Courtney Cogdill & Teddy Miller Wedding
Weddings & Funerals • Sermon • Submitted
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Transcript
“Please stand.”
Processional and Giving Away of the Bride
“Who presents this woman to marry this man?” [“Her mother and I do.”]
“You may be seated.”
At this time the parents of the Groom and Bride will pray quietly with them.
Call to Worship
Well, you two, can you believe that by this time tomorrow you’ll be hitched? Actually, in like 25 minutes?! Can you believe that in 25 years, if the Lord should tarry that long, and if neither of you has graduated to his presence from the earth… in about 25 years you will have been married to one another longer than you were alive before you were married? And in just 5-10 years from now, you’ll hardly remember being single; you will have nearly entirely forgotten what it was like to NOT be married to one another. In the timeline of your lives, today is a big day!
Friends and family, thank you so much for being here to be celebrate with Teddy & Courtney and their immediate families on this momentous occasion in their lives.
With great affection for these two we have gathered together to witness and bless their union in marriage. By God’s grace and for His glory they bring their individual commitments to Jesus Christ and bind them together in a lifelong commitment of pursuing Him as one. They bring their gifts and talents, their unique personalities and spirits, even their admitted weaknesses, which God will unite into one as they build their life together. We rejoice with Teddy & Courtney in thankfulness to the Lord for honoring this marriage of hearts and lives.
“Let’s express our gratitude to him in prayer before we continue.”
Invocation
Heavenly Father, today we thank you and praise you again for the institution of marriage that you have created. May you be honored and glorified in Teddy & Courtney’s hearts today, in my own heart, and in the hearts of these family and friends gathered here. Glorify yourself by blessing their marriage and teaching them to pursue you alone as their primary desire all of their days. We pray this through the sufficiency of Jesus our Lord, Amen.
Congregational Song – Stand with us please as Cha Miller, brother of the Groom, lead us in a congregational song.
Charge to Bride and Groom
Teddy & Courtney, it has been a pleasure for Clara and I to spend some concentrated time with you guys over the last several months. Courtney, we’re not even your parents (who are going be a tearful mess today), but we find real joy in seeing where the Lord has brought you today. It seems not long ago you were the energetic and kind-spirited youngster in our youth group, and then a spiritual leader as an older teen, and then off to college, and then teaching Sunday school at church. In the meantime, you met this fellow, whom I have come to sincerely appreciate as a man who wants to honor God and be a true servant leader to you and to others. As proud as I am of both of you, I know your parents must be infinitely more thankful to God for his grace to mature each of you to the place he has you today.
Before I give a biblical charge to the Bride and Groom, I’d like to share something with all those gathered here today as witnesses to their marriage. Teddy & Courtney recognize that, although they have come to love one another deeply, they each have a primary relationship to God through his Son Jesus Christ. At some point in the past, each has recognized their sinfulness and inability to be restored to God on their own. Each has heard and understood the truth of God’s Word that Jesus died on the cross to pay the penalty for their sin, he was buried, and he rose again, demonstrating his absolute victory over sin and death. But Teddy & Courtney didn’t stop at simply comprehending the information of the gospel; instead, they each placed their complete trust in Jesus Christ as their Savior and received the indwelling Holy Spirit. They therefore understand clearly that, as God brings them together and unites them as one today, their focus must remain on His glory and building each other up to grow in the image of Jesus Christ. What a blessing it is for us to witness a marriage of two hearts that are so inclined to be pleasing to God with their whole lives.
Teddy & Courtney, while I am aware that this is not new information to you, please indulge me to briefly remind you, and all of us here, of three critical things God’s Word teaches us about the union you are entering into.
First, marriage is a life-long commitment made before God and man. Jesus quoted from Genesis chapter two when he asked, “Haven’t you read,” […] “that at the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female,’ and said, ‘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 flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.” (Mt. 19:4-6) God ordained marriage before the Fall, and his intention is that it should not be dissolved in this life. From this point on you do not remain married because you have feelings of love; rather, you choose to love because you have made the commitment to belong to one another in marriage.
The second and third reminders come from Ephesians chapter 5, where the Apostle Paul compares marriage to the relationship between Christ and his Church. Marriage, and particularly Christian marriage, has the privilege and responsibility to be a living illustration of the relationship between Christ and the Church. Courtney, a secular perspective would have us believe that submission is some unfortunate thing that a wife must suffer (or is a lie male patriarchy tells you to oppress you). To the contrary, Christ himself, in all ways perfectly equal with the Father and Spirit in the triune Godhead, willingly submitted himself to the Father’s will in order to die for sin and rise again so that we can be rescued and restored to God through him. Submission is a beautiful privilege and responsibility that brings clarity to the truth of the gospel.
And going back to Paul’s comparison in Ephesians 5, when we understand the gospel and the Lordship of Jesus, we don’t scratch our heads at all that Christ is the head of the Church. The church follows his lead; the reasons seem clear enough. But Paul also shows in this context that God has ordained, for order and human flourishing, that a husband must lovingly lead his wife like Christ has loved his Church. The way to lead like Christ, Teddy, is not to try to be the boss of your spouse, but to be the chief servant of your home. Christ’s love is one of self-sacrifice for the highest good of another. In this relationship to your bride, God is giving you the responsibility to lead like Jesus, as the chief servant, to give up whatever you must of your own wants in order that you and Courtney as a team will be more like Jesus.
So the final point flows from what a major responsibility it is that a Christian marriage should reflect Christ and his Church. This privilege and responsibility is made more difficult since we still struggle with sin. It is true that through Jesus, you two are no longer bound in slavery to sin, and have been given the Holy Spirit as a guide to walk according to what pleases God, but… yep, there it is… but we aren’t fully sanctified in holiness until we reach the end. Each of you is marrying another sinner; therefore, a healthy marriage is hard work. Not just getting by, but actually uplifting one another will require copious amounts of repeatedly forgiving one another, and of making a concerted effort to not make your spouse your punching bag. I know we feel like we need a safe space to vent where the other person listens and doesn’t condemn us, but that can often also turn into taking your frustration out on the one closest to you. I’m asking you to remind yourselves each day of the gospel of God’s grace to you, and the privilege of this other person loving you so freely and openly and intimately, and to not take advantage of that safety by hurting one another with selfish words and actions.
That’s just one example of a way that all those here who are married know, or should know, that a healthy marriage is hard work. So, you’re excited and bleary eyed about this gorgeous person before you, but there will be days when gorgeous won’t be the vibe you’re getting. Remember that your marriage is a gift from God, a commitment and not a feeling, an illustration of the gospel and the relationship of Christ and his church, and that marriage will be just as hard as your personal sanctification… but with twice the help if you are both submitting your hearts to God and staying close to Him. May God make your marriage a trophy of His grace!
Vows and Pledge – At this time Teddy & Courtney will each share their vows of love and pledge their commitment one to the other.
Teddy, will you have Courtney to be your wedded wife, to live together in the covenant of faith, hope, and love according to God’s intention for your lives together in Christ Jesus? Will you listen to her well, be considerate and tender in your care for her, and place her highest good above your own desires? Will you stand by her faithfully and promise to prefer her above all others for as long as you both shall live? Teddy – “I do.”
Courtney, will you have Teddy to be your wedded husband, to live together in the covenant of faith, hope, and love according to God’s intention for your lives together in Christ Jesus? Will you submit to his leadership, be considerate and tender in your care for him, and place his highest good above your own desires? Will you stand by him faithfully and promise to prefer him above all others for as long as you both shall live? Courtney – “I do.”
Teddy, please repeat after me: I Teddy, take you, Courtney, / to be my wife. / To have and to hold, / from this day forward, / for better, for worse, / for richer, for poorer, / in sickness or in health, / to love and to cherish / till death do us part.
Courtney, please repeat after me: I Courtney, take you, Teddy, / to be my husband. / To have and to hold, / from this day forward, / for better, for worse, / for richer, for poorer, / in sickness or in health, / to love and to cherish / till death do us part.
Exchanging of the Rings – We will now have the exchanging of the rings. Just as almost everything we do today in this marriage ceremony is meant to solemnize your commitment to one another, so the wedding rings you wear will be a constant reminder of having committed to faithfulness in marriage to only one another.
[Teddy, please receive the bride’s ring from Isaac.] Teddy, as you place this ring on your bride, please repeat after me. “Courtney, I give you this ring / as a symbol of my love and faithfulness to you. / With this ring, I marry you / in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.”
[Courtney, please receive the groom’s ring from Allyson.] Courtney, as you place this ring on your groom, please repeat after me. “Teddy, I give you this ring / as a symbol of my love and faithfulness to you. / With this ring, I marry you / in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.”
Unity Symbols – The bride and groom will now participate together in additional symbols of their unity. First they will sign the family Bible as a symbol of their commitment before God, now a part of the third generation in the Miller family to do so. Then the unity candle ceremony will symbolize the Christian commitment on each side of the family now being united as one in their own marriage.
Teddy & Courtney, today we praise the Lord with you for bringing you to this point in your walk with Him, and we entrust you as a family unit to His care and to His empowering to do His will on this earth.
Prayer of Dedication – Let’s pray.
Heavenly Father, we have been blessed today to be a part of this wedding, but even this ceremony is only an outward reflection of the spiritual unity you are accomplishing by your grace and power. May you richly bless Teddy & Courtney’s marriage from this day forward. May you graciously cause them, together as one, to forsake all falsely alluring things of this world and commit each day to treasure you in the supreme place that you deserve. Glorify yourself in growing them and establishing them as a light for your Kingdom. We ask it in the name of the Lord Jesus, whom we honor and serve, Amen.
Pronouncement
Because Teddy & Courtney have desired to be joined in marriage and have demonstrated a unique commitment to one another before God and these witnesses, affirming their acceptance of the responsibilities of such a union, and have pledged their love and faith to each other, sealing their vows in the giving and receiving of rings, I do pronounce them husband and wife in the sight of God and man.
The Kiss
Teddy, you may kiss your Bride.
Presentation of the Couple
Ladies and gentlemen, it is now my privilege to introduce to you for the first time, Mr. and Mrs. Teddy Miller.
Recessional
[Final instructions to guests]
The bride and groom have asked me to invite you to the reception here in the church’s fellowship hall. Please head over there straight away, and the couple will arrive shortly. Please wait for them before you start eating their wedding cake! No seriously, we will wait for them before eating.