Opening Prayer
Let the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be pleasing in Your sight, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer -Psalm 19:14 (silent reflection) Prayer of the Bible “Hallelujah! For the Lord our God the Almighty reigns. Let us rejoice and exult and give him the glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his Bride has made herself ready; it was granted her to clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure”—for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints. And the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.” -Revelation 19: 7-9 (Free expression of praise and thanksgiving to God) Confession of Sin God did in Christ himself reveal, To chase our darkness by his light, Our sin and ignorance dispel, Direct our wandering feet aright, And bring our souls, with pardon blest, To realms of everlasting rest. -Charles Wesley (1707-1788) (Time of silence for confession of sin) The Words of Jesus But from the beginning of creation, ‘God made them male and female.’ ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.”And in the house the disciples asked him again about this matter. And he said to them, “Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her, and if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery.” -Mark 10:6:12 (Think deeply on the life and words of Jesus) Prayers for Ourselves and Others Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. -Jeremiah 29:12 (Time to bring before God our own needs and the needs of others) Closing Prayer Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish. In the same way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church, because we are members of his body. -Ephesians 5:25-30 |