Woodstock Christian Church

THE STORY

For most of 2012 WCC will be following The Story. The Story is God's story as told to us through God's Holy, inspired word, the Bible. Yes, we always have studied and preached from the Bible so this is not new. But this is a concentrated approach following the Biblical story from cover to cover and in a more chronological order.

Each week there is a Bible reading program to follow leading up to Sunday . On Sunday the Sunday school classes and the message will come from the text that was read the week before. Free reading schedules are available so you can use your own Bibles, or there is a book that has the scriptures (NIV) in order. These can be purchased for around eleven dollars. (This is the best price we have now.)

The staff is really excited about this approach. Having WCC as a congregation reading and studying the same parts of God's word should prove to be a blessing to us all. The word of God is virtually a mine of information. We can dig a little and get something and we can dig very deep and get even more. The more we are “in the word” the more we can get out of it.

That means it does not matter where you are spiritually, you can learn from God's word. You can be brought to “faith in Christ” by the Word of God. “Faith comes from hearing” (Romans 10:17 ). In our world, we understand that to be more “faith comes by reading the word of God.” There are more and more people in our country today who are classified as “Biblically illiterate.” They have had no exposure to God's word or very, very little. I know this is hard for people who have been brought up in the church to accept as true, but it is. And in addition to knowing little from the Bible, some of what they know is in error as they have been guided by worldly understandings of the Bible.

We want the members of WCC to see this as a great outreach program. Invite your friends and neighbors to come and share in learning The Story.

The word of God is also “milk” for new Christians. (1 Peter 2:2). By reading and studying God's word a new Christian can grow up spiritually to maturity. That is the only way to grow spiritually. Prayer alone will not do it. Hearing a sermon a week and a class a week will not bring the growth that being in the word regularly and systematically will bring.

And the word is also “meat” (KJV) or “solid food” (NASB) for maturing Christians (Hebrews 5:12 -14). We are to move beyond the milk stage of our spiritual lives into the solid food stage. God's word is our food. We are to want that food at all stages in our lives.

So no matter where you are in your spiritual walk, there is further to go. God wants to and will take us as far as we allow Him to do so. His tool is primarily the word of God. The Holy Spirit works through that word to convict us of sin and of righteousness. That means God will direct us away from sin (if we listen) and towards His ways (righteousness). We have to know that word, be willing to submit to its truths (which are usually the opposite of the way of most humans) and the follow those truths.

New Christians cannot be expected to know and do as much as mature Christians. But God does not want us to stay babies. All the above passages make that clear. So as we work our way through The Story we will all see numerous opportunities to “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 3:18 ). That should be exciting!!!

Following God's word will also keep us…..

Together For Him,
Lynn