You’re getting married? Congratulations on your engagement! This is a wonderful time for you. Few things in life can equal the joy and excitement of falling in love, getting engaged, planning a wedding, and, of course, getting married.
Right now, as you plan your wedding, your mind is probably reeling with the number of plans to make and the details to iron out. One obvious item on your “to do” list is establishing the location of your wedding and choice of pastor to perform the ceremony. This is such an important item in your planning that you, no doubt, want to be very careful in the decisions you make. We hope this will help you in this process.
God knows about marriage.
We at Cypress Bible Church are interested in weddings because they are the way people enter into married life. Since God created marriage, we believe that He knows the most about it! We’re eager both to help couples discover God’s teaching about marriage and to make good preparations for marriage so that they can have the love-filled and satisfying relationship God intended when He created marriage.
A good marriage begins with a relationship.
The Bible, God’s Word to us, teaches that God created human beings to think, feel, and make moral choices (see Genesis 1:26, 27). He did this so we could enjoy a close relationship with Him (see the description in Genesis 3:8 of God’s practice of visiting each day with Adam and Eve.)
God also created us to have a close relationship with each other. That is why God created marriage (see Genesis 2:18-25). Marriage is God’s good gift to us – allowing us to experience the closeness and intimacy for which He created us.
The close relationship that God intended for people to have with each other was to flow out of their relationship with Him. When people are close to God they understand who they are and what their purpose is in life. When people know who they are they are then free to relate to others.
Perhaps this picture of humans being very close to God and to each other seems too much like a fairy tale to be taken seriously. The reason for this is not that the Bible’s accounts are fairy tales. Rather, the relationship between God and the human race has changed so drastically that now we cannot even imagine being as close to God as the first humans were.
The relationship that is no more.
What happened to our close relationship with God? The Bible teaches that the relationship the human race had with God was broken because we would not accept the conditions that God imposed upon our relationship with Him (see Genesis 3:1-24 for a description of how this happened). Created to be God-centered, we separated ourselves and became self-centered—making ourselves, instead of God, the center of our universe. The Bible teaches that the consequences of our broken relationship with God are guilt (Genesis 3:8), shame (Genesis 3:7), and death (Genesis 2:17 and 3:19).
Being separated from God also affected our relationships with each other. The results of sin are not pretty! The Bible describes the human race as being "…foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures…[living] in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another” (Titus 3:3).
Wait a minute!
Perhaps at this point you are thinking, “What does any of this have to do with getting married at Cypress Bible Church?” Our answer is, “Everything!” Because all of us are separated from God, even the best of our relationships with others are marred by self-interest and the potential for malice and envy that leads to relational break-downs. The fact that nearly half of all first marriages in our country end in divorce is profound evidence of the problems we have.
But there is Good News!
Christians believe that God did something about our separation from Himself. Right after painting the awful picture of what we are like (remember “being hated and hating one another”?), the Bible says “But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of His mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit…”
(Titus 3:4-6). God cared so much about us that He came to earth, in the person of Jesus Christ, to let us know what He is like and to provide the means for us to get into a right relationship with Him. Jesus came to give us a new life (“rebirth”) - one that comes from His forgiving us for our separation from Himself (“washing” is a picture of the way God forgives us). Jesus also came to give us both the ability to live in a relationship with God and to live above the self-interest that is at the heart of all relational problems (this is what “renewal by the Holy Spirit” is all about).
So, what’s the catch?
God’s decision to do something about our alienation from Himself does not depend on us getting our act together and doing something good! The Bible says, “He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of His mercy” (Titus 3:5). The only way we can get right with God is by accepting what Jesus Christ (“God our Savior”) did for us. When we admit that we have a problem in our relationship with God and ask Jesus Christ to come into our life, we receive, as a gift, a new life and new relationship with God.
Getting off to a right start.
So, how does all this apply to marriage? We believe that when people accept the gift of a relationship with God that comes through Jesus Christ, they now can live more like the way God created them to live. When people are close to God, they have all the resources they need to truly (that is, unselfishly) love another person. They also have God’s resources for dealing with the inevitable problems that occur in any relationship.
How does this work? A Christian marriage is a three-way commitment: both to each other, but most importantly, each to God. When a couple is committed to God, they commit themselves to the One who will never stop loving them. The certainty of God’s commitment to them helps them gain the strength to remain committed to each other – even when disappointments might cause one to feel as though the other doesn’t deserve his or her love and commitment.
We are here to help.
We, the pastors of Cypress Bible Church, believe that God wants us to help couples establish Christian marriages and families. We would be glad to help you do this, if that is your desire as well. The wedding service that we perform reflects the values that we have outlined in this brochure. If you have not yet entered into a relationship with God through Jesus Christ, we are available to answer your questions and help you come to faith in Christ. Please give us a call and/or visit Cypress Bible Church.
If you are Christians and comfortable with the kind of emphasis on Christian marriage that we have outlined above, then please contact us so that we can further discuss your upcoming wedding.
Getting Married at Cypress Bible Church?
Pre-Marital Class “Countdown to Marital Intimacy”
- Premarital counseling is required of all couples wishing to be married at Cypress Bible Church.
- “Countdown to Marital Intimacy” is an eight week class for couples in an informal setting. Format includes Bible study, discussion, and practical teaching concerning God's plan for marriage.
- "The Weekender" is a condensed version of the eight week class, covering the same material but not as in-depth. It begins early Friday evening and goes through noon on Sunday.
Completion of the class meets the requirement for premarital counseling. Open to all couples engaged or considering marriage. Discuss with your officiating pastor other options for premarital counseling if you are unable to participate in this class.
Scheduling Facilities
- Members and regular attenders of Cypress Bible Church can schedule the facilities for weddings up to twelve months in advance; all others can schedule the facilities up to six months in advance.
- No more than two weddings are scheduled per weekend.
- Click here to contact the wedding coordinator to schedule your wedding.
Pastor Officiating Your Wedding
- Every weekend in the year is assigned to a pastor who is available to officiate your weddings.
- Couples should contact the assigned pastor as soon as possible after contacting the wedding coordinator.
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