A minister flying to the West Coast struck up a conversation with the passenger next to him. “What’s your occupation?” he asked. His seatmate replied, “I’m a professor of astronomy. And what about you?” “I’m a pastor,” the minister answered.The astronomer shifted a bit in his seat and then confessed, “I used to attend church when I was young, but my wife and I don’t go very often now. But the way I look at it, the Bible is pretty simple. It all boils down to ‘Get along with your neighbors and stay out of trouble.’”
"That’s interesting,” the pastor noted. “I feel the same way about what you do. For me, astronomy all boils down to ‘Twinkle, twinkle, little star, how I wonder what you are.’”
Even though children can understand the Bible’s basic truths, it is no simple book. Anyone who bothers to study it finds it to be as limitless as the cosmos. We can go back to the same text countless times and still find more there. No one has ever mastered the Scriptures.
Challenge your class members, preschool through adult, to continue to grow in their understanding of the Scriptures. One good way of doing that is through reading a portion of the Bible daily. LifeWalk is a good tool to use in reading through the Bible in one year. It provides a plan and also provides interesting background material to help you understand the context of what you are reading.
A good opportunity to get your church involved in a daily reading program begins in October when LifeWalk begins its trek through the New Testament. Order an adequate number of copies of LifeWalk ( http://www.lifeway.com/e1/shop/?id=005107653.2009-10) and challenge your members to read through the New Testament by the end of the year.
They (and your church) will be richer for it.
"Things You May Be Interested In ..."
LifeWay is on Facebook - From Scriptures that will encourage you to the latest product release, this page lets you know about all things LifeWay. Plus, we often ask questions to get a better understanding of who you are and how we can help. Come see us soon! www.facebook.com/lifeway
Mentoring the Next Generation - a great resource to develop a mentoring program: http://www.lifeway.com/e1/shop/?id=005153102
Worship War: relevance vs reverence - In case you missed it, an excellent debate between Ed Stetzer and Mike Harland on worship occurred on September 1. See it on: http://lifeway.com/RvR
Fresh Encounter - Have a Fresh Encounter Weekend that can lead to a spiritual awakening within your church: http://www.lifeway.com/e1/shop/?id=005226601&CID=Adlt-Ministry-Solutions-emailCRD20090818-FreshEncounter-Text
What the Unchurched Don't Like About Christians (Thom Rainer) http://www.churchcentral.com/blog/What-the-unchurched-don't-like-about-Christians
Heart Connex - an family devotional via e-mail: http://www.lifeway.com/lwc/article_main_page/0%2C1703%2CA%25253D161567%252526M%25253D200810%2C00.html
