Brooke and Stephen Boyer Wedding Sermon

Genesis 2 – Then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature.   Then the Lord God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for  him.” ¹⁹ Now out of the ground the Lord God had formed  every beast of the field and every bird of the heavens and brought them to the man to see what he would call them. And whatever the man called every living creature, that was its name. ²⁰ The man gave names to all livestock and to the birds of the heavens and to every beast of the field. But for Adam there was not found a helper fit for him. ²¹ So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and while he slept took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh. ²² And the rib that the Lord God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man. ²³ Then the man said,

“This at last is bone of my bones
    and flesh of my flesh;
she shall be called Woman,
    because she was taken out of Man.”

Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.

Philippians 4 - Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. ⁵ Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; ⁶ do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. ⁷ And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Matthew 19:4-6 - He answered, “Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female, ⁵ and said, ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? ⁶ So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.”

 

Grace Mercy and Peace to you from God our Father through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, Amen.  Our text today is the lesson read earlier from our Old Testament, especially these words, “They shall become one flesh.” 

Dear Friends in Christ, Family and Friends, and especially Brooke and Stephen.  Today God gives you a beautiful and blessed gift, He gives you the gift of each other.  Today in his presence and before these witnesses, you promise to have and to hold each other, for richer and poorer, in sickness and health, for better or worse until death do you part.  And when you make that promise, God’s word is proclaimed, “What I have joined together, let no man separate.” 

Yes, it’s a gift.  Stephen, God gives you Brooke, the same way he gave Eve to Adam.  She promises to be there with you, to care for you, no matter what.  And God will be there to help her fulfill that promise.  And Brooke, Stephen is God’s gift to you as well.  God has given you him to love you and to give all that he has to care for you.  And so it is today, that God gives you each other as a gift. 

And you will, in the years of your marriage ahead, need each other.  This world is not easy on marriage.  Sin will ever be after you, seeking to destroy and make null the promises that you made today.  Sin will seek to hurt you both, and to even make you hurt each other.  Money will at times be tight, and patience will be short.  There will be times when it will just seem easier to give up than continue.  Times when you’ll wonder why you made the promises that you did today, and when it will seem foolish that you did make them. 

And yet, remember God gives you to each other today as a gift, and as you make your promises, he makes a promise to you as well.  A promise to be with you.  To sustain you.  To keep you in your promises, and to forgive you when your own sinful natures fail. 

Yes, God gives you the gift and promise of forgiveness of all sin today, as you are joined together.  It’s a forgiveness earned by Jesus’ blood and death upon the cross for your sake.  His blood has washed away your sin, both individually, and as a couple. 

So when you fight as a couple, and you will, your sin is already forgiven by Jesus so that you can forgive each other as well.  When you get on each other’s nerves, when money is tight, when Stephen Jr. is misbehaving in school, you know that in the grace of Christ, you can make it through.  When you have a tough choice to make as a couple, you know that no matter what choice you make, you already have the promise of eternal life in Christ. 

Stephen and Brooke, God promises to day, to be with you each and every day of your married life – to help you to fulfill your promises to each other.  And when you fail to do so, he promises to forgive you sin for Jesus’ sake, so that you also might forgive each other. 

He joins you together today, by the power of His word.  He gives you each other, joining you for the many years of joys and struggles ahead.  He promises to bless you and preserve you through out the days ahead.  He will never leave you nor forsake you. 

Today he joins you as one flesh in the promises of His holy word, a great and wonderful blessing.  And what God has joined together, let man not separate. 

In the name of Jesus.  Amen.