Prelude
Mother’s Song
Wedding Processional
Pastor’s Greeting & Prayer
On behalf of our Lord Jesus Christ, and _____ and _____, I welcome you here this afternoon as we witness and celebrate the love found between these two persons. Please remain standing as I read a couple scriptures describing the beginning of love.
Genesis 1:27-31
"So God created people in his own image; God patterned them after himself; male and female he created them.
God blessed them and told them, “Multiply and fill the earth and subdue it. Be masters over the fish and birds and all the animals.”
Then God looked over all he had made, and he saw that it was excellent in every way."
Genesis 2:18-24
"And the Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a companion who will help him.” So the Lord God formed from the soil every kind of animal and bird. He brought them to Adam to see what he would call them, and Adam chose a name for each one. He gave names to all the livestock, birds, and wild animals. But still there was no companion suitable for him. So the Lord God caused Adam to fall into a deep sleep. He took one of Adam’s ribs and closed up the place from which he had taken it. The Lord God made a woman from the rib and brought her to Adam.
“At last!” Adam exclaimed. “She is part of my own flesh and bone! She will be called ‘woman,’ because she was taken out of a man.”
This explains why a man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one."
Opening Prayer
Lord, we thank you for the gift of companionship and the gift of love. We are here today to celebrate the love you have given to _____ and _____ to share together for the rest of their lives. Lord, be present with us here today and especially be present with them as they make covenant through the exchange vows and become one flesh. Help them to remember this special day and the experience of your presence as the love between them is sealed. We welcome you and we honor you during this wedding service. It is in your name we pray, Amen.
(Be Seated)
Admonition to Holy Matrimony (From the Book of Common Prayer)
Declaration of Intent (From the Book of Common Prayer, except for what is below)
Brian, Alicia, Christ calls you into union with him and with one another. I ask you now in the presence of God and of this assembly to declare your intent.
Giving of the Bride
Who presents this woman to be married to this man?
Her mother and I.
Wedding Message
_____ and _____, today has become a holiday, which will be celebrated every year for the rest of your life. This will probably be the only time you have the power to declare a certain day a holiday which will be observed by others. This in not just a personal holiday, nor a national holiday, but a world holiday. It will be celebrated wherever you are as waiters sing, “Happy Anniversary,” or your children throw surprise parties for you.
What you are celebrating on your anniversary is the biggest, most important decision you have ever made. It is a decision that lasts a lifetime and which will affect every other decision you will ever make. The decision is the giving of your life to the one you love.
What you are doing today is establishing a covenant. In the presence of God you will exchange vows which will seal your love for life. Do you remember one of the very first questions I asked you during our times together? “How long do you plan to be married?” Do you remember that question? The answer you gave was, “For life.”
Some people ask the question, “Why would two people knowingly enter the presence of God, call together all their friends and family, spend all sorts of money, and surrender their life to someone else?” The answer, I believe, is love.
I want to read some scripture from Isaiah 43:1-4.
But now, O Israel, the Lord who created you says: “Do not be afraid, for I have ransomed you. I have called you by name; you are mine. When you go through deep waters and great trouble, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown! When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up; the flames will not consume you. For I am the Lord, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior. I gave Egypt, Ethiopia, and Seba as a ransom for your freedom. Others died that you might live. I traded their lives for yours because you are precious to me. You are honored, and I love you.
These are awesome words from God to us. This is an example of how much God loves us. I chose this scripture because the relationship you have with each other is the same relationship God desires with all of us. I want to talk briefly on four statements God makes in this scripture and how it relates to your relationship with each other.
1. You are mine. (Ownership)
This is a statement of ownership. The Lord is telling us that we do not need to be afraid of anything because he owns us. In fact, he knows our names. He knows us intimately. He knows what hurts us, he knows what causes us to laugh, he knows all of our needs, and he knows our past. In spite of all of this, he loves us.
Does this sound familiar? The two of you know each other pretty well. (Man), you know what hurts (Woman). (Woman), you know what causes (Man) to laugh. You know each other’s needs, and you know each others past. (Woman), you know how much (Man) enjoys video games, and yet you love him – unconditionally.
As you exchange vows in a few minutes you will be transferring ownership of yourself to the other. (Man), you will no longer belong to yourself, you will belong to (Woman). And (Woman), you will belong to (Man). You will own each other. Just as God assures us that our relationship with him is secure, you are telling each other through your vows that your relationship with each other is secure. “I (Man) take you (Woman) to be my wife.” What you are saying to each other is that you know one another and have given everything to possess one another because you love one another.
You will find comfort in your mutual ownership. Knowing that you have given yourself to each other will bring assurance that you will be well taken care of. This leads me to number 2.
2. I will be with you. (Protection)
God assures us that no matter what we go through in life, he is with us. There will be times in your life where you will feel like you are in deep waters, doing everything you can to keep your head above. During those times you may not be aware of everything that is going on around you, but you can be sure that God is present with you.
In the vows you will be exchanging you will declare to one another that, “I will hold you for better for worse, for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health.” No matter what you go through (Man), (Woman) will be with you.
Which reminds me of a difficult time my wife and I went through a couple years after we had been married. I had spent the day with a friend doing some target shooting and in the course of our conversation we brought up or vehicles. My friend has never owned anything but a Corvette. At the time I had a Mazda 323 with around 160,000 miles. I got it in my head that it was time to purchase a newer, better vehicle. So, on the way home from the range I stopped at a dealership and purchased a new car. The salesperson assured me that my wife would love it so I drove it home to surprise her. When I got home I asked my wife, “Guess what I bought?” Pregnant with our first child my wife responded, “You didn’t buy a new gun, did you?” At that point I knew we were going to have a little trouble. I said, “No. Think bigger.” She couldn’t guess so I told her I bought a new car. She asked me how many miles were on it and I told her 27. She couldn’t believe that I would go out and buy a car with only 27000 miles on it when we were expecting our first child and wondered how we would afford that! Then I had to tell her that it only had 27 miles.
Needless to say, my wife stuck with me through the entire episode, all the way back to the dealership!
It is important to know that whatever you go through as an individual, the other is there with you. Don’t ever allow your partner to feel alone.
My Wife had this scripture reference inscribed on the ring she gave to me: Ruth 1:16-17:
Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the Lord deal with me, be it ever so severely, if anything but death separates you and me.
3. You are precious to me. (Value)
We are precious to God. We know this because he allowed Jesus to die a horrible death on the cross so that he could be close to us again.
The fact that you are here today proves that you view each other as precious. (Man), when you look at (Woman) how many things become worthless compared to her. Everything! She is precious to you!
Nothing is more valuable in life than the relationship the two of you will share. Make sure you let each other know how precious they are to you. Remember what it was like whenever (Man) entered a room before you were dating. Or the feelings you experienced the first time he took your hand in his. That is precious. (man), you should feel honored whenever (Woman) offers to cook a meal, no matter how good those meals are.
(Personal Story)
4. I love you. (Love)
Love is one of the most misunderstood words today. I can’t tell you how many times I hear people say they don’t love their spouse anymore. Love is so much more than a feeling. Love is a decision – it is an act of your will. Today, you are deciding to love each other for the rest of your life. You are making a decision. There will be days when you won’t feel much love for each other. Maybe you have already experienced that. The fact is, a holiday has already been declared celebrating your love for each other. You can look back at (Date) as the day of decision – the day your love was sealed.
(Read 1 Corinthians 13 – The Love Chapter)
If you are able to love this way, your relationship will succeed.
I am excited for the two of you. I have really enjoyed getting to know you and can clearly see the dedication and love between the two of you. You work well together. You’ve worked hard together to get the house you live in. I am happy that I am able to be a part of this sacred moment. Are you ready to step forward and seal your love?
Exchange of the Vows (From the Book of Common Prayer)
Exchange of Rings (From the Book of Common Prayer)
What tokens of promise do you give as signs of your marriage covenant?
The wedding ring is the outward and visible sign of an inward and spiritual grace, signifying to all the uniting of (Man) and (Woman) in holy matrimony. There are two things we notice about these rings. First, that they are round. The circle represents God’s eternal love for us and the eternal love between (Man) and (Woman). There is no beginning, and there is no end. Second, the ring is made of a precious metal – one sought after by people. This symbolizes the precious love experienced between (Man) and (Woman). Wherever you go you will carry these rings with you reminding you of the covenant made this day. And whoever sees these rings will know that you belong to another.
Prayer Over Rings
Declaration of Matrimony (From the Book of Common Prayer)
Consecration of Marriage (From the Book of Common Prayer)
Lighting the Unity Candle
(Man) and (Woman) have chosen to light a unity candle together. The two side candles represent their individual lives. The larger, center candle symbolizes their joining together as one in marriage.
As you symbolize your union by the lighting of this candle, remember these words of Jesus, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life.” May Christ’s light ever burn brightly in your lives, giving you comfort and guidance along the way.
Embrace
Presentation
I am honored to present to you for the first time, Mr. & Mrs._____ _____.
