14 Apr 2024
On Saturday, March 2nd, 2024, CERC gathered in Luther Centre, Petaling Jaya, to witness the marriage of members, Samuel Tan and Chloe Lim.
For Sam and Chloe, this wedding was not about themselves but for God to be glorified and for the attendees to know Christ through their wedding.
Chloe, when asked what she and Sam were thinking of when they were planning the wedding, said, “[We hope] to be faithful to God on [what most people consider to be] the biggest day [of their] lives. The main expectation was for the whole event to be evangelistic; to ensure every element [of the wedding] could speak to our friends and family about the Gospel: from the decor, the liturgy, to the sermon, and to even the lunch conversations after the ceremony…”, she added.
It makes sense because weddings are one of the few events in a person’s lifetime where it’s easier to gather many family and friends together. Samuel and Chloe wanted to make the most out of this opportunity.
In the same spirit, members and regulars of CERC, shaped by the same Gospel Sam and Chloe are eager to proclaim, contributed in various roles to achieve the couple’s goal. Some to serve as ushers making attendees feel welcomed, some to facilitate parking, and others to decorate the hall.
The couple had asked Mark Leong, a member of CERC’s Council of Elders, to preach on their special day.
The sermon was based on Revelation 21. The message the couple wanted to convey in choosing this passage was that, “the true hope that is firm and sure is one where Christians can have in God ultimately coming to dwell with His people again on the Last Day. This is only possible through His redeeming of His sinful people through the sending of His Son to atone for His wrath on the cross. His Son’s death and resurrection is the only reason that Christians can have this true hope we look forward to in the end.”
Chloe recounted that many of the guests and family members who attended the wedding were impressed and encouraged by the friendliness, the love, and the effort that was put into the wedding by the church. She also added that one of the guests expressed a desire to have done something similar at her own wedding and she was refreshed to see many young Christians taking the mission of proclaiming the Gospel seriously.
Lunch was served after the formal wedding ceremony. Besides the good food, the couple had also arranged for flash cards with carefully prepared conversation starters, so that discussions about the evangelistic sermon can continue beyond the ceremony.
Sam and Chloe’s wedding was not just a celebration of the union of two individuals, but more profoundly, it demonstrated the transformative power of the Gospel in their lives, such that they used their wedding to be an instrument to bring the Gospel to their friends and family.
We pray for them to continue to live their lives in service to God, our Lord.
