Sister's Wedding what should I say?

[Denton Elliott]

I am sure I will get the opportunity to speak in front of many people at my sister's wedding next week. I would like to prepare a short speech telling how the covenant of marriage is a divine play for Christ and the Church. Does anyone have any short sayings or papers or advice?

I thank God for you!

 

[Romans922]

Are your sister and family Christians? Reformed Christians?

I wouldn't make the speech more than 1.5 or 2 minutes.

 

[Herald]

I gave the message at my sister's wedding two years ago. I preached on the holy covenant of marriage as instituted by God. I connected marriage to the relationship between Christ and His church. I then charged the bride and groom with their relationship under the marriage covenant. My message lasted fifteen minutes. I believe that was an appropriate length. I also had my sisters blessing on the length of the message before I delivered it.

 

[Romans922]

Denton,

Are you exhorting (preaching) during the wedding or are you doing like a best-man kind of speech or friend speech at the rehearsal dinner or reception?

 

[Denton Elliott]

I am envisioning a toast of sorts. I would think it ok to take a few minutes. I would like to use the opportunity to relate the true purpose of marriage. My sister and her fiance both profess Christ but are infants in the faith. As part of the toast I may like to give a succinct Gospel message as well?

 

[jwithnell]

Very short and to the point! People are expecting warm fuzzys and laughs.

 

[Skyler]

"Congratulations" would be a good start.

 

[Denton Elliott]

"Congratulations" would be a good start.

Yeah that is a given...I don't want to be preachy and ruin the festivities, that is why I am asking for advice.

 

[Romans922]

Keep it all positive, something like (this is what I would do):

1) Praise God for bringing together two into one, it's a picture of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, bringing sinners together to Jesus Christ to be one body (the Bride and the Bridegroom) through Christ's death on the cross. (Something like that).

And then maybe, An exhortation: Maybe just quote scripture like Ephesians 5:32-33.

And then conclude: Praise God for His Wondrous Workings.

Something like that.

 

[jonmo]

Denton,

I would also recommend short and sweet, as Andrew and others have suggested. At my own wedding, we ended up having two receptions because we had family on two different continents. At my wife's family reception, my father-in-law toasted us with a glass of water (which I thought was respectful of my family's teetotalism) and tied in the purity of water to the purity of Christ and purity in marriage. Probably two or three minutes in total - worked very well.

At my family-hosted reception, my family's (fundamentalist) minister did a toast (as my father is dead) but his lasted 15 minutes+ and was basically like a sermon he would preach any Sunday, with full hell-fire damnation and mention of a young man who had died earlier that day in a car crash (with lines like, "Who knows where he is going to spend eternity; do you know where you are going to spend it if you died in a crash going home from this reception?" and so on). This was followed by similar 15-20 minute "toasts" by two uncles - so, as you can imagine, that reception was a bundle of laughs!

There's a time and place for the sermons and I don't think the wedding toast is the place. Hopefully the minister will have done a decent enough job in his 15-20 minutes talk at the actual marriage ceremony.

 

[Edward]

bringing sinners together to Jesus Christ to be one body (the Bride and the Bridegroom) through Christ's death on the cross.

After pondering on that, I would suggest while everyone there is a sinner, singling out the bride and groom in that way could be taken as an off-color joke about the premarital relationship (which may or may not be true) which is inappropriate for that setting.

 

[Romans922]

Perhaps that is a good point!

 

[Denton Elliott]

The wedding was nice. The preacher went through all the relevant Scripture that I would have wanted to be read, so I ended up not having to say anything. It was a very nice short service.

 

[Michael Doyle]

Praise God brother and congrats to your sister and her Beau.

 

[Tim]

Yes, I am glad it went nicely!

 

[Lady of the Lake]

Thank you for the update on the Spirit's intervention.