Introduction
Good relationships never stop growing. Like fine wine, they get
better with age. (Name of
Groom) and (Name of Bride), you have arrived here in
Jamaica in this beautiful setting, so that you can renew
your vows and commitment of love for each other.
God
invented marriage. He created it because He looked into the future
and saw what your needs and your desires would later be for companionship,
love and fulfillment. But God also knew that no marriage would ever
be perfect. As you continue in this union, you already know that
it will continue to take a lot of love AND work to keep your relationship
an ongoing success.
Many couples tend to think marriage as a 50/50 proposition. Actually,
the best relationships are 90/10. If you both will give 90% and
take only 10—you will have a formula likely to bring both of
you happiness for a lifetime.
The Bible and Marriage
The best manual ever written on the subject of marriage…is
the Bible. Here are a few of the things
that God has to say about marriage:
“Each man should have his own wife, and each woman should have
her own husband…A man leaves his father and mother and is joined
to his wife, and the two are united into one. Since they are no
long two, but one, let no one separate them, for God has joined
them together.
Give honor to marriage, and remain faithful to one another in marriage.
Husbands ought to love their wives as they love their own bodies…Each
man must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect
her husband.” (1 Cor. 7:2; Matt. 19:5-6; Heb. 13:4; Eph. 5:28,
33)
1 Corinthians 13
Love
is a verb. It is not a state of being but an ACTION verb. It
is not just how you feel about each other, but what you DO for
each other that will keep your relationship growing and alive.
The Bible has a lot to say about love. Let me read 1 Corinthians
13 from the Bible: “Love is patient and kind; love is not jealous
or boastful; it is not arrogant or rude. Loves 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, and endures all things. Loves never
ends.”
If you love someone, you will be loyal to him no matter what the
cost. You will always believe in him, always expect the best of
him and always stand your ground defending him.”
(Name
of Groom) AND (Name of
Bride), in Jamaica,
there is a term that describes how couples
treat one another: “Giv and Tek and Mek Up”,
which means: “to put things right…by
family discussion”.
Sandburg’s Poem
While marriages are founded and built upon love, emotions
are often fickle. Poet Carl Sandburg captured the essence of a love,
which can stand the test of time, when he wrote:
“I
love you. I love you for what you are but I love you yet more for
what you are going to be. I love you not so much for your realities
as for your ideals. I pray for your desires, that they may be great,
rather than for your satisfactions, which may be so hazardously
little.
A
satisfied flower is one whose petals are about to fall. But the
most beautiful rose is one, hardly more than a bud, wherein the
pangs and ecstasies of desire are working for larger and finer growth.
Not always shall you be what you are now. You are going forward
toward something great. I am on the way with you and … I love
you.”
His Vows
(Rose Ceremony Optional)
(Name
of Groom), please take this rose
and give it to (Name of Bride). Let
this beautiful flower, that you have given to (Name
of Bride), remind you of the beautiful
and fragile nature of your relationship with (Name
of Bride). Cherish her always,
treating her as your princess.
(Name
of Groom), is it your desire to
continue to have (Name of Bride) as
your wife, to live together according to the Word of God? Will you
continue to love and cherish her, giving her assistance in all of
life’s labors? Will you continue to be true to her both in
sickness and health, when things are going well and when there are
problems? And will you be faithful to her as long as you both shall
live? If so, you may answer, “I WILL”.
Her
Vows
(Rose Ceremony Optional)
(Name
of Bride), please take this rose
and give it to (Name of Groom). Let
this beautiful flower, that you have given to (Name of
Groom), remind you of the beautiful and
fragile nature of your relationship with (Name of Groom).
Cherish him always, treating him as your prince.
(Name
of Bride), is it your desire to
continue to have (Name of Groom) as
your husband, to live together according to the Word of God? Will
you continue to love and cherish him, giving him assistance in all
of life’s labors? Will you continue to be true to him both
in sickness and health, when things are going well and when there
are problems? And will you be faithful to him as long as you both
shall live? If so, you may answer, “I WILL”.
Her Ring
(Name
of Groom), may I have the ring, that
is a lasting symbol of your vows to (Name
of Bride).
This
gold ring has been subjected to tremendous heat so that the waste
could be removed and the metal purified into a fit token of your
commitment of love.
(Name of Groom), let this ring symbolize
your willingness to keep on building your character through your
love for (Name of Bride). Place
the ring on the third finger of (Name of
Bride)’S
left hand and repeat after me as you make
this vow to (Name of Bride):
“I, (Name of Groom),
renew my commitment to you, (Name
of Bride), as your lawfully wedded
husband. I will love you, I will cherish you, I will be true to
you no matter what comes; whether we become rich or poor, whether
there is sickness or health, until we are parted by death and with
this ring, as a symbol of this pledge, I now renew my vow of love
to you—my wife.”
His Ring
(Name of Bride), may I have the
ring, that is the lasting symbol of your vows to (Name
of Groom)?
This ring is a circle, which symbolizes eternity—for
a circle has no ending. (Name of Bride),
let this ring remind you that you desire your relationship with
(Name of Groom) to continue
for a lifetime. Place the ring on the third finger of (Name
of Groom)’S left hand and repeat
after me as you make these vows to him:
“I, (Name of Bride), renew
my commitment to you, (Name of Groom), to
be your lawfully wedded wife.
I
will love you. I will cherish you. I will be true to you no matter
what comes. Whether we become rich or poor, whether there is sickness
or health, until we are parted by death, and with this ring, as
a symbol of this pledge, I now renew my vow of love to you—my
husband.”
Prayer
(personal prayer by Marriage Officiant)
Proclamation
Now
that you,
(Name of Groom) and (Name
of Bride), have openly renewed your
wish to remain united in the covenant of marriage, and as you have
made these promises to each other before God and these witnesses,
and have given each other rings to reconfirm your vows:
By
the power and authority given to me as a minister of the Gospel
of Jesus Christ, I do affirm before God that the two of you have
today expressed your desires to rekindle your love and passion and
renew your vow of marriage. From this moment on, let all know of
your desire to continue for a lifetime as husband and wife. In the
name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
God
has joined you together—let no one tear you apart.
“May
the Lord bless you and keep you; may His face shine upon you; may
He be gracious to you and give you peace forever.”
You may kiss your Bride.
Spiritual
Vows Renewal Ceremony | Contemporary
Vows Renewal Ceremony
Ceremonies of the Heart
