Essential Jesus Is Coming Soon!
On the last Sunday of June, we finished the Essential 100 Bible Reading Challenge. Over the course of five months, about two thirds of our worshipping congregationāand a handful of folks from outside the churchāread 100 passages of scripture, five per week, from Genesis to Revelation. Thereās a whole lot of scripture that we didnāt cover, but we definitely got a solid ābig pictureā view of what the Bible is all about.
And we didnāt just read the Bible. There were six small groups, five meeting in homes and at church, and one āonlineā group, in which people shared weekly fellowship with one another around what they were reading and what they were hearing God say to them in the scriptures. Then at the conclusion of each week, our worship services focused in on a theme or concept that had been highlighted in the readings.
Iām so grateful for the blessings God has bestowed on us through this simple process. My faith, my confidence in Jesus Christ, has been deepened and strengthened by sharing this journey with you, and I believe thatās true for many of you, too. I know it is, because many of you have told me so.
I think itās fair to say that Hope United Methodist Church has ātasted and seenā that the Bible is precisely what Whitney Kuniholm told us that it was in the introduction to The Essential 100: āThe 39 books of the Old Testament and the 27 books of the New Testament were written by many authors over a fifteen-hundred-year time span. Yet each author was uniquely inspired by God. As the apostle Paul said, āAll scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is trueā (2 Timothy 3:16 NLT). The apostle Peter said, āFor prophecy (the Bible) never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spiritā (2 Peter 1:21). And Jesus emphasized this truth when he quoted from Deuteronomy, āIt is written, āMan shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of Godāā (Matthew 4:4 RSV).What distinguishes the Bible from any other book is its divine origin. Thatās why people refer to it as Godās Word; it records what heās said, what heās done, and what he wants from us.ā[1]
So as we wrap up the Essential 100 Bible Reading Challenge, I want to ask you: What does God want from Hope United Methodist Church?
I donāt pretend to know the answer to that question in any detail, but I do know this: God has done something significant among us, and it feels to me like Heās just getting started. As weāve deepened our fellowship with God in reading the Word and our fellowship with one another in small groups, God is changing us.
Both Jesus and Peter speak of the Word of God as a seedāan āimperishableā seed, according to Peterāthat, when sown in good soilāsoil thatās been prepared by the grace of Godābrings forth a harvest. The Word of God is a seed that produces new lifeāJesusā life, Kingdom life, eternal life, heavenly lifeāHERE, ON EARTHāin the lives of those who, upon hearing Godās Word, āhold it fast in an honest and good heart, and bear fruit with patienceā (Luke 8:15). Weāre seeing signs of new life in almost every aspect of Hopeās life. Itās beautiful. One long-time member told me recently, āIām excited to come to church on Sunday!ā Me, too!
Thatās why Iām happy to tell you that weāre going to continue to fellowship with God and one another through the Word of God this fall. Starting in the end of September, weāll be starting Whitney Kuniholmās Essential Jesus. It has a similar format to E100ā25 passages from the Old Testament, and 75 passages from the New Testament with daily prayers, reflections and opportunities for applicationābut all of the passages focus on Jesus: who He is, why Heās significant, how He transforms our lives. Weāll be organizing new Essential Jesus Bible Discussion Groups, ordering books, and gearing up for theme-focused, team-led worship this month.
Also coming this month: A special OUTDOOR MORNING WORHSHIP SERVICE and picnic on August 11. (Parents, bring sunscreen and bathing suitsā¦water balloons and slip and slide alert!) And MUSIC CAMP for kids with Mary Wagner and Kristen Modesitt-Dukes! Donāt miss it!
[1] Whitney Kunihom, The Essential 100 (Valley Forge: Scripture Union Press, 2003), p. 8