Jacob and Shirlaine Wedding

Entrance - Wedding Party

Entrance - Shirlaine and boys

Welcome - Prayer

We are gathered here tonight in the presence of God and these witnesses to join Jacob and Shirlaine in holy marriage. Marriage is not something to be entered into lightly. These two are committing to each other today into a bond of love and affection. Because of their faith in God to be the cornerstone of their life and marriage, let’s pray and invite the Lord to bless this time.

Prayer

Our Father, we come before you on this holy occasion with our hearts filled with the spirit of love and thanksgiving. We praise and worship you as the giver of life and creator of all good things. As we enter into this service, we most particularly give you thanks for the holy union of marriage, the most sacred of all human relationships. We pray for your presence here today and your blessings upon Jacob and Shirlaine as they enter their new life together. Above all else, we thank you for Jesus, who gives meaning, direction, and hope to all human relationships. We pray in his name. Amen.

You may be seated

Statement of purpose/Sermonette

Every couple and every wedding is different. Some happen in the summer, under sunshine and birds and others…well. But one things that is the same is the gathering of family, friends around a couple who is professing their life long devotion to one another.

Marriage the most sacred of all human relationships. It is one that God has ordained and given us examples of. After creating Adam, God made an observation about this new creature…This is what he said as recorded in Genesis 2:18 “18 The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.””

It was then that God created Eve as a partner for Adam. From then on, it was God’s design to have a man and woman join in partnership together as husband and wife.

Just as every wedding is different so is the story of the couple getting married. The story of this couple and their journey here has been unconventional. From their first meeting, it was not love at first sight…at least from one side. But persistence and patience eventually brought these two together. Together they helped raise each other’s children. Raising them up together from babies and toddlers to the amazing young adults they are today.

Somehow, someway, their commitment and love for one another only grew with the years. God’s word has a few things to say about love. Matt, would you come read the scripture from 1 Corinthians 13?

1 Corinthians 13 NIV

1 If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. 3 If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing. 4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. 8 Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10 but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. 11 When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. 12 For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. 13 And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

This is probably the most used scripture in weddings, but the Apostle Paul who wrote it, was not talking about marriage. He was talking about the kind of love that should be present in all Christian relationships.

Love is about sacrifice, it is about valuing the others above yourselves. One thing I know about you both, Jacob and Shirlaine, you know what it means to love. I see it in your jobs, in your lifelong friendships, I see in your blended family, in the kids and most of all I see it in the two of you.

A love that allows the other to be who they are, but at the same time complimenting each others gifts. The challenge ahead will be continuing to foster this love for one another in whatever the future may hold. In good times, celebrating together with Jesus, in bad times leaning on another and turning to Jesus for help.

Declaration of Consent

At this time, I have a few questions for each of you. Please turn to face each other as you consider these questions:

Jacob, will you have this woman to be your wife, to live together in the holy covenant of marriage? Will you love her, comfort her, honor her, and keep her in sickness and in health and, forsaking all others, be faithful to her so long as you both shall live? If so, answer, “I will.”

Shirlaine, will you have this man to be your husband, to live together in the holy covenant of marriage? Will you love him, comfort him, honor and keep him in sickness and in health and, forsaking all others, be faithful to him so long as you both shall live? If so, answer, “I will.”

Vows

At this time, Jacob and Shirlaine will express their personal vows of love and devotion to one another

Typical on hand vows…may not use.

Jacob, repeat this vow to Shirlaine after me: I, Jacob, take you, Shirlaine, 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 death do us part; as God is my witness, I give you my promise.

Likewise, Shirlaine, repeat this vow to Jacob after me: I, Shirlaine, take you, Jacob, 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 death do us part; as God is my witness, I give you my promise.

Exchange rings (Who will have rings?)

Having expressed your vows of love and devotion to one another, the couple has chosen to exchange rings as a sign and seal of their vows..

***Presenting rings to all say:

Though small in size, these rings are very large in significance. Made of precious metal, they remind us that love is not cheap nor common; indeed, love may cost us dearly.

Made in a circle, their design tells us that love must never come to an end; we must keep it continuous.

As you wear these rings, whether together or apart for a moment, may they be constant reminders of these glad promises that you are making today.

Jacob, Please take this ring and place it upon Shirlaine’s left hand, and repeat after me this promise: I give you this ring as a symbol 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. Amen.

Shirlaine, please take this ring and place it upon Jacob’s left hand, and repeat after me this promise: I give you this ring as a symbol 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. Amen.

Prayer for Marriage

Let us pray.

Jesus, we come today as family, friends, those who are physically present and those whom we love who are now with you, asking your blessing upon these two lives and this union. You have made us so that we are incomplete without the other so that we yearn for someone whom we can love and whose love we can receive.

We are thankful for the love we see here, and even more, for the love we feel from you. May we never take your love for granted.

We pray that your love will be the shield and stay for Jacob and Shirlaine. When joy comes, may they share it together. When sorrow threatens, may they bear it together. In gladness or in tears, in sunshine or shadow, may they ever draw closer to each other and nearer to you in that eternal triangle.

Grant them patience, gentleness, and understanding. Protect their home from those forces that would break it apart.

We ask for health, for long life, for the fulfillment of every good dream. May their love continue through life and, finally, blend into the life eternal.

We pray these things in confidence in the name of Jesus. Amen.

Pronouncement

Jacob and Shirlaine, you have come before us and before God and have expressed your desire to be husband and wife. You have shown your love and affection by making promises of faith and devotion, each to the other, and have sealed these promises by the giving and receiving of rings.

I, therefore, pronounce that you are husband and wife in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. May God bless you and keep you and give you his peace.

What God has joined together, let no man separate.

Jacob, you may kiss your bride!

It is my honor and pleasure to present to you Mr. and Mrs. Jacob and Shirlaine Frey.

Exit to the back of seating

Closing directions

Please make your way downstairs and enjoy a few refreshments and appetizers. The wedding party will stay up here for a few moments to take some pictures.