Wedding Ceremony

Wedding Ceremony: Tanner and Peyton

Opening Words:

               On behalf of Tanner and Peyton, I would like to thank everyone for coming out today to celebrate a very special occasion. Today, Tanner and Peyton express their love for one another in front of all of you, by joining together in marriage.

               Tanner and Peyton today is a day where you two become one in marriage, and this ceremony is simply to make it public to all of the people who are in attendance today, and more importantly before God. My prayer is that today will be a defining moment in both of your lives as you start this new chapter of life with one another, not as two individuals, but as two people becoming one in this moment.   

               Also, My prayer today is that this marriage will drive your love for one another and will allow you to wake up each morning more in love than the day before and go to bed more in love than when you woke up. More importantly, I pray that both of you will love Christ more and more each day, as he will be the one who will supply you the strength, will, and perseverance to honor him in your marriage. *Will everyone please join me in a time of prayer.

Readings

               The times where Tanner, Peyton, and I sat down together and talked about marriage, we looked to scripture at various passages and talked with one another about what a marriage meant in the perspective of the Bible. What this means is that we used the Bible to define the meaning of marriage, and we only used scripture to talk about what marriage was, because I firmly believe that marriage is a gift from God, and he has used his word to communicate to us the meanings of marriage, and what marriage looks like.

               Peyton and Tanner, a lot of this you have already heard, because what I am going to do is take you through a summary of what we discussed in our meetings on how the Bible lays out marriage.

I) Marriage is honorable- Hebrews 13:4- “Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous.”

a) Marriage is honorable, because it is a right, we have been given from God himself that a man and a woman be joined together in marriage. Therefore, we should use marriage as a way to honor God who has given us the right to marry.  

b) Marriage is honorable because it is exclusive. What you two are committing to today is that you will love with an affectionate and passionate love for each other alone. You two share this kind of love only with each other, and if that commitment is broken and the marriage is defiled, it is no longer a marriage that honors the Lord. Therefore, your marriage is to be held in honor by keeping your marriage exclusive to one another.

II) Marriage is Sacrificial-

a) 1 Corinthians 7:3-4- Reminds us that the husband and wife share authority over one another’s body.  

Þ Marriage is Sacrificial because you two no longer live for yourselves, but you now live for each other. This means that you two care for each other physically, mentally, and spiritually. You do not care for your needs alone or, but you care for the other ones as well.

Þ Your bodies are no longer your own. This means that you put away the selfishness and the singleness and realize that you care for the other one because you are responsible for the other one as well as yourself. You are no longer two individuals, but you are now one. Therefore, marriage leaves no room for selfishness, it only leaves room for sacrifice.

b) Ephesians 5:22-25- Reminds us that the Husbands should love his wife as Christ loves the church, and the wife should submit to her husband as the church submits to Christ

Þ Marriage is Sacrificial because it calls for the husband and the wife to respect each other’s role that God has given them in the marriage.

¨ Peyton: Your role as the husband is to love Tanner in a way that shows Christ’s love for the church. You do not dictate submission in the household, for your role is not that of a dictator, but a humble servant. Through loving Tanner with a sacrificial love, in which you are willing to give up all for the sake of her, you create an environment where Tanner longs and loves to submit to your leadership, because in submission, she will be able to flourish and thrive, for the sake of the Kingdom of Heaven.

¨ Tanner: Your role as a wife is to love Peyton in a way that gives him the freedom to lead in a way that shows Christ’s love for the church. Remember though, Peyton isn’t Jesus, therefore, he is far from perfect and will mess up at times, more times than you will be able to remember. Be patient, kind, and understanding as he messes up. Be there to support, encourage, and back him up in the household. Through loving Peyton with a sacrificial love, you create an environment where he is able to lead and love in the way that Christ leads and loves the church.

III) Marriage is a gift- Proverbs 21:9- “House and wealth are inherited from fathers, but a prudent wife is from the Lord.”

a) When God created man, he saw that it was not good for man to be alone, so God decided to give the man woman, to help him and support him. The woman was a gift from the Lord to man, and therefore marriage has always been seen as a gift from God

b) There is no bigger blessing for man than having a loving and caring wife, who stands by her husband through it all. Likewise, there is no bigger blessing on earth than a loving and caring husband who stands by his wife through it all.

c) Remember though, that we are to be good stewards of what God has given to us. Therefore, marriage is not only a gift from God, but test of stewardship. What you to do with your marriage will be a testament to how you view this gift from God and the commands he has given concerning them. Let me encourage you, to hold fast to his word and prayer as a family, so you do not squander this blessing given to you from God himself.

The Gospel shown through marriage:

A biblical marriage is an exact representation of Christ’s love for the church. God in his perfect selflessness sent his Son to die on the cross to save us from our sins. He took on human flesh and offered himself up as a sacrifice for our redemption. It is the greatest example of love any person can ever experience, the love of Christ. He submitted himself to the form of a servant and came for the world so that the world might be saved through him. This gives us the opportunity to possess the greatest gift anyone could ever receive, and that is salvation in the Lord Jesus Christ. This is what your marriage is to represent to those around you and my prayer is that you will both live out your days exalting the Lord and displaying his love for us through your marriage.

Conclusion of Readings:

Remember this above all else, do not substitute God in your marriage with anything, let him be what holds your marriage together, what gives you the strength to endure the hard times, and let him be the one who leads you and follow his will for your lives. *Pray with me.

Declaration of Intent (I Do’s):

               The Declaration of Intent, also known as the “I Do’s”, will be the moment in which you both agree to be married to one another. At the end of each charge, you will respond with “I Do”.

To Husband:

· Do you Peyton take Tanner to be your lawfully wedded wife.

· Do you promise to keep the marriage honorable and be selfless in your marriage and sacrificially love her by protecting, providing, and sacrificing.

· Do you promise to be encouraging and loving and see Tanner as a gift from the Lord, through the good times and the bad and through all things.

To Wife:

· Do you Tanner take Peyton to be your lawfully wedded husband.

· Do you promise to keep the marriage honorable and be selfless in your marriage and submit to Peyton in his role as a leader, protector, and provider, and support him.

· Do you promise to be encouraging and loving and see Peyton as a gift from the Lord, through the good times and the bad and through all things.

Exchange of Vows:

               The vows you two are about to take is a foundation for your marriage. These are promises that you are making to each other for the rest of your lives. Marriage is a lifelong commitment and these vows are here to set a lifelong promise to each other throughout your marriage. As I read these vows, I will ask each of you to repeat the vow after I state it. As you repeat the vow out loud, you are promising these things to each other.

The Husband: (Peyton) Repeat after me

· I Peyton, take you Tanner to be my wife

· To love you for the rest of my life

and to be there for you each step of the way.

· I promise to love you through the good and the bad,

through sickness and in health,

through rich and through poor.

· And I promise to give you all that I have

and trust the Lord to keep this marriage alive.

The Wife: (Tanner) Repeat after me

· I Tanner, take you Peyton to be my husband

· To love you for the rest of my life

and to be there for you each step of the way

· I promise to love you through the good and the bad,

through sickness and in health,

through rich and through poor.

· I promise to give you all that I have

and trust the Lord to keep this marriage alive.

Unity Symbol

Chord of 3 strands

Ecclesiastes 4:12 ESV

And though a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him—a threefold cord is not quickly broken. Matthew 19:6

Matthew 19:6 ESV

So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.”

Exchange of Rings

               The rings are an outward symbol of marriage. These rings show that each of you are in a committed marriage to one another and they are a reminder each day of the promises you have made to one another.

· Peyton, as you place the ring on Tanner’s finger, please repeat after me:

o I give you this ring to wear

o As a symbol of the commitment I have made to you this day

o To love you and to cherish you

o And to support you through all things

o May this ring be a daily reminder of the love that I have for you

· Tanner, as you place the ring on Peyton’s finger, please repeat after me:

o I give you this ring to wear

o As a symbol of the commitment I have made to you this day

o To love you and to cherish you

o And to support you through all things

o May this ring be a daily reminder of the love that I have for you.

Blessing of the Rings & Marriage

(Give everyone 30 secs. Of prayer)

May these rings be a reminder to each of you every day of the commitment that you have made to each other in front of these people and the commitment that you have made to God to love each other for the rest of your lives. *Pray with me

Pronouncement of the Marriage

By the power invested in me by the church and by God, I now pronounce you husband and wife! You may kiss the bride!

Presentation of the Couple

I now present to you, Peyton and Tanner McMahon!