It's a great read.
If you're looking for a good book, I have one to recommend. I've been working
my way through it for years. I rarely reread a book, but I have favorite passages
in this one that call me back again and again. I hit the high points of the
book every three years, and always discover something new, something I missed
the last time around. The characters are genuine and believable, their stories
are winsome and encouraging and sometimes heartbreaking. Now and then the plot
can be a little hard to follow, so I like to read it with a few friends. Its
a hard book to describe: part biography, part mystery, part war story, at once
comedic and tragic, filled with songs and poems, love letters and sermons. Most
of all it is good news - and as you read it, you can't help falling in love
with the author.
That "great read" is my Bible.
I was thirty-five when I bought my first Bible, and only bought it then because
it was on the reading list for seminary. My family did own a huge, gold covered
copy with a portrait of Jesus on the cover, but it seemed too holy to touch,
much less open. The church where Sandy and I became Lutherans offered wonderful
Bible studies, but I passed up every one. I have built the last 20 years of
my life on that book, and I will always wish I had begun to build on it sooner.
Many of us find the Bible a difficult, intimidating read - so many, that the
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America has begun the Book of Faith Initiative.
Its goal is to help us become more fluent in the first language of faith, the
language of Scripture, so that we might live into our calling as a people renewed,
enlivened, empowered and sent by the Word. You'll find numerous resources on
the initiative at www.elca.org/bookoffaith, in addition to helps on our own
website, at www.goodshepherdhollandmi.com/deeperFaith.htm. I'll be teaching
several classes this year on the Bible itself, in addition to the Bible studies
others will offer.
If any book can change your life, it's this one. It really is a great read.
And we're here to help you get started.
Pastor Jim
You are our letter, written in our hearts, known and read by all people. 2 Corinthians 3:3
From the Shepherd's Song Newsletter -- September 2008
Copyright 2008 by Good Shepherd Lutheran Church
Close this window to return to the list of Pastor's Thoughts.
E-mail your comments and questions to Pastor Jim in care of Good Shepherd Lutheran Church at gslc@sirus.com.