You may have noticed a new slogan on the cover of our weekly worship bulletin. Beneath the sketch of our church are the words, “Bringing the Bible to Life.” Your church session approved this motto because it concisely expresses two complementary truths about our church.

Out of the Bible: Study

First, we “bring the Bible to life” in the sense that we spend time studying the Bible, understanding its meaning, trying to interpret difficult passages in light of clearer passages, and generally making Bible study a key focus of the time that we spend together as a group. This distinguishes us from Christian groups whose approach to God is primarily mediated through other traditions and documents of men, or through a mystical personal experience of divine revelation. Anytime you hear something taught at our church, it’s always fair game to ask, “Where does the Bible teach that?” It’s not that the Bible is literally dead without us, but it might as well be inert and useless, if we don’t take the time to study it.

Into Life: Transformation

But second, study alone is inadequate. We are not “Bible-olaters” who view our primary purpose as to study and understand the Bible. Such understanding is only a means to our chief purpose, which is to glorify and enjoy God. We can’t enjoy or glorify God without understanding something about Him and something about ourselves, and the Bible teaches us about both of those topics. The Bible must seep into our daily lives. To “glorify” God is to act as if God matters, which means that our lives will be different as a result of what we learn in the Bible. We’ll treat our families, our neighbors, our country, and our planet better. We’ll be an asset to our communities. We’ll be looking for opportunities to tell others about the salvation Christ has given us, and that Christ offers to them.

Conclusion

Now, a motto is necessarily brief and thus doesn’t say everything. For instance, ours doesn’t say anything about Jesus. Isn’t the Bible just a means to knowing Jesus? That’s true. But our society has a very confused view of what Jesus is about. Many groups claim Jesus for their own agendas while ignoring or even denying the “Jesus” portrayed in the Bible. We’re taking our stand that the Bible forms our understanding of Jesus, and if someone asked you, “How does your church bring the Bible to life?” an appropriate response would prominently feature the person and work of Jesus Christ.

Presbyterians have a reputation in some circles as being either overly intellectual (more interested in creeds and manmade documents than in the Bible) or theologically liberal (pursuing a social agenda with total disinterest in the Bible). That’s not how we see ourselves, and that’s not the face we want to present to the public.

Some people in our church are expert “studyers” with an immense treasure trove of Bible lore. Some are tireless “doers” living out the sacrificial call of Jesus to “follow me.”Let’s join in allowing our motto to call us all to recognize the breadth of what God calls us to in “glorifying God and enjoying Him forever.”