Note from the Pastor about the Upcoming Sermon

Many people think the Bible needs to be updated because it is outdated. They feel a disconnection between the challenges of 2010 and solutions the Bible has presented for thousands of years. Are they correct?   Too many people look for simple, 1 – 2 – 3 – 4 step explanations to instantly fix problems in their lives and when they don’t see those formulas when they pick up the Bible, they fail to see its relevance which them causes so many to ignore or change it. So...is the Bible complete and does it have answers for the challenges of 2010?  I say yes, and I’ll show you how to find solutions in the Bible for the challenges we face in the 21st century!

Answered Questions from 2-21-2010

Here are the answers to questions asked this previous Sunday (February 21st, 2010).  If you have any followup questions, please comment with the Question # and it will be forwarded to the person who answered the question.

#1 What is meant when the statement “four corners of the earth” is given in the Bible? (Isa 11:12; Rev 7:1; 20:8)

The statement “four corners of the earth” refers to the four directions.  It does not give any implication that the world is flat.  In these three passages it is referring to covering all four directions.  In each case it is speaking of gathering from all over the earth – in every direction.

#2 Can you tell us how Creationists refute evolutionist view of the fossil record and dating methods of evolutionists with the Genesis account of 6 days to create everything? Also can you recommend resources, video's, audio &/or books for further study on this subject.

Often the fossil record has been something that Creationists fear.  However that does not need to be the case.  I do not believe that we have a problem with the fossil record as Creationists.  Here are a few of the  reasons for that belief.

1.  Dating methods (such as carbon 14 dating) have been shown to be problematic and should not be seen as conclusive means of dating.

2.  One of the foundational assumptions of dating methods is uniformitarianism.  This assumes that things progress uniformly.  Catastrophes upset this assumption.  An example of this would be Mt. St. Helens in 1980.  If someone would examine the fossil records without being aware of the volcano would think that the sediment and fossils found would have occurred over a period of possibly hundreds of thousands of years when it actually took only a matter of minutes.  The catastrophe of the flood greatly affected the appearance of the fossil record.

3.  As new discoveries are being made, there are results which point to the accuracy of Genesis.  Examples such as the footprints of dinosaurs and humans found together in a river in Texas are agreeing with Genesis and disagreeing with evolution. 

4.  When God created, it can be accepted that He created everything with an appearance of age.  His creation was a “full grown” universe.

5.  One of the things that has not been found in the new discoveries has been any missing link.  Darwin, and those who followed him, expected that there would be evidence unearthed that would prove the theories they proposed.  In all of the searching for the “missing link”, none have been found.

There are many tremendous resources dealing with the creation / evolution debate.  Here are a few.

Websites:

www.icr.org

www.answersingenesis.org

Books

Josh McDowell Answers Five Tough Questions; Josh McDowell

The Genesis Flood; John C. Whitcomb, Jr. & Henry M. Morris

The Beginning of the World; Henry M. Morris

Evolution:  A Theory in Crisis; Michael Denton

Genesis and the Decay of the Nations; Ken Ham

The two websites listed have a large number of DVD resources along with many other books.

#3 Many people use the harsh or strange commands given in the Old Testament to question the truth of the Bible and the character of God.  How do we respond to the Jewish law which had Israel fulfill harsh punishments such as stoning those caught in adultery or strange commands like some of their eating requirements?

There is often difficulty in understanding the Old Testament.  It may also be hard to understand how we should relate to Old Testament law.  I believe that there are a few ideas to help us gain an understanding of our relationship to it.

We must first understand the goal of the law.  Galatians 3:24 tells us that the goal of the law is to bring us to Christ.  As the Jews attempted to fulfill the law, they realized that it was impossible to fulfill it perfectly.  That points to the need of a Savior.

The system of sacrifices were to be a temporary picture of the ultimate and complete sacrifice that God gave when He sent His Son to die for our sins.  Since we have the completion of the work of Christ on the cross, we have no further need of the temporary sacrificial system.

Many of the laws that were given to the Jews were actually found to be things that protected them in their health.  There were also others given that demonstrated their unique relationship with God and a separation from the ungodly nations around them.  Their strict laws and harsh punishments demonstrated the serious consequences of sin.

One of the difficult questions to answer is that of our relationship to the law.  In Matthew 5:17-20 Jesus pointed out that He came to fulfill the law, not destroy it.  Paul tells us that we are no longer under the law.  How does this fit together?

Jesus fulfilled the law completely.  As a Jew, he followed the law completely.  The law had three aspects - moral, judicial, and ceremonial. He fulfilled all three.  He also was the complete fulfillment of the law.  Since the goal of the law was to point to Christ, He fulfilled it. 

We are no longer under the law, but under grace.  The Old Testament points to God’s ultimate plan of salvation.  It teaches not only the serious consequences of sin, but also that our only hope is in our Savior. 

When someone questions the character of God based upon harsh punishments found in the Old Testament they actually point out the incredible character of our God.  The harsh punishments teach us that God is not some benevolent big brother who turns His back when we choose to disobey.  He is a God of righteousness and justice.  But we can also see His love, mercy, and grace through His provision of salvation and forgiveness of sins.

#4 There were some questions concerning the ministry announcements shared at the beginning of the service.  Here is a short update.

Open Arms:  Tina Stump shared the opportunity to help with an orphanage in Haiti.  Our Open Arms ministry has been looking into the possibility of sponsoring an orphanage.  In November we had Lifeline International of Kalispell share their ministry.  They work with orphanages around the world and the opportunity to sponsor the orphanage in Haiti came up as an option.  Lifeline International has spent time examining the orphanage, looking at the needs and the goals and biblical foundation, and has determined that it is a needy, worthy cause.  The response on was tremendous.  As usual, the people of Hannaford Street have stepped up to help in a need.

iFaith:  This is a ministry for young adults.  They have a Bible study on Sunday nights.  Information about the studies can be found in the bulletin.  For more information, you can contact the church office or JonLuke Thomasson, Melissa Stockton, or Deanne Kopp.

Upcoming Sermon 2/21/10

The Bible has often been questioned concerning its scientific and historical accuracy.  This Sunday we are going to look at this subject.  Can we be confident in the Bible’s accuracy on these matters?  Also, is it all that important to take on that fight?  I trust that you will come and join us as we continue to examine God’s incredible revelation to us – the Bible.

Answers to Questions asked on Sunday, February 14th, 2010

Here are the answers to questions asked this previous Sunday (February 14th, 2010).  If you have any followup questions, please comment with the Question # and it will be forwarded to the person who answered the question.

1. Explain "the ring of truth" when it comes to determining a books authenticity. A lot of nonsense has the ring of truth.

 

Many of the false writing attributed events to Jesus and the Apostles that are just counter to our understanding from Scripture We may not have a specific verse of Scripture against it but it runs counter to the teachings we have recieved. An example would be Jesus playing as a boy and some kids in Nazareth. According to one false writing they were giving Him a hard time. As a result He turned them into frogs. Obviously this is not How Jesus treated people in the genuine books and it would be easy to discount this false book as a result of this supposed incident. Keep in mind that there were 5 tests of canonization:

 

Apostolic - does it come from an Apostle or his student

Authentic - does it have the ring of truth

Ancient - has it been used from the earliest times

Accepted - are most of the churches using it

Accurate - does it conform to the orthodox teaching of Jesus and the Apostles

 

The ring of truth was just one helpful tool in separating truth from error.

 

2. You said that John finished writing Revelation about 30 years before 125 AD. So he lived to be 95 is that correct? And how do you know.

 

I cannot tell you definitively how old John was when he died. There is however solid evidence that Revelation was written @95 A.D.. Hence depending on when John was born and I don't know the answer to that he was indeed an older man.

 

As far as the AD 95 date for Revelation that is taken from the book itself as the events described fit much better into the reigh of Domitian AD 81-96 than they do into the reigh of Nero 54-67@. In addition, Irenaus a prominant church father wrote in AD 185 that John wrote Revelation at the end of Domitians reign. In essence, internal evidence and church history are my sources.

 

Here are the answers to questions asked this previous Sunday (February 7th, 2010).  If you have any followup questions, please comment with the Question # and it will be forwarded to the person who answered the question.

What is the common message/theme that is all the way through the Bible?

I have heard a saying that goes like this:  Bible history is His story.  It may seem simplistic, but it is true.  The common thread that is woven throughout the Bible is God’s story of redemption.  We find our need for a Savior and God’s provision for that need.  While developing that theme, we are also introduced to the character of God.

The Bible can also be seen as a guidebook or map for our life.  As we see God’s character revealed in Scripture, we can be encouraged in our relationship with Him and challenged in our relationships, both with God and others.  It teaches us how we should live our lives. 

Answers to Questions asked on Sunday, January 31st, 2010

Here are the answers to questions asked this previous Sunday.  If you have any followup questions, please comment with the Question # and it will be forwarded to the person who answered the question.

#1 How many interpretations of the Bible have been made?

I believe what you are really asking is “how many translations of the Bible” have been made. An interpretation is defining what a verse means. A translation is taking the verses from one language to another.

The answer to your question is that it has happened several times. Around 250 B.C. scholars translated the Hebrew Old Testament into Greek which was the common language of the Mediterranean world. It was called the Septuagint. In the early 5^th century Jerome translated the Greek/Aramaic Scriptures into Latin called the Vulgate. In 1611 we see the King James translation. 1901 the American Standard. The Revised Standard in 1954. The New American Standard in 1963. And the NIV in 1972@. This is not an exhaustive list but it covers many you may be familiar with. I can assure you there have not been five million.

What you must understand is that people who make the criticism you heard Sunday are implying that the Bible has been taken from one language to another so often that it has lost its original meaning. Nothing could be further from the truth. All the translations I have mentioned and most I have not were taken from the original Hebrew and Aramaic of the Old Testament and the Greek and Aramaic language of the New Testament and put in the language of the translator. The most common being English. A good rule of thumb when seeking a translation is to use a committee translation instead of a single person translation. The committee produces a better translation because the team must reach agreement before choosing the best word. This usually makes for a better translation. From my perspective, after studying Greek and spending a fair amount of time comparing translations the New American Standard is probably the best word for word translation you can find. However, the other committee translations I mentioned above are all very solid and reliable.  

Ray Fuller

#2 What is the correlation between post modernism, secular progressives, and the “Church of Today” in America that teaches that Israel is not God’s chosen people, but we (America) are His new chosen people.

To best correlate some definitions are probably in order. Post modernism is the logical progression of modernism which had its roots in the Garden of Eden but sprang to life culturally in the Renaissance. Modernism simply put is man attempting to define truth by himself without any revelation from God. Unfortunately as man tried for centuries to reach a consensus on man defined truth he found out that without a final authority there was no basis for deciding whose opinion was right. But rather than return to the truth of God defined in Scripture man simply decided that since he could not define it to everyone’s satisfaction there must not be an absolute truth and man could simply define his own. In other words truth became relative. Your truth, my truth, their truth. That is the essence of post modernism. Everyone’s opinion should just be given equal weight.

Secular progressives, (secular – not religious, not connected to a church) (progressive – favoring reform. Think change for change sake). This is a group of people who shun the things of God and believe that we are on an evolutionary quest. If things aren’t changing they are not satisfied. In point of fact post modernism is responsible for much of this philosophy.

Those who believe that the church in America has replaced Israel are a different mater. This is a variation on replacement theology which had its roots in the Catholic Church. This heresy teaches that God is through with the Jews and that the Church is the new chosen people. People who hold this view tend to be anti-Semitic and ignore the teaching in Daniel concerning the 70 weeks. They ignore the teaching in Romans concerning the Jews being grafted back into the olive tree (Romans 11.) They ignore the teaching in the Old Testament concerning the Promised Land being Israel’s forever. In short this teaching is nothing more than a rehash of an old error. God is not finished with Israel and the Church has not replaced her. We are simply blessed to be a part of God’s plan of redemption called the Church. When the Church is raptured God will finish His plan for the Jews. It is called the seventieth week of Daniel or the tribulation followed by the millennial reign of Christ on earth.   

In essence then post-modernism and secular progressivism do have a link in that they both see man as the definer of truth. The “Church of today” is simply a take off of replacement theology and as such has little correlation.

Ray Fuller

#3 When we talk about “the word” does this refer to Jesus Christ or the Holy Scriptures and how do we know we read “the word” in the Bible if they are referring to Christ or the Bible?

The key to knowing the difference is capitalization of “Word”.  When it is capitalized, it refers to Jesus Christ.  This is found in John 1.  In Hebrews 4:12 (from Sunday’s message) it is lower case and is speaking of the Bible.

Pastor John Fenlason

#4 Can the Bible be translated wrong?  What is the most correct translation of the Bible in print today?

The Bible can be translated incorrectly.  One of the arguments of those who oppose the Bible (mentioned in the video viewed on Sunday) is that there are so many translations and they are adjusted to the views of the translator.  There are several arguments in response to that line of thinking.  First, there are thousands of manuscripts that have been discovered and they have very few discrepancies (usually spelling errors in copy).  Second, any credible translation of Scripture has gone through a very thorough translation process. Third, the major translations are in complete harmony in all major areas of doctrine.  We can be confident that we have the word of God.  (The New Evidence that Demands a Verdict by Josh McDowell has some good information on the origin, uniqueness, and accuracy of the Bible.)

There is debate on what would be considered the “most correct” translation of the Bible.  Some would argue that the New American Standard Version is the closest in word for word translation.  However, there are many good translations that we can trust.

Pastor John Fenlason

#5 Can I hear Sunday’s message on the computer if we miss a Sunday so we can stay on track?

By Wednesday (usually Tuesday) Sunday’s message is available for download on the Hannaford website.  If you are unable to hear via the web, CD’s of the message are available through the church office (449-2273).

Pastor John Fenlason

#6 Jesus said to the thief on the cross, “Today you will be with Me in Paradise.”  But then in John, Christ tells Mary, “I have not yet ascended to My Father.”  This seems contradictory to me.  Can you please explain?

These are difficult passages.  There are very wise people who have differing ideas concerning each of these passages.  Paradise was a place of waiting (sometimes called Abraham’s Bosom) for the righteous until Christ fulfilled the sacrifice for our sins.  Today, Christians who die will go to Heaven.  The thief on the cross would be in Paradise when he died.  He was promised that he would spend eternity with Christ.  The bodily resurrection for saints will actually occur at the rapture.  Jesus would be with the thief in spirit in Paradise.  When Jesus was speaking to Mary (Jn. 20:17) He had not yet ascended bodily into heaven.  His ascension is recorded in Acts 1.  One explanation of Jesus’ response to Mary was that she could not cling to Him and keep Him here on earth.  They would have eternal fellowship in Heaven, but His time on earth would be short as He prepared for His ascension.  I believe that there are questions here that can’t be answered fully until we see Jesus, but we can take hope in the fact that we have the opportunity to spend eternity with Him.

What small groups are available that provide childcare?

There are a couple of groups that provide childcare.  A list of all the Hannaford @ Home small groups is available at the church website.

Who will be speaking during this series?  Pastor Crosby (twice), Pastor John, and Ray Fuller will be speaking during February when we are looking at the Bible. 

Pastor John Fenlason

#7 What do we say to someone who uses the degeneration through translation argument?

Usually when someone uses the “degeneration by translation” argument they imply that the Bible passes through a series of translations.  In fact, all reputable translations are a one-step process going from the Greek or Hebrew (in a few instances Aramaic) to the language in which it is being translated.  The translations also have a very precise method in order to be accurate.  We also see that new discoveries (such as the Dead Sea Scrolls) actually prove the consistency of Scripture and the accuracy of translations.  Those who have attempted to discredit Scripture have failed in their attempts and the Bible continues to stand strong in its accuracy and life-changing power.

Pastor John Fenlason

#8 What are you looking forward to the most in this series?

Since the Bible is the source for all we believe and stand for, it is vital that we can be confident in its origin, completeness, and accuracy.  This series should give us confidence in God’s Word and encourage each of us to allow it to provide life change.  We are also excited about the other pillars of the faith that we will examine.

We are also excited about the paradigm shift being implemented.  We believe that the intentionality of the process will help each of us in our spiritual growth.  This will affect not only the series entitled “Pillars of the Faith”, but also other series to come.

Pastor John Fenlason

Where did the Bible come from anyway? - It's Orgin

WHERE DID THE BIBLE COME FROM?

       Opponents of the Bible often say that it was written by men and has mistakes. Therefore they argue that it cannot be trusted which frees them to construct their own belief system. This leaves them accountable to no higher authority.

        Are they correct in their assumption? Without investigation, their hypothesis sounds logical, but is it? The answer is, “No, they are wrong, and I can prove it.”

        The logical answer to “Where did the Bible come from?” has only two possible answers: God or man.  I contend that God wrote the Bible. This Sunday, February 7th, I will arm you with the facts to prove that conclusion. When you have the truth surrounding the origin of the Bible, you’ll be able to defuse the hollow arguments of those who hope to avoid accountability to God.

        It is important to know this information because of the shifting world of ideas that constantly inundates us in America, 2010. These facts will strengthen your own faith in the Bible as being a God book. It will give you confidence the next time you face that person who mocks the truth and validity of the Bible.

        Don’t miss the message this coming Sunday, February 7, 2010.

Pastor Crosby