WEDDING CEREMONY
BRIDE - The Church
GROOM - Jesus
OPENING STATEMENT |
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| MINISTER | "Dearly Beloved: We are gathered here, in the presence of God
and of this company, that Jesus and the Church may be united in holy matrimony. We are
here to celebrate and share in the glorious act that God is about to perform - the act by
which He converts their love for one another into the holy and sacred estate of marriage. This relationship is an honorable and sacred one, established by our Creator for the welfare and happiness of mankind, and approved by the Apostle Paul as honorable among all men. It is designed to unite two sympathies and hopes into one; and it rests upon the mutual confidence and devotion of husband and wife. May it be in extreme thoughtfulness and reverence, and in dependence upon divine guidance, that you enter now into this holy relationship." |
GIVING OF THE BRIDE |
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| MINISTER | "Being assured that your love and your choice of each other as lifelong companions are in God's will and that you have your families' blessings. I now ask. Who gives this woman to be married to this man?" |
| BRIDE'S FATHER | "I do." |
DECLARATION OF INTENTION |
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| MINISTER | "The apostle Paul compared the relationship
between husband and wife to that between Christ and the church. Marriage is a decision of
two individuals to share the same type of pure, Christian love described by Paul." 1 Cor 13:4-8, Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.... "This kind of love enriches each part of life and marriage enriches love. Two lives, shared with this kind of love, can hold more fulfillment and happiness than either life alone." Eph 5:21-32, And further, you will submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. {22} You wives will submit to your husbands as you do to the Lord. {23} For a husband is the head of his wife as Christ is the head of his body, the church; he gave his life to be her Savior. {2}4 As the church submits to Christ, so you wives must submit to your husbands in everything. {25} And you husbands must love your wives with the same love Christ showed the church. He gave up his life for her {26} to make her holy and clean, washed by baptism and God's word. {27} He did this to present her to himself as a glorious church without a spot or wrinkle or any other blemish. Instead, she will be holy and without fault. {28} In the same way, husbands ought to love their wives as they love their own bodies. For a man is actually loving himself when he loves his wife. {29} No one hates his own body but lovingly cares for it, just as Christ cares for his body, which is the church. {30} And we are his body. {31} As the Scriptures say, "A man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one." {32} This is a great mystery, but it is an illustration of the way Christ and the church are one. "Jesus. are you ready to enter into this marriage with the Church, believing the love you share and your faith in each other will endure all things?" |
| GROOM | "I am." |
| MINISTER | "Christian, are you ready to enter into this marriage with Jesus, believing the love you share and your faith in each other will endure all things?" |
| BRIDE | "I am." |
MARRIAGE VOWS |
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| MINISTER | "Jesus do you take the Church to be your wedded wife, to live together after God's ordinance in holy matrimony? Do you promise to love her, to honor and cherish her, in joy and in sorrow, in sickness and in health, and to be to her in all things a good and faithful husband as long as you both shall live?" |
| GROOM | "I do." |
| MINISTER | "Christian, do you take Jesus to be your wedded husband, to live together after God's ordinance in holy matrimony? Do you promise to love him, to honor and cherish him, in joy and in sorrow, in sickness and in health, and to be to him in all things a good and faithful wife as long as you both shall live?" |
| BRIDE | "I do." |
| MINISTER WITH GROOM REPEATING | "I, Jesus, take thee, Church, to be my wedded wife, to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death do us part. According to God's holy ordinance, and thereto I pledge thee my faith." |
| MINISTER WITH BRIDE REPEATING | "I,Christian, take thee, Jesus, to be my wedded husband. to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death do us part. According to God's holy ordinance, and thereto I pledge thee my faith." |
| PRAYER | |
| MINISTER | "Father in heaven, You ordained marriage for your children, and You gave us love. We present to You Jesus and the Church, who come this day to be married. May the covenant of love they make be blessed with true devotion and spiritual commitment. We ask that You, God, will give them the ability to keep the covenant they have made. When selfishness shows itself, grant generosity; when mistrust is a temptation, give moral strength; when there is misunderstanding, give patience and gentleness; if suffering becomes a part of their lives, give them a strong faith and an abiding love. Amen." |
| EXCHANGE OF TOKENS | |
| MINISTER | "It is a Christian custom to exchange something
as a symbol of love. As the tokens have no end so your love should have no end. As the
tokens are made of gold symbolizing purity, so should your marriage have purity. As often
as either of you see them, you will be reminded of this moment and the endless love you
promised." "Jesus, what token to you give that you will perform your vows?" "Church, do you receive this Holy Spirit in token of the same?" |
| BRIDE | "I do." (Groom places Holy Spirit in Bride's heart.) |
| MINISTER WITH GROOM REPEATING | "Church, this Holy Spirit I give to you in token and pledge of my constant faith and abiding love." |
| MINISTER | "Christian, what token to you give that you will
perform your vows?" "Jesus, do you receive this life in token of the same?" |
| GROOM | "I do." (Bride places her life in Groom's hands.) |
| MINISTER WITH BRIDE REPEATING | "Jesus, this life I give to you in token and pledge of my constant faith and abiding love." |
| Light Unity Candle & Sign License | |
| MINISTER | "The candle represents the joining together of
two individuals to live together as one in spirit. Jesus and the Church, the candle yet to
be lit, represents the new family which is being created today. Jesus and the Church are
leaving their families to make a new life together." (Bride & Groom light candle) |
| PRAYER | |
| MINISTER | "Let us pray: O thou eternal God, who art our Father and our Friend, as you have heard these words of promise just spoken, may the Holy Spirit deepen in the mind of this man and this woman the sense of the sacred and binding power of their vows. And as in Thy Name these words were spoken to make these lives one, may your rich blessing be added. Give them Your grace and guidance that they may loyally fulfill the vows they have taken. May Your joy abide with them always, that thus they may be a blessing to each other, and to those about them, finding in the blessedness of the home life on earth a sample of the happiness of Thine eternal home. Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen." |
| DECLARATION OF THE MARRIAGE | |
| MINISTER | "What therefore God hath joined together, let no man put
asunder. Forasmuch as Jesus and the Church have consented together in holy matrimony, and
have witnessed the same before God and this company and have pledged their love and
loyalty to each other, and have declared the same by the joining and the giving of rings,
I, therefore, by the authority of the state, pronounce that they are husband and wife, in
the name of the Lord Jesus Christ." "The Groom may now kiss the Bride." |
| PRESENTATION | |
| MINISTER | "I now present to you Mr and Mrs Jesus Christ." |
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