Date_____________
ADDRESS TO THE CONGREGATION
We welcome you today to the marriage of Mark Linger and Karen Jamison. We are met together in the presence of God to join this man and this woman in holy matrimony. This is indeed a joyful time, in which we witness the love of these two people expressed in the joining of their lives together for life. So we invite you to join with us, as participants in this service, not only to witness this union, but to renew your own commitment to your husband, or wife.
The Scripture says; "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. All things were made by Him . . . . . and God saw that they were good. So God created man in His own image. But the Lord God said, ‘It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper suitable for him.’ And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and He took one of his ribs, and made a woman, and brought her to the man. And the man said, ‘This is now bone of my bone, and flesh of my flesh, she shall be called woman, because she was taken out of man.’ Therefore shall a man leave his father and mother and shall cleave unto his wife and the two shall be one flesh."
Ladies and Gentlemen, marriage is of God. It is ordained of heaven. It is the first and holiest institution among men. God Himself gave the first bride away. God Himself performed the first wedding ceremony. In the Garden of Eden, God Himself hallowed and sanctified the first home. And so, as we gather here today, we recognize that marriage is an act of God and not of man.
Therefore, this covenant is not to be entered into unadvisedly or lightly, but reverently, discreetly, advisedly, and soberly, in the fear of God. Into this covenant Mark and Karen come now to be joined.
MAY WE PRAY:
Our Father, as Mark and Karen come to commit themselves this day to one another, we ask that Your blessing and Your grace be shed upon them. May Mark and Karen, these two, be made one today Father, and may their union be made pleasing in Your sight through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.
ADDRESS TO THE COUPLE
Mark . . . , Karen . . . , Marriage is a covenant of faith and trust between a man and woman requiring openness of life and thought, freedom from doubt and suspicion, and commitment to speak the truth in love to one another.
Marriage, also is a covenant of hope that endures all things, and in which both husband and wife commit themselves to interpret each other’s behavior with understanding and compassion, and to never give up trying to communicate with each other.
Marriage, therefore, is a covenant of love in which both husband and wife empty themselves of their own concerns, and take upon themselves the concerns of each other as they love and care for one another.
Do you both come freely, and without reservation, desiring to commit yourselves to one another in this covenant of marriage? (We Do)
VOWS: FORMAL
Mark, will you have Karen to be your wedded wife, to live together in the covenant of marriage? Will you love her, comfort her, honor and keep her, in sickness and in health, and forsaking all others, be faithful to her as long as you both shall live? (I Will)
Karen, will you have Mark to be your wedded husband, to live together in the covenant of marriage? Will you love him, comfort him, honor and keep him, in sickness and in health, and forsaking all others, be faithful to him as long as you both shall live? (I Will)
Who gives Karen to be married to Mark? (Father answers, "Her mother and I.")
Real love is something beyond the warmth and glow, the excitement and romance of being deeply in love. It is caring as much about the welfare and happiness of your marriage partner as about your own. But real love is not total absorption in each other; it is looking outward in the same direction — together. Love makes burdens lighter, because you divide them. It makes joys more intense, because you share them. It makes you stronger, so you can reach out and become involved with life in ways you dared not risk alone.
Marriage and home are built upon the foundation of the sublimest dedication known to the human heart—that of unselfish love and heavenly affection. Even though speaking to her mother-in-law, with many tears and deep searching of heart, giving up her native home and country and people, Ruth spake of that dedication in these immortal words: "Entreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following after thee: for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest I will lodge; thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God. Where thou diest, will I die, and there will I be buried: the Lord do so to me, and more also, if ought but death part thee and me." This can also be your commitment to one another this day.
THE READING OF THE SCRIPTURE
1 Cor. 13:4-8; 13
Love is very patient, very kind. Love knows no jealousy; love makes no parade, gives itself no airs, is never rude, never selfish, never irritated, never resentful; love is never glad when others do wrong, love is gladdened by goodness, always slow to expose, always eager to believe the best, always hopeful, always patient. Love never disappears. Thus faith and hope and love last on, these three, but the greatest of these is love. (Moffatt)
VOWS: PERSONAL
(They clasp hands)
I, Mark Linger, take you, Karen Jamison, to be my 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, until we are parted by death. This is my solemn vow.
I, Karen Jamison, take you, Mark Linger, to be my 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, until we are parted by death. This is my solemn vow.
RING SERVICE
Mark, do you possess a token of your love and affection to give to your bride, a seal of this holy covenant? (I Do) What is it? (A Ring)
In all ages and among all peoples, the ring has been a symbol of that which is measureless; and thus, in this holy hour, a symbol of your measureless, boundless devotion. It is a circle; it has neither beginning nor ending; so your commitment should also be unending. It is gold; which is precious; so also is your commitment precious. And the sign and seal of this commitment will be this ring. As a ceaseless reminder of this sacred committal, place this ring on the wedding finger of your bride and repeat after me:
As a symbol of my vow, with this ring, I thee wed, with loyal love, I thee endow, all my worldly goods, with thee I share, and with them I give you myself.
Karen, do you possess a token of your love and affection to give to your husband, a seal of this holy covenant? (I Do) What is it? (A Ring)
Invested with the same significance as the ring you have just received, so this ring is a circle of precious gold indicating the longevity of your love and the pricelessness of your devotion. Place this ring on the wedding finger of your husband and repeat after me:
As a symbol of my vow, with this ring, I thee wed, with loyal love, I thee endow, all my worldly goods, with thee I share, and with them I give you myself.
PRAYER
(Couple Kneeling)
Father, You Who did create man and woman, and did design them to be together, we ask Your grace to be shed upon Mark and Karen as they come before You this day. The commitments they have made to one another today are commitments which will take Your strength to fulfill. And so Lord, we do ask for Your strength for them. The life together which they begin today will take Your wisdom to be lived successfully. We do ask for Your wisdom for them. The problems which beset us all will take your encouragement to overcome. We ask that Your encouragement be theirs. If You bless them with children, may they be given the courage to raise them in the nurture and encouragement of Christ. May Mark and Karen find their reward in Thee, O God, through Jesus Christ, their Lord and Savior. And now may God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit bless, preserve, and keep you; the Lord graciously with His favor look upon you, and so fill you with all spiritual blessings and love, that you may so live together in this life that in the world to come you may have life everlasting. Amen.
PRONOUNCEMENT
For as much as Mark and Karen have consented together in holy wedlock, and have witnessed the same before God and this assembly, and have committed themselves completely to each other in the covenant of marriage, I do pronounce that they are now husband and wife according to the law of God. What God has joined together, no man may put asunder. You may kiss the bride.
THE LIGHTING OF THE UNITY CANDLE
"For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh. So they are no longer two, but one." (Mark. 10:7-8 NIV)
PRESENTATION OF THE COUPLE
Ladies and Gentlemen, it is my pleasure to present to you Mr. & Mrs. Mark Linger