim her nails, and give her new clothes. Then she’s yours. (Deut. 21:11-13)
2) “Lay hold on” a virgin who is not betrothed to another man, and “know” her, but afterwards pay her father a sum of money. Then she’s yours. (Deut. 22:28-29)
3) Find a prostitute and marry her. (Hosea 1:1-3)
4) Find a man with seven daughters, and impress him by watering his flock.–Moses (Ex. 2:16-21)
5) Purchase a piece of property, and get a woman as part of the deal.–Boaz (Ruth 4:5-10)
6) Go to a party and hide. When the women come out to dance, grab one and carry her off to be your wife.–Benjaminites (Judges 21:19-25)
7) Have God create a wife for you while you sleep. Note: this will cost you a rib.–Adam (Gen. 2:19-24)
8) Agree to work seven years in exchange for a woman’s hand in marriage. Get tricked into marrying the wrong woman. Then work another seven years for the woman you wanted to marry in the first place. That’s right. Fourteen years of toil for a wife.–Jacob (Gen. 29:15-30)
9) Cut 200 foreskins off of your future father-in-law’s enemies and get his daughter for a wife.–David (1 Sam. 18:27)
10) Even if no one is out there, just wander around a bit and you’ll definitely find someone.–Cain (Gen. 4:16-17)
11) Become the emperor of a huge nation and hold a beauty contest.–Xerxes or Ahasuerus (Esther 2:3-4)
12) When you see someone you like, go home and tell your parents, “I have seen a woman; now get her for me.” If your parents question your decision, simply say, “Get her for me. She’s the one for me.”–Samson (Judges 14:1-3)
13) Kill any husband and take HIS wife. (Prepare to lose four sons though.)–David (2 Sam. 11)
14) Wait for your brother to die. Take his widow. (It’s not just a good idea, it’s the law!)–Onan and Boaz (Deut. or Lev., example in Ruth)
15) Don’t be so picky. Make up for quality with quantity.–Solomon (1 Kings 11:1-3)
16) A wife?–Paul (1st Corinthians, chapter 7)
If you want to hear the sermon, you can find it here.
And since I was late getting my pictures in to the folks who put together the slideshow, here are a few from my wedding day.
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