Pastor Barry Braun

Sunday, June 27, 2010

THE BIBLE IN 50 WORDS

God made
Adam bit
Noah arked
Abraham split
Joseph ruled
Jacob fooled
Bush talked
Moses balked
Pharaoh plagued
People walked
Sea divided
Tablets guided
Promise landed
Saul freaked
David peeked
Prophets warned
Jesus born
God walked
Love talked
Anger crucified
Hope died
Love rose
Spirit flamed
Word spread
God remained. 
–From Nancy Foley, via email.

I would add two more words to this inspiring list to close: “Church Began.” The author, Matthew, helps us learn about something that God had in his mind from the very beginning. It is the gathering of his redeemed people in what the Bible calls the church. The word used in the Gospel of Matthew is an anticipation of what would be the community of believers that would become God’s vehicle in the world as the message of Jesus Christ is proclaimed. The promise that Matthew gives is that not even the gates of Hades will be able to overcome it. (Matthew 16:18) The church is especially important to our Lord because the church is described as “the bride of Christ.” You can see how important that is. So for this summer I want to focus on the church and the importance of the church. The key to the church, according to Matthew, is community life. In Matthew 18:15-20 we will learn about something very important to community life . . . loving confrontation.

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