On behalf of both the Spurgeon and the Kaufman families, I want to take this opportunity to thank you all for being here. I know that it means a great deal to Danielle and Chris to have you all here with them on this very special occasion.
Most of us are familiar with the creation story found in the book of Genesis. There we read how God created man in His own image. But the Lord God then said, "It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him."
So the LORD God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, He took one of the man's ribs and…made a woman…and He brought her to the man.
Then Adam said, "This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called 'woman,' for she was taken out of man."
For this reason, a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh.
This is God’s design for marriage.
There’s a lot of confusion on the subject of marriage in our world today.
On a day like this, it is good to be reminded that marriage came from God, not from man.
Marriage is ordained in heaven.
Marriage is the first and holiest institution on earth.
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.
So, as we gather here today…we recognize that marriage is an act of God and not of man.
Therefore, this covenant of marriage is not to be entered into unadvisedly, or lightly, but reverently, discreetly, and in the fear of the Lord.
I would also remind you today that marriage, as a holy institution, has never fallen.
God's standards have never changed.
God’s plan for marriage is for a beautiful, life-long, loving relationship between a husband and his wife.
This is God’s desire, according to His Word.
PRAYER
Who gives this woman to be married to this man?
DAMON (bride's brother): On behalf of her mother and father, I do.
Chris, Danielle, and Damon are going to place three memorial roses on these front seats.
Two are in honor of Danielle’s parents.
And one is in honor of Chris’ mother.
MESSAGE
Chris and Danielle, this is the long-awaited day where you will express your love to the person you have chosen to spend the rest of your life with.
Today you are prepared to make commitments to one another.
The challenge is not in saying words or in making promises. That part is easy. The challenge will come in living out these commitments in the days to come. What you promise today is something that must be lived out for all of the tomorrows of your life. That is why this is such a sacred occasion.
Our prayer is that Jesus Christ will always be the central figure in your personal lives and that He will always remain at the heart of your relationship.
You have wisely chosen to invite the Lord to be at the Center of your relationship. His presence in your relationship has been symbolically represented by the triangles that are behind you. Since God is the central figure in your relationship, imagine that He is positioned at the top point of the triangle. Since both of you have an individual role to play in making your marriage work - picture yourselves at the lower left and right-hand corners.
Men and women have unique needs. As a husband and wife, you will each have God-ordained responsibilities in this relationship.
Chris, women crave love from their husbands.
Danielle, Men need to feel respected by their wives.
The Lord’s presence will be what brings clarity to this relationship, and His Word will guide you to relational health and happiness as you seek to apply His Word to your lives and in your marriage.
It will be up to you to obey His instruction and show the proper love and respect for one another each and every day.
I want you to know, this is not a one-time decision. Instead, it is a decision that must be reaffirmed again and again throughout your marriage.
Just because a marriage begins with Christ, that is no guarantee it will continue in Him. That will happen only as you continue to nurture the commitments you are making today, to God, and to one another.
Please don’t ever take the spiritual component of this marriage for granted. You are entering into a sacred covenant relationship with one another, and with your Heavenly Father.
I would also advise you to be careful never to take your love for one another for granted either. When you come to the end of life’s journey your love for one another will be even greater then than it is today, even though that may be hard to believe right now.
The apostle Paul provides some incredible counsel to husbands and wives.
"Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything.
Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless." - Ephesians 5:22-27 (NIV)
"For this reason, a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh." - Ephesians 5:31 (NIV)
"However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband." - Ephesians 5:33 (NIV)
Marriage is about more than finding the right mate. It is just as much about being the right mate. You will be the right mate as you love one another selflessly and unconditionally.
Remember that love is a verb. It is an action word.
It is a decision and not a feeling.
Marriage is a covenant of faith and trust between a man and woman.
Marriage also is a covenant of hope that always endures.
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.
Real love 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.
Love makes joys more intense…because you share them.
Love makes you stronger…so you can reach out and become involved with life in ways you dared not risk alone.
In a healthy marriage, selfishness is replaced by selflessness.
Do you both come freely, and without reservation, desiring to commit yourselves to one another in this covenant of marriage?
If so answer, “We Do.”
Chris and Danielle, the time has now come for you to affirm your love for one another.
Please turn and face one another.
Chris, I would like for you to begin by making your pledge to Danielle. Please repeat after me.
EXCHANGE OF VOWS (Personal/Traditional)
Bride - DANIELLE:
Chris, I love you. I prayed that God would lead me to his choice. I praise Him that tonight His will is being fulfilled. Through the pressures of the present and uncertainties of the future, I promise my faithfulness, to follow you through all of life’s experiences as you follow God, that together we may grow in the likeness of Christ and our home be a praise to Him.
Groom - CHRIS:
Danielle, I love you and I know that this love is from God. Because of this, I want to be your husband so that we might serve Christ together. Through all of the uncertainties and trials of the present and the future. God’s Word gives us the perfect example of this love in Christ’s death for the Church. I shall try always, with God’s help, to show you this same kind of love, for I know that in His sight we will both be one.
Chris then Danielle
I, Chris, in becoming your husband, promise before God, our family, and friends
to love and cherish,
to protect and provide,
in good times and bad,
in joy and grief,
to be faithful,
becoming one in ALL Things,
through our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ,
till death do us part.
This is my solemn vow to you.
I, Danielle, in becoming your wife,
promise before God, our family, and friends
to love and cherish,
to protect and provide,
in good times and bad,
in joy and grief,
to be faithful,
becoming one in ALL Things,
through our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ,
till death do us part.
This is my solemn vow to you.
EXCHANGE OF RINGS
Chris and Danielle, you have both chosen rings to present to one another today.
These rings will serve as far more than a mere decoration or accessory.
Though small in size, wedding rings are very large in significance.
A powerful symbol of the commitments that you are making to one another today, will be the rings that you will wear from this day forward.
These rings will serve as a daily reminder of the sacred promises you are making to one another.
Made of precious metal, they are a reminder that love is not cheap or common.
Made in a circle, their design reminds us that love is never-ending.
These rings will be an outward symbol to the entire world that you have pledged your love to one another.
Chris, take the ring and place it on Danielle's finger as a token of the vow you have made before God and all of us and hold it in place as you repeat to her this promise:
Danielle, I give you this ring as a token of my love and a sign of my never-ending promise to you.
Danielle, now place your ring on Chris’ finger and repeat after me:
Chris, I give you this ring as a token of my love and a sign of my never-ending promise to you.
SAND CEREMONY
You have chosen to symbolize your union today by the merging of sand. The white sand (already in the vase) represents the spiritual foundation upon which you have chosen to build your marriage.
You will each add a collection of sand that represents all that has gone into your individual lives up to this moment in time.
Today’s ceremony represents not only the joining of two lives together in marriage but the formation of a new family as well.
That’s why we have invited Chris’ daughter Sarah to join in this ceremony by contributing her own collection of sand to the center vase.
The blending of this sand represents the blending of three lives, each individual and beautifully unique. The sand in these individual vases represents all that you were, all that you are, and all that you hope to be. Just as these grains of sand can never be separated and poured again into their individual vases, it will be impossible to separate your lives after this day.
After you have each added the sand from your individual vases to the center vase, Pastor Damon Spurgeon, Danielle’s brother, will complete the sand ceremony by adding a collection of red sand.
The red sand represents the blood of Jesus Christ. The red sand will serve as a reminder that you have personally accepted Christ’s sacrificial death as payment for your sins. It will also represent the fact that you have invited the Lord to provide a covering for your marriage and this new family that is being formed today.
Our prayer is that the love you have for God, and for one another, will continue to flourish and grow all the days of your lives. That will undoubtedly be the case, as your lives are truly centered on Jesus Christ.
SONG – Center
PRONOUNCEMENT
Chris and Danielle, you have been joined together in holy wedlock.
You have witnessed the same before God and this assembly,
You have committed yourselves completely to each other in the covenant of marriage,
Therefore, I now pronounce that you are husband and wife according to the law of God.
What God has joined together, let no man separate.
Chris, you may kiss your bride!
PRESENTATION OF THE COUPLE
Ladies and Gentlemen, it is my pleasure to present to you…for the very first time…
Mr. & Mrs. Chris Kaufman
RECESSIONAL
