Message from Pastor Karyn for May 2022
Like many people did during the pandemic, I used this disruption in my life to reflect on what I discovered was important and then decided how I can keep those things going forward. Things like how much I enjoyed having dinner with my family each day, or working outdoors at home really was helpful for reading and creativity. One thing I realized I missed while we were all separated was teaching, so that became one of the three things I decided to focus on as we returned to in-person opportunities.
So often I hear from people that they feel like they have an inadequate knowledge of scripture that then prevents them from talking about their faith or why they believe what they believe about various things. I also know, that most people’s education in scripture and doctrine ended with Sunday School or Confirmation. That was true of me, for sure and for all the folks who made the comment above. So what to do about it? This is how Bible Matters, the Bible study I teach each Monday night, was born.
“So often I hear from people that they feel like they have an inadequate knowledge of scripture”
I was reflecting on all of these things this past week as my mind turns towards some other goals I have for the summer, and I found myself deeply grateful. Turns out in order to teach, I have to learn, and I have dug into scripture in ways I hadn’t for a long time. I have been reminded that following Jesus, learning and growing in faith, are lifelong endeavors. We never actually arrive at some destination where we are done, but if we think we have, it is arbitrary and human made. These last eight months of renewed focus on scripture has led to a deeper understanding of who God is and who I am, an embracing of my humanness and God’s divinity and the ways those two go together so beautifully. They have helped me make sense of the world or at least my place in it. In a time when we are told we must be right about all things, when we are encouraged to put people in groups of us or them, when understanding and compassion have become signs of weakness instead of strength, scripture has recentered me on what is important: Jesus and the promises we hold and live out in light of the resurrection.
As we make our way into summer, I encourage you to find time to read and study scripture each week, to deepen your study just a little bit, change one small thing about how you engage scripture. We have many ways to do that here at First. Pastor Stanton has started a series on Exodus that is online, so you can start anytime and you can still access his study on Genesis, or the year long Bible Readers videos from last year. It can be as simple as reading the readings assigned for each Sunday and listening to the sermon. There are lots of reading plans you can follow, Bible studies you can join. Both the Bible Matters and Coffee with Pastor Karyn meet throughout the year and welcome new folks at anytime. Devotionals like Christ in Our Home are great ways to be reading scripture and learning in small bites. Whatever your time availability, there is something for you! You will not regret digging a little deeper into scripture.
As you do, let me know what you are learning, what is challenging you, what is giving you life, what just confuses you, or how reading scripture is changing you. I would love to hear from you so that together we can grow in our faith and in our witness to the world.
Blessings on your reading!
