Monthly Message (August 2009) - Vision4Life

Dear Friends,

Whatever happened to ?

We signed up to be a Vision4Life church .... agreeing to join the United Reformed Churches across the country in making this a year of delving deeper into the Bible, reconnecting with our scripture and source book of our faith, growing more confident in the stories the people of God have told over generations as they have handed on the Bible, and the faith, to us.

To state the very obvious ... the Bible is a very old book. Those who wrote it would find our modern world quite alien and many of our dilemmas incomprehensible .... just as we recognise that we have to look carefully, with history informing an enquiring mind, to be able to read their reflections upon God, life and purpose, in its pages.

Could the poet who, contemplating the glorious night sky, wrote:

“what are human beings that you (God) are mindful of them,
mortals that you care for them?
You have made them a little lower than God,
And crowned them with glory and honour.” Psalm 8

..... ever imagined that human ingenuity and engineering would one day mean that a man would walk on the moon?

And, now that men have walked on the moon and plan expeditions even further, can we share the sense of wonder and awe with which the psalmist speaks of God and reflects upon humanity? – how do we describe the sense of God for our generation?

The “Vision4Life” idea is that each congregation, and each person, ask themselves how the Bible works to nourish faith and encourage spiritual growth. Beginning last Advent and running until the beginning of this Advent, the Bible year challenges us to delve again into the ancient wisdom of the Bible and unpack its treasures for life and living today ... and for all of us to become more confident in doing that.

So far this year we’ve used some of the Vision4Life Bible menu for discussion at some of our church meetings and occasionally in services. We had a good Lent course looking at the Holy Week and Easter stories in Mark’s gospel. And there are two new House-groups where the Bible, faith and life can be explored in conversation with friends. And what next ...... ?

At a recent Elders meeting we talked about how we usually stick with the New Testament – feeling more akin to and comfortable with the stories of Jesus and the understanding of God we find there. And as we talked we decided that the rest of the Bible year might be well spent by taking an adventure into the Old Testament .... delving into some of the stories we find there, the poetry and wisdom, the journeys and insights of the people of faith from whom Jesus inherited his human culture and identity. Christians have kept these Jewish texts and called them sacred .... but how often do we neglect their insights and treasures?

So in the autumn, in Sunday services, we’ll be taking a look at some of the books we call the Old Testament .... asking some awkward questions of them! Listening for their questions to us .... and, hopefully finding amongst the ancient searchers, storytellers and poets, faith and vision to nourish our life.

Yours,

Tracey.