Vow Renewal

Welcome and Prayer

We are gathered here with You Alex, and you, Catharine, in the presence of God to celebrate and renew your marriage vows on your 20 year anniversary. We know that the commitment you made to each other at your wedding has been an enduring one. No doubt you have renewed it in your hearts many times in your years together.

Today, we celebrate and remember one of God’s greatest Gifts - Another person who you have shared with, grown with, changed with, been joyful with and who you have stood with through trials and tribulations and who you have faithfully served Jesus with for 20 years.

Let us pray,

Father God, we want to thank you for your gift of love, and it’s presence among us. We rejoice that these two people have committed themselves to each other for the past 20 years, and to you, to live a life of loving faithfulness together. We prause you lord, for the ways you have touched our lives with loving relationships such as Matt and Amy’s, and we give thanks for the special love and friendship you have put in their hearts. Renew within us an affectionate and loving spirit.

Enrich our lives with the gracious gift of your love so that we may embrace others with that same love. May our participation in this celebration of love and commitment, give to us a new joy and responsiveness to the relationships that we cherish. In your mighty name, we pray, Amen.

Ephesians 5:31 says “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.”

Message 1

The Bible gives us this picture of marriage as two people who become one flesh because they can effectively serve the kingdom of God better together than they can apart. It’s a covenantal bond between each other, and between yourself and God.

In marriage, as in all things, Jesus is in us and we are in him. Just as he loved us and gave himself for us, so we are urged to love our spouses. In Jesus, we are free to love without condition, to forgive without bearing a grudge, and to be faithful in the face of adversity. In Jesus, we can say to our spouse, “I have freely chosen never to be myself without you; and I give my life, and all that I am, to you.”

In the book of Revelation, John had a vision of the day when all humanity will at last see that we have always been the children of the Father in his Son Jesus Christ, and that we always will be.

Because marriage is a covenantal bond between each other and God, and we are asking the Father to renew your union together as husband and wife through his Son Jesus Christ and in the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, it is fitting that each of you should faithfully promise to continue in the marriage covenant.

Vows

Alex, in the short time you’ve had to prepare, would you like to exchange your vows to Catharina

Catharina, Would you like to exchange your vows to Alex

Rings

You will now exchange rings AGAIN as a symbol of the lifelong commitment and abiding love which you as husband and wife have promised to each other and continue to promise in.

Alex, please place the ring on Catherina’s finger, and repeat after me.

Catharina, I thank you for 20 years of marraige with me. I thank you that you have entered into a coventantal bond between myself, you and God and you have faithfully served our marraige for 20 years. I give you this ring as a sign of my love and faithfulness. To have and to hold you, to love you and to always be loving and kind.

And Amy, please place the ring on Matt’s finger and repeat after me.

Alex, I thank you for 20 years of marraige with me. I thank you that you have entered into a coventantal bond between myself, you and God and you have faithfully served our marraige for 20 years. I give you this ring as a sign of my love and faithfulness. To have and to hold you, to love you and to always be loving and kind.

Mini Message 2

God showed how much he loved us by sending his only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. This is real love. It is not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.

May You Alex and Catherina continue to share this love with each other as you allow God to operate through your lives and through your marriage. May you always remember that God gave us grace, and so you too can show each other grace. May God’s love shine through you and His will for your marriage operate within you.

Encouragement

Let me give you these words of encouragement;

A good marriage continues to be created. In marriage the “little” things are the big things. It is never being too old to hold hands. It is remembering to say, ”I love you” at least once a day. It is never going to sleep angry. It is standing together and facing the world. It is speaking words of appreciation, and demonstrating gratitude in thoughtful ways. It is having the capacity to forgive and forget. It is giving each other an atmosphere in which each can grow. It is a common search for the good and the beautiful. It is not only marrying the right person — it is being the right partner

Prayer

Let me pray a blessing over each of you and your marriage.

Father God, help Alex and Catherina to continue fulfill the promises they have made here today and to reflect your steadfast love in their commitment to each other. Give them kindness and patience, affection and understanding, happiness, and contentment. May their family and friends continue to support them in difficult days, so that their love for each other may continue to grow as long as they both shall live. May their commitment continue to be one that honours you and serves you as long as they both shall live. May their love for one another remain strong, their faithfulness continue to grow and may they turn to you in times of trouble. We pray for your spiritual protection over their marriage and their home and we pray for your blessing on their lives. We pray that they will continue to grow in the things of you and become deeper in their relationship with you and each other.

In Jesus Mighty name, Amen.