Batzig Wedding Sermon

For some time now I have wanted to post a link to the sermon that my friend Ed Verbeke preached at my wedding. Ed is a very special individual. I met Ed six years ago when I was traveling cross country to visit seminaries. As I made my way into Colorado Springs, I happened across a small RPCNA church that had Sunday evening service. I saw a small podium (approximately 2 1/2 feet tall) and a stool that was very close to the ground in the front of the room in which we were gathered to worship. I wondered whether this was some sort of weird regulative principle practice of sitting down for the reading and preaching of the word. (I have seen enough strange practices that this would not have surprised me!) Ed came walking in, canes in hand and talking to several individuals along the way. Ed has brittle bone disease, and has been in hospitals since he was a very young child. Nevertheless, Ed is a man who is greatly used by the Lord.

As he preached from Hebrews 4:14-16 I quickly realized that God’s hand was upon this man in a powerful way. I still remember the sermon and several of the major points to this day. After the service Ed and I spoke for a little while. He explained that he was a student at Sangre De Cristo Seminary–the school I was planning on visiting the next day.

Ed and I had a wonderful three days together at the school in the Sangre de Cristo mountain range of Westcliffe, CO. We sang hymns, prayed and talked about the Scripture the entire time. Ed and I bonded in a special way. He told me all the experiences he had as a missionary on an Indian reservation (much like Jonathan Edwards!), as well as in nursing homes and prisons.

I had a strange sense that I had heard Ed’s name before meeting him. As a new believer I had begun reading articles on the internet to help guide me through my theological studies. I had come across a very unique paper, in which the author had written a hypothetical debate between Dwight Pentecost and Jonathan Edwards. It was an incredibly creative and theologically rich paper. I had somehow remembered reading Ed’s name on the article.

Ed and I continued to stay in touch throughout the years. When I first met Anna, I was eager for her to get to know Ed as well. After talking with him on the phone, she quickly agreed that Ed should preach at our wedding. We flew Ed to Augusta, GA and spent a few days together prior to the wedding. We had a wonderful time together that week.

Ed preached from John 2:1-11 at our wedding. While this is a common portion of Scripture for weddings, Ed preached the text in his typical creative style. You can listen to it here.

When I was at Tenth Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia, we brought Ed in to do nursing home training videos for the nursing home ministry at Tenth. Ed had been the chaplain of the Reformed Presbyterian Retirement Home in Pittsburgh. He is uniquely gifted to minister to the physically and spiritually needy. You can watch those videos here.

I know you will be blessed by listening to the wedding sermon and watching the nursing home videos. There are not very many resources out there to guide ministers in these particular areas; and, there are not many men like Ed who instruct so well in them.