Fitzgerald Wedding

Opening

- Good Morning Calista & Hank—welcome to part 1 of your wedding!

- Marriage is an honorable estate,

- - and is therefore not to be entered into lightly,

- - but reverently, advisedly, soberly and with God's blessing.

- - For, indeed, we find that in Genesis 2:18, 22-24, God Himself officiated the first Marriage ceremony!

- “The LORD God said,

- - "It is not good for the man to be alone.

- - I will make a helper suitable for him." ...

- - 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.”

- And so , Hank & Calista, today you receive one of God's great gift—another person:

- - to share life and possessions with,

- - to grow and change with,

- - to experience every season of life with,

- - simply to be with

- So, I invite you to join me in prayer for this exciting time of commitment & life-change!

- - Heavenly Father,

- - We gather in celebration of Your love and presence among us.

- - We rejoice and praise You that

- - - these Hank & Calista have chosen to commit themselves to a life of loving faithfulness to one another.

- - Continually strengthen & renew through Your presence & blessings in the years to come

- - - Help their love & commitment to ever increase!

- - Encourage & support those who walk alongside them in the years ahead to strengthen them toward these ends

- - Now, Lord, may this season of new marriage and celebration be pleasing to You and bring You great glory

- - In the powerful name of Jesus our Christ we pray,

- - - Amen.

Definition of Commitment

- Marriage is a joyous occasion and one of the most important events of our lives.

- Its sacredness and unity is the most significant and binding covenant known in human relations.

- - It is a time when two individuals commit & thus submit to each other

- - Fulfilling what Paul exhorts in Ephesians 5:21, “Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ”

- Calista & Hank—

- - Today we charge you both to remember that your future happiness is to be in

- - - mutual consideration,

- - - patience,

- - - kindness,

- - - confidence

- - - & affection.

- - It is the duty of each of you

- - - to, second only to Christ, find your greatest joy in the company of the other;

- - - to remember that your love pledged today must remain undivided for a lifetime.

- When Paul continues his discussion in Ephesians 5:25-28, just a few verses later, he says—

- - “Husbands, love your wives,

- - - just as Christ loved the church

- - - - and gave Himself up for her to make her holy,

- - - cleansing her by the washing with water through the word,

- - - and to present her to Himself as a radiant church,

- - - - without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish,

- - - - but holy and blameless.

- - - In the same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies.”

- Hank, it is your duty,

- - to be to Calista, a considerate, tender, faithful, & loving husband:

- - to support, guide & cherish her in prosperity and trouble;

- - to thoughtfully & carefully enlarge the place she holds in your life;

- - to constantly show to her the tokens of your affection,

- - to shelter her from danger, & to love her w/an unchangeable love.

- When Paul speaks of wives, in Ephesians 5:22-24, he says—

- - “Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord.

- - - For the husband is the head of the wife

- - - as Christ is the head of the church,

- - - - His body, of which he is the Savior.

- - - Now as the church submits to Christ,

- - - - so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything.”

- So, it is your duty, Calista,

- - to be to Hank, a considerate, tender, faithful, and loving wife;

- - to comfort, guide and cherish him in prosperity and trouble;

- - to give to him the unfailing evidences of your affection;

- - to continue making the place he holds in your heart, broader and deeper;

- - to support him, value him and work with him to make your marriage the very best that it can be.

- To you both—I call your attention to

- - the seriousness of the decision which you have made

- - and the covenant you are about to declare before God.

- The vows you are about to take

- - are not to be taken without careful thought,

- - for in them you are committing yourselves exclusively to one another for as long as you both shall live

Vows

- If you are so ready to take on these obligations and duties before God—

- - I invite you to hold hands

- - and pledge your love & lives to each other in these vows

- Hank, repeat after me.

- - I Hank, take you, Calista,

- - to be my lawfully wedded wife,

- - to have and to hold, from this day forward,

- - for better or for worse,

- - for richer or for poorer,

- - in sickness and in health,

- - to love and to cherish,

- - for as long as we both shall live.

- - This is my solemn vow.

- Now Calista, please repeat after me.

- - I Calista, take you, Hank,

- - to be my husband,

- - to have and to hold, from this day forward,

- - for better or for worse,

- - for richer or for poorer,

- - in sickness and in health,

- - to love and to cherish,

- - for as long as we both shall live.

- - This is my solemn vow.

Rings

- Exchanging rings serve as a significant symbol of love for one another in today’s world…

- - Being gold, a precious metal, these rings remind us of how precious this relationship is

- - The unbroken, circular shape of these rings remind us that your commit of love is lifelong—

- - - it keeps going round & round

- Hank, please place the ring on Calista’s finger, and repeat after me—

- - "I give you this ring—

- - - as a sign of my love and faithfulness."

- Calista, please place the ring on Hank's finger and repeat after me.

- - "I give you this ring—

- - - as a sign of my love and faithfulness."

Closing Blessing and Prayer

- With these vows & rings,

- - you commit yourselves to each other,

- - in the eyes of God & these few witnesses today

- You have committed in a covenantal marriage before our God

- - This is not the marriage that you see those outside of Christ walking into

- - This goes deeper, this goes higher

- - It is a life-long commitment before the eyes of our God

- - A commitment not based on the performance of your spouse—

- - - But based on doing that which you know God has called you to do.

- This is a commitment based on love—God's love

- - Beautifully depicted in 1 Corinthians 13,

- - "Love is patient,

- - - love is kind.

- - - Love does not envy,

- - - is not boastful,

- - - is not conceited,

- - - does not act improperly,

- - - is not selfish,

- - - is not provoked,

- - - and does not keep a record of wrongs.

- - Love finds no joy in unrighteousness

- - - but rejoices in the truth.

- - It bears all things,

- - - believes all things,

- - - hopes all things,

- - - endures all things.

- - Love never ends"

- And so today, as you commit to one another—

- - Commit in this love that God first showed us through Jesus’s selfless sacrifice on the cross

- - Commit to love in His strength, with His wisdom, with His compassion.

- And do so in the community of those who know and love you

- - Find support, strength, & wisdom through those that God has placed in your life

- Enter both humbly & boldly into this new life that God has given you.

- Please join me again in prayer as we seek this very thing…

- - Loving Father,

- - - We once again thank you for the marriage of Hank & Calista.

- - - This day brings us great joy, as we see Your good work being fulfilled in their lives

- - - And Lord, we know that the life they share together will often not be easy

- - - - So we pray that you help them to fulfill the promises they have made here today

- - - Continue to grow them up in the likeness of Your Son, Jesus Christ

- - - - And thus reflect the steadfast love He showed on the cross in their commitment to each other.

- - Give them kindness, patience, affection, understanding, happiness, & contentment.

- - Surround them with family & friends...

- - - That will act in Your wisdom, boldness, & gentleness to rightly support them in the years ahead,

- - - So that their love for each other may continue to grow as long as they both shall live

- - All of this & so much more,

- - - We pray in the Name of the Father, Son, & Holy Spirit—

- - - Amen

Declaration of Marriage

- Calista & Frank

- - Having witnessed your vows for marriage before God and all who are assembled here,

- - By the authority vested in me,

- - - I now pronounce you husband and wife.

- - - And as Jesus says in Matthew 19:6, "Therefore, what God has joined together, let man not separate!"

- You may now kiss the bride!

...

- It is my pleasure to introduce to you for the first time—Hank and Calista Fitzgerald!