This entire sermon may replace
sermon #1, or you may
choose paragraphs from each sermon for us to
blend together
Friends, we are gathered here today to celebrate the
love of _________________ and ________________, as they make their
pledges of marriage before God and before this company. Jesus Christ
was once asked, "What is the greatest Law that mankind must follow?''
And he answered them by saying that we must love God with all our
hearts, and love our neighbors as our self.
I think that when he said
these words, he touched upon something we all feel very deeply in
our hearts, and that is that love is the greatest gift we can offer
one another, and that is what makes marriage so very special, and
such a cause of joy and celebration for all of us who have come here
today to share in this event.
It is my personal prayer
and hope that those of you who have already taken the vows of marriage
will witness the love of these two people, and as you hear them share
their vows, perhaps it will strengthen for you the memory of your
happy day, and remind you of the meaning of the vows you yourselves
once took. Perhaps it will even strengthen just a little bit the bonds
of love that have been growing between you. If any of this should
happen, it would certainly be the greatest gift that __________ and
__________ could offer all of us on their wedding day.
Marriage is an act of
faith and ever-deepening commitment, as well as a loving union between
a man and a woman. It has been described as the best and the most
important relationship that two people can share, the creation of
a single growing energy of spiritual life. Marriage can be a lifelong
unfolding of loving kindness, backed by the will to make it last.
There is no limit to the knowing of another's soul, and when you learn
to love one person, then you grow in love for all of humanity.
Note: If you wish, we
can substitute the wedding ceremony which appears in the Traditional
Book of Common Prayer. The entire ceremony can be found in the paperback
book, You and Your Wedding by Winnifred Gray, and in the Book of Common
Prayer itself.
Continue to Part Three: Readings
More
Wedding Sermons: [ Option #1 ] [ Option #3 ] [ Alternative Prayers ]
[Declaration of
Marriage]