Newly-Weds, Old Examples

I preached at two weddings last month. Three of the four newly-weds once attended Salem Chapel during their gap years, so it was something of an honour to be asked, each one having already moved on to pastures new. The first was in Sheffield, the other at Coventry. As I rely upon public transport for long distances and the last Barnoldswick bus leaves Preston at 17.15 promptly, I must generally leave the wedding celebrations before food is enjoyed. Perhaps that makes me the perfect guest: I do my bit without adding to the expense.

My pool of wedding sermons is fairly low and many of the same folk attended both, so I had to scratch my head for something new. The first couple of gave me a text from 1 John which was fine, the other left it up to me. After the usual reading from Genesis regarding God’s institution of marriage with Adam and Eve, I went on to suggest that their own marriage inevitably suffered from their own fruit-fuelled rebellion, which precipitated the Fall. I therefore spent a while discussing a couple that provided us with a good example, Aquila and Priscilla, a Jewish-Christian pair who served God and each other faithfully. Like Adam and Eve, they were expelled from their home, but for Christ, not sin, and then went on to serve the Lord faithfully, even correcting Apollos’ partial gospel theology. The two clearly had a hard life, having lost their home and moving around, supporting all others and following Christ in a Christ-denying world. Yet they are always spoken of together, as though they were the perfect team. This is a beautiful picture of Christian marriage and friendship. I therefore urged that second couple (and the first were in Saturday's congregation) to consider the two as role models: to live together, to suffer together and to serve the Lord together. 

The churches of Asia greet you. Aquila and Priscilla greet you heartily in the Lord, with the church that is in their house. 1 Corinthians 16:19, NKJV

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