Christian Wedding Ceremony w/children involved
Sample 16
(Involving children of Bride and Groom)
Preliminaries
Bride's children come down the aisle and face rear of chapel, standing on left side.
Groom's children come down the aisle and stand on right side, facing rear of chapel.
Groom and Pastor enter, down the aisle, and stand in the center, facing the rear.
Bride enters with escort
Escort sits down after they reach the front.
Wedding party assembles, facing front.
Pastor moves up on platform.
Introductory Remarks and Welcome
Introduce Families
As we share in this wedding ceremony, it is well that we remember that
in the beginning, when God cre-ated the heavens and the earth, He
concluded, "It is not good for man to be alone." So, He created woman
to share in man's life--to assist in man's striving--to satisfy man's
need. He also created the woman to be loved, honored and
appreciated by man.
This is marriage, and it is for the purpose of joining ___________ and
___________ in marriage that we have come together today. The
marriage of two Christians is viewed by God as an occasion of great joy
since it marks the beginning of a relationship that is second only to
our personal relationship with the Lord Himself. BUT IT IS ONLY
THROUGH CHRIST that marriage becomes what God intends it to be.
Let us acknowledge His place in this ceremony and see His blessing on
this union.
Prayer
Giving Away of Bride
Pastor -- Who presents ___________ to be joined in marriage to ___________ ?
Escort -- "I do."
Wedding Vows
The essence of any marriage relationship is love. Much of what we
call love is really self-centered re-sponse, which will never form an
adequate foundation for marriage. Love, by its very nature, is
active and giving, not self-oriented and self-serving.
Jesus Christ is the true example of love, and He has commanded us to
love each other as He loves us. And how does He love us? First,
He gives all for our sake, without hesitation or concern for
Himself. In other words, love puts the needs of the one loved
ahead of the needs and desires of the lover.
Next, from Christ's example, we see that love shares all. There
are no secret compartments, no hidden rooms, no locked closets in a
successful love relationship. There is only openness and, as a
result, trust, when hus-band and wife truly love each other.
Finally, the Lord Jesus teaches us that love provides all. It
provides security, it seeks to develop ability, and it shares the
common purpose of obtaining what is best for the one loved. Such
love is not merely impossible, it is supernatural. ONLY JESUS
CHRIST can love this way, and we can only love this way if we submit to
Him and depend on His Spirit to love through us.
Therefore, as marriage partners, you must continually allow Christ to
exercise His Lordship in your lives because He, and His indwelling
Spirit, will enable you to be a proper husband and good wife.
Earlier I said that the essence of any marriage relationship is love,
but when we understand what love really is, we must recognize that the
essence of any marriage relationship is our spiritual relationship with
the Lord Jesus Christ, because with-out Him there is no real
love.
The Apostle Paul gives us an additional description of love in God's
Word: "This love of which I speak is slow to lose patience; it looks
for a way of being constructive. It is not possessive; it is
neither anxious to impress, nor does it cherish inflated ideas of its
own importance. Love has good manners, and does not pursue
selfish ad-vantage. It is not touchy. It does not keep
account of evil or gloat over the wickedness of other people. On
the contrary, it is glad with all men when truth prevails. Love
knows no limit to its endurance; no end to its hope. It can
outlast anything. It is, in fact, the only thing that still
stands when all else has fallen." (I Corinthians 13)
Pastor to Bride -- We must also realize that marriage is designed to be
a picture of Christ and His relation-ship with those who believe in
Him. In this picture, you ___________, as you give yourself in
submission and de-pendence to ____________, portray the role of the
Christian who also gives himself in submission and dependence to
Christ.
Pastor to Groom -- On the other hand ___________, as you love and keep
___________ , you portray the love of the Lord Jesus as He expressed it
toward the Christian. In view of this picture, there are specific
instruc-tions to both husbands and wives.
Pastor to Bride -- To the wife God says, "Wives, be subject to your own
husbands as to the Lord, for the husband is the head of the wife as
Christ is the Head of the church.." ___________, this is the command of
God in His Word and is designed to make your marriage relationship a
thing of beauty and joy. So, in acceptance of this principle of
God's Word, do you now commit yourself to ____________, to be his wife,
to join your lives together in living, permanent union as Christ is to
His church?
Bride -- "I do."
Pastor to Bride -- Then repeat after me: "I commit myself to you
___________, before God, to be your faithful and loving wife for all
the years of our earthly life, to cherish our relationship in Christ
and God's order for the family."
Pastor to Groom -- __________, the command of God to husbands is,
"Husbands, love your wives as Christ loved the church and gave His own
life for it." Loving as Christ loved is the key to the enjoyment of all
that God designed marriage to be. Without His love the fullness
you seek will turn into emptiness, the satisfaction into
dissatisfaction. Therefore, do you willing express your desire
and intent to fulfill God's command to husbands, counting on the
enabling ministry of the Spirit of God, and do you now commit yourself
to ___________ to be her husband?
Groom -- "I do."
Pastor to Groom -- Then repeat after me: "I do commit myself to you,
__________, before God, to be your faithful and loving husband for all
the years of our earthly life, to seek to love you even as Christ loves
the church which is His bride."
Prayer
Ring Vows
As you exchange rings let them be to each of you a constant reminder of these commitments you have made.
Pastor to Bride -- Please repeat these words after me: "I give you this
ring, ___________ , as a symbol of my love, and with it pledge my
loyalty and devotion as long as we both shall live."
Pastor to Groom -- Please repeat these words after me: "I give you this
ring, ___________ , as a symbol of my love, and with it pledge my
loyalty and devotion as long as we both shall live."
Exchange Kiss
Pronouncement
Prayer
Introduction of couple