Last Week Sermon

�Yes, I know: that�s from a guy who did nothing for nine months and at the delivery, my only part was to say, �Push, Honey, you�re doing great.� But I want you to know: my wife agrees! Having a baby is the easy part; it�s RAISING them that�s hard. (Karen said I could say it!)

This morning we dedicated some of our children � we dedicated them to God and ourselves to raising them in such a way that they turn into people who give God joy; people who KNOW God, and � more than knowing � who LOVE God and are empowered by God�s love for them. We want to keep them safe in the harbor of our love, but we also want to prepare them for traveling out into the deep � out where there�s danger, but also meaning.

Epiphany and the Word

The bad news is: dedicating a child to God is a BIG task � certainly too big for just two parents, but even too big for a single community.

The good news is: we don�t do it alone. We have the Holy Spirit; we have the Great Cloud of Witnesses on whose shoulders we stand; and, this morning, I�d especially like to focus on one GREAT aid in establishing a living, loving relationship with God (an aid for our children and for us): the Bible, Scripture, the Living Word of God.

We only dedicate children a few times each year, but we did something else this morning that we do every single Sunday. We opened up an ancient book, and sat hushed and silent, as we heard an ancient text that we believe contains the very voice of God. The season of Epiphany is a season of revelation, of manifestation (that�s the meaning of the word "Epiphany"). So it�s no accident that churches around the world use this season to focus on the gift of scripture.

The Bible is a child-raising tool for ALL God�s children. It can help us all navigate the �deep water� of life by introducing us to the "good news" of Jesus Christ. And I�d like to spend a little time this morning talking about the best ways to use it.

Bible Study Do�s and Don�ts

For starters, in my opinion we abuse scripture when we expect an immediate one-to-one correlation between our problems and the problems addressed by the Bible. To say the Bible is "God's Word" doesn�t mean that every word is straight from God�s mouth to our particular situation. It takes prayerful, humble, discernment for the ancient scripture to become God's word for us today.

The Bible takes time.

ANY good relationship takes time. You know that, here�s an example. I�ve been married since 1984, but I just found out yesterday that before I met her, when she was in college, Karen was a tour guide for prospective students at Heidelberg University. One time � after showing off the dorms, the classes, the athletic facilities � my lovely future wife decided to take a potential �Heidelberg-ian� to a local dance place, so she obtained a fake i.d. to get this underage girl in. (It�s not like they were going to drink, they just wanted to see the local color.) Well, the girl got caught. Karen learned that if you give someone a fake i.d., the picture should look remotely like them; she also learned that school administrations do not look kindly on guides who get potential students arrested.

Married 25 years, only learned that about her yesterday. Who knows what tomorrow will bring? (Probably that she wants to keep that story a secret.)

To be someone's friend takes time. Yon converse together, you work together, you play together. You slowly learn all the stories. And, in the process, you learn things. So don't think of the Bible primarily as a rulebook where you get directives for every single step of life, or as a magical source of inspiration. Instead, think of it as one God-given means for us to deepen our relationship with God.

We have a God who is eager to be revealed to us. The stories of the patriarchs and matriarchs of Israel, the stunning words of the prophets, the poetry of the psalms, the words and work of Jesus, the cross, the letters of Paul, the visions of Revelation � with the eyes of faith we see them all as a creative attempt by our Heavenly Father to get through to us. �Kids,� God is saying, �come learn what I�m like.�

A Few Caveats

Now, is the Bible easy to study and understand? No, �but not for the reasons most people think. The problem is not that the Bible is old and we are modern, or that the Bible is obscure and we are hampered by not knowing ancient Aramaic or how to pronounce �Lake Gennesaret.� The problem isn�t even that God has given us enough scientific insight that occasionally we find ourselves asking: �Wait a minute. Did God do it exactly that way, or is that just how a pre-scientific people would understand it.�

No, the BIG problem is that the Bible is true, and WE tend to be deceitful. In The Merchant of Venice, Shakespeare points out: "The devil can cite scripture for his own purpose." You can be a Bible expert and still not love God or be in line with God�s will � just ask the Pharisees and Scribes who helped engineer the crucifixion!

It�s easy to hear only what we want to hear, to hear what corresponds to our preconceptions and prejudices. But the Bible keeps trying to lure us toward another world, toward God's world. The goal of Bible Study is not to accumulate information or become an expert. The goal is conversion. It�s like what we�re saying about how we�re going to try and raise kids: the goal is to become people who give God joy by the way we live and breathe and have our being.

I�m talking about this on a day when we dedicate infants, but all of us can be born again. One of the fun things that happens when you study the Bible regularly is that you can come across a passage you have read maybe a hundred times but this time, something jumps out at you, grabs you by the collar, shakes you up and down, and demands to be heard in a new way.

Many of us have the habit of going to the Bible for an answer to this or that question. But the longer you study it, the more you realize that the scriptures are at least as interested in examining YOU! "Thou has searched me and known me," says the psalmist. Maybe the question ought not simply be, "Do I agree with this?" but rather, "How is this biblical passage asking me to change?"

Someone once said, "It is not that we have tried Christianity and found it incomprehensible. The problem is we tried Christianity and found it difficult!" Our problem is not usually the portions of scripture we don't understand, but the many portions we understand all too well! There are verses that demand change, conversion and that can be painful.

Still, we risk it. We agree with the Psalmist: "Thy word is a lamp unto my feet.� And BECAUSE I know just about everyone in this room would like to take that chance, would like to plunge into the deep end and help our children do so, allow me � as one of your pastors � to close with a few "rules for reading scripture,� rules to share with those kids we�re helping raise, but also to live with ourselves.

1. Read to Commune

My first rule is this: I suggest we see Bible study as a means of communion with God. Bible reading is a kind of conversation, between us and God, a conversation that includes those who have attempted to be faithful to God in the past.

The Bible is a major means by which we become friends with God. The ancient rabbis said that �An hour of study is as an hour of prayer,� meaning Bible study is a way of opening ourselves to the living God. Think of it as a way of engaging in a sustained conversation with a loving friend.

2. Read Continually

Number Two: Read the Bible regularly. A lot of people have pointed out that it takes a lifetime to know the Bible, to allow scripture to have its way with our lives. That�s because our goal is not just information, but continual reformation. So set aside some time each day to read a portion of scripture. Read a whole chapter instead of just a few verses if you can.

Dr. Fred Craddock suggests we set aside the same time and the same place each day to read the Bible a section at a time. Get into the habit of prayerfully, expectantly allowing scripture to speak to you.

I�d also suggest occasionally trying something NEW. Break out of old Bible study habits. Go to a retreat, maybe. Or ask Kathy Light for some help (she�s GREAT at designing experiences that open the Bible up in new ways).

3. Use a Good Commentary

Number Three: Get a good Bible commentary. Our own church library has several. Using a commentary is like sitting down and reading scripture with the help of a wise friend.

And don�t feel bad about needing one. Everybody needs one! For one reason: the Bible is not just one book that you can sit down and absorb. It�s a whole library, a collection of writings assembled over a 1000-year period. Its earliest parts were written more than 3000 years ago; and the most recent parts were written nearly 2000 years old. ALL its parts were written in languages we don�t speak by members of cultures we don�t know. The Bible is not impossible to understand, but it helps to have help (maybe a mentor, a Sunday School Class, and a commentary).

4. Expect Change

My fourth suggestion for reading scripture is this: expect it to change you. God is not finished with you yet. How do I know? Because you�re still breathing!

Bible study may make you realize that you are a little bit like Moses: content to recognize a problem � to pray about it (maybe even run away from it) � only to discover that ONE thing God wants to use to FIX the problem is YOU.

Or you may be like Isaiah: just reading along, enjoying the stories, and suddenly you find yourself overwhelmed by the reality of God. The next thing you know, you are saying, �Here am I, send me.�

Last week, we heard how our Lord�s home congregation reacted to a Jesus-led Bible study by trying to kill him! But in our passage this morning, Jesus is teaching beside the sea and then he tells his disciples, "Put out into the deep water." They do, and it changes�everything.

Prayer

Would you pray with me�: Almighty God, we give thanks that you loved us enough not to remain an impossible mystery. We are grateful for your revelation in Jesus, in our daily lives, and in the Holy Bible. Help us to hear your word, to be moved by it, and to share it with our children. In Jesus� name, amen.