August – 2010 – Providence United Methodist Church

According to a 2002 Gallup poll, 93% of Americans own at least one Bible. It is the all-time best selling book. For Christians, it is the most important book that we own, yet we don’t know very much about it. Surveys show that 12% of us think that Noah’s wife was Joan of Ark, half of us don’t know that the book of Isaiah is in the Old Testament, 10% believe that Moses was one of the 12 disciples.

We could talk forever about who’s to blame for biblical illiteracy but the larger question is: what are we going to do about it? One of the most life-changing movements in the United Methodist Church over the last 25 years has been Disciple Bible Study. Many of you have taken Disciple classes at Providence over the years. Both you and the church are to be commended. Our church continues to be committed to offering long-term studies like Disciple, seven adult plus youth and children’s Sunday School classes, short-term Bible studies on Wednesday nights, Bible Basics classes, etc. When classes are offered, the question is always: who will come? I hope more and more of you will take advantage of these opportunities to learn about the Bible.

During July, I am going to be preaching not just from the Bible, but about the Bible. The worship planning team has created exciting and inspiring worship around this theme. Except for your important vacation times, I hope you will commit to coming to church each Sunday in July to hear more about the Bible. May those “wonderful words of life” be a source of life and salvation for us.

Peace,
Mary Beth