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Sermon Series:
Following Jesus
Earthly Cross
His Name Is
Apostles Creed
Dealing with Feelings
Jonah
Get Real
Promised Land Living

Grace Church
257 Kendall Street
Burlington, WI 53105

(262) 763-3021

Email:
Pastor Scott Carson

Secretary Patti Hall

PASTOR'S PENS 2007

Grace Church of Burlington September 2, 2007  “A Bible in the hand is worth two in the bookcase.”             According to a recent poll, one in four adults did not read a single book last year, according to a new poll. And of those who did read, women and older people were most avid, and religious works and popular fiction were the top choices. The poll, reported by the Associated Press, went on to observe that “liberals read more books than conservatives.”              To be candid, I would have thought there to be more non-readers. I wouldn’t have been overly surprised if the headline would have read, “3 out of 4 people did not read a book last year”. I suspect too that the number of people who read a book last year would be far less if we eliminated those who read only the cheap mass market paperbacks.             But this cultural phenomenon has great ramifications for us as we share the Gospel in this culture. Christianity is a book-religion. Our foundation is the Book of books. To put it another way, all of its revelation about God's redemptive work in Christ is mediated to us in letters on a page. We don't have photographs, telephone lines through time, or a living oral tradition. We have the Scriptures, God’s written Word. Apart from them, we have no saving knowledge of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.             Because Christianity is a religion of the book, where it spreads so too does a concern for literacy. That is why when Christianity expands it borders, it is often accompanied by the building of schools and other institutions of learning. Where literacy dies, so does a knowledge of and a love for the Bible. Obviously, there is a direct line from a decline in reading to a lack of interest in the Gospel.             Today’s pervasive and invasive entertainment culture (TV, Internet, movies, etc.) smothers serious thinking and the reading of entire books. Americans by and large don't read serious books because they are entertaining themselves to death. There simply isn't time to read the Bible, much less books on theology or doctrine. Besides that, when you are conditioned to be in a constant state of being entertained, reading non-fiction becomes a chore and a bore.             We tend to be mental “junk food” addicts. We would rather be amused, than muse (or think). Reading, particularly reading God’s Word takes work, time and effort.  Our  hearts tend to fixate on the easy and trivial and it will be that way until the great day of our Lord's return. If we would be faithful to Christ, we would be conscientiously doing everything we can to work against these currents in the culture and within our own hearts. It’s going to mean turning off the television and spending less time on the Internet. But whatever it takes, it's worth it to redeem the time and to discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness (Ephesians 5:16; 1 Timothy 4:7-8).             School is just starting. The kids are once again hitting the books. Now that summer is over, can I challenge you to hit the Book again? Remember at the beginning of the year we dubbed this the year of Back to the Book. It’s easy to fall off the wagon. Let me encourage you though to come back to your Father’s school of discipleship. Determine anew to spend time every day in the Book. And join one our Adult Bible Fellowships or small groups. Spend some quality time with other believers digging into God’s Word each week. God gave us minds and hearts to be used for His glory. And our purpose, meaning and satisfaction only comes as we grow to know Him better by spending time with Him and letting Him speak to us through His Word. Let’s get Back to the Book!!