Wedding Talk (Israel & Rose)

1. WELCOME (Amos) / followed by bridal PROCESSION

Who gives this woman to be married to this man?

I introduce to you the bride & the groom (Rose Po & Israel Benjamin O’Dea).

Your walk to this aisle has been a year & a half in the making. It started one Saturday afternoon when you met together at a baptismal service. An awkwardly brief encounter seemed more like the end than the beginning of a budding romance. But, a second chance soon came and you both grabbed it with gusto. And in time, you went from relational baby steps to long strides. Those strides, of friendship & an unfolding love, have brought you to this wedding altar. May God richly bless the joining of you together in holy matrimony.

2. OPENING PRAYER

We thank you, our Heavenly Father, for creating us and instituting the gift of marriage. We ask for your blessings to be on this couple, Israel & Rose, on their wedding, and on their marriage to follow. Make it a forever and fruitful marriage. May they glorify you as they live their lives for you, for each other, and for others. Thank you for your presence, love and grace. In Jesus’ name - Amen!]

3. SERMONETTE

Jacob grappled with the Lord & overcame!

His name was changed to Israel. Likewise you Israel have spent time wrestling & have overcome adversities thru Christ. And now may you overcome the singleness of heart, as you become intertwined with your Rose.

Let this Scripture, be your marital mission (Eph. 5:25-28 (MSG):

25 Husbands, go all out in your love for your wives, exactly as Christ did for the church—a love marked by giving, not getting. 26 Christ's love makes the church whole. His words evoke her beauty. Everything he does and says is designed to bring the best out of her, 27 dressing her in dazzling white silk, radiant with holiness. 28 And that is how husbands ought to love their wives. They're really doing themselves a favour—since they're already "one" in marriage.

So Israel, you are to love Rose, as Christ loved the church. Tall order – as, Christ gave Himself for his bride (his church).

Likewise you are to GIVE yourself for your bride. That involves sacrifice, commitment, loyalty, & humility, putting her needs before your own.

In a comic strip, Charlie Brown says to a friend, “My Granpa & Grama have been married for 50 years!” The friend replies, “They’re lucky, aren’t they?” Charlie Brown adds, “Granma says it isn’t luck – it’s skill!" (She’s right - It takes skill & work, it takes God’s Spirit, takes prayer and patience!

And Rose, you have been planted in God’s garden & in it you shall continue to blossom.

A rose is a thing of beauty, of delightful fragrance, and so are you as a bride today. But even so, it is not free of thorns! May the trials cause you to bloom all the more, as you and Israel, thru Christ, become one.

And let verses 22-24 be your marital mission Rose.

22 Wives, understand & support your husbands in ways that show your support for Christ. 23 The husband provides leadership to his wife the way Christ does to his church, not by domineering but by cherishing. 24 So just as the church submits to Christ as he exercises such leadership, wives should likewise submit to their husbands.

Therefore Israel, you are to lead but not to domineer!

You are commissioned to love & cherish Rose. And in return Rose, you are to support your husband with encouragement and respect, for verse 33 says, “the wife must respect her husband.” SO, Respect Israel.

And to you both: Remember - Marriage is a marathon, not a sprint.

So never yield to the strong head winds & temptations that will work to BESIEGE the fortress of your relationship!

Rather, as Churchill proclaimed, “Never give in – never, never, never, never, in nothing, great or small, large or petty”.

Never give in ... To thoughts of retreat; to feelings of fatigue or boredom; to misgivings or regrets; to anger or frustration; to flirtations or failure. NEVER GIVE IN!

And never give UP; never, never GIVE UP on God, and never, never, give up on each other!

Instead, surrender each day to Christ, & then submit yourselves one to another.

And “don’t let anyone separate what God has joined together (this day).” Mt 19:4 (GW)

4. BINDING: THE CORD: The two shall be one. To express this, you both will be tied together symbolically with this cord. For, “A man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh”. (Gen. 2:24)

5. VOWS (couple gives)

Repeat after me Rose:

I, Rose Po, TAKE you Israel Benjamin O’Dea, to be my lawfully wedded husband.

Repeat after me Israel:

I, Israel Benjamin O’Dea, TAKE you Rose Po, to be my lawfully wedded wife.

6. WASHING OF FEET (shows humility, hospitality) - Jesus washed the feet of His disciples (church). Although their Lord, He humbled Himself to serve them. By washing one another’s feet, the couple proclaim that each one shall serve the other, by God’s grace.

7. PRAYER OF BLESSING ???

8. SIGNING OF THE REGISTRY

I now introduce to you, for the 1st time: (Mr & Mrs Israel & Rose O’Dea).

ISRAEL, you may kiss your wife!