Me: Father, we acknowledge your Presence today as we gather to celebrate along with your children, Doug and Charity, 29 years of marriage. Lord, as they repledge today their sacred vows to one another, please let us have an awareness of Your Holy Spirit here and now. You are the Great I AM, the same yesterday, today, and forever, Lord Jesus. This is an act of worship and welcome you to be here in the midst of us. In Jesus Name.
Me: Charity and Doug, when you were first joined in holy matrimony 29 years ago, you didn't know what life had in store for you. You promised to love, honor and cherish one another through life's highs and lows. And here we are. You've persevered through the blessings and challenges that have come your way over the years, and today you're here to reaffirm your vows of love, respect for and commitment to one other. On this beautiful occasion, there are some new witnesses who were not there when you first pledged your undying love to one another. What a privilege to have your own children here. They are witnesses that marriage, as God intended it, can last a lifetime. They’ve lived in your household and seen your struggles and pains, failures and victories, the highs and lows of the ministry that you’ve built together, and they’ve seen the power of your love to endure… and they’ve seen you grow… marriage is about growth. There are aspects of grace and mercy and forgiveness and love and growth, and the list goes on, that can only be learned in the beautiful mystery of the marriage relationship. And so, God made it to be…
The apostle Paul tells us that the relationship between husband and wife is a reflection of the relationship between Christ and the church. In Ephesians 5, he looks back to the creation of the first man and woman and their relationship as a model. It is significant that the LORD God placed Adam and Eve in a garden called Eden, Paradise. They were separated from the rest of creation into a place where, as they worked together, they could help one another flourish. They were in a separated, or holy, place. Marriage is holy and even with all its struggles, it is meant to be a place of delight. In your mutual submission to one another’s unique needs in Christ, you show the sacrificial love of Christ to your family, the church, and the world. Husbands are to love their wives as Christ loved the church giving themselves up for them sacrificially. Wives, in like manner, are to surrender to their husbands as the church does to Christ. You’ve done this and worked at it. And we celebrate with you today!
As you celebrate your marriage, reflect on your shared journey, and look ahead into your thirtieth year together and more in the covenant of marriage, do you now wish to reaffirm the marriage vows you committed to twenty-nine years ago?
Doug and Charity: We do.
Me: Please face each other and join hands. And before you recommit to these vows to one another, I want to read a passage of Scripture in your hearing that defines one of the words that you will say to one another in these vows: Love.
Me (Scripture Reading):
I Corinthians 13:4-13 (NKJV):
4 Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; 5 does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; 6 does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; 7 bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
8 Love never fails…
11 When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things…
13 And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.
Me: You know way more about love than when you first said those words to one another. The word loves hits differently when you have the experience together that you two have. With these attributes of love and with your own experience of marriage the past 29 years in mind…
Me: Doug, will you continue to have Charity as your wedded spouse and continue to be committed to this loving marriage?
Doug: I will.
Me: Do you reaffirm your love for Charity, and will you love, honor and cherish her in sickness and in health, for richer or poorer, for better or worse, and forsaking all others, be faithful to her for as long as you both shall live?
Doug: I do.
Me: Charity, will you continue to have Doug as your wedded spouse and continue to be committed to this loving marriage?
Charity: I will.
Me: Do you reaffirm your love for Doug, and will you love, honor and cherish him in sickness and in health, for richer or poorer, for better or worse, and forsaking all others, be faithful to him for as long as you both shall live?
Charity: I do.
Me: Doug and Charity, on your wedding day you exchanged rings to symbolize your unending love and commitment to each other. May these rings always serve as a reminder of your vows to each other as long as you live together in love. To remind you of your commitment to one another, it is appropriate for you now to exchange rings once again.
Me: Doug, please place the ring on Charity’s hand and repeat after me: "With this ring, I pledge my renewed love and commitment to you."
Me: Charity, please place the ring on Doug’s hand and repeat after me: "With this ring, I pledge my renewed love and commitment to you."
Me: Prayer of blessing on the coming years. Lord, you are a witness to this recommitment. You created marriage. You brought this couple together, and you have kept them together through the joys and pains that are a part of human life. Lord, as they go forward into the thirtieth year of marriage, let it be the beginning of the most fruitful and flourishing years of their lives. Protect them, bless them, strengthen them. Fulfill their desires. For you said that if we would delight ourselves in you, you would give us the desires of our hearts. Fill them to overflowing with your Spirit, let your kingdom come and your will be done in them as it is in heaven. We entrust the coming years to you and as they grow older together let the bond of love grow in ways they have never imagined. In Jesus Name!
Me: Doug and Charity, you renewed your marriage vows today and reaffirmed your shared love for one another. With pleasure, I now conclude this vow renewal ceremony. You may now share a kiss as a sign of your enduring affection.
Me: Friends and Family, I present to you, Mr. and Mrs. Douglas Kaler!
