Weddings

A marriage is meant to last forever and a wedding is a forever memory.  Pastor Alan provides Christ-centered Marriage Ceremonies and  pre-marital counseling for those who desire to be drawn closer to each other and to Jesus Christ.

The Biblical teaching concerning the issue of is founded in the statement of Genesis 2:24, “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh.”  Both Jesus (Matt. 19:5) and Paul (Eph. 5:31) make this statement central to their teachings on marriage.  The key phrase in this statement is “one flesh.”  Two become one!  Marriage creates a unity between a man and a woman.  It is a physical, emotional, intellectual, and spiritual unity. In Christian marriage, a man and a woman complete one another as they become one flesh.  The couple no longer lives independently of one another (1^st Cor. 11:11,12), their lives are bound together with God.  The marriage relationship is meant to be exclusive.  It also is meant to be a relationship that is to last for the lifetime of the partners (Matt. 19:6).

It was not good for man to be alone (Gen. 2:18).  God saw that Adam needed Eve.  The New Testament emphasizes the reality of equal dignity of men and women (Gal 3:28) before God.  Marriage is meant to draw us closer to God as we are drawn closer to each other.  The covenant of marriage is not a contract between persons; it is a promise to each other before God.

Because of this a Christian marriage ceremony occurs within the context of worshipping the God who designed marriage and made all things possible.  We come before Him, worshipping Him through the union of two people in marriage.  We do this because God instituted marriage and because it offers us an image of his relationship with us both now (Eph. 5:23-32) and forever (Rev. 19:7-9).

Issues Related to the Subject

The Christian church takes a high view of marriage.  It is not simply a custom developed over the centuries; “the ceremony is an enactment of faith, a celebration of divine promises in the midst of a covenant community.” Therefore is should never be entered into in the context of the Church without an understanding of the Biblical understanding of marriage and the ceremony itself.  Therefore, it is important that pre-marital counseling occur.  This will help the couple better understand the nature of the marriage ceremony, the nature of marriage and their future marriage relationship, and the nature of their relationship with God.  A pastor has a strategic opportunity prior to the wedding to help a couple prepare for a good marriage and better understand their relationship with God.

A related issue concerns the marriage of non-believers.  Should the church sanction the union of non-believers?  I believe that there is a place for the church to take part in the marriage of non-believers, though there must be a definite statement concerning the nature of Christian marriage.  This should be done within the context of premarital counseling.  The church and the pastor should never compromise concerning its view of marriage.  As we do this we can proclaim our faith to non-believers and be used by God to bring people to Him.  We can communicate a number of truths:

 Sadly, in this day and age it must be emphasized that the Biblical view of marriage is limited to marriage between one man and one woman.  There is no Biblical recognition of marriage between two people of the same sex.