Wedding of John and Kathleen
· Opening Music
· Wedding Procession
· Opening Prayer & Welcome
Dearly beloved, we are gathered here in the presence of God and each other to publicly acknowledge the joining together of this man and this woman in holy matrimony.
Marriage is an ordinance of God from the beginning of time, that according to his direction, a "man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh." (Genesis 2:24) God created us male and female, and he determined in the beginning of time that it was not good for the man to be alone. His kind provision for Adam was expressed in the creation of the woman, who was a helpmate for him. One who was like him in some ways, and yet different from him in other ways, with the two forming a wonderful partnership of love and service.
Throughout the ages of human history, God has provided men and women as special lifelong partners for one and other. Together they are to pursue what is good and right and honoring to Him. A man from one family and a woman from another family are joined together to create a new household.
It has been God's good pleasure that marriage would be the building block of all human society. But it has another solemn purpose. It is to be a living illustration of the greatest spiritual reality, the special love of a Promise-Keeping God for His faithful and obedient people. As God's Love for his people is from before all time and reaches into eternity, the love of a man and a woman in marriage is to be a complete and lasting commitment, until death parts the two that have been made one.
Kathleen & John, have you h come here on this day to make a public promise and commitment to each other as husband and wife?
We have.
Let us pray:
Most holy and most merciful Father, the God of nature and of grace, creator, preserver and redeemer of mankind, fill these, your servants with a sense of the solemnity of the vows they are about to make. May they look to you for your assistance, and enter into these sacred obligations in humble dependence upon your enabling grace. Grant this, O Father, with the forgiveness of our sins, through Jesus Christ, your Son. Amen.
· Readings
Genesis 2:21-24
21 So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and while he slept took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh. 22 And the rib that the Lord God had taken from the man he made [8] into a woman and brought her to the man. 23 Then the man said,
“This at last is bone of my bones
and flesh of my flesh;
she shall be called Woman,
because she was taken out of Man.” [9]
24 Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.
Ephesians 5:22-33
“Awake, O sleeper,
and arise from the dead,
and Christ will shine on you.”
15 Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, 16 making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. 17 Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. 18 And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, 19 addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, 20 giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, 21 submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.
Wives and Husbands
22 Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. 23 For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior. 24 Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands.
25 Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, 26 that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, 27 so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish. [1] 28 In the same way husbands should love their 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 Christ does the church, 30 because we are members of his body. 31 “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” 32 This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church. 33 However, let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.
2 Corinthians 5:17-21
...If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. 18 All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; 19 that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. 20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. 21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
Other Passages...
· Message: “A New Life – A Life Together – A Life of Consecration”
· Marriage Vows
John, do you take Kathleen to be your wife, to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better for worse, for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health, to honor and to cherish, until you are parted by death?
I do.
Kathleen, do you take John to be your husband, to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better for worse, for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health, to cherish and to obey, until we are parted by death.
I do.
· The rings
John to Kathleen
This ring I give you as a symbol and pledge of constant faith and abiding love.
Kathleen to John
This ring I give you as a symbol and pledge of constant faith and abiding love.
· Prayer for John and Kathleen
· Pronouncement of Marriage
John and Kathleen, I now pronounce you husband and wife. What God has joined together, let no one break apart. John, you may kiss the bride.
