Welcome to the Podcast! Today Paster Rob Ayer is teaching on a way to read the bible. Unfortunately due to some unforeseen technical difficulties we are missing a minute too two minutes of the sermon

This morning – we will finish our SUMMER TEACHING SERIES: HOLY HABITS.

I'll do that by sharing the last of my thoughts on ways we might read the Bible.

So far, we have learned together about reading the Bible in a systematic way: behind

the text, the text, and in front of the text = the context of the text, the characters and

language of the text, and the biases with which we read the text.

Then we talked about reading the Bible as a unified story about Jesus Christ – the micro

stories of the O.T. pointing to Jesus, the N.T. stories pointing at Jesus and that – being

stories – we are invited into them at multiple levels – to find the moral of the stories.

And now, we'll explore this idea together of reading the Bible as an experience of

ANAMCARA.

ANAMCARA is an Irish Gaelic phrase derived from two words – ANAM + CARA – which

when translated literally into English means SOUL FRIEND.

SLIDE 3. ANAMCARA = SOUL FRIEND.

I'm inviting us this morning to think about a way of reading the Bible that is not

centered on a system or a story but rather on silence and a solitude.

We're going to explore LECTIO DIVINA.LECTIO DIVINA is a Latin phrase which literally means SACRED READING.

SLIDE 4. LECTIO DIVINA = SACRED READING.

Reading the Bible to listen to what it is saying – to be encouraged or to be challenged

in our walk of faith.

Listening is the key.

SLIDE 5. My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me (Jn.

10:27).

We are his sheep. Jesus is our shepherd. Jesus is saying here that the primary mark of

one of his disciples is that they listen – they AKOUOTIKOS (in Greek) - to His voice.

Disciples of Jesus know the "acoustics" of His voice – it's nuance, it's tone, it's warmth.

Let me tell you a story…

Back in the 1890's – there was a painter named Francise Barraud. Sadly, his brother

Mark died. Francis inherited three things: an old wind-up gramophone player, a

recording of his brother's voice, and Nipper (his Jack Russel Terrier).

Whenever Francise would play the recording of his brother's voice, Nipper would turn

toward the voice, his ears alert, and sit transfixed – staring into the gramophone.

Deeply moved, Francise painted this scene and he titled the picture, "His Master's

Voice."

SLIDE 6. His Master's Voice.

A record company in London, England loved this picture so much that they decided to

make Nipper their logo. They even changed the name of their company from the

Gramophone Company to His Master's Voice.By the end of the century, this company had grown to own the world's largest record

store in London and America's largest in New York City – His Master's Voice.

And they shortened their name from His Master's Voice to, as you may have guessed by

now, HMV. Reopened on Oxford St., London, in 2023!

SLIDE 7. HMV, London.

Nipper knew his master's voice. He longed for it.

I think there is a longing in every disciple of Jesus to hear His voice – not the recorded

voice of a dead god, but a real, personal, conversational encounter with a living, loving

Lord.

How might we go about doing this?

As one of my recent mentors on Bible study and prayer says…

"One of the oldest and simplest and most powerful ways to hear God's voice in and

through the Bible is LECTIO DIVINA. This is an approach to Scripture that emphasizes

reading it prayerfully, slowly, and with imagination. It's about the heart more than the

head; less about Bible study than turning the Bible into a conversation with God." This way of reading of the Bible doesn't abrogate those ways of reading the Bible. It supplements them. It isn't about it being a better way, it's about it being a different way. Circumscribed by other ways of reading the Bible – for balance and faithfulness.

Welcome to the Podcast! Today Pastor Rob Ayer is Giving us a short message and then we will hear from four people, two of which are getting baptized later in the afternoon, and hear Their testimonies.

THIS IS BAPTISM SUNDAY.

By and by – we will hear from Denise Seymour and Lisa Martin – who will each share a

bit of their faith story and why they have chosen to be baptized today.

And then this afternoon, at the request of both Denise and Lisa, we will make our way

to Brae Island, Ft. Langley, where we will share a make-your-own-sandwich picnic

lunch (as provided by Lisa and her friends), after which we – meaning Denise and Lisa

and I and helpers – will dip our toes into the Fraser and do some baptizing!

Then they will have cross necklaces placed on them on shore, followed by a group-wide

celebratory treat!

IF you're not able to make it to Ft. Langley this afternoon – there is a plan to drone

shot the baptism – and then a plan to share that footage with the congregation asap.

afterwards.

In the meantime, I'd like to provide a little bit of context by asking, "What is baptism?"

The bible tells us to…

SLIDE 2. Go and make disciples… baptizing them in the name of the Father

and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit and teaching them to obey the

teachings of Jesus (Mt. 28:19-20).

Which means, of course, that believers take the plunge first!

We get baptized and follow the teachings of Jesus – albeit imperfectly – then we

baptize others who we journey with as they follow the teachings of Jesus – albeit

imperfectly.

So, baptism (in part) is about identification – it's about feeling a deep connection,

empathy, and shared similarity with someone(s) – in this case - identifying with Jesus

and His way and identifying with those who follow Him.

It is a wholesale, public commitment to Christ alongside those who are Christ-ians

Welcome to the Podcast! Today Pastor Rob Ayer Is Teaching about How to read the Bible as a unified story.

Welcome back – as we continue to explore several spiritual disciplines through our

SUMMER TEACHING SERIES: HOLY HABITS.

Among them: reading the bible.

Last week – we talked about reading the bible in a systematic way: behind the text, the

text, and in front of the text = studying the context of the text, looking at the

characters and plot and words of the text, and being aware of our own biases as we

read the text.

Which might have left some of us thinking, "I need a Doctorate to read the bible!"

Cuz it can feel that way!

Because the bible is a difficult book to read.

But…

There are all kinds of helps (handheld and online) to reading it in a systematic way:

1. Bible Dictionaries.

2. Background Commentaries.

3. Book and Text Commentaries.

4. Hebrew and Greek Language Translations.

5. Study Bibles.

6. Bible Study Groups, e.g. Bible Study Fellowship

7. Denominational Resources.

8. Our own church community: each other!

And perhaps most helpful might be our posture towards the bible as we read it:

with humility, with curiosity, with open-mindedness, with a thoughtful system, and with

grace for those who disagree with us.

And with an understanding that there are other ways to read the bible.

This morning – we're going to look at reading the bible as if it were a powerful, unified

story.

A story with a plot. A story with characters. A story with settings. A story with authors.

A story with intention.It moves through conflict and tension and resolution – from Eden to Jesus. Stories

repeat on theme: a test, a fall, a passing through some chaotic time – linking early

stories to later redemptive stories. It moves from location to location – like Egypt and

the wilderness and Babylon – carrying emotional and historical weight which sets up

our expectations as readers. And the characters! Realistic. Flawed. Mixed motives.

The bible is a story which contains a series of micro-stories within it – held together by

a unifying macro-story.

The bible is – as we've talked about it before - a library of books – a book containing 66

unique books within it – written over a span of roughly 1500 years – by 40 different

authors – people who were kings, prophets, shepherds, fishermen, scholars, a doctor, a

tax collector – in 7 different genres - across 3 different continents (Asian, Africa, and

Europe) – in 3 different languages (Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek) – with one powerful

message.

Which is?

What if I asked you to summarize the bible in a sentence. What would you say?

Welcome to the podcast! Today Paster Rob Ayer is teaching about how to read the Bible in a systematic way in today's way of thinking with refection on past times. This Sermon is part of our summer teaching series Holy Habits.

We have been in a teaching series about spiritual disciplines which we have been calling

"HOLY HABITS."

I am so grateful for those who have already taught in this summer series…

Janet Thiessen on practicing the presence of God. Emmie Stanely on declarative prayer.

Joel Stobbe on the freedom of simplicity. Karina Buikema on the daily spiritual battle of

taking thoughts captive to make them obedient to Christ. And Terry Veer on the

relationship between our world view and how we read and trust the bible.

I have learned much from these teachings and I've been encouraged in my faith.

Another such HOLY HABIT is the practice of reading the Bible.

A practice of listening to the words of God as written down by people – because words

reveal the character and person of God.

What do we believe about the Bible?

That it is inspired?

That it is infallible?

That it is authoritative?

Here's what our Confession of Faith has to say about it: The entire Bible

was inspired by God. It is the infallible Word of God and the authoritative

guide for faith and practice (Article 2: Revelation of God).

What do you think ?

I believe that the Bible is the inspired Word of God - and that it is authoritative for the

life of Christian faith.

How then shall we read it?

The Bible says it? I believe it? That's enough for me?!

I wish it were that simple…

Welcome to the podcast! Today Karina Buikema is continuing our summer teaching serries with her teaching on Taking Thoughts Captive.

Leadership is a quality that we all want to develop. Not just because it implies a

trustworthiness, but because it implies a strength of character that we can stand alone and be

trusted to do the right thing. At the core of a Christian, leadership means faithfulness to Jesus.

It doesn’t mean you’re going to have many minions to lead.

I train leaders for service at Bible Study Fellowship. First I trained group leaders to lead

discussion groups. Now I train children’s leaders to teach children to love God and love people.

I run this training twice a year to help them grow in their leadership and faithfulness. I’ve

adopted it to more general audience because obviously not all of you are serving at BSF. But

the core principles and values are the same. We all want to grow in the dependence on God,

Passion for Christ, Compassion for people, excellence, integrity and humility.

So I’m going to contrast the two heart attitudes of a Christian as she or he serves. One is a

self-aware Christian. Self-aware Christian sees how God desires to mature us. The focus is on

Him. The other is a self-focused Christian. The focus is on the self. All of us are in the spectrum

of these two extremes. None of us are perfect just yet. But God who called us is faithful to

complete what He has started. So, this is an exercise for you to be honest with yourself. Pray

and talk with God about it. Psalm 139:23&24 says “Search me, God, and know my heart; test

me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the

way everlasting.” So prayerfully consider where you are on the scale of each value. Rate

yourself on a scale from 0 (completely self-focused) to 10 (completely self-aware) on how you

serve in relation to each value.

Welcome to the podcast! Today guest speaker Joel stobbe is teaching about What is Simplicity and how to use it in our daily lives. This sermon is part of our summer teaching series.

When Rob asked me to preach, my first thought was, “What could I preach on that I am actually good at?” Something I have some credentials in, something I’ve at least somewhat figured out. That seems like what God would want, right?

But this topic kept coming back to me. And I started to wonder if this talk isn’t primarily for you, but for me.

So I want to be honest at the start. I am not preaching on simplicity today because I have mastered it. I’m speaking on it because I desperately needed it. I feel like this all the time.

Perhaps we can learn this one together.

Several years ago, my son Benjamin and I took a grand road trip up north. We flew into Whitehorse, rented a giant Suburban—which we slept in for most of the trip—and drove north, deep into the Arctic, all the way to Tuktoyaktuk, on the edge of the Arctic Ocean.

It is a completely different world. Quiet. Wide. Slow. The sky feels enormous there. No cell signal. No traffic. No hurry.

One afternoon, when we arrived in Tuktoyaktuk, Benjamin and I walked down to the ocean and saw an Indigenous man fishing. Every cast, he caught a fish. A very large fish.

He would lean back as the rod bent, reel it in, and drop it into a large backpack. His son would come alongside, load the heavy pack onto an old bicycle, and ride it away toward town. He would empty it and return. Back and forth, all afternoon.

Eventually I walked over.

“What do you do with all the fish? Do you sell them?”

He smiled. “No. We eat them.”

“Wow. That’s a lot of fish.”

“Yes. Breakfast, lunch, and supper. Every day.”

“Don’t you ever get tired of just eating fish?”

He paused.

“No. But my wife fries it up differently on special occasions.”

That was the variety.

At first I thought, Wow. His life seems so limited. No steak. No hamburgers. No pasta.

But then he said something that has stayed with me ever since. He said it so matter-of-factly: “The rest of the time, I spend with my family. We have enough.”

And I stood there on that beach, and I started to feel the contrast.

Most of my life is spent working. Teaching. Organizing concerts. Planning. Answering emails. Solving problems.

Like many of you, I tell myself a story: One day I will retire. Then I will have more time. I will go fishing. I will spend long afternoons with my family.

But by then, Benjamin will probably have a family of his own. He will have his own work. And I have no idea what my health will be like.

Standing there on the beach of the Arctic Ocean, I realized I had always assumed simplicity meant less life.

But perhaps it is the opposite. Perhaps simplicity creates space for life.

Maybe the fisherman wasn’t missing out.

Maybe I was.

Welcome to the podcast! Today Guest speaker Emmy Stanley is teaching about Declarative Prayer. This Sermon is part of our summer teaching series.

Welcome to the Podcast! Today Guest Speaker Janet Thiessen Is teaching on how to feel the presence of God. This is part of our summer teaching series on holy habits.

Welcome to the Podcast! Today is a bit different. This weeks Podcast is featuring the promise Land Team for the children.

There is no sermon this week. Happy summer!

Welcome to the Podcast! Today Pastor Rob Ayer is teaching where do we go from where we are now. This is part of our Teaching series on Nehemiah.

We have taken some months to read together and to learn about the story of Nehemiah

– as chronicled in the book named after him – and more than likely – written by him –

and very likely edited by the priest and scribe, Ezra.

It's the story of the return of a third and final wave of Jews - in 445 BC - from exile in

Babylon - to their homeland of Israel and – specifically - to their holy city – the city of

Jerusalem.

It's the story of Nehemiah – a Jewish cupbearer to a Persian king – who led a mission

to rebuild Jerusalem's walls – and to rebuild the faith of the people with the help of

Ezra the priest and scribe.

It's the story of a people who took up the mission – and then lost focus – a people –

who needed reminders.

Nehemiah heard about the ruin of Jerusalem. So he prayed - obtained permission,

power, a passport, and building supplies from King Artaxerxes to rebuild the city walls

and its gates.

Despite relentless mocking, threats, and plots from local enemies – the Israelites

reconstructed the city walls in an astonishing 52 days!

Credit to God.

Jerusalem made safe.

The temple – rebuilt by Ezra in a previous return of Jews to Jerusalem – protected.

With the walls intact – Nehemiah and Ezra gathered the people to read the Pentateuch

– the first 5 books of the bible – Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy.

Ezra read and read and read – the whole day!

The people knelt. They lifted their hands. They shouted, "Amen. Amen!"

"It's true. It's true. It's all true!"

They declared the day holy - celebrated with a feast – reviewed their history - repented

of their sins - and recommitted themselves to God.Then things went sideways. Nehemiah returned to Baylon for a time – and in his

absence – the people slipped back into their old sinful habits.

And so - when he returned - Nehemiah put the spiritual guardrails back in place –

regarding sabbath, tithing, and the protection of families – and he enforced them.

Israel returned home. Focused - and then forgetful. A pattern in their storied lives in

relationship with God. A very human story.

The Old Testament story ends here – followed by a period of more than 400 years of

silence between Israel and God – until the birth of Christ – when the story continues…

Where do we go from here?