A wedding homily is the shortest sermon you will ever preach and one of the easiest to get wrong. Guests are hot, distracted, and often unchurched. The couple is nervous and will remember very little. Aim for eight minutes.

Structure

  1. Address the couple by name and warmly, twenty seconds.
  2. One story about them that reveals character, not just cuteness.
  3. One text on covenant love: Genesis 2, Ruth 1, 1 Corinthians 13, Ephesians 5, Colossians 3.
  4. One truth: marriage as covenant, sustained by the faithfulness of God.
  5. One charge to the couple, specific and repeatable.
  6. One word to the room about the God who keeps promises.

Tone

  • Warm, not comedic. One light line is plenty; a stand-up set is not.
  • Never joke at the expense of either family.
  • Speak to the couple, but not so privately that the room is excluded.
  • No marriage advice that assumes their future struggles.

Avoid

  • A twenty-five-minute sermon. It is a wedding.
  • Turning it into an evangelistic rally. Present hope briefly and gracefully.
  • Inside jokes only three people understand.
  • Reading their vows for them or ad-libbing the legal wording. Know your script.

Same principle as funerals: one passage, one truth, short. See How to Preach a Funeral Sermon.

For a ready list of covenant and love passages to choose from, see Sermoni's Wedding Scriptures guide.

Take the checklist with you

The free 5-Step Sermon Prep Checklist. One page, from blank passage to preachable outline.