James and Hannah Wedding 2023 | Special Event

Well, on behalf of the

Duco and Pernides family, we want to welcome you out this evening as we gather to celebrate a most glorious event.

So, let's ask the Lord's blessing as we begin. Our God and our

Father, we gather here this evening as those before us have gathered since the beginning of time.

When a man and a woman are brought together in accordance with your great plan, that they might wed, become one flesh, and together walk through life.

Our Father, we ask your blessing upon this evening. We pray that the Lord Jesus Christ would be in the forefront of all that is said and done in this place.

We thank you for the way that you have brought James and Hannah together and uniting their families here as well.

We ask your blessing upon this union. In Jesus' name, Amen. Who gives this woman to be married to this man?

As we begin, I would like to read from the second chapter of Genesis, that very first wedding, beginning in verse 18 of Genesis chapter 2.

Then the Lord said, it is not good for the man to be alone. I will make him a helper corresponding to him.

Out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field, every bird of the sky, and brought them to the man to see what he would call them.

And whatever the man called the living creature, that was its name. The man gave names to all the cattle, and to the birds of the sky, and to every beast of the field.

But for Adam, there was not found a helper corresponding to him. So the

Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and he slept. And he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh at that place.

The Lord God fashioned into a woman the rib which he had taken from the man, and brought her to the man.

And the man said, this is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh.

She shall be called woman, because she was taken out of man. For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother, and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.

And the man and his wife were both naked, and were not ashamed. We would like to sing the doxology, and so if you would join us in that.

And Josh, if you can get us started, that way we'll begin together. Praise God from whom all blessings flow.

Praise Him all creatures here below.

Praise Him above ye heaven. Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.

Before we begin with my address to you two, I would like to speak, gentlemen, to you, ladies, to you, in particular, both of you as witnesses to this wedding, and beyond them to all of you.

Because you are also gathered here as witnesses of this event.

And what that means is that you now share a responsibility for them and their marriage.

You were invited, in particular, you and you ladies, to come and to be their witnesses, not just because, excuse me, that you're beautiful, although you certainly are, not just because you're friends, although you are that, or not just because you're family, although you are that.

But you serve a unique purpose and role, and that is to be the witnesses to their vows.

And then you, sitting out here at large, in the same way, are witnesses to these vows.

And as a witness to their vows, you now enter in with them, that you might be there for them, should at some point in time, they stumble.

Should they, as is common demand, become forgetful, and in a moment of weakness, forget what they have vowed, and need someone to come alongside them, to remind them, to lift them up.

And that is the role that you will play. So it is a, it is a sober part of this ceremony for you all to be their witnesses.

And so, will you perform that role for them? Will you pray for them? Will you uplift them?

Will you be brave enough to come alongside them, should it be needed, to remind them of what they have vowed?

If you will do so, please say, I will. Wonderful.

Well, James and Hannah, this is indeed your special day.

This is the time that you have both been waiting for, when you can make public before God and these witnesses, your faith in Christ, and commitment to each other in holy matrimony.

As you begin your new life together, you will have to make many adjustments. Establishing a

Christian home requires a great deal of effort. When I come in from work at the end of a long day,

I love to walk into the house and be greeted by the wonderful smells of Grandma's cooking.

The delightful aroma permeates the whole house, and it makes my taste buds water.

Well, Christian homes have an aroma as well. Not the aroma of your favorite food, but of the fragrance of Christ.

And this evening, I want to remind you of three duties of newlyweds, three duties of newlyweds, so that your home will be filled with the aroma of Christ.

James and Hannah, are you followers of the Lord Jesus Christ? Do you believe the gospel?

Let me remind you of it here in seven short statements. While you were in open defiance against your

Creator, he in his mercy reached out to you and provided an innocent substitute to bear the penalty for your sin.

That substitute was his own son, who willingly died in your place, rising again in accordance with the eternal plan whereby

God had graciously decided to save his own enemies. Because you had no interest in him,

God sought you out and through his Holy Spirit created the faith you needed to embrace his gift for you.

In effecting your salvation, God not only freed you from the penalty of your sin, but also from its enslavement, granting you access to the power necessary to say no to sin's enticements.

When you fail to say no and sin and reject God's will for you, he feels no wrath towards you, but floods you with his grace in order to maintain your justification.

Conversely, when you reject sin's allure, God's love for you does not increase. His love for you did not end with your salvation, but extends to every difficulty of life, whereby he subjugates it and forces it to do you good.

Someday God will remove you from this life by either death or Christ's triumphant return, and your struggle against sin will cease.

At that point you will enjoy unhindered fellowship with your

Creator, your Redeemer, and your friend. It is this same good news that is available to all who repent of their sin and call out in faith on the

Lord Jesus Christ. So James and Hannah, three duties of newlyweds.

The first one is this, you need to read the scriptures consistently.

Read the scriptures consistently. Since you are followers of Christ, it's encumbered upon you to create a home which cultivates that commitment in everything that you do.

Through the years I've noticed that submission to the scriptures is a defining mark of a true disciple of Christ, because we believe that the

Word of God contains all that we need for life and godliness. We can identify with the psalmist when he writes in Psalm 119,

Oh how I love your law, it is my meditation all the day. And again, your word have

I treasured in my heart that I may not sin against you. You both come from a family environment in which the

Word of God has been treasured. Now it's time for you to build upon that rich heritage and establish an identity of your own.

Begin immediately to read the Word of God together, to pray together, to submit your hopes, your dreams, your hurts, and your desires to the sanctifying searchlight of the

Word of God. As you do, you will establish a foundation that will not only bless you and your children, but all who know you.

So read the scriptures consistently. Second, practice hospitality generously.

Practice hospitality generously. We live in a self -absorbed individualistic culture and we have all but lost the practice of hospitality, which means the love of strangers.

And unfortunately that is true even in the church. Among the early church, hospitality was a mark of Christian love.

In Romans chapter 12 and in verse 13, the Apostle Paul clearly identifies it as one of the outworkings of a mind transformed by Christ.

Like few things that I know, the practice of opening your home to friends and strangers as a way of confronting you in your selfishness and making you aware of just how much you need the ongoing grace of God to be extended to you at all times.

So practice hospitality generously. Although like most young couples you will probably struggle financially, when you start out it's not going to be easy.

But don't let that keep you from this sanctifying and satisfying practice.

It's not the size of your home, but the size of your heart that determines how generous you really will be.

Third, pursue peace relentlessly. Pursue peace relentlessly.

I have two insights for you with regard to human nature. The first is this, whenever two sinful people come into close contact, conflict arises.

That's my first insight. My second insight is this, marriage is the closest contact of all human relationships.

Therefore expect difficulties. Expect difficulties.

Misunderstandings, hurt feelings, poor communication, unmet expectations, selfishness, laziness, and anger.

How are we to triumph against all these forces that are arrayed against us?

The answer from the scriptures is to live in light of the gospel and to practice confession, repentance, and forgiveness.

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said that if you are aware that your brother has something against you, you are to go and be reconciled to your brother.

If that is true among fellow Christians, it is even more so among Christian marriage partners.

So do not allow your disagreements to build walls between you. At the moment you realize that there is something between you, you must go to each other, confess, repent, and humbly seek their forgiveness.

Do not wait for the other person to make the first move, nor to allow your mind to apportion fault or guilt.

Do not swallow the lie that time will make things better. If time was sufficient to take care of sin, then

God had no need to crucify his own son. Be relentless in your pursuit of peace.

James, Hannah, in a few moments you're going to make some very lofty promises to each other.

Promises that when you make them, you have every intention of living up to them.

But all of us here who are married know that we often fall short of our intentions.

And when that happens to you, humble your heart, confess your sin, and forgive one another, just as God in Christ has forgiven you.

Let's pray. Our Father, we pray for James and Hannah as they begin here together, that they would build a life of a

Christian home, built upon the foundation of the scriptures, hearts of love that extend themselves in generous hospitality to strangers and friends alike, and that they aggressively pursue peace with one another, not going to bed when they are out of fellowship with one another, but resolving their conflicts quickly through humility, through repentance, and through a generous forgiveness.

For as you have forgiven them in Christ, so may they be enabled to forgive one another.

We ask for Jesus' sake. Amen. Okay, you two would join hands.

Okay. James, would you repeat after me, please?

I, James, take you, Hannah, to be my cherished wife.

I promise you with all my heart to walk beside you in days of adversity and in days of great happiness.

I will rejoice with you in the good times, weep with you in the sad, and seek to create life with you in reverence.

I promise to work hard to provide an income for material needs, a shoulder to cry on, and a heart that understands.

I commit to love you sacrificially and to grow with you in trust, share possessions, and communicate openly and honestly with you.

I will be the spiritual leader of our home, and I will seek to create a climate where the gospel is both spoken and lived, so that you can find refuge from fear and strength in a troubled world.

I will be faithful to you and you alone, as long as we both shall live.

I ask God's help in keeping this solemn vow. Hannah, if you will repeat after me.

I, Hannah, take you, James, to be my cherished husband.

I give myself to you fully and without reserve, and will gladly bear your name.

I look to you as the leader in our home, and will submit joyfully to your leadership.

I promise full cooperation in building a Christian home. I will support you in your aspirations, pray with you in your trials, share your burdens, and labor with you to make our marriage a joy.

I will live close to my Lord, so you may trust me at all times.

I will laugh with you in the happy times, comfort you in the sad, and seek to create life with you in reverence.

With you, I will honor our Savior and Lord all of our days till death do us part.

I ask God's help in keeping this solemn vow. I ask God's help in keeping this solemn vow. Now I have the rings, please.

Because a ring is a circle, it thus has no beginning and no end, and it pictures the ongoing nature of real love.

Rings are exchanged as a token of love and trust. To a Christian, the ring is a symbol and a reminder of the promises made by the married couple to one another before God.

James, take this ring and place it on Hannah's finger, and as you do, repeat these words after me.

This ring is a token of my love for you. This ring is a token of my love for you. With this ring, I pledge my life and all that I have to you in the name of the

Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Hannah, you will take this ring and place it on James's hand, and as you do, repeat these words after me.

This ring is a token of my love for you. This ring is a token of my love for you. With this ring, I pledge my life and all that I have to you in the name of the

Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. And now, having pledged your love and loyalty to each other, and having sealed the pledge with the marriage rings,

I do by the authority vested in me as a minister in the Church of the Living God pronounce you husband and wife.

James and Hannah, you are no longer two independent persons, but you are now one in the eyes of the

Lord. What God has joined together, let no man separate. You may kiss your bride.

Ladies and gentlemen, it is my honor and privilege to present to you in public for the very first time,

Mr. and Mrs. James Pernides. Well, that was fun, now, wasn't it?

Indeed it was. Well, let's see, just a few announcements for you. We need to turn the room over for the reception to follow, so we're going to ask everybody to leave the room except for the extended family to stay for pictures.

And so we'll have the Ducos stay on this side, please, and the Pernides extended family on this side, okay?

Everyone else, the ushers are going to dismiss you by rows, so ushers, if you can go ahead and begin to dismiss them. In the outside, in the foyer, there are refreshments.

I've been told there are also some yard games out on the lawn for some of the younger ones or those that wish they were young and would like to go out there and participate, all right?

And so as the crew turns the room back over, we'll have you back inside here, maybe 30 minutes thereabouts, okay?

So thank you very much for coming. Thank you.