Bibles, Bibles, Everywhere! How many bibles do you own?  Don't know?  I bet there's at least one King James Version bible around your house. Right?  Maybe even a "Red Letter Edition" KJV bible.  Maybe you have the bible you were given at your confirmation, or your first holy communion.  Confession here - how many times since then have you opened it up to read it? OK, just checking. At last count, using my "go to" online bible source, biblegateway.com lists upwards of 60 bible translations. From, get this, the "Complete Jewish Bible", to the 1599 Geneva Bible (GNV), to the Jubilee Bible (Jub), and so many more.  One that's listed there that I particularly love is the "Mounce Reverse Interlinear Bible" (Mounce.) William Mounce is a Greek New Testament scholar, and I used his book/s to help get me through Greek in the seminary. I use this edition a lot from week to week. So what, Pastor? What's your point?  My point is that each of these translations has something a little different to convey about Scripture, and how we read and interpret it. I find the King James Version a little too stuffy for me. It's language that is often archaic and it uses words and phrases that we don't use today.  When was the last time you said the word, "restoreth", or leadeth? But that's just me. Any good biblical scholar will tell you that the KJV is the closest and truest interpretation of the New Testament from the original Greek.  So it's got that going for it. So this week, we'll take a quick dive into a couple of different translations, and YOU decide which you might like best.  I'm going to use part of the gospel for this week, from the 6th Chapter of John.  Just for fun, I'm going to use two versions, both of which are familiar to me, and which I use all the time. The first is the NRSV translation, (New Revised Standard Version) the one we typically use on Sundays.  And the second translation I'm going to use is "The Message". I know some of you are familiar with this translation. It makes much of Scripture more "accessible" to us regular folks.  Uses language that we all use every day. No "thee's and thou's", and such. So, here we go. John 6:56-69 (NRSV) - the version we use most Sundays [Jesus said,] 56“Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood abide in me, and I in them. 57Just as the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever eats me will live because of me. 58This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like that which your ancestors ate, and they died. But the one who eats this bread will live forever.” 59He said these things while he was teaching in the synagogue at Capernaum.  60When many of his disciples heard it, they said, “This teaching is difficult; who can accept it?” 61But Jesus, being aware that his disciples were complaining about it, said to them, “Does this offend you? 62Then what if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before? 63It is the spirit that gives life; the flesh is useless. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life. 64But among you there are some who do not believe.” For Jesus knew from the first who were the ones that did not believe, and who was the one that would betray him. 65And he said, “For this reason I have told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted by the Father.”  66Because of this many of his disciples turned back and no longer went about with him. 67So Jesus asked the twelve, “Do you also wish to go away?” 68Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom can we go? You have the words of eternal life. 69We have come to believe and know that you are the Holy One of God.” Got that?  Now, here's the same text using "The Message".  Ready? John 6:56-6953-58  The Message translation "But Jesus didn’t give an inch. “Only insofar as you eat and drink flesh and blood, the flesh and blood of the Son of Man, do you have life within you. The one who brings a hearty appetite to this eating and drinking has eternal life and will be fit and ready for the Final Day. My flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. By eating my flesh and drinking my blood you enter into me and I into you. In the same way that the fully alive Father sent me here and I live because of him, so the one who makes a meal of me lives because of me. This is the Bread from heaven. Your ancestors ate bread and later died. Whoever eats this Bread will live always.” 59 He said these things while teaching in the meeting place in Capernaum. 60 Many among his disciples heard this and said, “This is tough teaching, too tough to swallow.” 61-65 Jesus sensed that his disciples were having a hard time with this and said, “Does this rattle you completely? What would happen if you saw the Son of Man ascending to where he came from? The Spirit can make life. Sheer muscle and willpower don’t make anything happen. Every word I’ve spoken to you is a Spirit-word, and so it is life-making. But some of you are resisting, refusing to have any part in this.” (Jesus knew from the start that some weren’t going to risk themselves with him. He knew also who would betray him.) He went on to say, “This is why I told you earlier that no one is capable of coming to me on his own. You get to me only as a gift from the Father.” 66-67 After this, many of his disciples left. They no longer wanted to be associated with him. Then Jesus gave the Twelve their chance: “Do you also want to leave?” 68-69 Peter replied, “Master, to whom would we go? You have the words of real life, eternal life. We’ve already committed ourselves, confident that you are the Holy One of God.”' We'll try one more quickly. Let's try the 23rd Psalm. WE all know that one.  First the NRSV (New Revised Standard Edition) Psalm 23 (NRSV) 1 The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want.  2 He makes me lie down in green pastures;  he leads me beside still waters;  3 he restores my soul.  He leads me in right paths  for his name's sake.  4 Even though I walk through the darkest valley,  I fear no evil;  for you are with me;  your rod and your staff —  they comfort me.  5 You prepare a table before me  in the presence of my enemies;  you anoint my head with oil;  my cup overflows.  6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me  all the days of my life,  and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD  my whole life long. And now, the 23rd Psalm in the KJV (King James Version) The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. 2 He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. 3 He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. 4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. 5 Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. 6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever. So, what do you think?  I encourage you to use www.biblegateway.com as you're able. Compare translations and see if you don't see Scripture you choose from a different perspective. I know I do. And, happy reading, and may you be blessed in your time with your bible. Amen

"Give Us This Bread Always" For six weeks this summer (we're in the middle of it right now), most mainline Protestant denominations focus on John 6 as the gospel reading for the week. The 6th Chapter of John.  In it we hear the gospel writer talk about feeding the five thousand with a few loaves and fish.  We hear Jesus say "I am the bread of life".  We'll hear Jesus say later on, "I am the living bread that came down from Heaven."  And more. So what's the deal with bread for John?  As I'm thinking about things while writing this, and our weekly getting familiar with your bible, one way to do so is to pick a word - any word, that comes to mind that you might think would show up in the bible. Here are some of them that maybe you'll want to think about: sin death forgiveness grace light life kill or killed food gate woman or man You can think of a thousand other words that might show up with some regularity in Scripture, from Genesis through Revelation.  Take a second and add to this list above. What words are you curious about that may be in Scripture more than a few times (not counting "the" and so forth.)   Next, if you're near a computer, or tablet, find a good bible word search engine, and type in one of the above words, and see how often the word is used, and in what context it's used.  My "go to" word search for Scripture is a free site, called "bible gateway".  You can find it at www.biblegateway.com.  I use it all the time. Check it out. With what I've said above, the word I'm thinking of this week is "bread". Bread.  Scripture has plus or minus, 400 references to bread. Think about how bread might be referenced in both the Old and New Testaments.  Bread is al old as humanity itself, isn't it? Here are some references that I think of when thinking about bread and the bible: o Holy Communion - every Sunday we celebrate Holy Communion, and I break bread around the communion rail. There is symbolism in me actually "tearing" the bread, as a reference to the tearing of the flesh of Jesus on the cross.  It's pulled apart, uneven, ripped, and so forth. o In Exodus, God feeds Israel in the desert with bread. It keeps them not only alive, but connected to God. God feeds and Israel eats, although they tire of it pretty quickly. Remember that Moses gives Israel bread, but God gives the "true bread" that comes down from Heaven and gives life to the world. o Also in Exodus, Israel, having no time to. bake bread before Pharaoh, they pack up their bread dough before it was risen, packed it on their shoulders in bowls and in their clothing, and away they went. Unleavened bread.  o Bethlehem - In the Hebrew, this means something like "house of bread".  It's no coincidence that Jesus is born in "the house of bread" or the house of life. Think about that!  The one who had come to feed the world with spiritual bread. o In Ecclesiastes 11, God reminds Israel to "cast your bread upon the water, for you will find it after many days", reminding Israel to "store up" good things which will feed them later on o at the Last Supper, Jesus took bread, broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying, "Take, eat, this is my body, given for you. Do this in remembrance of me."   So bread is also a symbol of forgiveness, and the community that receives it. o And in 1 Corinthians 10, Jesus says to his disciples, "Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread. These are but a few of the many uses of "bread" in the bible. You can think of your own use of "bread" in Scripture. But for me, what "bread" points to most is Jesus himself.  The bread of life. This week, maybe think of a word that you think might show up with some frequency in the bible - maybe one of the words I offered above, or think of one on your own..Use your own online resource or www.biblegateway.com, mygo-to resource, and type the word in the search bar on the site.  It's eye opening what this search will do for your appreciation of the Holy Scriptures.  Happy searching, dear brothers and sisters in Christ. Pastor Greg

The Christian Church Before the New Testament If you were living in first century Palestine, you were either a Jew, or a Gentile.  What's a Gentile?  Right, a non-Jew.  As the work and ministry of Jesus grew in his community and beyond (Judea and Galilee), word of mouth spread quickly. Was this the Messiah that some of the OT prophets might have been talking about? As far back as Deuteronomy 18:15, Moses says, "The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your own people; you shall heed such a prophet."  So the idea of a "sent one" coming to restore Jerusalem and the temple (which had been destroyed twice now) was not a new idea and belief. If you were living in Palestine in the 1st century, you would have been part of a mixed community - a community of Jews and Gentiles, living and working, doing the things of daily life at the time. And as the word spread that Jesus was in the neighborhood, people began to pay attention. Was this Jewish rabbi the "anointed one" as many had foretold? And as citizens of the Roman Empire, generally, the people in power tolerated the Jews in their midst.  Mostly.  But life wasn't so great. For them, or for their Gentile counterparts. Skip over his life and death and resurrection to roughly the year 30 AD, post resurrection, and many Gentiles were attracted to the life and teaching of Jesus - his message of hope, and inclusion, and forgiveness, and life beyond the misery that many knew all too well.  A message of hope.  But, so were many Jews at the time.  That's right. Many Jews had heard and even seen Jesus' ministry, and became "believers", if you will.  Remember the stories of the temple leadership who continually tried to trick Jesus the good Jew, into doing something "illegal" on the Sabbath?  The Jewish community knew all about Jesus, both what they liked, and what they didn't like. So, small communities of believers, both Jewish and Gentile, would gather together to worship.  Gather in houses.  In temples even.  But, there was no "New Testament", only the Hebrew bible.  The Old Testament. Think about it for a minute. These earliest worshipers were a combination of Jews, Gentiles, and what some would call Jewish Christians - Jews, but converting or converted to the message that Jesus had preached.   There was no Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. There was no Romans, or Galatians to read and study. They were all years away, at least from being written down. So, what did they read?  The Hebrew Bible - the Old Testament.  The Psalms.  The prophets - Isaiah, Jeremiah, and others. But mostly, they heard the good news of Jesus through the spoken word - the oral tradition. From the disciples.  From the Apostles themselves.  From the Apocrypha - the so-called "intertestamental period between the Old Testament and the New Testament.  And there were some "gospels", none of which, of course, made it into the bible as we know it.  You may have heard of the gospel of Judas. Who'd buy that book?! So, hanging around in this period, as the Christian "church" was finding its way, with Jews and Gentiles, and this new group known as Jewish Christians, were the Saddiccees, who were the authorities on the Torah (first 5 books of the bible), and who were a priestly group, dedicating themselves to life in the temple. These were the real insiders back then. Then, there were the Pharisees - you've heard of them. These guys were the experts in the written law according to Moses, and interpreted the law.  You recall the Pharisees often trying to catch Jesus doing inappropriate things on the Sabbath to prove that he wasn't the Messiah.  My best advice here is to read Acts, Chapters 1-4 to get some background. Luke, the writer, clearly gives us the best possible glimpse of what this early church might have looked like, and what they did as they gathered for worship. Read below Acts 2:41-47. Notice that the pattern of worship is very similar to today's. See below.  Peter's preaching, but the disciples were all in attendance in this gathering this day: So those who welcomed his message were baptized, and that day about three thousand persons were added. 42 They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. 43 Awe came upon everyone, because many wonders and signs were being done by the apostles. 44 All who believed were together and had all things in common; 45 they would sell their possessions and goods and distribute the proceeds to all, as any had need. 46 Day by day, as they spent much time together in the temple, they broke bread at home and ate their food with glad and generous hearts, 47 praising God and having the goodwill of all the people. And day by day the Lord added to their number those who were being saved. See the pattern - teaching and fellowship; breaking of the bread and prayers; gathering possessions (think offering) and sending stuff out into the community to those who had need.  Just like our present day worship pattern - we GATHER; we hear texts read (WORD); we pray, have an offering and communion (MEAL); and we send one another out with a prayer and a blessing, as what we gather each Sunday goes out to the wider community.  Patterns as old as the church itself. This is beautiful text, this description of the earliest Christian church, and an amazing story. Read it again and again to get the full impact of it all. So, what texts did the earliest church read?  Now you know. Amen.

Get Your Act(s) Together, Luke! I often get asked, "Pastor Greg, where should I begin with my studying of the bible?" That's a tough question, but there are a number of alternatives that I might suggest - and this list below is not exhaustive, by any means. 1. Time - First of all, it depends on how much time you have to devote to your bible reading.  If you can commit a certain amount of time per day/week to faithfully reading Scripture, first of all, more blessings to you!  Most of us are so busy, or should I say, distracted by forces around us (TV, internet, family, work, life...) that it's increasingly hard to commit much time to any one thing these days.  There's a book that's been out now for a while, called "Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community". Check it out.  One of its premises is that the storied institutions of the past century - things like Scouting, bowling leagues, Rotary Club and others like it, Little League Baseball, church, and all of the things that you and I largely grew up with, are now struggling for membership in the 21st century. Why?  Because we have so many more and varied options to take up our time. Screens, internet sites, gaming, the list goes on and on. We rarely get into our vehicles these days to go do something like joining a group, or finding like causes.   Yes, we still do these things, but for many institutions, numbers of joiners are way down. The same holds true when it comes to the use of our time. Time seems more and more like a precious commodity like gold these days, and we tend to hoard our time for things that really matter to us. And that includes doing nothing. Resting.  Being quiet. Saying, and/or doing nothing. What's the first question you ask a friend who just got back from a vacation?  "What did you DO?"  We have to be doing SOMETHING all the time, or we're just not productive, or we're lazy, or, well, you get it. So, the same applies to time we have to commit to studying the bible. I have often said, and other clergy agree, that we as a society are biblically illiterate.  The bible, once the centerpiece of the evening around a meal, or around the living room at the end of the day, has been literally put on the shelf and forgotten until Sunday morning when we hear snippets of Scripture in worship.   So, to answer the question of where do you start your Scripture reading, my answer is (and not everyone will agree) to start with the New Testament, and specifically one of the four gospels. Mark's gospel is the shortest, with 16 Chapters, and the author writes in shorter sentences.  Mark often starts his sentences with the word, "immediately". Meaning that Jesus is on the move, from one thing or place to another.  Action moves quickly because Mark is interested in what Jesus is doing - his real life and ministry.  John's gospel, on the other hand, is more concerned about letting a largely Jewish reading community know that Jesus was, in fact, the Messiah, the Son of God.   So, I would recommend starting with Luke's gospel.  He's writing largely to a Gentile audience, and the action is moving from birth, through his ministry, to his betrayal, trial, execution and resurrection.  Just look at some of the Chapter headings - you may have these in your own bibles (I won't go through all of them - you can check it out for yourself:) • The Birth of John the Baptist (who foretells of the birth of Jesus) • The Birth of Jesus Foretold • Mary Visits Elizabeth, and then Mary's Song • The Birth of Jesus (we hear this read most Christmas Eve's) • John the Baptist Prepares the Way • Jesus Rejected at Nazareth) - I LOVE this story,  Read Luke 4:14-24. That's a GREAT story to read and read again, imagining what that scene must have been like as the young Jesus reads the Torah scrolls, rolls them, and sits down, as the crowd reacts. • Later in the gospel, you'll read about Jesus' teaching, the use of parables, his conflicts with the temple leadership, his relationship with the disciples, his ministry itself, and more. And that's just the beginning.  Anyhow, you get the point.  You can even just read the Chapter titles and get a sense of the flow of the gospel from start to finish in well under 20 minutes. And you've come away with the flow of a complete gospel account. In fact, try it once - just reading the Chapter titles - no verses. We do it all the time in our Wednesday bible study group, and it contextualizes the texts for the upcoming Sunday.  So, try picking up your bible this week, and turning to Luke's gospel. If you have a bible that does have Chapter titles, you're halfway home in reading it.  Just follow the titles, and I promise you, you will be enriched by the flow of the book. That's it.  You're done for the week.  And by just reading the Chapter titles, I'll bet you learned a lot about the flow of Luke's gospel, and his account of Jesus's life and ministry.  Now, know that I'm NOT saying that this is a substitute for reading Scripture, but it's an easy way to immerse yourself quickly in the Jesus story and feel like you learned something. Remember those "Cliff Notes" from college?  Similar. If you feel really motivated, turn next to Acts, the continuation of Luke's gospel.  It tells the story of what happens after Jesus leaves to be united with his Father in heaven, how the disciples interact with one another and the world, and how the Holy Spirit begins to move in the world. And how the church is birthed. It's an amazing story! Enough for now. So, if you're still with me, while you're HOT, go pick up your bible, turn to Luke's gospel, and if you have a bible that has Chapter titles, you're in business. You can move through the whole gospel really quickly. And I'll bet you'll be impressed with the whole Jesus story. Blessings on your continued reading.  BTW, I say a short prayer before I read the bible every time, praying for revelation, simplicity, and that I can hear something that is useful for me for preaching and teaching.  You can do the same.  Enjoy! Pastor Greg P.S. Yes, there are other ways to begin to read Scripture. You can go by subject (sin; miracles; prophets, grace, and more) and I think this is a good way to read the Bible. But you'll need a resource that can direct you to texts for these and more subjects. And I'll offer this in an upcoming study. Or, you can point your finger at a randomly selected text, and ask what the text is saying. But you may end up in Leviticus, with a bunch of Levitical laws that may not be of interest to you. So stick with a single book for now and follow the above. It'll be worth it.

Below is the gospel for this Sunday, June 26th (wow, can you believe it's almost July!?) So let's start our study this week with the basics - you can and should do this for any bible text /story you decide to read. We'll just use this Sunday's gospel as an example.  Simple enough, right?  Here we go: Mark 4:35-41 35When evening had come, [Jesus said to the disciples,] “Let us go across to the other side.” 36And leaving the crowd behind, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. Other boats were with him. 37A great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that the boat was already being swamped. 38But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion; and they woke him up and said to him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” 39He woke up and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” Then the wind ceased, and there was a dead calm. 40He said to them, “Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith?” 41And they were filled with great awe and said to one another, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?” OK. Now, let's ask ourselves some questions that we'd ask after having read any biblical text/story. Ready? 1.  Where is this taking place?  Well, we'd have to go back to verse 1 in this Chapter to see where this is taking place.  It appears as though it's by the Sea of Galilee. Jesus had been teaching there all day apparently (from earlier verses in Chapter 4.), so he's tired. Verse 35 in our reading for Sunday says it was evening.  A long day for him and the disciples.  This may explain why Jesus falls asleep in the boat in the middle of the storm.  Right?  Who wouldn't be exhausted? 2.  Who's in the story?  Well, there's Jesus, and the "them", which is likely his disciples.  You'll notice the text says that they leave the crowd behind them.  I would think that means he's had enough, and now he wants to be alone with just his inner circle.  It's interesting that the text here says they took Jesus "just as he was."  That might mean he's tired.  He needs a break.  Or, it could mean something else entirely. How do YOU interpret it?  IF you look quickly at Chapter 5, you can see that he's got more work to do - more people to deal with, more healing, and so forth.  Notice in the NT how often Jesus is inundated with people in need.  Sick and dying people. People with infirmities. People being challenged by life.  So we know Jesus is tired, and there's no let up in his schedule.  How might that make him feel?  How would YOU feel with such a schedule? There are the folks left behind on the shore.  People Jesus and his disciples had just been dealing with.  And, there were other boats, obviously with other people in them.  The disciples were largely fishermen, so it's not unusual that other fishermen would want to follow the disciples, and Jesus. So the crowd the water was large.  I'm guessing most of them worked on the water, so they'd be familiar with storms probably. 3.  What's going on here?  Well, in the crossing of the sea/body of water, the disciples are doing the hard work here of navigating the storm. You'd imagine that they knew what they were doing, but even this storm is a challenge for them.  That may raise a question about our own abilities.  Think of what you're really good at, and how you'd react to something so great that all of your skill, talent, and experience fails you. What would you do?  How would you react? One of my initial reactions would be to look to point blame. Who got me into this mess?  Why didn't I listen to that voice in my head so that we wouldn't be in such a state!?  How am I ever going to get out of all of this, and what will I don once we do get out!?  You can add your own questions here.  How does this all inform you regarding the story so far? The boat in which Jesus and some (or all) of his group is being tossed around in the water.  Can you think of a time in Scripture when the seas were raging and danger was all around?  What comes to my own mind is Genesis ! - the Creation story, where it says, "In the beginning when God created[a] the heavens and the earth, 2 the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep, while a wind from God[b] swept over the face of the waters."  You know that story, right?  Maybe Mark is hearkening the hearer/reader to Creation, where God was present in the midst of this dangerous scene. Deep, unsettled waters. Death lurking all around.  A wind lurking over the waters.   I hear in this text for Sunday Mark saying that even though the waters are rough, even though danger and death are all around, God/Jesus is nearby, and in control.  The cry of the men in the boats is something like, "Hey, Jesus, where are you when we need you!?"  Sound familiar to our own lives at times?  Hey, Jesus, I'm in a bad way here. I could use some help. Wake up!  Pay attention to your drowning servant!  Cries of desperation.  Cries of abandonment. Cries for help from God. And just as God breathes over the waters at creation (Genesis 1), order emerges out of the chaos on the lake here.  Imagine the times you've seen a "dead calm" sea, or body of water. It's refreshing. Calming.  Restorative. And then, Jesus rebukes their lack of faith, which he often does in the NT.  "Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith?"  You can hear from his use of "still" that this is not the first time he'd confronted this lack of faith. Although I'd have to go back to see if and where he encountered this before this story. 4. So , what's the message here? What's the "so what?"  Here are some things I take out of this story: 1.). Jesus' humanity AND his divinity - We can see in this story both his humanity (falling asleep in the boat after a long day. His frustration at his disciples for not having more faith that he was still in control even though he was in the bow of the boat.  2.). Jesus' response despite his being tired from a long. day.  He could have just gone back under the bow of the boat, but he knew that people he loved (and maybe even some he didn't particularly love) needed him. Great prayer thought here. 3.). Mark, writing to a mostly Jewish audience here, iis clearly trying to make an appeal to his Jewish friends that this Jesus was indeed the Messiah.  God in the flesh.  He had power to even still the most violent of storms.  4.). Here's something else that I find in this text,.  Jesus doesn't guarantee a storm free existence.  Life has storms. Life is full of danger and death. It's deadly out there.  But he does promise to be "in the boat" with us, so to speak.  Finding a way when we see no way.  Giving comfort in his very presence. The pattern, like so many stories in the bible, follows some version of this: o Jesus confronts danger/death/hostile things or crowds out to do him in (the sea, in this case.) o the crowd, either hostile or friendly, is watching Jesus' everu  move to see if he really is who he says he is o Jesus responds by calming the storm, or other healing action o the crowd, again, either hostile or familiar, reacts with "This guy is the real deal", or "Who does this guy think he is, the Messiah!?"  Well, enough for now. We'll continue these next week.   BTW, this is precisely how I prepare my weekly message, using the techniques above!  It's not rocket science. ASSIGNMENT Pick a favorite story in the bible - one that you know well. Read it carefully, slowing down to make sure you don't miss anything. (I'll bet you pick up one thing that you hadn't noticed before!) Ask yourself the questions above - the ones that I just asked.  And take your time in answering them.   Summarize in your own mind what you learned about the text you selected. Did you find something new? Something you hadn't thought of before?  Finally, tell the story as you now know it, to someone close to you. Tell them what you learned.  Something new and exciting. Amen? Amen!

INTRODUCTION Did you ever throw a stone or pebble and try to skip it across a pond? Well, as we go through this little bible study, that's about how it's going to go.  Skipping along, over so much material, landing briefly on one topic or another, only to move along again to another one about the Scriptures.  There are a million resources out there on the bible - its history; its meaning; how to read and study it; and more.  Book by book. Topic by topic.  You name it. This weekly "study" is certainly not meant to be an all inclusive study of the bible.  As seminarians, we took lots of courses on the bible, both the Old and New Testaments, and still, despite having world class teachers, we only got a brief glimpse of what the bible is all about.  One of the things that I was interested in when I started in my seminary training was how the bible came to be...the bible.  Who made the decisions as to which books were included, and which were not?  Why are there other "gospels" out there, not in the bible?  What is the Apocrypha, and why is that included in Roman Catholic bibles and Orthodox bibles, but not others?  What are inter-testamental readings? Let's review quickly.  66 is the number.  39 (Old Testament); 27 (New Testament) books of the bible. Got that?  Great.  Now, we move on. The numbers of books in the bible are different for our Roman Catholic friends, and our Orthodox friends. For example, the Apocrypha is part of the Roman Catholic bible.  Also called the "intertestamental" literature. Books that were written between the Old and New Testament.  Maybe one of more of your own bibles contains the Apocrypha. TRANSLATIONS So many translations, so little time!  I'll bet you have more than one bible in your house. Am I right on that?  And I'll bet at least one of them is the King James Version. Maybe you were given it by your parents, or through your church.  The KJV was commissioned by, wait for it...King James VI, of England, in 1611 or thereabouts. It came about after a decade or more of planning and preparation. Most theologians feel that the KJV of the bible, in both the OT and NT, are the closest to the original languages of Hebrew and Greek/ I don't know about you, but while I appreciate the authenticity, the language is hard for me to read.  It's way different from the language we use today.  But that's just my opinion. The Lutheran Church, and many Protestant denominations, typically use something called the NRSV (New Revised Standard Version.). This version is more accessible language-wise, and more gender neutral in many ways.  It's what we use here most Sundays at Living Lord.  While there are many, many different translations of the bible, (e.g. NIV; NASV - New American Standard Version, and others) there is one I'd highly recommend you look at, if you're ever in the market for a new bible. And that is The Message, by Eugene Peterson.  It's at variance somewhat from the KJV certainly, but I like it's accessible language, and its easy reading style. I often use it when I prepare my sermon notes because it's easy to understand. So check it out. READING THE BIBLE AS "CANON" No, not the big gun, cannon. But canon. Think "collection". The bible evolved over centuries, based on how well they served their respective communities of faith. They weren't chosen by a "bible committee" or other governing body. But instead, were adopted by communities of faith - the people of God from generation to generation.  Some books "made the cut" based on their usefulness and relevance to their respective communities, and others didn't make the cut, so to speak.  Those that dropped off are still around, but have not been included in the "canon" of the bible. In the NT, for example, the four gospels, of course, gathered support because of the witness of the writers to the life, teaching, death, and resurrection of Jesus himself.  Paul's letters also commanded much attention in the day - more so than other lesser books.  2 Peter, for example.  I'm often asked if there will ever be any additions to the current canon, or collection of 66 books. For the life of me, I just can't see it, although nothing is impossible. It's just that this particular collection we call the bible today for most of us, is sufficient for teaching and witnessing about God in the world. It would take a major sea change for this to come about. So, settle in, pick up your bible, open it to a random passage. Put your finger on it, and read a few verses.  Have some fun trying to come up with a sermon on it for any Sunday based on what you read. As we move along, we'll dig deeper into the bible, looking at specific passages, books, and more. In the meantime, I hope this will spark your interest in picking up your bible, whatever version you may have), blowing the dust off of it, and hearing and feeling the Word of God come alive. Amen. Pastor Greg