This week we will consider two questions:

How did the Bible arise?

How might we best approach the Bible?

Despite appearing to be two separate questions, they are intimately connected within the reality of the God who seeks to meet us, challenge us, comfort us, teach and renew us.

The question of “Where does the Bible connect in our lives?” can be understood in two ways—where we think it applies versus where it actually meets us. We often expect Scripture to connect in obvious places: church, Bible studies, or times of worship. But the power of God’s Word is that it reaches us in the unexpected moments—when we’re struggling in a relationship, facing uncertainty at work, or wrestling with doubt in silence.

Just as Jesus met people where they were—whether at a well, a stormy sea, or in the middle of their sin—Scripture meets us not just in sacred spaces but in our everyday lives, offering wisdom, correction, and comfort exactly where we need it most. But do we see the connection?

Last year we took a trip through the book of Ecclesiastes with our ever honest, sometimes cryptic guide, "The Teacher." Chapter 3 began with the words, "There is a time for everything..." This week our investigation of the Christian Scriptures leads us to ask the question, "When?"

In earthly terms, the seconds, minutes, hours and days of our lives are a finite resource of unknown duration. How might scripture, and the message of Kingdom and Gospel that it brings us, inform and redeem our concept of time? Don't be late!

Over the past two weeks we have considered the questions, "What is the Bible?" and "Why Does God Give Us a Written Word?" This week we ask, like that great theologian *Pete Townsend, "Who Are You? Who, who, who, who?" Character development is a central feature in books. Characters carry the story, draw us into the story and perhaps even cause us to see ourselves reflected in the lives portrayed on the page. Who are/is the main character in the Bible, and what might that mean for our own stories as we engage with these texts? "Lord, open our eyes, that we might see wonderful things in your word."

Last week we started on an adventure of curiosity and investigation, into the book we call The Bible. After considering WHAT the Bible is, we now ask the question, "WHY?"

Why did God give us a written word? Were we to ask this question of any other written work of communication we would be wise to ask the authors themselves. Let us therefore inquire of the Lord together, asking our questions. Confident that he is not playing games with us, but that he wants to form and deepen a relationship that is life-giving and profoundly meaningful.

Interrogating the Bible: Eight Essential Questions

Most followers of Jesus understand that the book that we call The Holy Bible is an important and central feature of our faith. Jesus quoted from the Old Testament, the church throughout history has looked to the scriptures to guide its faith and practice, and many of us can testify to the power and wisdom of its contents. 

However, a great many of us find this book to be a bit of a mystery, and in a culture that is increasingly dismissive of these ancient texts, it is perhaps easier to leave the Word of God to the experts. Over the next eight weeks we will explore by means of a series of honest questions, this collection of letters, poetry, songs, history, gospel and apocalypse that is God’s revelation given to us to reveal his profound love for all that he has made.

New Year’s may be an arbitrary moment in time, but it’s a season when we often reflect on our lives and consider how to embrace the coming year with hope and wisdom. This Sunday, your pastors will reflect on the past year and prayerfully invite us to welcome the days God will give us in 2025.

This week, we conclude our 2024 Advent series. Over the past three weeks, we’ve explored the blues refrains, “Nobody Knows the Trouble I’ve Seen,” “How Long Must I Wait,” and “I Woke Up This Morning.” Living in the tension of God’s Kingdom "now and not yet," what have we learned to help us celebrate Christ’s birth with its struggles and promises of lasting peace? As the carolers sing, “The hopes and fears of all the years are met in Thee tonight,” we draw near to Emmanuel with all that we are.

Many blues songs often begin with the phrase, “I woke up this morning…”—a universal expression of life’s challenges and opportunities. This Sunday, we’ll explore the significance of mornings in scripture and in our lives, reflecting on how God’s mercies are new every morning (Lamentations 3:22-23).

Much of life finds us waiting. For someone or something. It's never particularly pleasant, yet not all waiting is created equal. Some is rather inconsequential: At this time of year we find ourselves irresistibly waiting for Christmas Day. However for some, waiting is almost unbearable. When the wait seems endless and the minutes, hours and days drag on. Perhaps what we need this Christmas is a new perspective on waiting. Listen as the Blues tells of the "Two Stories of Advent," and tune your heart to God's Advent calendar!