Here Comes the Bride

Here Comes the Bride Synopsis: The church has been wedded to Christ for 1,985 years. Like any marriage, it’s had its ups and downs, but unlike any marriage, the groom has been consistently faithful. The bride in her early days was passionate and sacrificial in her relationship to her groom, but over time, that passion has waned. The spiritually hungry long for that spiritual romance to be rekindled. Our marriages started with a similar passion and zeal, a hunger and innocence. Remembering the early days of Christ’s passion for the church inspires us to renew our own commitments to our spouses and loved ones. We don’t ignore the years of failures and mistakes, but we celebrate the power of Christ to make all things new, as he has done in and through the church over two thousand years. And on that proof we renew our commitments today, remembering the life of our spiritual groom as a witness to our own marriages. We recall his moments of temptation, service, healing, and sacrifice and pledge to embody the ministry of Jesus in our own marriages and relationships, committing anew to allowing our relationships to be the best expression of the gospel. Text: Ephesians 5:25-33 – We join Christ in his work through our marriages, we embody the sacrifice of Jesus in our love for our spouses, and we renew the commitments we made to our spouses as a commitment to them and to our spiritual groom.