Hey Folks
We are now meeting in the "old santuary". Please come in the side doors of the sanctuary. The other doors go to the childrens area and we are not allowed access there.
We are in the Book of James this month.
Also, we are helping a young man in the 7th grade that goes to Western Middle school with school supplies, if you would like to donate Walmart cards, Office Depot cards, etc.
Kay also has access to some nice bookbags for $3.50 and $6.50 if you would like to buy some.
Cindy is planning for us to have a social soon, hopefully at a lake.
See you all Sunday.
Pastor Biggers was preaching on the Bride and Bridegroom yesterday.
I found this online, pretty good story.
I dreamt it was my wedding day. I was busy doing other things when, suddenly, I realized I hadn’t given myself enough time to get dressed for the ceremony.
The guests were gathered inside the church, and the groom was waiting for me at the front. Then, I could hear the piano music start to play. I panicked. I knew that after just a few songs, it would be my cue to walk down the aisle. But I wasn’t even in my wedding dress yet.
I looked down at the street clothes I had on and wondered if I could get by wearing them during the ceremony. But I knew I couldn’t do that: my groom was dressed in a tuxedo. So, I quickly put on my wedding dress. But, it was heavily wrinkled and looked shabby. I hadn’t bothered to have it steam cleaned beforehand.
Then, I looked down at my feet and realized I had forgotten to bring my fancy shoes. I would have to go barefoot. I hoped my long dress would cover my feet so no one would see them.
When I looked in the mirror, I saw my hair wasn’t fixed and my makeup wasn’t on. I had a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach. I knew my groom would be hurt to find out that I didn’t value our relationship enough to make myself look beautiful for him on our important day. I had put other things before him.
When I woke from the dream, I was sweating and my heart was racing. My own wedding, two years ago, made the dream seem even more personal and relevant to me. As I lay there thinking about the dream, I realized it had biblical symbolism.
Biblical Symbols of Marriage We, the church, are called the “bride of Christ.” God’s intimate relationship to His people is described — in both the Old and New Testaments — in terms of a marriage (examples:
Isaiah 54:5-7;
Hosea 2:19;
Matthew 22:2-14;
Ephesians 5:25-27,
32;
Revelation 19:6-9). When Jesus returns for His bride, we will celebrate a great wedding feast with Him (
Revelation 19:9).
The Groom expects that His bride will be spiritually ready for Him when He returns. Being ready includes:
• Being dressed in bright, clean, fine linen (which represents good deeds)
Revelations 19:6-8• Having no blemishes or wrinkles (being without sin)
Ephesians 5:25-27 • Being a pure virgin (being doctrinally pure) who is devoted to Christ
2 Corinthians 11:2-4. The Bible compares the teachings of false prophets to spiritual adultery (
Jeremiah 23:13-14).
• Having oil (representing the Holy Spirit) in our lamps, like the five wise virgins who were waiting for the bridegroom in
Matthew 25:1-14Even though this gets away from bridal imagery, all Christians are supposed to put on the full armor of God that is listed in
Ephesians 6, which — as in my dream — includes shoes (shoes represent sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ with others, according to this passage).
