WEDDING SERVICE

Tonight I will assist in a wedding service by giving the Charge and the Wedding Prayer.

HERE IS THE CHARGE ...

Trey and Laura, I require and charge you both, as you stand in the presence of God, before whom the secrets of all hearts are disclosed, that, having duly considered the holy covenant you are about to make, you do now declare before this company your pledge of faith, each to the other.

We have heard beautiful music describing the perfect love of God. Remember that love and loyalty alone will avail as the foundation of a happy home.

The Bible gives us many descriptions of what true love is like. In the Old Testament we read these words from Ecclesiastes:

“Two are better than one because they have a good return for their labor. For if either of them falls, the one will lift up his companion. But woe to the one who falls when there is not another to lift him up. Furthermore, if two lie down together they keep warm, but how can one be warm alone? And if one can overpower him who is alone, two can resist him. A cord of three strands is not quickly torn apart.”

Trey and Laura, one is a whole number. Both of you know what it is like to live as a single person and be completely alone at times. Yet you realized that you have enough resources of personality to be complete … and alone.

In providence you have been brought together – two people to become one team.

The verses in Ecclesiastes that I just read show the benefits:

… working together productively,

… sleeping together peacefully,

… and meeting challenges powerfully.

Note the progression of the numbers:

one person … two people … three strands of cord.

I suggest to you that the three strands represents the lives of two people woven together with the presence, power, and peace of God. He is the all-important third Person in your relationship.

Be well assured that if the solemn vows you are about to make are kept faithfully, and if steadfastly you endeavor to do the will of your heavenly Father, God will bless your marriage, will grant you fulfillment in it, and the home you are establishing will abide in peace.

No other ties are more tender, no other vows more sacred than those you now assume.

HERE IS THE WEDDING PRAYER ...

Most gracious God, we give you thanks for your tender love in making us a covenant people through our Savior Jesus Christ and for consecrating in His name the marriage covenant of Trey and Laura.

Grant that their love for each other, as the perfect bond of unity, grow from strength to strength as they faithfully serve you in the world. Let the peace of Christ rule in their hearts, to which indeed they are called in one body. And whatever they do in word or deed, may they do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father.

As those who have been chosen of God to be his holy and beloved children, may Trey and Laura put on hearts of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience; bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, remembering whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you.

Give them strong, healthy bodies, with clear minds and compassionate hearts. May the light of friendship guide their paths together. May the laughter of children grace the halls of their home. May the joy of living for one another trip a smile from their lips, a twinkle from their eyes.

Defend them from every enemy. Lead them into all peace. Let their love for each other be a seal upon their hearts, a mantle about their shoulders, and a crown upon their heads.

Bless them in their work and in their companionship; in their sleeping and in their waking; in their joys and in their sorrows; in their lives and in their deaths.

When eternity beckons, by your grace bring them and all of us to that table where your saints feast forever in your heavenly home;

Through Jesus Christ our Lord, who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, forever and ever. Amen.

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