Page 69 - Pastoral Ministries -Student Textbook

Study Section 10: Pastoral Tasks - Continued

10.1 Connect

There are few events in the life of a family that have more meaning and greater potential for good
than a wedding. The arrangement for the beautiful occasion opens the door for the pastor into the
very heart of all the people involved. He is a wise pastor who takes advantage of the providence to
counsel the couple in Christian homemaking and to encourage the parties to make Christ and His
church the center of their lives.

The church is the bride of Christ. The joining of a man and woman in marriage is actually a demonstration of the
joining of Christ to believers. And so much of the facets of the union display the love of Christ for His bride. The
wise pastor can bring to a wedding so much Biblical truth and set the couple upon a firm foundation. Let’s see
how to do that….

10.2 Objectives

1. The student should be able to state the various topics that may be covered in a premarital
counseling program.

2. The student should be able to describe how a pastor should conduct a funeral.

3. The student should very carefully read about the various tips in conducting a funeral and apply them when
applicable.

10.3 Weddings

I. The Premarital Counseling Session Before the Wedding

Every couple the pastor marries should have a personal heart to
heart visit with him before the wedding. At this session, the pastor
must do three things; first, he should talk to the couple about the
Lord. If they are not Christian, he should seek to win them to Christ.
If they are not church members, seek to win them to the church. If they are not
Christians, do not feel as if you have to marry them but offer them your
counseling services with the hope that at the conclusion of the counseling
sessions, they will be ready to place their faith in Christ. Secondly, the pastor
should tell the couple how to build a Christian home that God will bless. W.A.
Criswell would tell them the story of “five fingers.” Here he would tell them five
things that each finger represents:

1. Say grace before you eat. Be thankful for God’s blessings on you.
2. Sometime during the day, read the Bible together and pray.
3. Before you go to bed at night, pray for your partner out loud. No couple can
stay mad at the other when before they go to bed, they pray for each other.
4. Dress up and go to church each Sunday. Appear before God in the best
clothes you possess.
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