The Centrality of the Word of God

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The Centrality of the Word of God

• Presented by
• Rebekah Eklund
• Donn Engebretson
• Doreen Olson
• And
• Klyne Snodgrass

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The Centrality of the Word of God

• The Centrality of Scripture
• The First of the Covenant Affirmations for a
  Reason!

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The Centrality of the Word of God

• The Centrality of Scripture
• By this text we order our lives.
• Scripture is potentially an altar where we meet
  God.
• What Script are you following, and who wrote it?

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The Centrality of the Word of God

• The Centrality of Scripture
• It is hard to be biblical for a variety of
  reasons
• It is difficult
• To give the time and attention required
• To understand parts of the text
• To discern the way Scripture reuses previous
  Scripture
• To do justice to all the text
• To be willing to hear the text
• To be transformed by the text

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The Centrality of the Word of God

• The Centrality of Scripture
• But, being biblical is not rocket science!
• It requires a willing, attentive heart and a
  discerning community

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The Centrality of the Word of God

• Reading the Word Communally
• Even though being biblical is hard, reading the
  Bible as a community means were not on our own
• We read in the company of a great cloud of
  witnesses, past and present
• We read with the Holy Spirit in our midst

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The Centrality of the Word of God

• Reading the Word Communally
• The rich diversity of Scripture requires a
  diverse people to live it out together
• We read together to learn how to be better
  disciples
• We read together to learn how to be a more
  faithful and creative church

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The Centrality of the Word of God

• Reading the Word Communally
• Stretch your imagination Reading with others
  enables us to see and hear things in Scripture we
  cant see ourselves
• Check your opinionsReading with other people
  helps to keep us honest!

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The Centrality of the Word of God

• Reading the Word Communally
• Discuss the following questions in groups for the
  next 10 minutes
• How can we find ways to read Scripture with
  people whose stories are not our own?
• Given the diversity we have within the Covenant
  family, how could that diversity change or deepen
  how you read Scripture?

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The Centrality of the Word of God

• Reading the Word Holistically
• The Bible is the only perfect rule for faith,
  doctrine, and conduct.
• Is this a defensible statement?

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The Centrality of the Word of God

• Reading the Word Holistically
• Where is it written was not about prooftexting
• No single Scripture passage is by itself the
  Word of God
• We need the whole text to understand the texts.

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The Centrality of the Word of God

• Reading the Word Holistically
• If we do not read holistically, we will neither
  see the whole truth nor do justice to the
  tensions in Scripture.
• Scripture has a narrative movement and direction.
  Reading holistically allows you to see this.
• Reading holistically prevents unhealthy dualisms
  such as the division between evangelism and
  social action.

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The Centrality of the Word of God

• Reading the Word Holistically
• Discuss the following questions in groups for the
  next 10 minutes
• What important parts of Scripture receive
  insufficient attention?
• Where has failure to read holistically led to
  simplistic and one-sided answers?

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The Centrality of the Word of God

• Reading the Bible
• with a commitment to transformation

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The Centrality of the Word of God

• Reading the Bible with a Commitment to
  Transformation
• The Bible is a guide and means to discipleship,
  and if discipleship is not the result of our
  reading, we have failed.

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The Centrality of the Word of God

• Reading the Bible with a Commitment to
  Transformation
• FormedTransformed
• Morphthe inner being is radically altered
• Morphoothe inward and real formation of the
  essential nature of a person.

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The Centrality of the Word of God

• Reading the Bible with a Commitment to
  Transformation
• Transformation
• Its morphing time
• We shall morph indeed!!!

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The Centrality of the Word of God

• Reading the Bible with a Commitment to
  Transformation
• Good News!
• Its not entirely up to us!
• The Holy Spirit is in the business of
  transformation.
• Role of Spiritual Disciplines or Practices
• Bible study (individually or in groups)
• Praying Scripture
• Hearing the Word read and preached

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The Centrality of the Word of God

• Reading the Bible with a Commitment to
  Transformation
• The Spirit and Our Will
• Though it is sometimes a struggle, we can choose
  to hold the boat of our life steady into the wind
  of the Spirit.
• Soul Feast
• by Marjorie Thompson

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The Centrality of the Word of God

• Reading the Bible with a Commitment to
  Transformation
• Expect Change
• For the word of God is living and active. -
  Hebrews 412
• Do I really believe that the word has the power
  to change me from the inside out?
• I need to expect to be changed. To grow.

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The Centrality of the Word of God

• Reading the Bible with a Commitment to
  Transformation
• Practice Radical Obedience
• Change begins in our heads (knowing)
• Moves to our hearts (being) and our hands (doing)
• An internalized kingdom out of which we liveso
  that we look, think, and act like
  Jesusnaturally.

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The Centrality of the Word of God

• Reading the Bible with a Commitment to
  Transformation
• Participate in Gods story of love and rescue
• In the Bible, we find purpose and hope for our
  lives.
• Transformation, both individually and communally,
  is a primary goal of the church because the world
  needs the hope of Jesus.
• Its through transformed people that God
  transforms the world.

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The Centrality of the Word of God

• Reading the Bible with a Commitment to
  Transformation
• Transformationthe goal of the Christian life
• Its morphing time
• We shall morph indeed!!!

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The Centrality of the Word of God

• Reading the Bible with a Commitment to
  Transformation
• Discuss the following questions in groups for the
  next 10 minutes
• How is the Bible formative in your own life?
• In what ways is the Bible forming your
  congregation?
• What prevents the Bible from being transformative
  for you and for your church?

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The Centrality of the Word of God

• The goal is to be transformed into Christs
  likeness.