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Being thankful in a very thankless world!
A wordle is an animated “word cloud” in which greater prominence is given to words that occur most frequently in
the source text.
A Wordle of Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address
A Wordle of “Away in a Manger”
A Wordle of the Apostle’s Creed
A Wordle of the Gospel of Mark
9:00 Service
10:30 Service
Combined services
Our Four Core Values
God’s Glory, Our Focus The Bible, Our Authority The Gospel, Our Passion
Christ’s Church, Our Family
Our Four Core Values
God’s Glory, Our Focus
The Gospel, Our Passion Christ’s Church, Our Family
The Bible, Our Authority
The Bible MUST be our authority!
1. The Bible claims to be God’s Word,
and these claims are undisputedly
straightforward!
Over 3800 times the Bible claims to be the very words of God!
“Thus says the Lord” -- over 400 times!
There are over 300 quotations of the Old Testament in the New Testament!
The Bible claims to be God’s Word!
2 Timothy 3:16-17 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.
The Bible MUST be our authority
1. The Bible claims to be God’s Word,
and these claims are undisputedly
straightforward!
2. The Bible is an incredibly unique
book!
The Bible is an incredibly unique book!
It is a book of remarkable unity!
Written by 40 different authors over a span of
1600 yrs; These men were from all walks of life; they wrote on dozens of controversial subjects!
Yet it tells ONE STORY!
The Bible is an incredibly unique book!
It is a book of remarkable unity!
It is a book of uncommon accuracy!
From the field of archeology
The existence of the Hittite Empire?
In 1906, Hugo Winckler unearthed the ancient Hittite capital, and recovered thousands of Hititte texts! King Solomon’s great wealth?
In 1925-1934 Henry Breasted, unearthed one of Solomon’s chariot cities at Megiddo!
The Bible is an incredibly unique book!
It is a book of remarkable unity!
It is a book of uncommon accuracy!
It is a book that is astounding in it’s
fulfilled prophecies!
The Bible is astounding in it’s
fulfilled prophecies!
Jesus fulfilled 200 Messianic
prophecies in his first advent!
The odds of him fulfilling just eight of
these?
Greater than one in one quadrillion!
1,000,000,000,000,000! (1015)
The Bible is an incredibly unique book!
It is a book of remarkable unity!
It is a book of uncommon accuracy!
It is a book that is astounding in it’s
fulfilled prophecies!
The Bible is a book with
unparalleled popularity!
The Bible is a book with
unparalleled popularity!
“Bible”
351,956 results!
The Bible is an incredibly unique book!
It is a book of remarkable unity!
It is a book of uncommon accuracy!
It is a book that is astounding in it’s
fulfilled prophecies!
The Bible is a book with
unparalleled popularity!
The Bible is a book of ongoing
indestructibility!
“We might as well put our shoulder to the burning wheel of
the sun and try to stop its flaming course, as attempt to
stop the circulation of the Bible.”
Anonymous
WHY must we embrace the
Bible as our authority for faith and practice? For what we believe and how we behave?
The Bible MUST be our authority
1. The Bible claims to be God’s Word,
and these claims are undisputedly
straightforward!
2. The Bible is an incredibly unique
book!
The Bible is an incredibly unique book!
It is a book of remarkable unity!
It is a book of uncommon accuracy!
It is a book that is astounding in it’s
fulfilled prophecies!
The Bible is a book with
unparalleled popularity!
The Bible is a book of ongoing
indestructibility!
The Bible MUST be our authority
1. The Bible claims to be God’s Word,
and these claims are undisputedly
straightforward!
2. The Bible is an incredibly unique
book!
3. Jesus Christ viewed the Bible of his
day (The Old Testament) as HIS
authority for faith and practice!
Jesus’ view of the Bible of His Day
Over and over again throughout his life, Jesus gives evidence that he viewed the Old Testament Scriptures as being from God. -He ordered his life by them!
-He resisted the Devil by quoting them!
- He taught them (in fact, he quotes from the Old Testament almost 80 times in his teachings and alludes to its teaching far more!).
Jesus’ view of the Bible of His Day
Matthew 5:18 For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished.
The Bible, Our Authority? The Bible, YOUR authority?
1. The Bible claims to be God’s Word,
and these claims are undisputedly
straightforward!
2. The Bible is an incredibly unique
book!
3. Jesus Christ viewed the Bible of his
day (The Old Testament) as HIS
authority for faith and practice!
Carpe Diem (Seize the Day!)
A Spiritual Growth Initiative for 2014
The Bible cannot be our authority ... Our “polaris” ... Our reference point for life
IF we do not KNOW it!
How this LIFE Journal can help you . . . (p. 7)
Listen: “I will teach you and instruct you in the way that you should go...”
Inquire: “You will seek Me and find Me when you seek Me with all your heart.”
Faith: “Discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness.”
Experience: “If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them.”
How to use LIFE Journal (pp. 8-9)
- The S.O.A.P. method of Bible Reading
Scripture Observation Application Prayer
- A Key question: “How will I be different today because of what I just read?”
- Be flexible (approx. 90 daily pages in journal)
Choose a plan . . .
1. Enjoy the view from 10,000 feet – read through the entire Bible in 2014!
2. Drop down to ground level and watch the Gospel unfold – read through the New Testament and Psalms in 2014!
3. Zoom in on a few books or section of the Bible with your own plan, one chapter a day minimum (about 30% of the Bible)
