I'M BACK!
Due to hip replacement surgery in March and an untimely, painful hip dislocation in May, I have been out-of-commission for a few months. I have had to focus my energy on priority ministry items. Consequently, the Growing Together blog had to be put on the back burner.
Lake Christian Church concludes the journey through the Old Testament on Sunday, June 26th. Hopefully, you have read all the OT books beginning with Genesis and ending with Malachi. It has been an exciting faith-adventure!
Before we open the pages of Matthew's gospel, we need to ask an important question:
"What about the four centuries without a prophet?"
The time period between the Old & New Testaments takes place between 430 BC and AD 25. This period without a prophet's message from God permitted the Old Testament to be preserved. Scribes copied the Law and the writings of the major/minor prophets. The office of scribe was valuable because, in addition to copying God's Word, they collected and protected what we now know as the Old Testament.
The writings were studied, applied, and shared (Ezra 7:10) with the people--even people living outside the Jewish community. In addition, synagogues were built throughout the known world to serve as educational centers where people gathered to learn the Word of God.
After Ezra's day, strict regulations were enacted concerning how scribes copied the Law and prophetic writings. Special inks were developed to write God's Word on animal skins. Not only that, scribes were expected to speak the words aloud as they copied them. Without the benefit of today's computers and copiers, God's Word was reproduced with uncanny accuracy!
We can grow together through the Bible because it is God's Word--authoritative and reliable!
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