CHRISTIAN CEREMONY #16
RICHER AND DEEPER
PRESENTATION OF THE BRIDE
Who gives this woman to be married to this man? / I do.
MUSIC
Praise My Soul, the King of heaven
Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee
Praise to the Lord, the Almighty, the King of Creation
OPENING REMARKS
We, as a community of friends and family, are gathered here in God’s presence, to witness the marriage of _(Bride)_ and _(Groom)_ and to ask God to bless them.
PRAYER
O God, you are the Creator of all things; You made us, and You sustain us; we depend on You. For the gift of life, we praise You. For Jesus who reveals its meaning and purpose, we thank You. In the world without, and in our lives within, there is much that is confusing and contradictory. Many voices counsel us; many faces pressure us; many things tempt us. We need Your light to lead us, Your hand to hold us, and Your love to complete us. In Jesus’ name we ask now for Your blessing. Amen.
Love is patient and kind; love is not jealous or boastful; it is not arrogant or rude. Love does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrong, but rejoices in the right. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends.
I Corinthians 13:4-8a
Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the lands! Serve the Lord with gladness! Come into his presence with singing! Know that the Lord is God! It is he that made us, and we are His: we are His people, and the sheep of His pasture. Enter His gates with thanksgiving, and His courts with praise! Give thanks to Him, and bless His name! For the Lord is good: His steadfast love endures forever, and His faithfulness to all generations. Psalm 100
Jesus said: As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you; abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full. This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. John 15:9-12
“Have you not read that He who made them from the beginning made them male and female, and said, ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one”? So they are no longer two but one. What therefore God has joined together, let no man put asunder. Matt. 19:4-6
REMARKS TO GUESTS
We are the guests of _(Bride)_ and _(Groom)_ in their wedding. By our presence here we accept responsibility for helping _(Groom)_ and _(Bride)_ and encouraging them in the new relationship into which they are about to enter. We are called to rejoice in their happiness, to help them when they have trouble, and to remember them in our prayers. Marriage, like our creation as men and women, owes its very existence to God. It is God’s will and intention that a husband and wife should love each other throughout their life; ( and the children born to them should enjoy the security of family and home.).
REMARKS TO COUPLE
_(Bride)_ and _(Groom)_ , your marriage is intended to join you for life in a relationship so intimate and personal that it will change your whole being. It offers you the hope, and indeed the promise, of a love that is true and mature. To attain such love you will have to commit yourselves to each other freely and gladly for the sake of a richer and deeper life together. Let God be your guide and helper.
DECLARATION
_(Groom)_ will you have _(Bride)_ to be your wife? / I will.
_(Bride)_ will you have _(Groom)_ to be your husband? / I will.
SERMONETTE
PRAYER
Let us pray for this man and woman as they make their marriage vows.
Our Father, as _(Groom)_ and _(Bride)_ pledge themselves to each other, help them and bless them; that their love may be pure, and their vows may be true; through Jesus Christ our Lord.
_(Bride)_ , please pass your bouquet to your maid of honour?
Face each other and join hands.
VOWS
_(Groom)_ , please repeat after me your vows to _(Bride)_ ?
I take you to be my wife;
To laugh with you in joy,
To grieve with you in sorrow,
To grow with you in love,
To be faithful to you alone,
As long as we both shall live.
_(Bride)_ , please repeat after me your vows to _(Groom)_ ?
I take you to be my husband;
To laugh with you in joy,
To grieve with you in sorrow,
To grow with you in love,
To be faithful to you alone,
As long as we both shall live.
EXCHANGE OF RINGS
May I have the rings please?
_(Groom)_ , as you place your ring on _(Bride)_ ‘s finger, please repeat after me you commitment to your bride?
_(Bride)_ , I place this ring
on your finger
as a perpetual sign
of my unending love.
_(Bride)_ , as you place your ring on _(Groom)_ ‘s finger, please repeat after me you commitment to your groom?
_(Groom)_, I place this ring
on your finger
as a perpetual sign
of my unending love.
DECLARATION
Forasmuch as _(Groom)_ and _(Bride)_ have made this solemn covenant of marriage before God and all of us here, by virtue of the powers vested in me by the Province of Ontario as a minister of the gospel, I declare them to be husband and wife, in the name of God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. What God has put together let no man pull apart.
BLESSING
The grace of Christ attend you, the love of God surround you, the Holy Spirit keep you. Amen.
KISS
PRAYER
O God, Creator and Father of us all, we thank you for the gift of life — and, in life, for the gift of marriage. We praise you and thank you for all the joys that come to men and women through marriage, and the blessings of home and family. Today, especially, we pray for _(Groom)_ and _(Bride)_ as they begin their life together as husband and wife. With them we thank you for the joy they find in each other. Help them to support each other with patience, understanding and honesty. Teach them to be wise and loving parent of any children they may have. Look with favor, God, on all our homes. Defend them from every evil that may threaten them, from outside or within. Let your Spirit so direct all of us that we may each look to the good of others in word and deed, and grow in grace as we advance in years; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
MUSIC
Now Thank We All Our God
O Perfect Love All Human Thought Transcending
BENEDICTION
The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen.
DOCUMENTS
INTRODUCTION
It is my delight to introduce to you Mr. And Mrs. ——- .
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