FROM THE PASTOR
Christians believe the Bible is God’s Word
Is it clear? CLARITY and PURPOSE are two main things most sporting fans are asking from their club; coaches, players, administration, etc. – particularly when their team should be playing in the finals, but aren’t. E.g., your team is in the top four on the premiership ladder for most of the season, and you finish the season in 10th place (my team). Or, when your team played in last year’s Grand Final and with the exact same team this year, they slump to 12th place. So fans (and clubs) are asking the basic question, is it clear? What are we on about? What is our purpose? So to our ongoing theme.
One difficulty is the INTERPRETATION and APPLICATION of scripture – I say one difficulty because they are both sides of the same coin. I’ve mentioned a couple of things on application in July’s newsletter, and I hope it’s been useful for your personal growth in faith and devotional life as you read and meditate and apply God’s word in your life. The word of God is dynamic, it’s not only to be read and studied, but proclaimed as Good News to all creation, and this happens through preaching of God’s word, through confession and absolution, when Christians meet for fellowship, mutual conversation and consolation, and also through witness to the gospel to those who have not yet come to faith. God’s word is powerful and dynamic, it’s a living, active and performative word, when God spoke his word in creation, “Let there be...” and what happened? BANG! There was light! The thing I remember most on vicarage was, and still is: application, application and application. Applying God’s word in preaching, teaching, care-giving, disciplining others, etc, etc., summed up in Luther’s own words: What does this mean for us?! I’ll say more about this in the next point on interpretation. Again, please refresh your memory on applying God’s word, from the last part of July’s newsletter.
A little about interpretation. How do we understand scripture and apply it to our lives today? And interpret and apply in our current context / society? This is not merely an academic exercise, as in one sermon I preached not all that long ago, you’re doing God’s word (theology) when you pray, worship, serve others, teach your children the faith. And God’s word (theology) is being done, when there’s good government, good medicine, good science, good education, good healthcare and welfare, good work, good music and arts – we can be sure that God’s word is being done. It’s an all day, every day, spiritual exercise. Any reading, or studying of the Bible should be done with prayer, as we need the help of the Holy Spirit, to open our hearts and minds to the truth. Interpretation and application of the Bible is not an easy exercise. For one thing: we know the Bible is made up of stories, parables, pictures, poetry, symbolism – it contains visions, proclamations and announcements, to name a few – some things can be taken literally while other things are not so literal. Some verses relate to us clearly and directly, while other verses don’t have the same importance – but serve another purpose – like Old Testament diet laws and things to that effect. Interpretation also considers and tries to understand things like history, society, what kind of culture was like at the time of writing, etc.
So, from all that, there’s a number of different processes and techniques used to help determine what’s in the text. And from that we can begin to get an idea as to what it means for our current context. The overall gospel message does not change, however, because God’s word is living, it means it’s contemporary and speaks to people today as it has been spoken for all people down through the ages. While its message remains the same, the word needs to be re-interpreted and re-applied to a variety of conditions and cultures; just think of how cars have changed in the past 100 years – they still do the same thing, have four wheels, a motor and gearbox, get you from A to B, yet they’re still a car. The same as the gospel.
The message is clear – get the ball, kick more goals and see you in the finals next year!
Scripture is clear – it is clear in its message of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ.
Scripture is centred on Christ – God’s purpose in giving us the Bible is to point us to Jesus Christ – if scripture isn’t seen (interpreted) in light of the gospel of Christ, it can then become misunderstood as a book of teachings and wise sayings which end up unrelated to Christ and justification by grace through faith.
Scripture is sufficient – the Bible doesn’t tell us all we need to know about God and creation and all kinds of other things, but it does tell us all we need to know for our salvation.
Scripture is powerful – it is powerful because the Holy Spirit brings people to faith and strengthens them in faith and Christian life.
We Pray For:
† The upcoming LCA National Synod in October.
† Farmers and their families dealing with depression that comes with drought.
† Relief for the ongoing drought, where rain, feed, and cash flow is much needed.
† Pastors and all church workers who are deaf, blind, or handicapped.
† All Christians, knowing that God wants all people to be saved and have
knowledge of the truth, that they may not show favouritism.
† All the services of the government, that they not be biased to the wealthy and deny the poor, and the judicial system, that it may provide the poor with adequate counsel when needed.
† Single parents and their children.
Is it clear? CLARITY and PURPOSE are two main things most sporting fans are asking from their club; coaches, players, administration, etc. – particularly when their team should be playing in the finals, but aren’t. E.g., your team is in the top four on the premiership ladder for most of the season, and you finish the season in 10th place (my team). Or, when your team played in last year’s Grand Final and with the exact same team this year, they slump to 12th place. So fans (and clubs) are asking the basic question, is it clear? What are we on about? What is our purpose? So to our ongoing theme.
One difficulty is the INTERPRETATION and APPLICATION of scripture – I say one difficulty because they are both sides of the same coin. I’ve mentioned a couple of things on application in July’s newsletter, and I hope it’s been useful for your personal growth in faith and devotional life as you read and meditate and apply God’s word in your life. The word of God is dynamic, it’s not only to be read and studied, but proclaimed as Good News to all creation, and this happens through preaching of God’s word, through confession and absolution, when Christians meet for fellowship, mutual conversation and consolation, and also through witness to the gospel to those who have not yet come to faith. God’s word is powerful and dynamic, it’s a living, active and performative word, when God spoke his word in creation, “Let there be...” and what happened? BANG! There was light! The thing I remember most on vicarage was, and still is: application, application and application. Applying God’s word in preaching, teaching, care-giving, disciplining others, etc, etc., summed up in Luther’s own words: What does this mean for us?! I’ll say more about this in the next point on interpretation. Again, please refresh your memory on applying God’s word, from the last part of July’s newsletter.
A little about interpretation. How do we understand scripture and apply it to our lives today? And interpret and apply in our current context / society? This is not merely an academic exercise, as in one sermon I preached not all that long ago, you’re doing God’s word (theology) when you pray, worship, serve others, teach your children the faith. And God’s word (theology) is being done, when there’s good government, good medicine, good science, good education, good healthcare and welfare, good work, good music and arts – we can be sure that God’s word is being done. It’s an all day, every day, spiritual exercise. Any reading, or studying of the Bible should be done with prayer, as we need the help of the Holy Spirit, to open our hearts and minds to the truth. Interpretation and application of the Bible is not an easy exercise. For one thing: we know the Bible is made up of stories, parables, pictures, poetry, symbolism – it contains visions, proclamations and announcements, to name a few – some things can be taken literally while other things are not so literal. Some verses relate to us clearly and directly, while other verses don’t have the same importance – but serve another purpose – like Old Testament diet laws and things to that effect. Interpretation also considers and tries to understand things like history, society, what kind of culture was like at the time of writing, etc.
So, from all that, there’s a number of different processes and techniques used to help determine what’s in the text. And from that we can begin to get an idea as to what it means for our current context. The overall gospel message does not change, however, because God’s word is living, it means it’s contemporary and speaks to people today as it has been spoken for all people down through the ages. While its message remains the same, the word needs to be re-interpreted and re-applied to a variety of conditions and cultures; just think of how cars have changed in the past 100 years – they still do the same thing, have four wheels, a motor and gearbox, get you from A to B, yet they’re still a car. The same as the gospel.
The message is clear – get the ball, kick more goals and see you in the finals next year!
Scripture is clear – it is clear in its message of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ.
Scripture is centred on Christ – God’s purpose in giving us the Bible is to point us to Jesus Christ – if scripture isn’t seen (interpreted) in light of the gospel of Christ, it can then become misunderstood as a book of teachings and wise sayings which end up unrelated to Christ and justification by grace through faith.
Scripture is sufficient – the Bible doesn’t tell us all we need to know about God and creation and all kinds of other things, but it does tell us all we need to know for our salvation.
Scripture is powerful – it is powerful because the Holy Spirit brings people to faith and strengthens them in faith and Christian life.
We Pray For:
† The upcoming LCA National Synod in October.
† Farmers and their families dealing with depression that comes with drought.
† Relief for the ongoing drought, where rain, feed, and cash flow is much needed.
† Pastors and all church workers who are deaf, blind, or handicapped.
† All Christians, knowing that God wants all people to be saved and have
knowledge of the truth, that they may not show favouritism.
† All the services of the government, that they not be biased to the wealthy and deny the poor, and the judicial system, that it may provide the poor with adequate counsel when needed.
† Single parents and their children.