So, so so So, the the the the so so you you the the the the the the I'm going to read from Ephesians
chapter 5 beginning in verse 22. Wives, submit yourselves
unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. For the husband is the head of
the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church, and he is
the Savior of the body. Therefore, as the church is subject
unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything. Husbands, love your wives, even
as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for that he
might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by
the Word, that he might present it to himself a glorious church,
not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that it should
be holy and without blemish. So ought men to love their wives
as their own mothers. He that loveth his wife, loveth
himself. For no man ever hath hated his
own flesh, but nourishes it and cherishes it, even as the Lord
has cherished it. For we are members of his body,
of his flesh, and of his bones. For this cause shall a man leave
his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and
they too shall be one blood. This is a great mystery nicely
concerning Christ and the Church. Nevertheless, let every one of
you, in particular, so love his wife even unto death, and the
wife see that she is well. Amen. Let's pray. Our merciful Heavenly Father, How we thank you that you've
revealed to us the merits we give to serve Christ and His
body and His essence. Lord, we're amazed at your grace
that you've revealed yourself unto us. Lord, how we thank you
for the wedding garments and everything you've presented.
Lord, how we thank you for giving us this opportunity to meet.
And Lord, we pray for your blessing upon this evening. We pray for your blessing on
these two dear young people whom we love so much. We ask that
you give them grace. to look to you only and to serve
you together all the days of your life. And we ask that this
marriage will be blessed by the Christ. Lord, we thank you for
this time and bless us with thy strength in everything we do. We give this woman in holy matrimony
her mother. This is a day of great joy for
Savannah and Clark. They'd like to thank each of
you for taking time this afternoon to celebrate a very special day
with them. Many of you were here at Holly
and Doug's wedding. When I told you at the very first
minute of Holly's life, I thought, oh no, I'm going to have to say
her mother and I. I thought, I bet that'll be hard. I love her so much already. When
Janet was pregnant with Savannah, publicly, we said all the right
things. We said we don't care if we have
a boy or a girl, we just want to have a healthy baby. But in
my heart, I was strongly rooting for a girl. I saw one daughter
was so wonderful, I thought the more the merrier. And I was so
happy to see our new baby was a girl, our Savannah Grace. And then in the very first minute
of Savannah's life, I thought, Oh no, what were you wishing
for? I'm going to have to say her mother and I twice. I thought
to myself, I know that's going to be hard now, because I know
how much I love him. But Clark, I know now what I
never could have known then, that it's not hard to say her
mother and I, because Savannah has found a good and a kind and
a generous man to be her husband. And I'm overjoyed to say her
mother and I. You know how much? We love you,
we're so happy that you both have found someone to spend the
rest of your life with, and you know we welcome you into our
family with wide open arms. You know, it is without question
the Lord that's brought the two of you together. And there are
times you can look back over your life and see the Lord's
providence in something. I have a very distinct memory
of Janet and Donna being pregnant, standing together at Bible conference
talking, pregnant with the two of you. Little Holly and little
Michelle were playing around with their legs and they were
talking. A few months later, Delphus and Donna brought the
new baby back to Ashton, back home to church, and Janet went
to the nursery to see the new baby. She came out and told me,
oh, Frank, he's a beautiful baby. He has a head full of dark hair.
He's beautiful. A lot like she talks about you
now. But only the Lord knew then.
She was looking at her son-in-law. Only the Lord knew that. But
she was. And it's the Lord who brought
you two together here today. So that makes this a very important
moment. Marriage is of the utmost importance. The vows that you will take in
a few moments are vows before Almighty God and these witnesses. Marriage was first ordained by
God himself. God ordained marriage in the
Garden of Eden before the fall of man. God made a woman. He brought her to the man. He
said, it's not good for the man to be alone. I'll make a helpmate
for him. This is ordained of God. The
marriage was recognized and blessed by our Lord Jesus Christ when
he attended an event much like this, the marriage of Cana of
Galilee. And it was at that wedding feast
that he saw fit to perform his first miracle. turning the water
into wine. The Savior put his seal of approval
on marriage by taking part in that celebration. And then marriage
is very important because of the relationship that you now
enter is a relationship that's a picture of Christ and his bride. This is what the Apostle Paul
tells us in Ephesians 5, verse 32, the passage Brother Nybert
just read. This is a great mystery. But Paul said, I speak concerning
Christ and the church. So in light of this importance,
I want you to listen to the instruction that Almighty God gives us from
his word concerning marriage. Go back and read these verses
often. These verses contain everything
you need to know about marriage to have a happy and a loving
marriage. And it lets your marriage begin with the preaching of the
gospel. These verses preach the gospel. Ephesians 5, verse 22. Wives,
submit yourselves unto your own husbands as unto the Lord. For
the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head
of the church, and he's the Savior of the body. Therefore, as the
church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their
own husbands in everything." Savannah, you are to be in subjection
to Clark as your head, as the head of your home, just as the
church is subject to Christ our Savior. And your first priority
is to Clark. I know that you'll still be a
good daughter, a good sister, and a good friend. I know you
will. But your first responsibility in all things is to Clark. You
seek to please him. Seek ways that you can be a help
to him. Seek ways to encourage him. Seek
ways to make his life better. Find ways every day to make him
feel loved and appreciated. You make sure he feels appreciated.
The word help me means to aid and to tenderly and lovingly
comfort. That's what you're to do for
him. And you don't need me to give you a lot of specific instruction
on how to act as a wife. You've grown up at the feet of
the master. You've seen how this is supposed
to look. And if you'll remember that in every interaction with
Clark, you're a picture of the church that is in subjection
to our Savior, who's in love with the Savior, you'll know
how to act. But let me give you one that
I think is a piece of good advice. Men do a lot of dumb things. We just can't help ourselves.
It's what your grandpa would say, easy pickings. We make ourselves
easy pickings for women to make fun of with good reason. And I'm sure Clark will do those
things. He is a man. But don't you ever get in a group
of women and join in a session of husband bashing. Don't you
ever take an opportunity to publicly Tear Clark's reputation down. You guard his reputation. You
guard his name. You uphold him. You seek to protect
his reputation by not telling some insignificant thing that
he did. Just as the church is to zealously protect the honor
and glory of our Savior by preaching him in the most glorious way
we know how. Clark, you have a much more important, weighty
task. Paul says in Ephesians 5, verse
25, husbands, love your wives. even as Christ also loved the
church and gave himself for it, that he might sanctify and cleanse
it with the washing of water by the word, that he might present
it to himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or
any such thing, but that it should be holy, without blemish. So
ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that
loveth his wife loveth himself. For no man ever yet hated his
own flesh, but nourisheth it and cherisheth it, even as the
Lord the church, four members of his body, of his flesh, and
of his bones. For this cause shall man leave
his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and
they too shall be one flesh." Clark, your first responsibility
in all things now is to Savannah. And I expect you to still be
a good son, a good brother, a good friend. I know you will. But
your first responsibility in all things is to Savannah. You're
to seek to please her. Seek her happiness. Seek ways
to make her feel loved and appreciated. Find every opportunity to make
her feel appreciated. You're to do your best to love
Savannah as Christ loved the church. Now that's a tall order. How did Christ love his people?
Self-sacrificially. He humbled himself. How he humbled
himself to become a man so that he could be joined to his bride.
He sacrificed himself for the sin of his people, so he put
their sin away. Make her perfect without spot
or wrinkle. And you're to sacrifice some
self-interest for the good of your wife, for the good of your
family. And I can tell you, no man's
sufficient for these things. No man can do anything like our
Savior did it. Everything he did was perfect
because he's perfect. But if you do your very best
to love Savannah as Christ loved the church, Clark, she will follow
you anywhere. Your job is to lead your new
home. And you lead in such a way that she wants to be the best
wife she could ever be for you. And the responsibility for a
happy, loving home falls upon your shoulders. Remember, you're
the picture of the Savior in this marriage. Who has the most
responsibility in the relationship between Christ and his people?
It's the Savior. So if you do your best to love
Savannah like Christ loved the church, you'll make it easy for
her to be in subjection to you, and it's you who will set the
tone for a happy home. If you keep these verses in mind,
you won't need me to give you a lot of specific examples how
you should act in different situations that you'll come across, but
let me give you one that I believe will be helpful. If you find
that Savannah can't cook something very well, say she can't cook
a roast very Don't you ridicule her for it. Buddy, you eat it
with a smile on your face, and you tell her, thank you for cooking
that for me. Isn't this how our Savior deals
with his people? He never ridicules his people.
What does he do with our shortcomings? We've sinned to come short of
the glory of God. He covers our sin in his blood, blots it out
with his blood. He covers our insufficiency with
his perfect righteousness. And that's what you're to do.
You do the same thing. And after you thank her for cooking that,
next time you're with Janet, you secretly tell her. Janet
will give her a cooking lesson. Nobody will know. Nobody will
be the wiser. And you'll eat good. I think you know by now
Janet wants the best for you. So you use her if you need her. We'll help you. Now with that
instruction from our God, I want you to carefully consider the
questions that I now ask you. You've joined right hands. Now
take heed to these questions. Clark, would you have Savannah,
who you now hold by the right hand, to be your lawful wedded
wife? Do you promise in the sight of
Almighty God and these witnesses to be to her a true and a devoted
husband, that you will love, honor, and protect her in joy
or sorrow, in prosperity or adversity, and leaving all others, will
you cleave to her and her alone as long as you both shall live?
Savannah, would you have Clark, who you now hold by the right
hand, to be your lawful wedded husband? And do you promise in
the sight of Almighty God and these witnesses to be to him
a true and a devoted wife that you will love, honor, and obey
him in joy or sorrow, in prosperity or adversity, and leaving all
others, will you cleave to him and him alone as long as you
both shall live? I will. Clark, would you please
repeat these vows? I, Clark, take thee, Savannah,
to be my wedded wife. I, Clark, take thee, Savannah,
to be my wedded wife. to have and to hold from this day forward,
for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness
or in health, to love and to cherish till death do us part. Savannah, will you likewise repeat
these vows? I, Savannah, take thee, Clark, to be my wedded
husband. I, Savannah, take thee, Clark, to be my wedded husband.
have and to hold from this day forward, for better or for worse, for
richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to
cherish, till death do us part. Rings, please. Rings historically have been
used for many important occasions. And to me, the ring reaches its
loftiest prestige as a symbol of your love for each other.
That's what this ring, this circle is a picture of. It's a symbol
of your unending love for each other. And I pray that these
rings will always be worn as a token of the permanence and
purity of your love for each other. Do you give this ring
to Savannah as a token of your love for her? Savannah, will
you receive and wear this ring as a token of Clark's love for
you? I will. Clark, please repeat these vows.
With this ring, I thee wed. With this ring, I thee wed. And
I pledge to thee my love and faithfulness. And I pledge to
thee my love and faithfulness. Savannah, do you give this ring
to Clark as a token of your love for him? Clark, will you receive
and wear this ring as a token of Savannah's love for you? I
will. Savannah, please repeat these vows. With this ring, I
thee wed. With this ring, I thee wed. And
I pledge to thee my love and faithfulness. And I pledge to
thee my love and faithfulness. Please join hands. You have taken
these vows upon yourselves in the presence of God and these
assembled witnesses. Upon the authority vested in
me by the laws of the state of Kentucky, I pronounce you husband
and wife. What God has joined together,
let no man put asunder. Let's bow in prayer. Our Father, we are so thankful
for this blessed picture, a picture of the union between Christ and
his bride. how we thank you for our Lord
Jesus Christ who humbled himself to redeem his people, the people
that he loved from all of eternity. Father, I pray that you would
bless Clark and Savannah richly, bless this new home, bless them
with grace and mercy, bless them with wisdom and compassion for
one another, that their home would be a shining example of
love and that they would follow the Savior together. all the
days of their lives. Father, bless them richly in
all things. Father, we thank you for this
happy day. And in the dark and difficult days
that are sure to come, that Clark and Savannah will go through
together, Father, cause them to go through it together, looking
to Thee. Strengthen and be with them all
the days of their life, we pray. It is in the precious name of
our Lord Jesus Christ, for the glory of his name, we pray and
give thanks. Amen. Clark, you may kiss your
bride. Ladies and gentlemen, it is my
distinct pleasure to introduce to you for the very first time
Mr. and Mrs. Clark Grubb. 2A 3.30 x (-0.00?) 3F 5.83 x
(-0.00?) you