Sean and Lyndsey Wedding
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
Who gives this woman to this man in marriage?
Please Be Seated!
As we start, let’s ask God’s blessing on this special couple on this special day - pray
Welcome friends and family to this very special day. Today we celebrate two incredible people who have become quite the couple. Many of you all have known Sean and Lyndsey since they were kids running around in your house at family functions or as friends that you’d have fun with after school got out or as people who would always be there to support you and have your back. This is a day of celebration and we honor the commitment that they are making today before the people that they love the most and before their Creator and Savior, Jesus Christ. I’ve only had the opportunity to know these two for a year or so, but I’ve really gotten to know them the last 6 months. You get to know people really well in pre-marital counseling. You get to hear “the story” about how Sean came to his senses and realized that Lyndsey was the “one” for him. You get to hear the story about how Lyndsey knew this for months and kept on waiting for Sean to wake up. You get to hear how God has provided for both of them and how he led them to one another. You also get to hear the story of how they met and how Sean was doing his laundry in college in shorts and crocs and that basically sealed the deal for Lyndsey! It’s been fun to watch this couple grow closer to one another but also to grow closer with the Lord as they enter into this covenant of marriage.
Sean and Lyndsey had several Scripture passages that they liked and it was tough to narrow it down to just 1, so I want to read from Ephesians 4 and 1 Peter 4 and share briefly what truly is special about this day and about the love that exists between this couple and their Creator
2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love,
3 making every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.
8 Above all, maintain constant love for one another, since love covers a multitude of sins.
Sean and Lyndsey, today is a joyful day as you enter into a new chapter of your life with one another. This next chapter will include amazing moments that you’ll experience together and it will also include reality which means that there will be moments that test your patience. In the highs and lows of this next chapter, the thing that will help you endure and grow in your relationship with one another is the love of God. We can love one another because God first loved us - we know that He loved us so much that He sent His Son to die for us on the cross. This love compels us to love one another, especially our spouse.
The Bible shares with us that marriage is a covenant, not a contract. A contract can be broken whenever one party fails to do what it promises to do… a covenant is different as both parties promise to do their part, even when the other party stumbles. We know this because God has entered into a covenant with His people - He doesn’t leave us whenever we sin or whenever we make a poor decision for the 100th time. He promises to be faithful. This is the Gospel truth! As you enter into this covenant of marriage, it is a serious time because it is a lifelong commitment. It will require sacrifice, humility, gentleness, patience, and sometimes some compromise as well. Lyndsey, you might have to remind Sean of something 4-5 times and it will drive you crazy. Sean, you might have to buy a white board and write down your weekly work schedule so that Lyndsey doesn’t keep pinging your phone to figure out when you’re going to be home. There will be difficult moments, but in a covenant where both parties are first looking to Jesus and then looking to love one another, you will get through them because that love will remain. Feelings and emotions will evaporate. But God will carry you through and the sacrifices that you make will be well worth it as you become more and more like your Savior through this sanctifying journey. A Godly marriage isn’t just made through love and fun, it requires intentionality and effort and commitment. If you are both willing to profess this level of lifelong commitment to one another and enter into this covenant before God, your family, and friends, please look at one another and say, “We Do.”
Separate Option
Sean, repeat after me. I, Sean, take you Lyndsey, to be my wife, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better, and for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death do us part.
Lynsey, repeat after me. I, Lyndsey, take you Sean, to be my husband, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better, and for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death do us part.
Sean and Lyndsey will now exchange rings as a symbol of their lifelong commitment to one another.
The wedding ring symbolizes many things. The circular shape knows no beginning or end just as God’s love for His children knows no beginning or end. The wedding ring is made from precious metals and this illustrates the cost associated with God’s love for each of us in sending Jesus to die in our place on the cross. The wedding ring demonstrates a public commitment for you two and for others that you pledge yourself wholly to your spouse. Family and friends, this couple has asked you to be here on this special day as they enter into this covenant between themselves and the Lord - you are not only here as witnesses, but you are here as supporters, friends, family members, and loved ones to encourage them and pour into them in the days to come. I’d like to ask you all, as witnesses, to commit to several things and to encourage this special couple.
We commit to pray for Sean and Lyndsey
We commit to encourage Sean and Lyndsey
We commit to support Sean and Lyndsey
Sean and Lyndsey, I pray that these rings remind you of your vows to one another and the promise that you have made before your family and before your God.
Sean, repeat after me: With this ring, I give you my heart… From this day forward, you will not walk alone. I promise to love you as Jesus loves His church and lead you to be more like Him. From this day, until our last day. (Place your ring on her finger)
Lyndsey, repeat after me: With this ring, I give you my heart… From this day forward, you will not walk alone. I promise to love you and to follow you. From this day, until our last day. (Place your ring on his finger)
Unity Ceremony:
The Bride and Groom have chosen to do a branding ceremony as a symbol of their unity.
Branding is a tradition that signifies identity and a sense of belonging.
A brand means history, family, and the love that started it all.
Today, gathered together among family and friends, Sean & Lyndsey, will make their own brand together.
As a sign of their love for each other and the intertwining of their lives, they will brand this cowhide.
May it serve as a visual reminder of this love that is etched within your hearts that has brought the two of you together.
This brand will be on display in their home to show their devotion to each other, today, tomorrow, and for the rest of their lives.
To help them find their way back home if ever lost in the turbulent storms of life.
To remind them of the love and support that each of you have given them today and that you continue to give each and every day.
As this brand, once forged, cannot be undone, so shall their promise to each other will stand the test of time.
Together, please take the branding iron and mark your initials into the hide.
(Pause and as the hide is branded.)
Lyndsey & Sean, may your love leave a branded mark upon this world wherever you go, with whoever it is that you may touch with your lives
PRAY
Today we have gathered to celebrate what God has done in bringing Sean and Lyndsey together. We have witnessed their marriage vows before ourselves and our God.
By the authority invested in me as a pastor of Jesus Christ, in the presence of God and these family members and friends in attendance, it is my honor to pronounce you husband and wife. What God has joined together, let no man separate!
Sean - you may now kiss your bride!
Ladies and Gentlemen, I now present to you for the first time, Mr. and Mrs. Sean Loughridge