Overview of the Bible Part one (of three)

Matthew 4:4 Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.

Hebrews 4:12 For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires.

1 Peter 2:2 as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow

2 Timothy 3:16-17 All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work.

The Bible 66 books 3 main languages Written over 1500 years Around 40 writers 1 author - God

The Bible 4 Questions What’s in it? How did we get it? Why do we believe it? What’s it about?

1) What’s in it? 5 books of the law The first 5 books of the Bible Sets out the big themes of life A lot of instructions on how to live life

1) What’s in it? 12 books of history e.g. Joshua, Judges, Ruth …. Information about what happened Examples of how God related to people Look for examples of what we should and shouldn’t do

1) What’s in it? 17 books of prophecy e.g. Isaiah, Jeremiah, Revelation ….. God speaks directly through a person Sometimes talking about an existing situation Sometimes describing future events Often the hardest books to understand

1) What’s in it? 6 books of wisdom/poetry Meant to be sung, performed, remembered Look for the main point of each section Psalms - poetry Proverbs - wisdom Ecclesiastes - wisdom Song of Solomon – poetry

1) What’s in it? 6 books of wisdom/poetry Job – poetry and wisdom –Wisdom about suffering –Poetic style (rhythm of how each person takes turns to speak)

1) What’s in it? 6 books of wisdom/poetry Lamentations – poetry and wisdom –Wisdom about sin, consequences and repentance –22 letters in Hebrew alphabet –Each line of each chapter starts with the next letter of the alphabet –Chapter 3 has three verses on each letter.

1) What’s in it? 5 books of New Testament history 4 gospels and acts Tells us about Jesus and the start of the church Learn what God is like by learning what Jesus is like

1) What’s in it? 21 letters Telling churches and individuals about the Christian life Packed full of information Good to read in small sections

2) How did we get it? There were many documents around that might have been part of the Bible Early Christians knew what was true As they died it became less clear which documents to trust – gospels written down Church leaders got together to decide what should be in ‘the Bible’

2) How did we get it? How did they decide which books to include? Did Jesus quote them? Did apostles/early church leaders quote/use them? Were they written by people who knew Jesus? Do they contradict books we know are true?

2) How did we get it? The Bible is God’s main way of Revealing Himself Making His will known He made sure we got it right

3) Why do we believe it? A) Incredible consistency 40 writers (from a fisherman to a king) over 1500 years yet it works as one book There is no other literature like that

3) Why do we believe it? B) Preservation of the text Until 1947 the oldest texts were from 900AD In 1947 almost identical texts from 100 BC were found Over 24,000 texts found – vastly more than any other ancient literature

3) Why do we believe it? C) Scientific and historical accuracy “He hangs the earth on nothing” Job 26:7 Whole world sees events in Jerusalem Rev 11:9 (Satellite TV) Names, places and descriptions match with archaeology

3) Why do we believe it? D) Accuracy of prophecy Daniels 70 weeks (Dan 9:25-26) Destruction and restoration of Israel (Luke 21:24)

3) Why do we believe it? E) Personal Revelation It speaks to my soul like no other book

4) What’s it about? It reveals God It records how the invisible God reaches out in understandable ways to the world He created It is relevant to all people, of all cultures at any point in history

4) What’s it about? It reveals the desires and character of God through His relationship with mankind It teaches basic principles about life and God particularly by focusing on one section of humanity – the Jews Pastor John will unfold that story over the next two weeks

4) What’s it about?- Gen 1-11 Worship the creator not creation God interacts with us (imminent) Fall and redemption Good and evil – spiritually and in the hearts of people

4) What’s it about?- Gen 1-11 Importance of humans –Made in God’s image –The stars were made for us –God cares for us

4) What’s it about?- Gen 1-11 Covenants Frameworks of understanding that help us relate to God (like a contract) Explain God’s promises and expectations Strong bond of relationship/partnership

4) What’s it about?- Gen 1-11 Covenants –Begins in Garden of Eden –Covenant to save Noah (Gen 6:18) –Covenant to stop global flooding (Gen 9:9-11) A key purpose of the Bible is to understand the covenants of God

Summary What’s in it? –A library of instructions, history, prophecy and wisdom How did we get it? –God made sure the right words were preserved Why do we believe it? –Because there’s nothing else like it What’s it about? –It shows us God

Matthew 4:4 Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.

Hebrews 4:12 For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires.

1 Peter 2:2 as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow

2 Timothy 3:16-17 All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work.