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Hands Ceremony
We are here assembled in the presence
of God to unite _______ and ________ in marriage.
The Bible teaches that marriage is to be a permanent relationship of one
man and one woman freely and totally committed to each other as
companions for life. Our Lord declared that man shall leave his father
and mother and unite with his wife in the building of a home, and the
two shall become one flesh.
Who gives the bride to be married? (Bride’s Father): [I do].
PRAYER
_____ and ________, the Bible has much to say about marriage- directly
and indirectly. The very first people of creation were brought together
by God who saw that it was not good for man to be alone. Eve was created
to be Adams companion and his helper in all things. Jesus performed his
first miracle at a wedding. Some of His most famous parables flow out of
the context of marriage.
As you stand here today, it is your desire that this ceremony not only
reflect your commitment to one another but your individual and shared
commitment to Christ. Marriage is the clasping of hands, the blending of
hearts, the union of two lives becoming one. This marriage will stand by
the strength of your love and the power of faith you have in one another
and also in God.
I want to ask you to turn and face one another now.
__Bride___, please take __Grooms__ hands and hold them palms up so that
you may see them for the gift which they are to you.
These are the hands of your best friend. They are young and strong and
vibrant with love- these hands, which are resting in yours on this
wedding day, are the hands of the one whom is promising to love you for
all the remaining days of your life. These are the hands, which will
work along side you and will build your future, as you laugh and cry as
you share your innermost secrets and dreams. These are the hands, which
will be placed against your womb with expectant joy when he feels the
child stir within you. These hands, which appear so large and strong
today, will be soft and gentle as he holds your baby for the first time.
These hands will work long hours for you and your new family and they
are the hands which will passionately love and cherish you throughout
the years- the same hands will wipe away tears of sorrow and tears of
joy from your eyes. These are the hands which will comfort you in times
of illness and which will hold you when grief intrudes your home. These
are the hands, which will tenderly lift your chin and brush your cheek
as they raise your face to look into his eyes- eyes that will be filled
with passion for you.
¬¬¬___Groom__ would you please take __Bride___ hands, palms up, so that
you may see them for the gifts, which they are to you.
These hands are the hands of your best friend, smooth, young, and
carefree which are holding yours on this wedding day as she pledges her
love and commitment to you for all the days of her life. These are the
hands, which will hold your children in tender love, soothing them
through illness and hurt, supporting and encouraging them along the way
and knowing when it is time to let go. These are the hands which will
hold you tight as you struggle through difficult times- they are the
hands which will comfort you when you are sick and will console you when
you grieve. These are the hands, which will passionately love you and
cherish you through all the years for a lifetime of happiness. These
same hands will support you as you pursue your dreams of all that God
has enabled you to be and become. Together, as a team, her hands in
yours, your wishes will be realized.
Please join me in prayer…
God, bless these hands that you see before you on this day. May they
always be held by one another and may they find the strength to keep
holding on when the storms of worry, distress, anxiety and fear attack
their home. May these hands remain tender and gentle as they nurture one
another in their wondrous love. May these hands continue to build a
relationship founded in Your grace, rich in caring and devoted to
reaching for Your perfection of them. We ask this prayer in Your Holy
Name, amen.
The home is built upon love. In the 13th chapter of 1 Corinthians the
Bible says:
“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;… So faith, hope, love abide, these
three: but the greatest of these is love.”
Marriage is a companionship which involves mutual commitment and
responsibility. You will share alike in the responsibilities and the
joys of life. When companions share a sorrow the sorrow is halved, and
when they share a joy the joy is doubled.
You are asked to dedicate your home to your Creator. Take His Word, the
Bible, for your guide. Give loyal devotion to His church and live your
lives as His willing servants, and true happiness will be your reward.
“Please join right hands”.
_________ will you take ________ to be your wife; will you commit
yourself to her happiness and her self-fulfillment as a person, and to
her usefulness in God’s Kingdom; and will you promise to love, honor,
trust, and serve her in sickness and in health, in adversity, and
prosperity, and to be true and loyal to her, so long as you both shall
live?
________ will you take _____ to be your husband; will you commit
yourself to his happiness and his self-fulfillment as a person, and to
his usefulness in God’s Kingdom; and do you promise to love, honor,
trust, and serve him in sickness and in health, in adversity and
prosperity, and to be true and loyal to him, so long as you both shall
live?
The wedding ring is a symbol of marriage in at least two ways: the
purity of gold symbolizes the purity of your love for each other, and
the unending circle symbolizes the unending vows which you are taking,
which may be broken honorably in the sight of God only by death. As a
token of your vows, you will give and receive the rings.
_______, you will give the ring and repeat after me:
___________ with this ring I pledge my life and love to you, in the name
of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit”.
__________, you will give the ring and repeat after me:
________, with this ring I pledge my life and love to you, in the name
of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit”.
UNITY CANDLE
The Bible teaches that in marriage two become one flesh. In symbolism of
this you will now light the unity candle.
Since they have made these commitments before God and these witnesses,
by the authority of God and the laws of the State of New ___________, I
declare that _____ and ________ are husband and wife.
_____ and ________, you are no longer two independent persons but one.
“What therefore God has joined together let no man separate.”
_____ you may kiss your bride.
Let me be the first to introduce to you Mr. and Mrs.
___________________________
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