Thoughts on Marriage and Weddings from Pastor Rick

   If you are looking at this section of our website, then you are most likely in the midst of planning a wedding. First, let us say congratulations on your upcoming marriage. We believe that marriage is an incredibly important decision, one of the most important decisions we make in our lifetime. We trust that your decision to get married was made with some wisdom, thought, grace, and love. Once again, congratulations!
      Marriage is to be respected and honored by all, particularly by those who are planning to get married. It is more, much more, than a wedding service. It is a life-long commitment to love, servce, and honor another person. We have found that many who get married have been so influenced by the romantic movies and novels of our day, that they may not have given as much thought to being married as they have to getting married.
      You are off to a good start in your marriage planning. Looking to have your wedding ceremony at a Christian church is a sign that you, in some way, want God to be a part of your marriage. This is a great start for any marriage. For God not only designed and created marriage, He was the first matchmaker for a husband and wife (see Genesis 2:21-24). 
      If you want to have a wonderful and strong marriage, then it makes sense to get all the help available to you. If God designed and created marriage, why not ask Him to be a partner in your marriage? Both husband and wife bring many gifts, talents, histories, joys, and delights into a marriage. When speaking of relationships, the writer of Ecclesiastes notes, "Two are better than one" (4:9). By way of analogy he goes on to explain that if two people are together and one falls, then the second can help them up. Or, if two lie down together, they can help keep each other warm. So it is important to have friends and family so we do not have to live life alone. But as good as two are, Ecclesiastes suggests that three may be even better. For the passage ends, "a cord of three strands is not quickly broken (4:12)." If God is the third partner of any relationship, it will be stronger.
      In marriage, a husband and wife become one (Genesis 2:24). This is a profound mystery, and an incredible blessing that God has given to us. In the Gospel of John (2:11) Jesus' first miracle was done at a wedding service, thus indicating how much honor and blessing God places on marriage. Because of this, we understand wedding services to be worship services where we honor marriage and worship God who generously gave us marriage. The wedding service is more than a ceremony to begin a marriage. It is that, but it is also a public statement that those getting married want to honor God and give Him thanks for His gift of marriage. All weddings are certainly deserving of celebration, but the wedding service is far more than just a party or celebration. It is a wonderful worship service.