When I was a kid, my parents bought a new couch for our family room and, shortly after, covered it with a fabric couch cover. The cover wasn’t plastic, like the ones we’ve all seen in Grandma’s living room, but the effect was the same. Why buy a nice, new couch, only to hide it under a cover? Moreover, Grandma, why call it a “living room” if it’s so sterile and off-limits no one would want to really live or spend time in there anyway?
One of the ways we talk about the Word of God in the Bible is to describe it as “alive” or “living” among us. Too much of the time though, our Bibles are covered with dust or serve as nothing more than decorations for the coffee table in that formal living room no one spends time in. Too much of the time, the lessons for life we’re meant to glean from the ancient, timeless tales of Scripture seem to be hidden, off-limits or irrelevant to our life and faith as we know it.
In an effort to embrace more fully what we’ve called “The Year of the Bible” at Cross of Grace, and as a way to bring the living, breathing, life-giving Word of God to bear upon that which matters most to us, I’d like to respond to your questions and quandaries about Holy Scripture through a series of sermons this summer.
For those of you who’v e missed it, “TXTing” means “texting,” and all the kids are doing it. What’s more, it’s a verb, meant to invite and encourage your participation in creating the questions we’ll answer – or at least wrestle with – along the way.
So, do you have a passage of Scripture that’s always given you pause? Is there a story you’ve never quite been able to wrap your heart around? If Jesus stopped you in the grocery store, knocked on your front door, or dropped by the office and gave you 20 minutes of his time, what would you want some clarification about?
Please e-mail your questions to Pastor Mark (pastormark@crossofgrace.org), fill out the cards we’ll have available on Sunday mornings, or, in the technological spirit of it all, post your questions on the wall of Cross of Grace’s Facebook page. Mostly, I hope you’ll join us for the journey – this summer and beyond.
Peace,
+Mark
