Posted on 22 Mar 2022 by Jan Tie
“Marriage is not just between two people, but it is designed for service to God, and to the world.”
On the 29th of January 2022, CERC celebrated Jared Mea and Yu DeYing’s wedding, the first wedding of many more to come for this year. It is always a joyous occasion to celebrate weddings for marriage, as understood in the Bible, is sacred and designed by God for His glory.
The newly weds together with church members
Due to the pandemic, Jared and DeYing had chosen to postpone their wedding twice. Jared later on explained in his groom’s speech that he and DeYing were willing to wait until government SOPs allowed for the church to witness the solemnisation of their marriage in person, because they understood marriage was a public institution and was to be witnessed by the church so they [the couple] can be held accountable for their vows.
The wedding started with the reading of Ephesians 5:15-33 which highlights how marriage is meant to reflect Christ’s own marriage to His bride, the Church. The couple, concerned for their friends and family who had not yet heard the gospel, also selected songs that spoke of the love of God and the mystery of the gospel that saves.
David Kuok, 3rd-year Church Ministers’ Apprentice*, preached the wedding sermon. David shared how he knew Jared and DeYing from a few years back when he led their Growth Group. He shared how they had understood the gospel and it changed both their lives. From a desire to travel the world and live his own life without commitments, Jared made the big decision to stay back in Malaysia to work as a doctor because he understood that committing to a local church was necessary for his growth in the gospel, and allowed him to serve and love the church. The gospel had helped both Jared and DeYing to realize that all of life is for service to God.
David then preached from Gen 2:4-25, showing how the very first marriage was instituted, and what God intended it for. All subsequent marriages were therefore to follow this same design and creation order. As shown in Scripture, in both Gen 2:4-25 and Eph 5:15-33, marriage is not just between two people for themselves, but because the world is made by God for God, marriage too is for God.
After the sermon, Pr Robin Gan, Lead Elder of CERC, officiated the wedding. Jared and DeYing, both members of CERC, took their vows in covenantal love to each other before God and their local church, CERC. “Those whom God has put together, let no one put asunder,” was the thunderous echo of the church members as witnesses of this marriage.
Friends and fellow members of the church then prayed for the couple, that their marriage would truly glorify God in every way, in both the leadership of the husband, and submission of the wife, and in the bringing up their children (if God wills) in the Lord. In closing, Jared gave his groom’s speech, thanking family and friends for their presence, and urging them to take to heart the message of the gospel that was preached to them that day.
*The Church Ministers’ Apprenticeship (CMA) programme is a 2-year training for men and women who are considering full-time paid ministry.
