Wedding Service for Duane and Lisa

OPENING CALL TO WORSHIP

This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.

Psalm 118:24

SALUTATION

Grace and peace be yours in abundance, through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. Amen.

2 Peter 1:2 (NIV)

STATEMENT OF PURPOSE

(After the people have been seated)

We have come together in the presence of God for the marriage of Duane and Lisa, to share their joy, and to promise them our support and love.

Christian marriage is a joyful covenanting between a man and a woman. In this covenant 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 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.

PRAYER

Let us pray.

Eternal God, our maker and redeemer, as you gladdened the wedding at Cana by the presence of your Son, so by your Spirit bring joy to this day. Let the love we celebrate today be a reflection of your eternal love. As we honor the union of Duane and Lisa, draw us into unity with you, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

DECLARATIONS OF INTENT

The minister addresses the groom:

Duane, do you take Lisato be your wife?

The groom says: I do.

Will you love her, comfort her, honor and protect her, and forsaking all others, be faithful to her as long as you both shall live?

The groom says: I will.

The minister addresses the bride:

Lisa, do you take Duaneto be your husband?

The bride says: I do.

Will you love him, comfort him, honor and protect him, and forsaking all others, be faithful to him as long as you both shall live?

The bride says: I will.

THE WORD OF GOD

PRAYER FOR ILLUMINATION

O Lord our God, give us grace to receive your Word in faith and love, that we may be obedient to your will and live always for your glory; through Jesus Christ. Amen.

READINGS FROM SCRIPTURE

Genesis 1:26-28, 31a

Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”

So God created man in his own image,

in the image of God he created him;

male and female he created them.

And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”

And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good.

Genesis 2:18-25

Then the Lord God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him.” 19 Now out of the ground the Lord God had formed every beast of the field and every bird of the heavens and brought them to the man to see what he would call them. And whatever the man called every living creature, that was its name. 20 The man gave names to all livestock and to the birds of the heavens and to every beast of the field. But for Adam there was not found a helper fit for him. 21 So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and while he slept took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh. 22 And the rib that the Lord God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man. 23 Then the man said,

“This at last is bone of my bones

and flesh of my flesh;

she shall be called Woman,

because she was taken out of Man.”

24 Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. 25 And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed.

1 Corinthians 13:1-8a

If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3 If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.

4 Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant 5 or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; 6 it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. 7 Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

8 Love never ends.

1 John 4:7-16

7 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. 9 In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. 10 In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12 No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us.

13 By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. 14 And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. 15 Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. 16 So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.

SERMON: Ephesians 5:22-33

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.

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The kind of marriage that brings glory to God is the marriage that accurately reflects His relationship with His people. In marriage, we have the opportunity to declare what is true about God and our relationship with Him.

Husbands are called to love their wives as Christ loved the church. He gave His life, dying on the cross to take away our sins, to purify us, to make us holy, and to make us His forever. He was willing to pay the ultimate price because of His great love.

None of us as husbands measure up to that kind of love, but that is the goal, the standard to which we are called. Husbands, love your wives as Christ loved the church.

· Lay down your life for your wife.

· Make any sacrifice necessary for her good.

· Care for her like you care for yourself.

· Be faithful to her just as Christ is faithful to us.

· Lead her in righteousness and holiness.

· Follow Christ and bring her along with you.

This is how Christ loves us who belong to Him, and this is the love He calls every husband to imitate.

Wives are called to submit to their husbands as they submit to the Lord. Just as the church submits to Christ, following His lead, honoring and respecting Him, so wives are to do for their husbands. Support him, respect him, follow his lead.

Both of these are difficult tasks, and they go against the grain of our culture. But if we will submit ourselves to the Lord’s design of marriage and the roles He has placed us in, we will be satisfied and God will be glorified.

Duane and Lisa, in your marriage you now have the opportunity to display God’s relationship with us as His people.

· Duane, you must love your wife as Christ loved the church.

· Lisa, you must submit to your husband as the church submits to Christ.

If you both fulfill your part, you will have a happy and successful marriage, and God will be honored by your marriage.

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Today, Duane and Lisa are making their commitment to each other. But even more important than that is their commitment to the Lord. They have professed their faith in Christ and their desire to follow Him.

And I know that they would also want everyone here today to share the same hope that they have, that even when this life is over, they will go on living – joyfully, in the presence of God forever.

This is not because of anything they have done – not by works of righteousness – but by God’s mercy and grace. Because Jesus died on the cross for them to take away their sins and give them His righteousness, and then He rose on the third day.

They have put their trust in Him, and I know they would be delighted if you would as well. I would love to share more with you if you would like to know how you can have God’s gift of eternal life.

“Because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved… For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

This is His promise to us.

THE MARRIAGE VOWS

The minister addresses the couple:

Duane and Lisa, join hands, and in faith make your promises to each other.

The bride and groom face each other, join hands, and say their vows to each other.

Duane:

“I, Duane, take you, Lisa, to be my wedded 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, honor, and cherish, as long as we both shall live. To this covenant I pledge myself, truly, with all my heart.”

Lisa:

“I, Lisa, take you, Duane, to be my wedded 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, honor, and cherish, as long as we both shall live. To this covenant I pledge myself, truly, with all my heart.”

GIVING AND RECEIVING OF RINGS

Duane, please place the ring on Lisa'sfinger and repeat after me:

“I give you this ring as a symbol of my love and faithfulness".

Lisa, please place the ring on Duane's finger and repeat after me:

“I give you this ring as a symbol of my love and faithfulness".

DECLARATION OF MARRIAGE

The minister addresses the congregation:

Duane and Lisa have made their covenant of marriage together before God and all here present, by solemn vows, with the joining of hands, and the giving and receiving of rings. Therefore, I declare that they are husband and wife; in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

Duane, you may kiss your bride.

Following the nuptial kiss/embrace, the minister continues:

Those whom God has joined together, let no one separate.

Matthew 19:6

I present to you Mr. and Mrs. Duane Zosso.

PRAYERS OF THANKSGIVING AND INTERCESSION

The couple may kneel or remain standing and face the minister.

Let us pray.

Eternal God, in whom we live and move and have our being, bless Duane and Lisa, that they may live together in marriage according to the vows they have made before you.

Bless them with your love, that their love for each other may grow ever deeper, and their love for you may shine forth before the world.

Bless them with your mercy, that they may be patient and caring, willing to share each other’s joys and sorrows, to forgive and to be forgiven, in their life together and in the world.

Bless them with your peace, that they may be calm and sure, trusting in you with confident hearts. May they live in harmony and peace within their family and among all people.

Bless them with your presence, that within their hearts and home Christ may reign as head. May they confess Christ with praise and thanksgiving, now and through all their life together, to the glory of your holy name. Amen.

A hymn or other appropriate music may follow.

BENEDICTION

The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. Amen.

Numbers 6:24-26