10132012 Wedding Sermon Joseph Snethen and Paige Leach

In the beginning, when God had created the heavens and the earth and formed man from the dirt of the ground, God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone.”  This afternoon we gather to make complete and fulfill God’s plan for mankind specifically in the lives of Joey and Paige in our celebration their marriage.  We are not that far removed from Adam, for as we gather here in God’s creation very similar to the Garden of Eden, surrounded by the beauty of God’s handiwork we celebrate for Joey the fulfillment of the promise to Adam and to him.  For Adam it was the creation of Eve, for Joey it is his joining with Paige in holy matrimony.

Adam said it clearly and profoundly when he saw Eve, not like Bill Cosby, “WOOOOMMMAAAANNN”.  Adam said, “This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh”.  Joey, Paige who stands before you was created by God in order to fulfill His purpose for both of your lives as ‘bone of his bone and flesh of his flesh’.  And Paige, Joey who stands before you was created by God to be your helpmate, husband and equal in the bond of holy matrimony.  Neither of you should lord it over the other, but mutually share in this relationship giving and receiving equally that both of you are now embarking upon together.  This is the greatest journey in life you are about to begin.

I will not lie to you this journey is not without danger.  Satan is waiting behind every twist and turn to drive a wedge between both of you.  It is his desire to separate you, but I stand here in the gap today as witness in the eyes of the state, the church, but especially God to speak of something that overcomes all the attacks of evil that you will encounter.

Paul in his epistle to the Corinthians said it so well.  “⁴ Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, ⁵ does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, ⁶ does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; ⁷ bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.”  Love is the only action and means by which both of you will be able to share with one another as you mature and celebrate this union of becoming one flesh.

Both of you remember the video’s we watched in preparation for this moment.  Remember what was said about what binds you together, it is Jesus Christ the living Word of God that is the cord or cement of this union.  Unlike the cement we use to build highways, seal PVC pipes or even sewer pipes, the glue of Jesus Christ weathers all storms and forms an unbreakable bond with both of you that you share and are a part of with one another in this union.  That rope or bond of Jesus Christ is not only a model for the rest of your life, but a promise that you fulfill today in your vows before God and all of us gathered here this afternoon.  That bond is one not only of love, but also of fulfillment of God’s plan of salvation found in the union of your lives.  May God the Father, Who formed both of you in your mothers wombs, God the Son Who binds you together and Who loved you so much that He redeemed both of you on the Cross of Calvary and God the Holy Spirit Who will keep you in the one true faith enable each of you to love, not as the world loves, but as the perfect example of Jesus Christ of His great love for His bride the church.  May this love surround and bind both of you together for the rest of your lives.  AMEN.