PASTOR'S MESSAGE - August Newsletter
When your council interviewed me prior to asking me to serve you, I was asked about my understanding of scripture. My response was that I have a very high regard for scripture, believing that it is the Word of God and has great power. This statement comes from my personal experience with scripture and I want to share that with you.
I was not raised in a church going family. While I had some exposure to Christianity as a child, it was very occasional and very limited. As a young adult, I was invited to attend church with my then future mother-in-law (from my first marriage) and I decided to try to learn what Christians believed. I also decided to read the bible as part of this exploration. So, starting with a child’s Bible story book, and then advancing to a “Living Bible” version, I read from the first part of Genesis through all of the books of the Bible to the end of Revelation. And through this reading, I first experienced the power of these texts and was converted to Christianity.
Through the years that followed I enjoyed Bible study like some of you have. Gathering with others, learning bits about the various texts, applying some of what I learned to my own life.
Then came seminary and a whole new awakening to the power of biblical stories. This happened as I learned the stories behind the biblical stories. I learned something about the people of ancient Israel and their history that influenced the writing and collecting of the texts we know of as the “Old Testament.” I learned how these texts were heard and used by the first Christians and how they became part of the story of Jesus we read in the four Gospels. I was taught about the time period in which Jesus lived and worked with his disciples and the centuries following this as the Christian church developed and spread through the world. And the Bible became even more powerful for me in speaking to me about the ways of God and the ways of the world, what it means to be human and what it means to live by faith.
I am not done with my learning. Most Tuesdays, I spend with a small group of pastors, talking about the texts that will be used on the coming Sunday and upon which I will preach. In this gathering, I often receive new insight into the texts and I continue to be shaped and formed by them. Although I have not led a Bible study at Faith, in the years since becoming a pastor, I’ve led Bible studies with church members and through both my preparation and through class discussion, I have also experienced deeper insight into the texts and have often been further inspired by the insights of class participants.
It is these experiences with scripture that inform and guide my preaching. Recently, I was talking with a colleague about our different styles of preaching and I confessed that I tend to stay pretty close to whatever text I am using. It is my confidence in the power of the texts that leads me to this style of preaching. It is my hope that you can begin to experience this same power when you hear or read the Bible. It is after all, the living Word of God.
Blessings to you all,
Pastor Peggy
When your council interviewed me prior to asking me to serve you, I was asked about my understanding of scripture. My response was that I have a very high regard for scripture, believing that it is the Word of God and has great power. This statement comes from my personal experience with scripture and I want to share that with you.
I was not raised in a church going family. While I had some exposure to Christianity as a child, it was very occasional and very limited. As a young adult, I was invited to attend church with my then future mother-in-law (from my first marriage) and I decided to try to learn what Christians believed. I also decided to read the bible as part of this exploration. So, starting with a child’s Bible story book, and then advancing to a “Living Bible” version, I read from the first part of Genesis through all of the books of the Bible to the end of Revelation. And through this reading, I first experienced the power of these texts and was converted to Christianity.
Through the years that followed I enjoyed Bible study like some of you have. Gathering with others, learning bits about the various texts, applying some of what I learned to my own life.
Then came seminary and a whole new awakening to the power of biblical stories. This happened as I learned the stories behind the biblical stories. I learned something about the people of ancient Israel and their history that influenced the writing and collecting of the texts we know of as the “Old Testament.” I learned how these texts were heard and used by the first Christians and how they became part of the story of Jesus we read in the four Gospels. I was taught about the time period in which Jesus lived and worked with his disciples and the centuries following this as the Christian church developed and spread through the world. And the Bible became even more powerful for me in speaking to me about the ways of God and the ways of the world, what it means to be human and what it means to live by faith.
I am not done with my learning. Most Tuesdays, I spend with a small group of pastors, talking about the texts that will be used on the coming Sunday and upon which I will preach. In this gathering, I often receive new insight into the texts and I continue to be shaped and formed by them. Although I have not led a Bible study at Faith, in the years since becoming a pastor, I’ve led Bible studies with church members and through both my preparation and through class discussion, I have also experienced deeper insight into the texts and have often been further inspired by the insights of class participants.
It is these experiences with scripture that inform and guide my preaching. Recently, I was talking with a colleague about our different styles of preaching and I confessed that I tend to stay pretty close to whatever text I am using. It is my confidence in the power of the texts that leads me to this style of preaching. It is my hope that you can begin to experience this same power when you hear or read the Bible. It is after all, the living Word of God.
Blessings to you all,
Pastor Peggy