Wedding Ceremony Revised 3.doc
PRELUDE (Instrumental)/ HYMN (Congregation to stand)
WELCOME/CALL TO WORSHIP
Welcome to a time of praise and worship! We gather today to celebrate as Groom and Bride accept the gift of marriage from our Heavenly Father. Let us acknowledge the Lord’s presence and ask for a blessing upon this occasion.
PRAYER
Dear Lord, we thank you for your gracious gift of a relationship with you and we thank you for Groom and Bride who have chosen to join together in the bonds of Holy Matrimony. We pray your blessing upon the events of today and upon the future of Groom and Bride. We pray that these events will glorify Your name. In Jesus’ precious name, we praise You. Amen.
SOLO/SPECIAL MUSIC (Congregation to sit) / PROCESSIONAL
BIBLICAL VIEW OF MARRIAGE
God created marriage. In Genesis, chapter 2, God’s Word says: “The LORD God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.” So the LORD God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man's ribs and closed up the place with flesh. Then the LORD God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man. The man said, “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called 'woman, ' for she was taken out of man.” For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh.” (Genesis 2:18, 21-24)
Becoming one flesh is a process which begins with the wedding ceremony. Just as making Christ Lord and Savior of one’s life represents both a permanent commitment of the heart and the beginning of a never-ending process of sanctification – so is the marriage. Marriage is a permanent commitment of the heart coupled with the beginning of a process of sanctification.
It is no wonder that God is the author of marriage, for God is the author of love itself. Marriage without love is like life without God – impossible. 1 Corinthians chapter 13 begins:
“If I speak with human eloquence and angelic ecstasy but don’t love, I’m nothing but the creaking of a rusty gate.
If I speak God’s Word with power, revealing all his mysteries and making everything plain as day, and if I have faith that says to a mountain, “Jump,” and it jumps, but I don’t love, I’m nothing.
If I give everything I own to the poor and even go to the stake to be burned as a martyr, but I don’t love, I’ve gotten nowhere. So, no matter what I say, what I believe, and what I do, I’m bankrupt without love.
Love never gives up.
Love cares more for others than for self.
Love doesn’t want what it doesn’t have.
Love doesn’t strut,
Doesn’t have a swelled head,
Doesn’t force itself on others,
Isn’t always “me first,”
Doesn’t fly off the handle,
Doesn’t keep score of the sins of others,
Doesn’t revel when others grovel,
Takes pleasure in the flowering of truth,
Puts up with anything,
Trusts God always,
Always looks for the best,
Never looks back,
But keeps going to the end.
Love never dies.” (1 Corinthians 13:1-8)
GIVING IN MARRIAGE
Who gives this woman to be married to this man?
Response: “I do,” “We do,” or “Her mother and I do.”
EXCHANGE OF VOWS
If you Groom and Bride have freely, deliberately and prayerfully chosen each other as partners in marriage and you know of no reason why you should not be united in marriage, please join your right hands.
Groom, in taking Bride by the hand, you express your desire to God and to this congregation to have her as your lawful, wedded wife. You are promising to love, honor and cherish her – leaving all others to cleave to her and be her true and faithful husband as long as you both shall live. You will love her as Christ loved the church for whom He gave Himself. You also promise, as head of the household to be spiritual leader of your new family – giving God authority in all decisions and actively seeking out God’s will for your lives even above your own desires. Do you so promise?
Response: “I do.”
Bride, in taking Groom by the hand, you express your desire to God and to this congregation to have him as your lawful, wedded husband. You are promising to love, honor and cherish him – leaving all others to cleave to him and be his true and faithful wife as long as you both shall live. You will submit to Groom as the church submits to Christ. You promise to place God’s will for your family above all things including your own desires. Do you so promise?
Response: “I do.”
(Addressing the congregation) Please rise. To all of you present who are already joined in marriage under the Lordship of Jesus Christ: Do you promise to love, encourage and teach Groom and Bride by word and deed how to fulfill their vows to one another? If so, respond by saying “We do.”
Response: “We do.”
Please be seated.
RINGS
Groom and Bride, You will be symbolizing your love and commitment to one another with the exchange of rings: An outward sign of the inward commitment you are making to God and to each other. A ring has no beginning and no end – this represents the eternal quality of the God that has joined you and also represents the wholeness of your relationship. The gold from which they are made is one of the purest of God’s elements and signifies the purity of your love relationship.
Groom, place this ring on you bride’s finger and repeat these vows after me. In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, I thee wed for richer or for poorer; for better or for worse; in sickness and in health; till death do us part.
Bride, place this ring on your groom’s finger and repeat these vows after me. In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy spirit, I thee wed for richer or for poorer; for better or for worse; in sickness and in health; till death do us part.
Let us pray.
PRAYER
Heavenly Father, Groom and Bride have committed their lives to you and to each other. I pray that through their years together they will grow closer to you and, therefore, closer to each other. Please engrave their vows upon their hearts that they may never forget the promises they made to each other and to You, Lord. Thank you for marriage. For it is in marriage that both burdens and joys can be shared. I pray that you bless their home with your presence, with laughter and with joy for all the days of their lives.
LIGHTING OF CHRIST OR UNITY CANDLE (optional)
PRONOUNCEMENT
Groom and Bride, you are now united in marriage according to the teachings of the Scripture and the laws of this state. It is with great joy that I now pronounce you husband and wife. “Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate.” (Mark 10:9) You may kiss your bride.
PRESENTATION
It is my great pleasure to present to you Mr. and Mrs. Groom.