CBC,
I am guessing we have some fans of J.R.R. Tolkien here at Cornerstone. Even if you are not, I am sure most of you know what I am talking about when I bring up the Lord of the Rings.
If you have ever read the books you know there is a lot of detail. There are hobbits and dwarves and orcs and all kinds of other stuff. Plus, it’s pretty long. Originally, it was released in three volumes and I think each of those volumes divides into two sections. Anyway, the point is, it’s a lot of pages and a lot of information.
Now imagine for a moment, you were forced to try to explain the Lord of the Rings, but you only had the very last book. Or even worse, you only had read the last chapter in the last book.
It would be pretty difficult.
That’s sort of how it is as we are reading the gospels -- the gospels are telling a story about Jesus. But, they are not the beginning of the story of Jesus. Instead, they are showing us how Jesus is completing a story that begins way back at the very beginning of the world.
Over the next few months, we are going to look at the gospel of Luke in order to see Jesus. But the reality is so much of what Luke says about Jesus is actually based on Old Testament ideas and concepts. If we don’t understand the Old Testament, we won’t really be able to see the full significance of what he’s saying about Jesus.
So before we begin our series on Jesus in Luke, we are going to do a deep dive into the Old Testament. Specifically, I want to give you four key concepts that will prepare you to understand and enjoy what Luke is telling us about Jesus.
This Sunday we are going to start by talking about what the Old Testament is and what the Old Testament is basically about.
Come ready! Come expectant! Come praying!
Joshua
Parents,
Many children grow up in the church and hear a lot about the Bible and yet don’t really understand what the Bible is actually all about.
Obviously, we don’t want that for our children!
There’s more to understanding the Bible than just knowing a lot of random facts from the Bible. It’s good to know the facts, but you also need to understand the significance.
The next couple weeks we are going to be talking a lot about the first three quarters of our Bibles, and I hope you are able to take this opportunity to talk to your children about what God’s doing in the Old Testament. Before you come to church, you might take some time to pray with them something like,
"Lord, thank you for giving us the Bible and the opportunity to hear you speak. Please help us listen and understand and be changed as a result."
And then on the way to church, you might tell them Pastor Josh is talking about the Bible, and ask them questions like:
As they sit in church, you might have them listen for the words, "Old Testament."
And if they are a little older, have them listen to the way I try to answer the question: “What is the Old Testament?”
Then when you come home from church, you might ask them questions like:
Some of those are a little deep for two- to four-year-olds obviously, so you will need to make them a little simpler. But I think above five or six, you should be able to get somewhere. If not, then you will have to do a little reviewing of the sermon in your own words for them. And if they didn’t listen so well this time, tell them you love them and ask them to be praying this week that next week they will be able to listen just a little longer.