A Wedding Ceremony EVERYONE IS SEATED (MOTHER OF BRIDE LAST)
GROOM & GROOMSMEN TAKE THEIR PLACE
WEDDING PROCESSION BEGINS
BRIDE & FATHER ENTER
Heavenly Father, I ask Your blessing on this time and these people, in Jesus' Name. Amen.
You may be seated.
INTRO
We are gathered here today to join together __________ and __________ in holy matrimony.
(Who gives this woman in marriage to this man?)
Marriage was originated by God. Our thinking on the subject has its basis in the divine revelation we call the Bible.
Marriage was the first institution given for the welfare of humanity. In the garden of Eden, before the tempter had touched the world, God saw that it was not good for man to be alone, so He made a helpmeet suitable for him and established marriage.
Originated in divine wisdom and goodness, designed to promote human happiness and holiness, as well as our growth as eternal spiritual beings, marriage is the foundation of home life and social order. It was sanctioned and honored by the presence and power of Jesus at the marriage in Cana of Galilee, where He began working His miracles.
Also, the Holy Spirit, speaking through Paul, selected the symbol of husband and wife to describe the union between Christ and His church.
Such a relationship should not be entered into lightly, but reverently, and in the fear of God, after much consideration.
QUESTION TO COUPLE
If it is your intention to take each other as husband and wife, please unite your hands and step forward.
WEDDING PARTY: ALL TURN TOWARD MINISTER
READING OF SCRIPTURE
Marriage was God's idea, and He knows how to make it work. Following any plan other than God's is risky!
So let us now read from God's Word, the Bible.
GENESIS 1:26-28 NKJ
26 Then God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion . . . over all the earth . . . ."
27 So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.
28 Then God blessed them, and God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion . . . ."GENESIS 2:18 NKJ
18 And the Lord God said, "It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him."MARK 10:6-9 NKJ
6 "But from the beginning of the creation, God `made them male and female.'
7 `For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife,
8 and the two shall become one flesh'; so then they are no longer two, but one flesh.
9 "Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate."1 CORINTHIANS 7:3-4,10-11 NKJ
3 Let the husband render to his wife the affection due her, and likewise also the wife to her husband.
4 The wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does. And likewise the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does.
10 Now to the married I command, yet not I but the Lord: A wife is not to depart from her husband.
11 . . . . And a husband is not to divorce his wife.JOHN 13:34 NKJ
34 "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another.1 CORINTHIANS 13:4-5 NKJ
4 Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up;
5 does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked . . .COLOSSIANS 3:13-19 NKJ
13 . . . if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do.
14 But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection.
15 And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, . . . and be thankful.
16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly . . . .
17 And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus . . . .
18 Wives, submit to your own husbands, as is fitting in the Lord.
19 Husbands, love your wives and do not be bitter toward them.EPHESIANS 5:17,21-25,28-29,33 NKJ
17 . . . do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is.
21 submitting to one another in the fear of God.
22 Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord.
23 For the husband is head of the wife, as also Christ is head of the church; . . . .
24 Therefore, just as the church is subject to Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything.
25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for it,
28 So husbands ought to love their own 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 the Lord does the church.
33 . . . let each one of you in particular so love his own wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.TITUS 2:4-5 NKJ
4 . . . admonish the young women to love their husbands, to love their children,
5 to be discreet, chaste, homemakers, good, obedient to their own husbands . . . .1 PETER 3:7 NKJ
7 Likewise you husbands, dwell with them with understanding, giving honor to the wife, as to the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life, that your prayers may not be hindered.DEUTERONOMY 6:5-7 NKJ
5 "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your might.
6 "And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart;
7 "you shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up.VOWS
After hearing the admonition of Scripture, do you, ____, now take this _____, whose hand you hold, to be your _____, and do you solemnly promise, before God and these witnesses, that you will love and honor ___ according to the instructions of God's Word, and that forsaking all others for ___ alone, you will be faithful to ___, so long as you both shall live?
<I do.>
RINGS
May I have the rings, please.
As a token that you will faithfully perform these vows, you will now exchange rings. The ring is an endless circle: a symbol of the covenant you are making here today.
____, as you place the ring on ____ finger say:
<As I place this ring on your finger, I pledge myself to you. I am yours.>
UNITY CANDLE
These two outside candles represent the separate lives _______ and _______ have lived until now. But from this time forward they shall live together as one.
To find true happiness, and to accomplish your full assignment from God, your two lights must merge into one light with one purpose: to do the will of God, and to each put the other before yourself.
This cannot be done just by an act of our wills alone -- we need God's help to do it. And it is not just a one-time occurrence, but a continuing daily choice.
As you light the center candle, let it represent your choice to be in unity forever under the Lord Jesus Christ.
<LIGHT UNITY CANDLE.>
COMMUNION
We enjoy a covenant with God, through the shed blood of Jesus Christ, and our union with Him.
Because of this covenant we are able to receive the blessings that Jesus Christ deserves, instead of what we deserve.
Let me read to you some of those blessings, from Deuteronomy chapter 28.
DEUTERONOMY 28:2-4,6-8,11-13 NKJ
2 "And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, because you obey the voice of the Lord your God:
3 "Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be in the country.
4 "Blessed shall be the fruit of your body, the produce of your ground and the increase of your herds . . . .
6 "Blessed shall you be when you come in, and blessed shall you be when you go out.
7 "The Lord will cause your enemies who rise against you to be defeated before your face; they shall come out against you one way and flee before you seven ways.
8 "The Lord will command the blessing on you in your storehouses and in all to which you set your hand, and He will bless you in the land which the Lord your God is giving you.
11 "And the Lord will grant you plenty of goods, in the fruit of your body, in the increase of your livestock, and in the produce of your ground . . . .
12 "The Lord will open to you His good treasure, the heavens, to give the rain to your land in its season, and to bless all the work of your hand. You shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow.
13 "And the Lord will make you the head and not the tail; you shall be above only, and not be beneath . . . .As your substitute, Jesus took the curse you deserved because of your sins. And to all who will receive Jesus Christ, God offers forgiveness, blessing, and eternal life.
As you partake of this bread, symbolic of the body of Jesus which was broken for you, remember that Jesus bore your sicknesses and carried your diseases so you could be free -- in union with Him.
<Partake of bread.>
As you receive this grape juice remember that it represents the blood of the Covenant which Jesus Christ shed, so you could be forgiven and set free from sin and its effects.
<Partake of juice.>
CHARGE TO COUPLE
To be unshakable, the foundation of your marriage must be deeper than your love for each other alone, it must be your love for the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus loves you, so you should respond by loving Him, which should cause you to want to please Him -- and His desire is for you to love each other. Remember that what we have done to the least of those who belong to Jesus, we have done to Him.
The love I am talking about is the opposite of selfishness. It is not governed by a feeling but by a decision. Only by God's help can we walk in it, so we must daily look to Him for grace.
_______, guard well your bride, who now has committed herself into your keeping. If you treat her as God intended, she will give you joy and happiness greater than you can imagine.
_______, God created you with the ability to be a great blessing to your husband in many ways. Always look to God for help and guidance that you may be the blessing to _______ that God intended. Honor and respect him as the earthly head of your home.
DECLARATION
Now that you, _______ and _______, have agreed together to enter the holy state of marriage, before God, and these witnesses of your vows, I therefore, by virtue of authority vested in me as a minister of the gospel, pronounce you husband and wife, one together, in the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ.
What God has joined together, let no one divide.
And now may the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ bless you in this new relationship forevermore.
PRAYER
Lord God, I ask You to crown this union and their descendants, with all temporal and spiritual blessings in Christ Jesus, that they may be a blessing in this world of people You love. Amen.
BLESSING
Now I lay my hands on you and bless you in the Name of the Lord, etc.
PRESENTATION
(Everyone is invited to come next door for the reception which will immediately follow. Please remain seated until the ushers dismiss you.)
Ladies and gentlemen, I present Mr. and Mrs. __________.
<BRIDE & GROOM KISS AND LEAVE.>
MAID OF HONOR & BEST MAN FOLLOW
BRIDESMAIDS & GROOMSMEN FOLLOW
MINISTER FOLLOWS
USHERS THEN ESCORT OUT PARENTS & GRANDPARENTS
USHERS THEN DISMISS ROW BY ROW
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