David Michael Geroux

Nate and Michelle Wedding

• Seating of grandparents, Nate’s parents, Michelle’s mom

• Processional –groomsmen/brides people paired

• Bridal processional

• Giving away

First of all, Michelle, I know that I speak on behalf of everyone here, especially Nathan, when I say this: You look beautiful. The book of Genesis tells us that there is a time in the life of a man and a woman when they will leave their parents and cleave to each other – they will begin a new home and a new family.

So the question I need to ask is this: Who gives this woman to be married to this man?

• Welcome to guests/Introduction

Ladies and gentlemen, sisters and brothers, on behalf of Nathan and Michelle, welcome! Today we are gathered in the sight of God and in the company of family and friends to celebrate and give witness to Nathan and Michelle entering into the covenant of marriage.

Marriage is a covenant not to be entered into lightly, but with prayer, seriousness, and a deep understanding and acceptance of its obligations and responsibilities. Marriage is the covenant in which two shall become one and they are blessed by God to enjoy one another, to serve one another, and to be fruitful and multiply. Marriage is a God-created, God-ordained institution that not only sets us apart as unique image-bearers of God; but also as witnesses to Christ’s sacrificial love for the Church.

And now, with your permission, I’d love to pray and then once I’m done, I invite you to take your seat.

• Message – Rev. 19:6-8; Isa. 44:22-23; Ps. 46:1-7

Message Intro

Nate and Michelle, first take a deep breath. Now, take a moment to look around. Notice who you see. Notice what you hear. Notice anything and everything you can about this moment because you’ll never have anything quite like it.

Any married couple here can tell you that as you begin this new life together, you will share moments that stir up your hearts in ways that are both similar and not so similar to this one right now. And if they’re honest with you, they’ll also tell you that for all the joy and pleasure God gives us in marriage, it can kind of come with some trouble; even chaos at times.

It might seem like a strange setting for me to say this, but, for one thing, you told me what I needed to preach on and so I’m setting myself up to do that for you. But the other thing is that this is one of the most avoided topics discussed leading up to marriage. However, there’s good news.

Although God does not make any promises that in this marriage He will take away your trouble and chaos, thankfully, He does assure us of both Himself and of a hope beyond this marriage. So today, the main point I want you and everyone else to hear is simply this: As good as this wedding and this marriage is, it only gets better from here. That leads me to three conversations I want to have with you about trouble and chaos, God, and the hope He gives us beyond this marriage.

Conversation #1: Trouble and Chaos

In Psalm 46, trouble is on the doorstep of God’s people. It’s not just ringing the bell or politely knocking on the door. It’s pounding like a hurricane, demanding to be let in. But the psalmist, or writer of this psalm, tells us that he and God’s people are not opening the door. In v. 1, he writes,

God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.

Then, in vv. 2-3, the psalmist describes this trouble with vivid poetic language. He describes this trouble as, “…the earth [giving] way…the mountains [falling] into the heart of the sea…its waters [roaring] and [foaming]…the mountains [trembling] at its swelling.”

Maybe you’re picking up on this, but for the psalmist and his original audience, they weren’t about bodies of water. You see, water was central to the Jewish idea of not only trouble, but also chaos. In fact, to them, water was not just a symbol for trouble and chaos, it was trouble and chaos. Even today, you can still find devout Jews who simply avoid bodies of water for that very reason.

But maybe this is also why many of us avoid marriage…or if we’re already married, only half engage in it. We just know that it can feel that way sometimes –like life on the water. Like trouble and chaos.

Now I know we don’t think of water as actual trouble or chaos. But what if we’ve just replaced it with something else?

- Getting laid off…being unemployed?

- A long, difficult road to having children?

- Issues of comparison…keeping up with the Jones?

Or what about…

- Arguments breaking out during a family budget meeting?

- The compound fractures of a heart from a decade’s long list of simple, thoughtless words?

- The tensions of creating healthy boundaries with family and friends as newlyweds?

Nate and Michelle, I love you both. So I’m telling you right now that in this marriage, you will have trouble. You will have chaos. That’s conversation #1: Trouble and chaos. Let’s move on to…

Conversation #2: God

Coming back to the words of this psalm, thankfully they don’t leave us with just trouble and chaos. They point us to God. In v. 1, we already saw that the psalmist tells us that “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.” But then he models for us how our hearts can and should respond to trouble and chaos in view of who God is. He writes,

“Therefore, we will not fear.”

In fact, why don’t we do an exercise. Work with me here. It’ll help you later on during your vows. Repeat after me.

God is our refuge and strength. An ever present help in trouble. Therefore, we will not fear.

That’s good stuff. Everyone else, let’s not leave you out of all the fun. Repeat after me.

God is our refuge and strength. An ever-present help in trouble. Therefore, we will not fear.

Nathan and Michelle, do you see the connection? Because of who God is, everything else needs to fall in line. Even chaos. Even trouble. Even fear.

As the psalmist continues, he describes this thought with poetic language. Ironically, he now uses water no longer as an image of trouble and chaos. Instead, he uses it as an image of God’s peace and authority over trouble and chaos.

In vv. 4-7, he writes,

There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy place where the Most High dwells. God is within her; she will not fall; God will help her at break of day. Nations rage, the kingdoms fall; he lifts his voice, the earth melts. The LORD Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.

Earlier on, we saw that God is our refuge and strength. Here, we see that He is also our fortress. More than that, we see that He is with us. Hear that. “The LORD Almighty is with us…”

I don’t know about you, but when I’ve gone through seasons of trouble and chaos, I’ve felt like God is not with me.

But Nathan and Michelle, I love you both. So I’m telling you right now that though in this marriage you will have trouble and chaos, regardless of how you may feel, you will also have God; and He is enough. Conversation #1 was about trouble and chaos. Conversation #2 was about God.

So where does that leave us? A life with equal parts trouble and chaos equal parts God? Or is there a hope beyond this? An anticipation for something more in the future?

These questions take us to…

Conversation #3: Hope

Back in psalm 46:5, the psalmist writes, “God will help her,” with “her” being the city of God, a symbol here that represented the people of God. “God will help her at break of day.” What’s he referring to by God’s help at break of day?

Throughout the Bible, you might know that there is an overarching Story at play. Four parts.

First, there’s Creation. In the beginning, God created all things (including marriage) very good. Second, there’s the Fall. Somewhere along the way, everything went wrong. The first humans disobeyed God and sinned. As a result, death entered the world and it’s had an effect on everything God made good. This was where we started out today, in conversation #1: trouble and chaos. But the crazy part in the story is that immediately after the Fall, God begins to speak sustaining words of hope –like He is with us. Then, third, there is redemption. A prophecy by a man named Isaiah captures this idea of redemption by describing what God has done for us in and how we can respond.

In Isaiah 44:22-23, he is speaking on behalf God and writes,

I have swept away your offenses like a cloud, your sins like the morning mist. Return to me, for I have redeemed you. Sing for joy, you heavens, for the LORD has done this; shout aloud, you earth beneath. Burst into song, you mountains, you forests and all your trees, for the LORD has redeemed Jacob, [and this is the fourth and final part in the Story, consummation or completion] he will display His beauty in Israel.

When Jesus the Son of God and Messiah died on the cross, was buried, and on the third day was raised from the dead, the purpose was this: so that God could forgive our sins. This is redemption. But we’re still waiting for the consummation or completion to come. But when it comes, we’ll find ourselves in a familiar setting.

In the last book of the Bible, in Revelation 19:6-8, one of Jesus’ first followers, named John, is given a vision of what we have to anticipate. John writes:

Then I heard what seemed to be the voice of a great multitude, like the roar of many waters and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, crying out, “Hallelujah! For the Lord our God the Almighty reigns. Let us rejoice and exult and give him the glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his Bride has made herself ready; it was granted her to clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure” –for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints.

Do you see what we have to anticipate? A wedding! A marriage! But this is THE wedding and THE marriage!

Nate and Michelle, I love you both. Because of that, I’m telling you right now that though in this marriage you will have trouble and chaos, you will also have God; and He is enough. But I’m also telling you that you have a hope and something to anticipate. Your wedding day and marriage point everyone here to the true wedding day and marriage –Jesus the Lamb of God and His bride, the Church. That will be the day when God fully shows off His beauty in us; fully is with us; and fully takes away from us trouble and chaos.

You know, Lord willing, tomorrow you’re going to wake up and realize that your wedding day and…let’s be honest…really your wedding night…was great, full of joy, pleasure and memories for a lifetime. But just wait. Two and half years of marriage and these Scriptures tell us that it only gets better from here.

• Exchanging of vows - original + traditional - and rings

So are you two ready start having some real fun?

I understand that you two have prepared your own vows.

At this time, I invite you two to please face one another and, as you are able to, hold hands.

As for the rest of us, if you are married, I want to encourage you to grab the hand of your spouse and repeat these same vows in your heart as Nathan and Michelle pledge them to each other.

Starting with Michelle and then Nathan...

May we now have the rings?

The ring, an unbroken circle, represents unending love. As often as either of you look upon these rings, may you be reminded of this moment when you made a covenant with God and each other.

Michelle, please place the ring on Nathan's finger and repeat after me.

Nathan, I give you this ring…as a symbol of my vow…With all that I am, and with all that I have…I honor you…In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

Nathan, please place this ring on Michelle's finger and repeat after me.

Michelle, I give you this ring…as a symbol of my vow…With all that I am, and with all that I have…I honor you…In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

• “I do”s then pronouncement of marriage

I invite you two to remain facing each other and holding hands

Michelle do you take Nathan to be your lawfully wedded husband, to have and to hold from this day forward, to love, honor, and cherish, in sickness and health, forsaking all others, for as long as you both shall live? If so, please say, “I do.”

( I do )

Nathan do you take Michelle to be your lawfully wedded wife, to have and to hold from this day forward, to love, honor, and cherish, in sickness and health, forsaking all others, for as long as you both shall live? If so, please say, “I do.”

( I do )

Nathan and Michelle you have pledged your faith to each other in the presence of God and in the company of family and friends. By the power vested in me by the State of Michigan, I now pronounce you husband and wife.

Nate, go ahead and get down with your bad self! You may now kiss your beautiful bride!

• Signing of register - Evening Sun, Jon Bryant

• “Prayer pit,” people can popcorn pray out loud

• Hymn - It Is Well

• Closing prayer

• Closing hymn - Doxology

• Presentation of Mr. and Mrs. Nathan and Michelle Visser

Family and friends, I am proud to present for the first time as husband and wife, Mr. and Mrs. Nathan and Michelle Visser.

• Recessional - You Make My Dreams, Hall & Oates

(Dave announcement –Grandparents, parents, and siblings of the bride and groom, please stay for photos. Chips & salsa will be in the Lodge. Please be at Millennium by ***5*** - directions to Millennium Park are on back of program)