June 2006
Dear Neighbor,
Christianity is the worship of Jesus Christ as God. One of the most wonderful things about Christianity is that we know who God is. He was born on earth in order to make Himself known to us. Matthew, quoting a prophecy in Isaiah, says,
“Behold, the virgin shall be with Child, and shall bring forth a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us” (Matt. 1:23; Isaiah 7:14).
Because now we can know Him, we can have a closer relationship with God than was ever possible before He came into the world. That is why Jesus calls Himself the Bridegroom and Husband. (See, for example, Matthew 9:15, Mark 2:9, Luke 5:34-35.) As the Bridegroom, the Lord God invites us to respond to His love for us, and to form a close relationship with Him, so that He can make us happy forever. He asks us to come live with Him forever, and we freely choose whether to say yes or no.
The Lord calls the Church His bride and wife. The Church means all human beings throughout the universe who respond to His love.
“He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me… And I will love him and manifest Myself to him.” (John 14:21)
The apostle John saw the Lord’s bride and wife represented as a holy city.
“And I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her Husband… And one of the angels… said to me, ‘Come, I will show you the bride, the Lamb’s wife’… And he showed me the holy city, New Jerusalem…. And the nations of those who are saved shall walk in its light…” (Revelation 21:2, 9, 10, 24)
We can think about the marriage of the Lord with the Church as we attend weddings this spring and summer. We can see that love in marriage comes from the Lord God, and that it can become increasingly holy, spiritual and heavenly. The more a husband and wife look to the Lord together, the more He can lift them up out of their selfish weaknesses and so lead them together. The closer we come to the Lord, the closer we also come to each other.
You are welcome to come to the Kempton New Church any Sunday at 10:00 a.m., or look us up on the web at KemptonNewChurch.org. May the Lord bless your home.
Sincerely,
Rev. Lawson M. Smith
Pastor@KemptonNewChurch.org