There are portions of the Bible where one verse can be studied and explored in all of its splendour - every noun and nuance - and you'll never get to the bottom of it. The Sermon on the Mount is like that. The Book of Romans is like that, as are the Psalms, the Ten Commandments, prophecy, the Book of Revelation and many others where each individual word is vitally important. Miss a word and you miss the meaning of what God is saying!

And then - there are other parts of the Bible - The Narratives - which tell stories, as in Genesis 24. This is the longest chapter in Genesis and it describes how Abraham (in his old age) is concerned about his son finding a wife. So he sends his most trusted servant back to the place of his relatives to find a bride for Isaac from among his own people. The servant makes the journey, finds Rebekah and she agrees to go back with him to become Isaac's wife. It's an important story from at least three different angles:

1. First, it tells about the nature and character of Rebekah through whom would continue God's promise to Abraham, that Someone would be coming to bless the entire world through Abraham's lineage;
2. Second, it gives us several important principles about preparing for marriage - what to look for; whose opinion you should seek; what love actually is;
3. But it's the third angle to this story that is the most astonishing one. Chapter 24 is another remarkable spiritual metaphor - another pageant, if you will - where God the Father (that's Abraham) … sends God the Holy Spirit (that's the servant) … to seek a bride (that's Rebekah/The Church) … for His Son (that's Isaac) who, in a manner of speaking, has been through a death and resurrection experience on Mt. Moriah.

Re-read point #3 and then let's draw near to Jesus Christ this morning, the lover of our soul, Whom we shall see face to face at last, at the end of this life's journey.

Welcome, dearest friends, to Home Church Langley!

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