TOM AND HEATHER BEK

ORDER OF SERVICE

§ Prelude (3:15p)

§ Processional

§ Words of Welcome

Minister: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. On behalf of Tom and Heather and their families, I want to welcome you and thank you so much for gathering to witness this marriage, and to celebrate what God is up to in the life of this couple. You may be seated.

§ Declaration of Purpose

Minister:

We are gathered here to praise God for the covenant of grace and reconciliation made with us through Jesus Christ, and to hear it proclaimed anew as we witness the covenant of marriage Tom and Heather make with each other in Christ’s name.

Christian marriage is a joyful convenanting between a man and a woman in which they proclaim, before God and human witnesses, their commitment to live together in spiritual, physical, and material unity. In this covenant they acknowledge that the great love that God has shown for each of them enables them to love each other. They affirm that God’s gracious presence and abiding power are needed for them to keep their vows, to continue to live in love, and to be faithful servants of Christ in this world; human commitment is fragile and human love imperfect, but the promise of God is eternal and the love of God can bring our love to perfection.

§ Declaration of Intent

Minister: (To Tom)

Before God and these witnesses, will you, Tom, take Heather to be your wife, to live together in the covenant of marriage?

Tom: (Earnestly) uhm, yes.

Minister: (To Heather)

Before God and these witnesses, will you, Heather, take Tom to be your husband, to live together in the covenant of marriage?

Heather: (With enthusiasm) Yes.

Minister: Will you who witness this covenant between Tom and Heather respect their marriage and sustain them with your friendship and care?

Congregation: Fo’ sho’.

Minister: (To Congregation) Who gives this woman to be married to this man?

Father of the Bride: I do/Her mother and I.

§ Invocation

Minister:

Because God has instituted marriage and intends for it to bring blessing and joy, and since we have gathered to witness this covenant between Tom and Heather, and because they have come with the intent to make it, let us pray to God, who will establish and keep this marriage with His abiding love.

*prayer to God asking for His blessing on the marriage and His presence throughout the ceremony.

§ Public Reading of Scripture (Eph. 5:1-2, 21-33 NIV)

Minister:

1 Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. 2 And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God… 21 submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.

22 Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. 23 For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior. 24 Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands.

25 Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, 26 that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, 27 so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish. 28 In the same way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. 29 For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church, 30 because we are members of his body. 31 “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” 32 This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church. 33 However, let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.

§ Homily

Based out of Ephesians 5 NIV

***8-10 mins***

§ Prayer of Blessing Over the Couple

Heavenly Father, would you bless and keep Tom and Heather. Would you make your face shine upon them, and be gracious to them. Because of Your love, would you lift Your countenance upon them, and give them peace and joy as they embark on this new journey together. Father, would you use this adventure to make them more like Your Son, Jesus, who served and loved us with everything He had. And so would you continue to draw Tom and Heather together as an image of the way You long to draw all people to Yourself. And may they be a masterpiece of Your love made visible all the days of their lives. Not by their own effort, poise, or concession; but only by Your grace, and in the name of your Son Jesus. Amen.

§ Exchanging of Vows

Minister: Well Tom and Heather, now we come to the exchanging of vows. I know you’ve prepared your own vows to offer, so Tom I’ll turn it over to you first.

To Tom: Will you love and comfort her, honor and keep her, and, in joy and in sorrow, in sickness and in health, preserve with her this bond, and, forsaking all others, will you be faithful to her as long as you both shall live?

To Heather: Will you love and comfort him, honor and keep him, and, in joy and in sorrow, in sickness and in health, preserve with him this bond, and, forsaking all others, will you be faithful to him as long as you both shall live?

§ Exchanging of Rings

Minister: In keeping with God’s design for marriage, covenants have always had signs to serve as a binding reminder of the commitment made. And you, Tom and Heather, have chosen rings to be an enduring symbol of your marriage covenant. May we now have the rings?

These rings have no beginning and no end, and as such they set forth the eternal nature of real love. As you wear them, they will represent the love and trust that you promise to each other this day, and serve as an abiding sign of your union

(To groom) Tom, will you take this ring and place it on Heather’s finger, and as you do, repeat to her, after me, these words:

I give you this ring as a token and pledge of my abiding faith and love. In the Name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

(To bride) Heather, will you take this ring and place it on Tom’s finger, and as you do, repeat to him, after me, these words:

I give you this ring as a token and pledge of my abiding faith and love. In the Name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

§ Pronouncement of Marriage and Sign of Peace

Minister: Well Tom and Heather, Inasmuch as you have exchanged vows and rings, before God and these gathered witnesses, by virtue of the authority entrusted to me as a minister of Christ’s church, and in agreement with the laws of the state, I now pronounce you husband and wife. “What God has joined together, let man not separate.”

[MOVE OUT OF THE WAY] Tom, you may kiss the bride.

§ Presentation of the Couple

Minister: And now, it is my honor to be the first to present to you Mr. and Mrs. Tom and Heather Bek.

§ Recessional

Minister: The bride and groom are excited to celebrate with you all, but to help them remember this day they also want to get pictures! I know it’s hot, but if you would please remain seated, Tom and Heather are going to return to take pictures with you guys. After you’ve had your picture with the couple, you’re free to grab a reception bag and head to the reception area. May you all be blessed in the Lord in both your coming and your going, amen.

§ Postlude