Read it like a love letter

How is the 61 Day Challenge going? Here is some food for thought, which may help you as you take up that challenge to read your Bible, today.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote to a friend, and described how he reads the Bible:

First of all I will confess quite simply I believe that the Bible alone is the answer to all our questions, and that we need only to ask repeatedly and a little humbly, in order to receive this answer. One cannot simply read the Bible, like other books. One must be prepared really to enquire of it. Only thus will reveal itself. Only if we expect from it the ultimate answer, shall we receive it. That is because in the Bible God speaks to us. And one cannot simply think about God in one's own strengths, one has to enquire of him. Only if we seek Him, will He answer us. Of course it is also possible to read the Bible like any other book, that is to say from the point of view of textual criticism, etc.; there is nothing to be said against that. Only that that is not the method which will reveal to us the heart of the Bible, but only the surface, just as we did not grasp the words of someone we love by taking them to bits, but by simply receiving them, so that for days they go on lingering in our minds, simply because they are the words of the person we love; and just as these words revealed more and more of the person who said that as we go on, like Mary, "pondering them in our heart," so it will be with the words of the Bible. Only if we will venture to enter into the words of the Bible, as though in them this God were speaking to us who loves us and does not will to leave us along with our questions, only so should we learn to rejoice in the Bible.

And I would like to tell you now quite personally: since I have learnt to read the Bible in this way - and this has not been for so very long - it becomes everyday more wonderful to me. I read it in the morning and evening, often during the day as well, and everyday I consider a text which I have chosen for the whole week, and try to sink deeply into it, so as really to hear what it is saying. I know that without this I could not live properly any longer. ("Bonhoeffer, Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy", pp. 136-137)

Survey is closing down - don't miss your chance!

It's waiting for you on the church website.

Just click here and scroll down to the survey.

The survey will be taken down after 1/15 so we can tabulate the results.  If you haven't participated yet - now's your chance!

Wrapping up - Final Three

We hope you will join us for prayer meeting this evening. We will be finishing up our overview of the 10 Commandments, and we will be praying a lot, too!

Join us at 6:30 in the auditorium. We will be done in time for Zumba at 7:15.

Time grows short!

It's waiting for you on the church website.

Just click here and scroll down to the survey.

We need your input!

It's waiting for you on the church website.

Just click here and scroll down to the survey.

You Are Invited!

For those who have served well as deacons obtain for themselves a good standing and great boldness in the faith which is in Christ Jesus. (1 Timothy 3:13)


Deacons and Deaconesses, both those whose terms ended in 2010 and those whose terms started with 2011, are invited to an appreciation open house at Johnson Acres.  Bring nothing but yourselves.  Let us say thank you for all you do for the Lord.


When - Saturday, 4-8PM
Where - The Pastor's home (call if you need directions)


2010 was a wonderful year serving our Savior together, and we are looking forward to what He is going to do in 2011.  Thanks for being part of it!

Thou Shalt Not...

We continue our view into the 10 Commandments in this evenings' Prayer Meeting.  Join us for a brief look at number 7 - "Thou shalt not commit adultery," followed by a period of praying one for another.


What - Midweek Prayer Meeting
When - 6:30-7:15 PM every Wednesday evening
Where - FBC Auditorium
Why - 


"Pray without ceasing." 1 Thessalonians 5:17


"And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint." (Luke 18:1)


"Watch ye therefore, and pray always..." (Luke 21:36)


"Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints" (Ephesians 6:18)


"Continue in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving;" (Colossians 4:2)


"But the end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer." (1 Peter 4:7)


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Haven of Rest Pics

Thanks, Nick, for sharing these vignettes into our ministry at the Haven of Rest - First Saturday of every month.

Click the link for the pics:  This past Saturday at the Haven

Did you fill out your survey yet?

It's waiting for you on the church website.

Just click here and scroll down to the survey.

The 61 Day Challenge

Every January, we talk about resolutions.  For Bible believing Christians, it is common to resolve that we are going to read through the Bible in the new year.  Toward that end, last year we gave out a plan for accomplishing that.

This year, in an attempt to encourage everybody to try and read their Bibles more, without being intimidated by the scope of reading every verse of it, we are offering the 61 day reading plan.

This plan will not take you through every book and every verse of the Bible.  Nor will it require you to read it every single day in order to keep current with the plan (although reading your Bible every single day is a habit all Christians should cultivate).

Rather, this plan will give you an overview of the Bible. In 61 days, you will cover all the major parts of the Bible - you will get it all, in survey form.  And if you miss a day or two, you are still on track, for you only need 61 days out of the year to complete it!

GIVE IT A TRY - TAKE THE 61 DAY CHALLENGE.

If you missed worship services Sunday, and did not receive your copy of the plan, HERE IT IS.