A SERVICE OF CHRISTIAN MARRIAGE for Chad and Becky Strunk

GREETING

Pastor to people:

Friends, we are gathered together in the sight of God

to witness and bless the joining together of Chad and Becky

   in Christian marriage.

The covenant of marriage was established by God,

   who created us male and female for each other.

With his presence and power

   Jesus graced a wedding at Cana of Galilee,

and in his sacrificial love

   gave us the example for the love of husband and wife.

Chad and Becky come to give themselves to one another

   in this holy covenant.

DECLARATION OF INTENTION

DECLARATION BY THE MAN AND THE WOMAN

Pastor to the people:

Just as Becky and Chad are covenanting with each other, so too will you be covenanting with them and will be responding to questions that I ask you when that time comes.

Pastor to the persons who are to marry:

I ask you now, in the presence of God and these people,

to declare your intention

to enter into union with each other

through the grace of Jesus Christ,

   who calls you into union with himself

   as acknowledged in your baptism.

Pastor to the woman:

Becky, will you have Chad to be your husband,

   to live together in holy marriage?

Will you love him, comfort him, honor and keep him,

   in sickness and in health,

and forsaking all others, be faithful to him

   as long as you both shall live?

If so, please respond by saying, “I will”.

Woman: I will.

Pastor to the man:

Chad, will you have Becky to be your wife,

   to live together in holy marriage?

Will you love her, comfort her, honor and keep her,

   in sickness and in health,

and forsaking all others, be faithful to her

   as long as you both shall live?

If so, please respond by saying, “I will”.

Man: I will

RESPONSE OF THE FAMILIES AND THE PEOPLE

Pastor to people:

The marriage of Chad and Becky unites their families

   and creates a new one.

They ask for your blessing.

or, in reply to the pastor's question:

Do you who represent their families

rejoice in their union

and pray God's blessing upon them?

If so, please respond by saying, “We do.”

We do.

Pastor to people:

Will all of you, by God's grace,

do everything in your power

to uphold and care for these two persons in their marriage?

If so, please respond by saying, “We will.”

People: We will.

PRAYER *

The Lord be with you.

And also with you.

Let us pray.

God of all peoples,

you are the true light illumining everyone.

You show us the way, the truth, and the life.

You love us even when we are disobedient.

You sustain us with your Holy Spirit.

We rejoice in your life in the midst of our lives.

We praise you for your presence with us,

and especially in this act of solemn covenant; 

through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

SCRIPTURE READING

1 Corinthians 13 NLT

1 If I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels, but didn’t love others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 If I had the gift of prophecy, and if I understood all of God’s secret plans and possessed all knowledge, and if I had such faith that I could move mountains, but didn’t love others, I would be nothing. 3 If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it; but if I didn’t love others, I would have gained nothing. 4 Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud 5 or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. 6 It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. 7 Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance. 8 Prophecy and speaking in unknown languages and special knowledge will become useless. But love will last forever! 9 Now our knowledge is partial and incomplete, and even the gift of prophecy reveals only part of the whole picture! 10 But when the time of perfection comes, these partial things will become useless. 11 When I was a child, I spoke and thought and reasoned as a child. But when I grew up, I put away childish things. 12 Now we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely. 13 Three things will last forever—faith, hope, and love—and the greatest of these is love.

SERMON

I often heistate using 1 Corinthians 13 as a passage for a wedding…

This may sound odd coming from a pastor,

but I hesitate because I think we cheapen what Paul is writing about when we look at it as merely addressing marital love…

as it is totally not merely addressing that at all.

Rather, Paul is writing his letter to the church in Corinth, a church he founded…

A church that had become embroiled in deep division…

For our sake, it does not matter what the divisions were over…

But the community was bitterly divided and factions within the community were in opposition against one another.

It is this that Paul is addressing in the letter, and in particular, in chapter 13.

Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude.

It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged.

It does not rejoice at injustice, but rejoices whenever the truth wins out.

Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.

Paul’s words are reminding the church that God’s love transcends whatever is causing the division among them…

That God is calling them to LOVE and to move beyond the division…

While Paul is not addressing marriage, these words hold true in marriage…

During wedding ceremonies we hold idealistic views of marriage…

But we all know that there is no such thing as a perfect marriage, a perfect couple or a perfect family.

There will be things, the uncertainties in life, that will creep into this marriage, as they do with all marriages…

There will be disagreements, and not seeing eye to eye…

There will be outside influences, including friends and family, that cause stress in the marriage…

These things exist in all marriages…they affect all marriages…

But if the marriage is founded on God’s love, if Christ is at the center of the marriage…

Then that marriage is centered on LOVE, and not even the gates of hell will prevail against it.

Today we are celebrating the union of a man and a woman who LOVE each other…

And who are committing to LOVE each other throughout the rest of their lives…

THROUGH ALL CIRCUMSTANCES…

You are here today because they see you as being the ones who will support them in their LOVE…

Who will encourage them in their relationship, in their love for each other, and support them in their faith.

Will you vow to be that support…

to LOVE them and support them, and their marriage,

through all circumstances?

That is just as much a part of today as is their holy union…

For LOVE expands and grows and unifies…and all of you are now a part of their extended family…

You are no longer two separate families, but one family who are called to LOVE each other as much as you love this couple…

May 1 Corinthians 13 always be a reminder to you all that LOVE endures all things…and that in all things, you are called to LOVE. Amen.

INTERCESSORY PRAYER*

An extemporaneous prayer may be offered, or the following may be prayed by the pastor or by all:

Eternal God, Creator and Preserver of all life,

 Author of salvation, Giver of all grace:

Bless and sanctify with your Holy Spirit

 Chad and Becky, who come now to join in marriage.

Grant that they may give their vows to each other

  in the strength of your steadfast love.

Enable them to grow in love and peace

  with you and with one another all their days,

  that they may reach out

  in concern and service to the world;

  through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

THE MARRIAGE

 EXCHANGE OF VOWS 

The woman and man face each other, joining hands. The pastor may prompt them, line by line.

Man to woman:

 Chad, please do here repeat after me:

In the name of God,

I, Chad, take you, Becky, to be my wife,

    to have and to hold

    from this day forward,

    for better, for worse,

    for richer, for poorer,

    in sickness and in health,

    to love and to cherish,

    until we are parted by death.

This is my solemn vow.

Woman to man:

Becky, please do here repeat after me:

In the name of God,

I, Becky, take you, Chad, to be my husband,

    to have and to hold

    from this day forward,

    for better, for worse,

    for richer, for poorer,

    in sickness and in health,

    to love and to cherish,

    until we are parted by death.

This is my solemn vow.

BLESSING AND EXCHANGE OF RINGS  

The pastor, taking the rings, may say one of the following:

These rings (symbols)

are the outward and visible sign

    of an inward and spiritual grace,

signifying to us the union

    between Jesus Christ and his Church.

These rings (symbols)

are the outward and visible sign

    of an inward and spiritual grace,

signifying to all the uniting of Chad and Becky in holy marriage.

The pastor may bless the giving of rings or other symbols of the marriage:

Bless, O Lord, the giving of these rings (symbols),

that they who wear them may live in your peace

    and continue in your favor

    all the days of their life;

    through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

While placing the ring on the third finger of the recipient's left hand, the giver may say (prompted, line by line, by the pastor):

Chad, please take this ring and, placing it on Becky's left hand, on her ring finger, repeat after me:

Name, I give you this ring

    as a sign of my vow,

and with all that I am,

and all that I have,

    I honor you;

in the name of the Father,

    and of the Son,

    and of the Holy Spirit.

Becky, please take this ring and, placing it on Chad’s left hand, on her ring finger, repeat after me:

Chad, I give you this ring

    as a sign of my vow,

and with all that I am,

and all that I have,

    I honor you;

in the name of the Father,

    and of the Son,

    and of the Holy Spirit.

If a unity candle is used, the two side candles representing the husband and wife are lighted first, and the center candle representing the marriage is lighted at this or some later point in the service. The side candles are not extinguished because both husband and wife retain their personal identities.

DECLARATION OF MARRIAGE

The wife and husband join hands. The pastor may place a hand on their joined hands.

Pastor to husband and wife:

You have declared your consent and vows

    before God and this congregation.

May God confirm your covenant

    and fill you both with grace.

The couple may turn and face the congregation.

Pastor to people:

Now that Chad and Becky

    have given themselves to each other by solemn vows,

    with the joining of hands,

   and the giving and receiving of rings ,

I announce to you that they are husband and wife;

    in the name of the Father,

    and of the Son,

    and of the Holy Spirit.

Those whom God has joined together,

    let no one tear apart Amen.

Pastor to couple:

You may now seal your covenant between one another with a holy and loving kiss.

BLESSING OF THE MARRIAGE *

The husband and wife may kneel, as the pastor prays:

O God,

you have so consecrated

    the covenant of Christian marriage

    that in it is represented

    the covenant between Christ and his Church.

Send therefore your blessing upon Becky and Chad,

    that they may surely keep their marriage covenant,

    and so grow in love and godliness together

    that their home may be a haven of blessing and peace.

Most gracious God,

we give you thanks for your tender love

    in making us a covenant people

    through our Savior Jesus Christ

    and for consecrating in his name

    the marriage covenant of Name and Name.

Grant that their love for each other

    may reflect the love of Christ for us

    and grow from strength to strength

    as they faithfully serve you in the world.

Defend them from every enemy.

Lead them into all peace.

Let their love for each other

    be a seal upon their hearts,

    a mantle about their shoulders,

    and a crown upon their heads.

Bless them

    in their work and in their companionship;

    in their sleeping and in their waking;

    in their joys and in their sorrows;

    in their lives and in their deaths.

Finally, by your grace,

    bring them and all of us to that table

    where your saints feast for ever

    in your heavenly home;

through Jesus Christ our Lord,

    who with you and the Holy Spirit

    lives and reigns,

    one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

SENDING FORTH 

Here may be sung a hymn or psalm. See suggestions.

DISMISSAL WITH BLESSING *

Pastor to wife and husband:

God the Eternal keep you in love with each other,

    so that the peace of Christ may abide in your home.

Go to serve God and your neighbor in all that you do.

Pastor to people:

Bear witness to the love of God in this world,

    so that those to whom love is a stranger

    will find in you generous friends.

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ,

    and the love of God,

    and the communion of the Holy Spirit

    be with you all. Amen.