Statement of Faith/Mission | westbrookfarmstead

Westbrook Farmstead's Statement of Faith & Mission

Westbrook Farmstead is a place of worship where couples come to celebrate the union of their love. We BELIEVE:

The Bible is the infallible Word of God, inspired by the Holy Spirit, and contains every answer to man’s problems. 2 Timothy 3:16,17; 2 Peter 1:20, 21

There is one God, existing eternally in three persons: God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. John 10:30; John 14:26; Philippians 2:5-7

God is Love and He loves all people. It is His desire to reach out to those who are poor, oppressed, widowed or orphaned, and to heal the brokenhearted. Psalm 68:5,6; 1 John 4:16

Man is created in the image of God but separated from God by sin. Without Jesus we cannot have a relationship with God. Genesis 1:26; 1 Timothy 2:5

Sanctification is the ongoing process of allowing God’s character to be developed in us. Romans 6:19; Galatians 5:22-25

Divine healing is active in the lives of people today through Jesus, who is the Healer. Healing includes physical, mental, emotional and spiritual restoration. Luke 9:11; Matthew 9:35; Acts 10:38; Matthew 10:1

The Bible describes hell as a real place. It is a place of suffering and a place of permanent separation from God for those who die without accepting Christ. God’s desire is that no one be separated from Him for eternity, which is why He sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to earth. Hebrews 9:27; Revelation 20:12-15; John 3:16-18

Jesus will return and take all those who have accepted Him as Savior to be with Him for eternity. Acts 1:11; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-17; Hebrews 9:28

We can have a personal relationship with God through salvation, God’s free gift to man. It is not a result of what we do, but it is only available through God’s unearned favor. By admitting we have sinned and believing in the death, burial and resurrection of Christ, and accepting Him as Lord, we can spend eternity with God. Ephesians 2:8,9; Romans 5:1; Romans 3:24

We believe in water baptism, as taught and demonstrated by Jesus, as the way for believers to identify with the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus. Matthew 28:19; Romans 6:4; Matthew 3:13-17

The Baptism of the Holy Spirit is a gift from God. He helps empower the believer to develop the character of Christ and live every day in God’s will. Matthew 3:11; Acts 2:4

God gives all believers spiritual gifts. They are for the strengthening of God’s people (the Church) and proof of God’s existence and power to unbelievers. The gifts of the Spirit are active and relevant today.1 Corinthians 12:4-11; 1 Peter 4:10

REASONS FOR MARRIAGE AND WHY WESTBROOK EXISTS TO CELEBRATE UNIONS:

Genesis 2:18 ESV Then the Lord God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him.”

Ephesians 5:33 ESV However, let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.

1 Corinthians 7:1-40 ESV / Now concerning the matters about which you wrote: “It is good for a man not to have sexual relations with a woman.” But because of the temptation to sexual immorality, each man should have his own wife and each woman her own husband. The husband should give to his wife her conjugal rights, and likewise the wife to her husband. For the wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does. Likewise the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does. Do not deprive one another, except perhaps by agreement for a limited time, that you may devote yourselves to prayer; but then come together again, so that Satan may not tempt you because of your lack of self-control.

1 Corinthians 13:4-7 ESV / Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

Ephesians 5:25-33 ESV / Husbands, love your wives, as Christ 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, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish. In the same way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church.

CEREMONY:

Matthew 19:2-9 ESV And large crowds followed him, and He healed them there. And Pharisees came up to Him and tested Him by asking, “Is it lawful to divorce one's wife for any cause?” He answered, “Have you not read that He who created them from the beginning made them male and female, and said, ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.”

Malachi 3: 14-16 The Lord was a witness between you and the wife of your youth, to whom you have been faithless, though she is your companion and your wife by covenant. Did not one God make her? Both flesh ... Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.

DANCING AND REJOICING:

Psalm 149:3 ESV Let them praise His name with dancing, making melody to him with tambourine and lyre!

Jeremiah 31:13 ESV Then shall the young women rejoice in the dance, and the young men and the old shall be merry. I will turn their mourning into joy; I will comfort them, and give them gladness for sorrow.

Psalm 100:1-5 ESV A Psalm for giving thanks. Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth! Serve the Lord with gladness! Come into his presence with singing! Know that the Lord, he is God! It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name! For the Lord is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations.

JESUS ATTENDED A WEDDING & TURNED WATER INTO WINE:

John 2:1-11: On the third day there was a wedding at Cana in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. Jesus also was invited to the wedding with His disciples. When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus said to Him, “They have no wine.” And Jesus said to her, “Woman, what does this have to do with me? My hour has not yet come.” His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever He tells you.” Now standing there were six stone water jars for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or thirty gallons. Jesus said to them, “Fill the jars with water.” And they filled them up to the brim. He said to them, “Now draw some out, and take it to the chief steward (head waiter).” So they took it. When the steward tasted the water that had become wine, and did not know where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew), the steward called the bridegroom and said to him, “Everyone serves the good wine first, and then the inferior wine after the guests have become drunk. But you have kept the good wine until now. Jesus did this, the first of his signs, in Cana of Galilee, and it revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him. Commentary: This event is believed to be Jesus’ first public miracle at a wedding of Christian tradition. The gospel account of Jesus being invited to a wedding, attending, and using his divine power to save the celebrations from disaster are taken as evidence of his approval for marriage and earthly celebrations.

REJOICING WITH WINE:

Deuteronomy 14:26 ESV And spend the money for whatever you desire—oxen or sheep or wine or strong drink, whatever your appetite craves. And you shall eat there before the Lord your God and rejoice, you and your household.

FELLOWSHIP MEAL:

Pray: “Beloved, I pray that all may go well with you and that you may be in good health, as it goes well with your soul.” 1 John 1:3

Acts 2:42 ESV And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.

1 Corinthians 10:31 ESV So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.

Westbrook Farmstead's Statement of Faith & Mission

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