John 5:5-17

"The man went away, and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well. For this reason the Jews were persecuting Jesus, because He was doing these things on the Sabbath. But He answered them, "My Father is working until now, and I Myself am working."

Some of the Jews were pretty pissed off that Jesus would heal someone on the Sabbath. Jesus uses this opportunity to once again align himself with the Father. Ever since humanity fell God has been working out his plan of redemption, reconciliation and restoration. Now Jesus too works this out in the lives of those he comes in contact with. As the Father is working to heal and restore the whole cosmos, Jesus begins with this sick man.

Quoteth I:

"The church's new life and new obedience are for the sake of the world. When the church's new life of the Spirit becomes evident to unbelievers, they too are convinced of the truth of this "good news" and so are drawn to Christ..."The Christians' lifestyle should not only be exemplary, but also winsome. It should attract outsiders and invite them to join the community... Their 'exemplary existence' is a powerful magnet that draws outsiders toward the church.""
p 194 "The Drama of Scripture" by C. G. Bartholomew and M. W. Goheen (a Reformy)

This book has once more vividly highlighted the continuity of the witness of God's people. Like Israel who was to draw the nations to give their allegiance to YHWH by their way of life (Isaiah 42:6, 49:6), the Church should be drawing people into their new life following the Way through their love of all humanity and creation.

The Bible can lead to eternal life because as Jesus once said:

"These are the Scriptures that testify about me.." John 5:39ish

Is the Bible the word of God or a witness to the Word that is God? I guess it can in some way be both.

Inspiration

'God breathed' : life giving, living words.
Like the clay of humanity so is the bible without God's breath, his wind, his spirit.

Some wise words found in the intro of an outreach NIV Bible. Copyright to them no doubt.

How to Read this Story

Can you read the Bible like other stories? Not exactly. The Bible is a collection of books, 66 in all, that were written over a long period of time. They tell the story of how God is working to set things right in our world. But these books were written in a different time than ours, and that means you will need to keep some important things in mind as you read.

The key to reading the Bible is to remember two questions: What did it mean then? and What does it mean now? The first step in reading the Bible is to discover what the original author was saying. Once this is clear, ask yourself what it means for you today.

Here are some keys to finding what a Bible story or passage originally meant:

• What kind of literature is being used: is it historical story? law? psalm (song)? letter? wisdom saying? Answering this question correctly will help you interpret the passage correctly.
• Where are you reading in the story? Where did these people live? What is happening around them? What is God telling them now? What happened before? What are they expecting to happen next? As in all stories, some things change and some things stay the same as the story progresses.
• How does this passage fit into the message of other passages around it? It is critical to read the Bible in context. As with any story, if you pull isolated saying out of context, you may change the meaning entirely.

As you move into thinking about what a Bible passage means for you today, keep these in mind:

• Use common sense. God is not trying to trick us or hide secret meanings in the Bible. Some parts of the Bible are difficult, yet in most places the meaning can be discerned clearly. Look for the plain meaning of the text, then focus on what your response should be.
• Keep in mind the cultural differences between the Bible times and ours today. When God is teaching an important principle for living, the way that principle gets lived out may look very different in our day from what it looked like in the ancient world.
• Remember where you are in the story. We are living after the death and resurrection of the Messiah Jesus, which is the climax of the Bible's whole story. The main event has happened. God has shown us what he is like by sending Jesus to us. Everything you read should be shaped by that fact

The Bible is not primarily about you. It is the ancient story of God, the world and the people he called. Yet, this story has a place for you. In fact, the reason this story was saved and written down is so that people like you could read it and find the true meaning for their lives. Our prayer is that you will read it and discover within it the life that is truly life (1 Timothy 6:19).

C & E – not you usual breakfast treat

Investigations into beginnings:

I think I have come to these points.

Interpretations that fit a long period of time into Genesis are a reading of science back into Scripture, which in itself may or may not make be appropriate.

Any reading of evolution into theology makes a real mess which can be hard and perhaps even impossible to reconcile.

There are a few scenarios:
- science allows for the possibility of instantaneous 6-day creation and we take the literal reading
- science points to evolution but we decide to go with the literal reading and leave it as a mystery of God
- science points to evolution and we decide to attempt to reconcile the two

Someone recently pointed out that 6 dayer’s are a lot less concerned (at least vocally) about the care of creation than their theistic brothers. Theology of creation care is highly dependent on eschatological leanings. 6 dayer’s perhaps imagine God jumping in to speak the new heavens and earth into existence and theistics imagine God working more through natural means (us).

My ponderings have led to the Bible, the Holy Writ. In my tradition we believe that the Bible is inerrant and infallible.

What does it mean to say that the Bible is inerrant when:
a) the ancient manuscripts differ by varying degrees,
b) translations widely differ,
c) there appears to be contradictions in our translations.

Is there any point to say that God arranged for there to be one perfect, infallible copy of the complete Scriptures but allowed us to lose it.

Paul wrote more letters than we still have to day. Were these any less inspired by God? Did Paul just get it right for a handful which were preserved for us and the rest discarded?

Can the Bible still be "God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness" despite all these issues? I believe so.