Wanna bust some myths together?

Hey everybody…
 
Do you remember the Discovery Channel TV show called “MythBusters?” A couple of science geeks ran all kinds of interesting experiments to test the validity of a wide range of commonly held ideas—from idioms, to physics, to movie themes, to the paranormal. But to my knowledge, they never busted any myths related to the Bible. Maybe they should have. There are a TON of misconceptions out there, and I’d be surprised if you and I aren’t hanging on to a few of them. Shall we break up some Bible myths…maybe especially from the Old Testament? Let’s talk more in Deeper Thoughts below.
 
But first…


·      Join us TOMORROW, Saturday, May 3, for a fun and meaningful Mt. Hope spruce-up workday, 9:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. Enjoy quality time with friends while beautifying the church!  For young and old, all experience and skill levels!
 
·      Teens:  Youth Group Sunday after service, 11:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. Devotional time, snacks and games! Please contact Jess if you'd like to be added to the Youth Group email list or if your teen needs a ride home: [email protected].
 
·      Ladies: Join us for Zumba to Christian Music with Cynthia Campbell, Saturday, May 17, 1:00 – 3:00 p.m. Click here for more info and to RSVP!
 
·      Kids and Youth volunteers!! Anyone currently or interested in serving in Kids Connect or Youth, come hang out with us for a volunteer luncheon right after church, Sunday, May 18. Learn about how you can get involved, what our plans are for the summer, and more!
 
·      IMPORTANT church business update: Here are the results of last Sunday’s church-wide business meeting, with 70 folks attending and 57 Covenant Partners casting votes on three core topics:
o   We unanimously appointed four new members of our Administrative Board. Welcome Dana Adams, Elizabeth Kateraga, Lynne Moore, and Doug Wilson to this important leadership role!
o   We unanimously approved ratification of our Revised By-Laws (click here). NOTE: A parliamentary matter related to whether proper notice was given may require us to revisit this vote at our next business meeting. Standby for more news!
o   We overwhelmingly approved engaging our architect to adjust our facility expansion project into two phases to meet newly understood realities of construction costs. 51 partners (89.5%) voted in favor of proceeding; 3 (5.2%) voted to pause the project; and 3 (5.2%) voted to not pursue the project any further.
§  Initial expression of congregational generosity towards the facility project detailed an extremely generous $237,000 in one-time giving by this August, which will bring our cash on hand to just over $1M. Thank you to all who are being led by the Holy Spirit to resource our future!
 
·      Remember not to miss “The Daily Six” videos as we continue our brand-new teaching series called “Knowing God.” Join me for six minutes each morning, Monday through Friday, on our YouTube channel as we study through the entire Old Testament together. If you’d like to receive daily email reminders and you’re not already getting them, click here to sign up!
 
 
OK…that’s it today for you email skimmers and those who like hanging on to Biblical falsehoods. BUT…
 
 
Some Deeper Thoughts…
 
Some of my favorite—albeit relatively useless--“MythBusters” discoveries: An avalanche cannot be caused by someone yodeling. Folding a piece of paper more than seven times is impossible. Steak can be tenderized by using a cannon. You will never be able to herd cats. A glider can be built out of concrete, but it isn’t very practical.
 
Oh… and it could be possible, over several years, to corrode prison bars using restaurant salsa. Hmmm. That one might be useful to someone here. Or not?
 
For thirteen years, the cast of MythBusters set the record straight on all manner of oddities and ideas, all of them held by somebody somewhere. We all believe a few things that simply are not true. We all doubt some things that are observably real. Our problem? Most of us are not paying enough attention to the details to know the difference.
 
I think we need to set the record straight on the Old Testament.
 
The “Old Testament” is what we Christians call those daunting 39 books in our Bible that precede the Gospel of Matthew and the story of Jesus Christ. It spans from the very first page of our Bible--Genesis 1:1—all the way through Malachi 4, history and wisdom and laws and stories. All of it describes God’s journey with humankind before Jesus was born. We call it the “Old” because in Jesus we have a “New Testament”—a new covenant that God established with us.
 
But does that mean we can just walk away from the “Old”?
 
See if you think this is the skinny on the Old Testament… Do you believe any of these things? Do you know which are myths and which are not? Perhaps more importantly, do you know how any of this is relevant to you?
 
·      The Old Testament isn’t about Jesus.
·      The Old Testament is dry and boring.
·      There are a bunch of whacky laws in the Old Testament.
·      God is angry and mean in the Old Testament.
·      There’s a lot of killing and bloodshed in the Old Testament.
·      The laws and regulations in the Old Testament do not apply to Christians.
·      God is different in the Old Testament.
·      God has changed (improved?) by the time we get to the New Testament.
·      Jesus replaced the Old Testament.
 
For many Christians, our relationship with the Old Testament lies somewhere between intimidation and discomfort, somewhere between confusion and disinterest. Some pastors say we don’t need to bother ourselves with it at all, while others seem to teach from it constantly. Some theologians suggest that everything in the Old Testament was replaced by the New, while others see an essential unity between them.
 
So, which is it? What are we supposed to do? And most importantly, is there anything practical we can apply from the Old Testament to our busy American lives?
 
I am so excited to kick off our Sunday morning exploration of the Old Testament this weekend as we discover what “Knowing God” is really all about. Over the course of this next entire year at Mt. Hope Church, we are going to peel back layer upon layer of this massive and admittedly overwhelming history of God’s people. We will help you understand the whole Old Testament and discover its relevance. But we will also connect it every single week to Jesus Christ.
 
I’ll tip my hand to one of the myths we’ll bust this Sunday: The Old Testament is ALL about Jesus Christ. He is the start of it, the end of it, the middle of it. He is the entire point of it. Which means that it’s a perfect place for you and me to discover how to know God.
 
You in?
 
Let’s start here: Pick up the New Testament and do some reading in advance. Consume all of Hebrews 11. You’ll see dozens of men and women from the Old Testament witnessing to faith. Over this next year, we are going to carefully study 40 of them, one per week starting in June. They will tell us a TON about “Knowing God.”
 
C’mon with us… this is going to be amazing. And seriously… use The Daily Six to help you!
 
Much love… See you Sunday!!
 
Chris Eads
Mt. Hope Pastor
Friend