our Father, from His Son, Jesus Christ and His Holy Spirit. AMEN
A pastor while on one of her home visits swung the conversation around to
the Bible as the guidebook for Christian faith and living. The homemaker
wanting to impress the pastor, asked his little girl, "Honey would you go
up to the bedroom and get Daddy's favorite book; you know the one, the one
he is always reading the one he loves the most." Moment later, his
daughter came back down the stairs and handed the book to the pastor,
Automotive Digest.
We all love the Bible. I think we would all agree about that. I think we
would all agree that the Bible is God's living word divinely inspired,
containing all that is necessary for live and salvation. But are we merely
paying lip service to it? Do we love it but only at arm's length.
Statistics consistently show that the Bible is the biggest seller of all
books in print. It is in more homes around the world than any other book
in print. Indeed, it is even the one book of all in print that is most
often stolen from book stores and hotels. But, in spite of that, do we
take time to make it a part of our daily devotions. Or do we let more
mundane things like TV, movies, newspapers, magazines crowd it out of our
lives.
I know all the excuses for not reading the Bible because I've personally
used all of them: I'm too tired. I don't have the time to study the Bible.
I need to watch a little TV or go to movies to relax. I have to read the
newspaper and the magazines to know what's going on in the world, to stay
on top of the latest information for my work. I even have an excuse that
hardly any of you have ever used. Since I weekly have to study the lesson
for the day, I don't have time to actually read the Bible devotionally.
But our knowledge of the Bible is just too important to let these excuses
keep us from spending the time we need studying God's Word. I have known
in my heart for quite some time that I have been personally failing to
spend the time I need reading the Bible as part of my personal devotion.
And I have known for years that Biblical illiteracy is a terrible problem
in our churches. The churches of America face no greater challenge as we
approach the next century than overcoming biblical illiteracy. The
prospects for overcoming this problem, however, are formidable because the
stark fact is, many Americans don't know what they believe or why. Our
faith is often not rooted in Scripture but rather a pot pourri of pop
psychology and religious cliches. I remember one woman quoting to me what
she thought was scripture until we found out she was quoting from the
script of the Oberammagaue Passion Play. Many Americans can not name the
Ten Commandments or know the reason for celebrating Easter. According to a
Gallup Poll, half of those describing themselves as Christians do not know
who, according to the Bible, delivered the Sermon on the Mount.
Kenneth Kantzer writes about the challenge to the Christian Church: "No
church can be effective to bring clarity and commitment to a world when it
is as ignorant of its own basic principles as is our church today. And,
unless we engage the church in a might program of reeducation, it will be
unable to transmit a Christian heritage to its own children or the society
around it."
I preach from the Bible. At the Faith and Celebration Services, my sermon
is usually based on one of the lessons appointed for the day. The
discipline to reading large chucks of scripture each Sunday morning has
been part of the Lutheran church for centuries. My sermons at these
services are attempts to elucidate, to illuminate, to enlighten the meaning
behind these appointed lessons. At the Light Service, even though my
messages are designed more for practical living, still each one is based on
a scripture lesson for the day. I am also grateful that many of you are
studying scripture as part of your daily devotions, at the University of
Faith, or as part of a group in your homes. But I know that I need to do
more. And I suspect that many of you feel the same way. I suspect that
many of you too feel a need to spend the time reading, studying, reflecting
on the word of God for your own faith and life.
This morning I have a proposal and a challenge for all of us to better get
on toward our goal of knowing God's word. Before I detail my plan, let me
suggest to you a fundamental reason why we need to do it. I believe the
fundamental goal of the Christian is to know and to do God's will. Only
when we live our life in accordance with God's gracious will we know all
the joy, the blessedness, the peace that God intends for us.
There are two, however, big problems we face in knowing and doing the will
of God. Sometimes, we simply do not know what God's will is for us. And,
sometimes we do not do God's will even when we know it because we are
sinful. Taking the time to let God's word recorded in the pages of the
Bible speak to us is the first step in overcoming these two obstacles.
When you and I take the time to read or listen to God's Word recorded in
scripture, something wonderful can happen to us. God can speak to us
through the Bible. The mystical nature of God's Holy Spirit can works with
our human spirit to teach us what to do; to encourage us to do what we know
what we know is right, to forgive our sin, and to bless us in every way.
When we allow God's word into our hearts, our minds, our spirits then the
Word can reside within us. always leading, instructing. guiding. It is not
as important how many times you have been through the Bible as to whether
the Bible has been through you. If you and I don't take the time to know
what God' word says, how can we expect that God will speak to us through
his Word. This is the point where I would like to challenge you and myself
to a special program for Lent, a program called Faith Comes by Hearing.
My challenge is simply this. During Lent I would like to ask you to join
me in listening to the New Testament via audio tape for 30 minutes a day
during the 40 days of Lent. If you take the time to listen each day for
about 30 minutes you can get through the entire New Testament in about a
month. I am going to do this and I would like to invite you to join me.
I first heard of this program out of the blue last summer. I received a
phone call from a man named Jake Salmon. He told me about this program that
had been used by several Lutheran churches primarily in Minnesota,
Wisconsin and Texas. I liked the idea of spending time in the Bible but I
was suspicious. Did I have to take a bunch of tapes on consignment? Did I
have to pay for them up front? Surely this outfit called Hosanna
Ministries must make a killing selling Bible tapes to churches.
But when I learned there was no up front funds, no consignments, that we
could order any number of tapes for only $22 a sent in a variety of
translations, I thought this might be a very good and easy program for us
here at Faith. Other tapes like this most often cost anywhere from $40 to
$50 for the same thing elsewhere.
I would like to invite you to join me with listening for 30 minutes a day
through the New Testament as a Lenten discipline. I will be making this
invitation for another two weeks. Then on February 9, I will call in the
order so we can have them by the Sunday before Ash Wednesday. No money
will be collected until you receive the tapes.
In a minute, I am going to ask the ushers to distribute cards to fill out
to find out how many sets of NT tapes we need to order and how many of you
will join me in listening through the New Testament this Lent. I have
already decided when I am going to listen. I am in the car at least 30
minutes every day. That will be my best opportunity to listen. I also
listen to music while I am exercising.
You may have another suggestion: Perhaps as you are preparing dinner or
just before going to bed as a couple. You may listen while you take a
walk. Whatever it is, make it fit into your routine. I think it will be
very good you personally and it will be very good for our congregation as a
whole.
I want to ask the ushers now to pass out the sign up cards. After you get
a card, we'll take some time to look it over.
To supplement this program, during Lent, I want will also be inviting all
of you to meet with me every Wednesday evening for a soup supper and then
to study with me as you listen portions of the New Testament. The first
night, for example, we will look at the Mark and Matthew, followed on the
second week with the Gospel of Luke and the book of Acts followed by John,
the Letters of Paul and finally, Hebrews, James and 1 Peter. It will be a
chance for you to ask questions and discuss what you have been hearing. By
the time that you are done you will be able to answer questions that for
many American, are too difficult. Questions such as: What was the reason
the angel gave Joseph for naming the child Jesus? Who appeared to Jesus
when he was transfigured? Who attended Jesus during his forty days in the
desert being tempted by Satan? In what city were the disciples first
called Christians? What corrupts good character, according to Paul in 1
Corinthians?
Now that you all have a card, I'd like to go over it with you First, if
you accept my invitation, please sign the card with you phone number. You
may decide to read rather than listen to the New Testament. Next, if you
have a set of tapes already, praise the Lord. Place a check mark under
your name. If you do not have a set of tapes you have several to pick
from. The ones on the left are dramatized i.e. there is music and sound
effects included. I would recommend the Contemporary English Version but
the New International Version is just as acceptable as well. The
Non-dramatized versions include the New Revised Standard which is the
version we use on Sunday morning.. There is also a CD set if you wish.
Place a check by which ever version you want.
Finally, I don't want money to hinder anyone from participating in this
program. If you feel you can not afford a set and want to participate in
this program, then I want to ask you just to write HELP on the card and I
will make sure that you get a set.
You may want to do this as a couple, so you may want to talk with your
spouse first before making a decision. On the other hand, you may want the
King James and your spouse may want the New English Version so you may want
to get two sets. That's up to you.
The really important point here, of course, is not the mechanics of
ordering a set of tapes but the commitment to spend time with the Word of
God, reading, listen, whatever, taking the time to let the Word of God
speak to us through the pages of the scriptures. And if you take the time
to make this commitment during Lent, I think it will prove to be very
meaningful for you and for your Faith. Because Faith Comes by Hearing and
hearing by the Word of God.
Let us pray: Dear Gracious Lord, we give you thanks for your holy word
that tells of your mighty acts in and through Jesus Christ. We give you
thanks for the men and women you inspired to share your word made flesh in
Jesus Christ. We pray that your word might come into our hearts so that we
might know your will for and then give us the courage and guidance of your
Holy Spirit to do your will made known to us through these Holy Scriptures.
We ask that you bless the time we spend listening to and reading your
Holy Scriptures, that it might deepen our devotion to you, our Lord and
Savior through whose name we pray.
AMEN
