Taking the Bible Seriously

What Christians today call "The Bible" came to us through many centuries, many translations, and more complicated processes than many Christians know.

Faithful understanding of The Bible requires not only reading what it says, but also learning about where it came from and how it came to be in its present form.

A good place to start online are resources from the American Bible Society. The non-denominational ABS has been around since 1816, providing and promoting faithful translation and understanding of the scriptures.

For more in-depth information and study resources, take a look at the Bible Resource Center.

The Lectionary

Like many Christian churches, our congregation generally follows the church year and the Revised Common Lectionary in worship. The Lectionary is a 3-year cycle of readings that takes us through the bulk of the scriptures in an organized fashion.

We choose to follow the Lectionary (for the most part) for these reasons:

• It gives greater assurance that we are beginning with the Bible in mind, rather than a pet topic or issue.

• Each week we are addressing the same scripture readings as millions of other Christians in thousands of other churches. We hope this encourages those who worship with us to continue studying and discussing the scriptures throughout the week.