Tuesday, August 11, 2009

One of the most memorable parts of my wedding

Emeal (“E.Z.”) Zwayne (Vice President / General Manager of Living Waters) officiated my wedding almost 6 years ago. Emilio and I were beyond honored to have him marry us. I can remember it like it was yesterday. What I'm about to share with you was one of the most memorable moments of the whole night.

Right before the vows, Emilio and I stood off to the side of the stage while E.Z. moved forward and began to preach a mini sermon to all the attendees - there were about 400 guests.

I thought you'd be encouraged by this small snippet that he shared with our family and friends. Here's what they heard:

"The powerful Roman emperor Charlemagne made an unusual request with regard to his burial. He asked to be buried... sitting upright on his throne... with his crown on his head... his scepter in his hand... his royal cape draped around his shoulders and with an open book placed on his lap.

That was in 814 A.D. Nearly 200 years later, Emperor Othello wanted to see if Charlemagne’s burial request had indeed been carried out. He ordered that the tomb be opened. They found the body just as Charlemagne had requested. Only now, nearly two centuries later, the scene was gruesome.

The crown was tilted on the skeletal head. The scepter was tarnished. The mantle was moth-eaten. The body disfigured. But, there, open on his lap was the book Charlemagne had requested - the Bible!!!... and one, bony finger pointed to Matthew 16:26: “What does it profit... to gain the whole world and lose your own soul?” "

Then E.Z. proceeded to share the full gospel message with everyone. It was wonderful, truly wonderful.

If you're getting married anytime soon, what a perfect opportunity you have to incorporate a solid gospel message into your ceremony so that all the hearers can listen to the words of eternal life and possibly get saved. How special would that be!

14 comments:

Lydia said...

What a beautiful way to start your marriage! I want something like this for my own wedding!

Kat said...

Neat story Trish. I have never heard that.

Frank said...

Wow...that is powerful. It is a perfect opportunity to praise the Lord and to share the gospel with the lost at your wedding. Then if someone doesn't like it...they could always say "the bride requested it." To deny the bride anything on her wedding day would be hard to do, and almost unthinkable. I wasn't saved when I got married...and wish I was. The things that happened at my wedding were a slap in God's face. But if I were to renew my wedding vows...I would definitely share the gospel with everyone there. It would honor God and His Son Christ Jesus. Thanks for sharing.

Jeffrey & Shannon said...

Wow, I never heard that story before!

My husband and I will celebrate our 6th anniversary on the 16th. I love that we had a worship service and Gospel presentation at our wedding - to us it was the most important aspect of the whole event, especially since we had so many lost friends and family members attending.

Bless you guys on your upcoming anniversary.

tammi said...

I'm betting that's the most unique wedding sermon many of your guests had ever heard!! Very memorable, too!

Lisa said...

AWESOME indeed, if only I had been saved when I got married..

Attempting to Walk Each Day Alongside My Savior said...

I remember that day. It was truly wonderful!

Galatians 2:20 said...

Thanks for sharing that. I hope EZ doesn't have a copyright.

Congratulations on your upcoming anniversary. My wife and I just celebrated our 6th anniversary last Monday. Our story wasn't God honoring as we were heathens who eloped in Las Vegas. By God's grace, He saved us both a little over 3 years ago.

I did get to share the Gospel at my brother's wedding by incorporating it (and the law) in a lengthy prayer before 200 people.

Thank you for continuing to share your stories and your tips and we look forward to the return of street fishing.

stranger.strange.land said...

Hi Trish. Congrat's to you and Emilio on your 6 years. (still newlyweds:-)

Our daughter, Rebekah, is getting married on Sept. 19. Knowing what I do about Pastor Metzger, I am sure that everyone will hear the gospel.
________________________________

Did you ever see the scene in the movie, "Adventures in Babysitting" where the musician in the nightclub says, "Nobody gets out of here without singing the blues"?

How about this. "Nobody gets out of here without hearing the Gospel."

Craig

Fish With Trish said...

"Nobody gets out of here without hearing the Gospel."

Love it!

Debunkey Monkey said...

I love it when people share happy memories with others. Thanks Trish.

Brazen Hussey's said...

Trish:

Thanks for sharing that story! And what an honor to have EZ officiate! I'll have to write up mine now that you bring it up.

When my bride and I married, we eloped at 19 years of age, a year after graduating high school. The official was a woman justice of the peace, we were at Lake Tahoe, Nevada, and late to our own ceremony.

We weren't Christians then.

Ten years later, we wanted to glorify Christ and decided to re-vow and re-wed in a church, so we did, and used it to testify to the transformation of the God of the Gospel and how different we were: utterly transformed by Christ.

We invited our unsaved friends and family, and presented the Gospel, and my mom cooked up a mean spread. It was a "Soli Deo Gloria" moment, 5 years ago.

When Christ moves upon a soul, it becomes that soul's desire to share His glorious work with everyone in every way. I'm glad to hear we weren't the only crazy Christians out there! May Christ be glorified in your union.

Mac Garcia said...

Hi Trish! What a great story! :) When we got married, we had a mini sermon at our reception before the guests ate dinner and we gave out Paul Washer's "Shocking Youth Message" on CD to all of our guests as gifts! It was great, many of our family and friends who had never heard the gospel were able to hear it. It was a great feeling for us! And what a wonderful day we shared together!

Samantha Brown said...

Thank you kindly Trish. I am not married, but if the Lord should ever bless me with a husband, I have always said it would be more sermon then ceremony! :-) God bless!