Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ,
This is the greeting Paul would use to open his letters and it is the greeting I send to everyone who will journey through the Bible over the next twenty weeks.
In general, we will follow the Scripture Union's E-100 list of passages. I believe that all of you have received a Planning Guide which has the reading list. As I have noted, obviously reading 100 passages is a sampler of what is in scripture. May this lead to further exploration!
Following Jesus consists of two basic disciplines: 1) Worship within the faith community. 2) Reading scripture and praying. (Ok maybe this is three disciplines - but they go together!) Through these practices, we are open to hearing God's Spirit speak to us and transform us. But as we will see, God always acts first. So it is with reading scripture and prayer: Scripture and prayers are gifts of grace to us. The Bible is available - will we open it? Christ is always praying for us - will we enter in the dialogue with him, not only through speaking, but more importantly, listening? From these simple actions, stirred within us by the Holy Spirit, we are then able to move out into the world, proclaiming, by word and deed, the Good News of Jesus Christ. And we are able to have a small taste, now, of what resurrection life will be like.
Finally I hope you will discover that the Bible contains not a mere set of rules. Our modern rationalistic manner of thinking tries to organize everything. We like control. To have everything in neat boxes. So we often do with God as well. Sets of moral rules are found in many places. That is why we often hear "that all religions are the same". But, the Bible is more. The Bible is really the story of God's self revealing love, ultimately revealed in someone, Jesus. As we read scripture, as the Holy Spirit speaks to us, as we are joined to Jesus Christ, we are adopted into the story itself. How we live, begins to change, in this adoption!
God's love to us begins the transformation of our life. But, as we read, remember that relationships are not controlled, rationalistic exchanges. Deep relationships involve our entire self. Deep relationships often involve twists, turns, and surprises So be ready for more than you may have bargained for, in agreeing to participate!
In Christ,
Pastor Randy
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