June - July 2006 Newsletter

"Who has the marriage license?" It was that question, asked by our wedding coordinator the night before Jennifer and Stephen's wedding that turned the night before the wedding into the "nightmare" before the wedding! The Machen household was turned upside down as Jennifer, Mom and all the bridesmaids scoured the house in search of the only element of the wedding that was truly essential for the marriage to be legal! The flowers, cake, food, dresses and the rest of the wedding finery might have been exquisite, but the license was essential! Alas, the elusive license was never found and the Father of the Bride and the Father-in-law of the Bride stayed up until the wee hours of the morning on the internet, attempting to come up with a solution. After many prayers and tears, God in His grace provided a solution the next morning and Jennifer was able to go to the courthouse on the morning of her wedding and secure another marriage license!

There's always a wedding story! I'm happy to say that the wedding itself went smoothly and was beautiful and unforgettable. (I was not prepared, however, for the amount of time that is required to plan such an event-thus the delay in sending out a newsletter!). But it was a labor of love and worth every penny and every minute of time spent to experience the joy of our daughter marrying her best friend. We could not have picked a more incredible son-in-law; and we have the added blessing of his wonderful family!

But there's an even greater wedding story-a love story beyond compare that I am reminded of now as I think back to when Jennifer and Stephen stood at the altar. It is the love story of Jesus Christ and His Bride, the church.

As believers, we are the church-the Bride of Christ. What an awesome thought to know that Jesus Christ loved us so much that He gave up everything to pursue us and invite us to be in a relationship with Him forever. As a result, we stand before our Bridegroom:

CLEANSED

As Jennifer stood before Stephen in her white, spotless gown, she was a beautiful picture of the Church standing holy, blameless and spotless before Jesus:

"...husbands love your wives as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her, that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word,that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory; having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she should be holy and blameless." (Eph. 5:25-27)

We also stand before our Bridegroom:

COMMITTED

Beautiful vows of commitment were spoken as Jennifer and Stephen promised their love and their lives to each other. Our Bridegroom has committed to love us and keep us to the end:

"I have loved you with an everlasting love." (Jer. 31:3)

We, in turn commit to live for Him for the rest of our days:

"...He died for all, that they who live should no longer live for themselves, but for Him Who died and rose again on their behalf." (2 Cor. 5:14,15)

And finally, we stand before our Bridegroom:

CONFIDENT

At the end of the wedding ceremony, as Jennifer and Stephen took their first steps down the aisle as husband and wife, they were looking forward to a life together forever. In the same way, we, as the church, the Bride of Christ are confident of a future with our Bridegroom forever!:

"...and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." (Matt.28:20)

Imagine a love even greater than the love of a Bride and Groom on their wedding day! - It is the perfect, pure and never-ending love that Christ has for you and me!

Besides the announcement of our daughter's wedding, we also have some other exciting news. As of July 1st, Chris is now the Minister of Worship at the new north campus location of Prestonwood Baptist Church. This new ministry opportunity was totally unexpected, but that's how God works sometimes! We regretted that our season of time with First Baptist Church of Carrollton was only a year, and we did not understand the Lord's timing, but we felt certain of His call to join this new work. Please pray for Chris as he seeks the Lord in the putting together of the praise teams and instrumentalists. Our first service is August 27th. We will be meeting in the Prosper High School gym for about two years. In January of 2007 we will break ground for a new building. This area (Prosper) is growing like crazy! The new church is now just a sign located on acres of corn fields, but "the fields are white for harvest!" God has already been moving in many people's hearts in Prosper and the surrounding areas, and we can't wait to see what He will be doing through this new ministry!

Thank you for your continued prayers and support of this ministry. We just returned from leading worship for the Southern Baptists' "Sunday School week" at Glorieta. We experienced wonderful times of worship, and our hearts were moved and convicted each night as the emphasis was on reaching lost people for Christ. God continues to give us opportunities to sing and lead worship and distribute the songs He has given us through our online store. God bless you, and remember to rejoice in the love that Christ has for you today!

In the grip of His grace,

Diane

MR & MRS. STEPHEN BUSH - CHRIS, JENNIFER, STEPHEN, DIANE & RYAN