Posted by: Nick Norelli | July 20, 2008

What’s a Good Wedding Text?

This afternoon a young lady asked me for a passage of Scripture to read at her brother-in-law’s wedding next Saturday.  She said she didn’t want to read 1Corinthians 13 since that was what they read at her wedding last month, so I suggested Ephesians 5.  She asked if that was the one where it talked about wives submitting, and of course I said, ‘yeah.’  She didn’t want to read that either.  The only other thing I could think to suggest was a portion from the Song of Solomon.  I told her to read the whole thing and see if she could find something appropriate (since as we all know it can get a bit racy).  So what other texts would you suggest for reading at a wedding?

B”H

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Responses

Hmmm, how about Ephesians 5:1-2, it’s short, but it applies to all Christians, married people included. Or perhaps you should just write a short, pithy, theology of marriage that summarizes the scriptures on the matter.

By: Geoff Smith on July 21, 2008
at 12:15 am

Geoff: How’s this: You clean and I’ll cook? What better theology for marriage is there?

By: Nick Norelli on July 21, 2008
at 12:17 am

I hope that she cooks if I get hitched, my cooking sucks, that’s why I only eat beans, tuna, and eggs.

By: Geoff on July 21, 2008
at 5:30 pm

When I got married my pastor had us choose 3 verses that he structured his sermon around. I don’t really remember what they all were (I should email him to find out). I do remember that we avoided 1 Cor 13 (especially since reading Gordon Fee exegete that passage in GEP caused me to see it way differently than it often was).

I know we used a passage from 1 John. It might have been:

1 John 4:10 This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.

I remember us trying to decide on whether to use Song of Songs 8:6, especially the translation like the NASB cause I liked how it ended:

NAU Song of Solomon 8:6 “Put me like a seal over your heart, Like a seal on your arm. For love is as strong as death, Jealousy is as severe as Sheol; Its flashes are flashes of fire, The very flame of the LORD.

I can’t remember if we did or not. We might have used the next verse :

NIV Song of Solomon 8:7 Many waters cannot quench love; rivers cannot wash it away. If one were to give all the wealth of his house for love, it would be utterly scorned.

I really wish I could remember what the other verse.

I do remember trying to get my wife to go for:

“NIV 1 Peter 3:7 Husbands, in the same way be considerate as you live with your wives, and treat them with respect as the weaker partner and as heirs with you of the gracious gift of life, so that nothing will hinder your prayers.”

I wanted to stress that she was the weaker partner. I think she punched me : )

I also tried to get her to go with:

Deuteronomy 22:20-1 If, however, the charge is true and no proof of the girl’s virginity can be found, she shall be brought to the door of her father’s house and there the men of her town shall stone her to death. She has done a disgraceful thing in Israel by being promiscuous while still in her father’s house. You must purge the evil from among you.

She didn’t think that was too romantic. Go figure.

Bryan

By: Bryan L on July 21, 2008
at 5:59 pm

Geoff: Not me. My cooking is very good, so my wife will have to be the cleaning type.

Bryan: A sermon at the wedding? Interesting. And I can’t see what the problem was with Deut. 22:20-21. I’d think every woman would want that read at their wedding. :?

By: Nick Norelli on July 21, 2008
at 6:18 pm

You haven’t been to weddings that have sermons? Don’t catholic weddings do that since they have a mass.

That’s one of the things I really like that my Pastor does. He doesn’t have some generic pre-made sermon that he just regurgitates but really crafts it and customizes it based on the couple and the verses they have chosen.It’s not erribly long or anything but ti gets the point across. We specifically chose the passage from 1 John because we wanted to try to keep the whole thing in perspective and we hoped that some who came that didn’t know the Lord would at least hear the Gospel in some way and see who what love truly is and how great God’s love was.

Man that would have been awesome to have Deut 22:20-21! Imagine the faces when that verse is read.

Bryan

By: Bryan L on July 21, 2008
at 6:37 pm

Bryan: Nah, not really. My cousin got married in the RCC a couple of years ago and the priest said a few words, but I don’t know that I’d call it a sermon. And in my church, my pastor says a few things, but we usually break out into praise during the course of the wedding. I might add that weddings in my church take far too long!

By: Nick Norelli on July 21, 2008
at 6:39 pm

We didn’t really pick ‘wedding’ verses. We did Hebrews 10:14-25 & 12:1-3 and also Psalm 145.

By: Ferg on July 21, 2008
at 7:29 pm

Ferg: Interesting choices.

By: Nick Norelli on July 21, 2008
at 10:46 pm

Bryan L beat me to Song of Songs. Section 3:6-5:2 is about the wedding, so you should find a lot there. But you might have to think about your audience. :-)

By: tc robinson on July 22, 2008
at 12:30 am

Yvette: Sorry I missed your comment. Thanks for the link! That’s great!

TC: Yeah, I figured there would be something in there.

By: Nick Norelli on July 22, 2008
at 12:38 am

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