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Message Monday 04/20/14 – Bloom

Chuck Foreman – Teaching Pastor

When we make a statement like, “the Bible is reliable,” what we mean is that the oldest manuscripts we have available to us have been carefully compared to literally thousands of ancient copies to determine their integrity or accuracy.  This is actually a literary science called textual criticism.  We put all the manuscripts we have of Bible books under this type of relentless scrutiny.  In other words, we’re trying to answer question, Do the copies and versions we have of the Bible accurately represent the oldest and best manuscripts of the Bible?  This has actually kept the Bible from being corrupted over the centuries, contrary to what many uninformed skeptics have said.  What we’ve discovered by applying the techniques of textual criticism is that our Bible is one of, if not, the best ancient work in the world, in terms of textual integrity.  As far as I’m concerned, being a believer in the scientific method and a skeptic at heart, the integrity of any ancient or modern text must be determined before I will even consider its claims. Now for the real question…   (more…)

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Referring to his own death, Jesus said, “…unless a kernel of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds.” (John 12:24) Jesus knew that his death wasn’t the end; it was the beginning of new life for everyone who believed in the meaning of his death. But there was something else, something even more profound that caused his followers to multiply rather than scatter in despair. It was the proof everyone is always looking for, but usually dismiss as impossible. It was the answer to the question, Who is Jesus? It was the unique event in all of history—the resurrection.