. Even though the realities and blessings found in marriage might be foreign to them this side of heaven, they have every reason to rejoice that marriage exists and that it continues to have such a prominent place in God’s purpose and work in the world. Whether we attend the wedding of a couple living together or decide stay home, we are saying something. There does not have to be a meal after the wedding. There are no exit ramps or escape hatches. The beauty of marriage far surpasses the functional, social, relational, and, yes, even the sexual benefits. Christian marriage, therefore, is an opportunity to show the world something — better, Someone — strong enough to keep a marriage together and make it unbelievably meaningful and happy. The Bible is clear that the behaviors and rhythms of the marriage covenant are a billboard of Christ’s forgiving, sacrificial, redeeming love for sinners. But, of course, this is not an attack on joy. Click here to download this sermon. In Matthew 22:1–14, Jesus tells a parable about a wedding feast. My father preached. It was right there at the center, tying together the two most significant characters in this new and epic story. I believe that much of the breakdowns we see in marriages today is the result of not counting the cost of marriage. You can listen to that sermon via this link.] Hear me. So, the revolution is in the use of our resources. We invite you to worship with us. He’s the author of. Her matron of honor wore a nice Sunday dress. But most importantly, John shares his single most vital word on marriage: a vision grander than many of us have ever dared to dream, about what God is doing in every Christian marriage. All of our resources exist to guide you toward everlasting joy in Jesus Christ. - Matthew 22:1–10 . At Desiring God, one of our most accessed pages online is a set of questions John Piper put together for couples prepar-ing for marriage (chapter 1 in this eBook). Every new person — formed and sustained by God in their mother’s womb — is a stunning miracle (Psalm 139:13). Wedding applications and usage fees may be requested from the church office. Learn more at desiringGod.org. There doesn’t. Surviving the “for richer, for poorer” part of our wedding vows begins with understanding that God has a plan for our finances. and witness their vows. That is tragic if we have cultivated a situation like that. . In fact, understanding God’s minimum requirements for money is a way to thrive in married life as we avoid some of the difficulties that … The cord of three strands ceremony is a great addition to a traditional wedding ceremony. There is a place for special: special dress, special expenditures, special beauty in the simplicity of the Christian life. Perhaps the greatest means God has given us, under the Holy Spirit, for making us more like himself are the people in our lives who love us enough to confront our patterns of selfishness, unhealthiness, and sin. With all the pain, failure, and friction, it simply can’t be worth it, can it? Restrictions apply. . Your wedding invitation is an opportunity to express your love for each other and the faith that brought you together. Barnabas Piper is the son of famed pastor John Piper, but he wants you to know he’s more than that. You rarely see this kind of Christ-like love in other relationships because the stakes are never as high. Now, marriage is not for everyone. All of our resources exist to guide you toward everlasting joy in Jesus Christ. That’s the radical obedience that comes from faith. (Ephesians 5:23), Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her. Godly poor people regularly have more joy than rich people. That last sentence is true, but I fear my generation is missing some important things about what marriage really is and why it’s worth all the time, patience, and even heartache. God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in him. John Piper is founder and teacher of desiringGod.org and chancellor of Bethlehem College & Seminary. 5) Follow God, trusting in His promises today. and. This is a plea to leaders to cultivate an expectation of simplicity so that no one with modest means — and that is a lot of people — feels like a simple wedding with a mints-and-nuts reception — no meal, no dance, just joy — is somehow less honoring to the Lord and the couple. Life [is] more than food . We’ve spoken on many other occasions of marriage as a picture of Jesus and His Church, and the unity, love, headship/submission, and perfection that God intends in marriage. If I am commanded to believe the gospel, is faith something I create, or is it a gift of God. I was hoping you could speak more directly on the topic of expensive weddings. He knew what God had promised. He is author of. God’s providence not only governs all things, but it gives us hope in our suffering. So twenty-something or thirty-something, don’t let worldly trends convince you marriage is a small and unnecessary accessory to the full and happy life. 15 Full PDFs related to this paper. Freedom from caring for a spouse and children is a good and dangerous weapon in the church’s mission to spread the fame of Jesus (1 Corinthians 7:32–35). There is no correlation between expensive and joyful — none. Paul repeats this in several ways, speaking to husbands and wives. When divorce rates are high and the surviving marriages around us seem broken, messy, and unhappy — and there are plenty of other good things to keep us busy — lots of young men and women in their twenties and thirties have basically given up on marriage. Most people in the world have no experience of lasting joy in their lives. Let the service and the Word and the vows and the Lord and the love be the main thing. Surely I can find other ways to enjoy love, companionship, and even the feeling of a family. Marriages don’t survive for decades on comfort and self-fulfillment, at least not happily. The husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior. That is sad, I think. If you are performing your first wedding or looking to refine your own wedding sermon or ceremony, I hope you find it helpful. My best man did the same. Download PDF. She was asking why. You can teach. READ PAPER. Of course, there are other ways — countless other ways — to invest in raising up future generations of young people. The path to the most beautiful, most powerful, most satisfying marriages is the road to Calvary. Christian minister John Piper is seen in this photo shared publicly in 2012 by his Desiring God ministry on Facebook. It’s now more often viewed as simply a convenient social complement to a person’s other dreams and ambitions. [This devotion is a shortened, edited version of the sermon preached December 29, 2019, our fortieth wedding anniversary. There is a place for special, okay? It adds a truly unique element to your ceremony that friends and family will remember. Future generations of men and women will run the world, the church, and your local neighborhood. There doesn’t have to be a dance. Today we vow to love each other into the unknown. That has been true across generations, cultures, and worldviews. . The lectionary gospel for Trinity 18 in Year A is Matthew 22.1–14, the parable of the wedding banquet. What governs us is the effort to maximize our giving to finish the Great Commission and to love the hurting of the world. This one admittedly is inspired more by anecdote than a quote from the Bible, but it’s also fair to say it’s a common-sense conclusion. But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content.”, Hebrews 10:34, “You joyfully accepted the plundering of your property, since you knew that you yourselves had a better possession and an abiding one.”. The Bible is clear that the behaviors and rhythms of the marriage covenant are a billboard of Christ’s forgiving, sacrificial, redeeming love … What lessons will they learn at age four and twelve and fifteen? Though we didn’t really understand what was happening, in that ceremony God made the two one (Matthew 19:6). How can we design a ‘Christ-exalting, simple wedding’?”. That is why there is a lavish expenditure in the Old Testament on the temple. Marshall Segal is a writer and managing editor at desiringGod.org. . It was explosive with happy expectation. (Ephesians 5:25), “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church. If God is unfailingly faithful to his promises, and the Spirit really is more powerful than our weaknesses, and we both truly want more of God, he’ll be using us to eradicate sin and cultivate righteousness in one another. Marriage places that loving person with us in the same family, the same house, the same budget, and the same covenant promise. For believers in Jesus, the importance and allure of matrimony ought to be deeply spiritual, missional, and eternal. Who will be the Christian examples in their lives? At Desiring God, one of our most accessed pages online is a set of questions John Piper put together for couples preparing for marriage (an updated version appears in Appendix I).
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