There are too many mistruths or half-truths and even lies floating around in the subconscious minds of the people of God about the Old Testament. Click Here to read some!
Rather than fighting fire with fire and using Sunday Worship to argue against those mistruths, half-truths, and even lies directly. We believe that it is of more benefit to explore the Scriptures with piety, fortitude, counsel, and understanding, remembering that"all Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work." 2 Timothy 3:16-17
Now, we will not cherry-pick Scripture to fit our purposes or lessons. Instead, we will use the Revised Common Lectionary Old Testament scriptures for the next couple of weeks and see what the Lord has in store for us.
Church, our prayer is that this new season helps you, or at least ignite a desire and passion for exploring more of the Old Testament. Because the O.T. is essential to the overall message of God. The Bible's Old and New Testaments together make up God's Word. The purpose of the New Testament is not to replace the Old Testament but to wrap up its narrative. According to Genesis 3:14–19, a curse was placed on humanity due to sin. The account is concluded in Revelation 22:3, which details how God lifted the curse via the atoning work of Jesus.
Without disclosing the start and finish of the curse, both Testaments would fall short of the theme of God's redeeming activity.
We encourage and pray for this because there are great truths about God and humanity that you need to know. God introduces Himself to humankind in the O.T., the first five books of the Bible. In the first two chapters of Genesis, God identifies Himself as the Creator, the Savior of His people (Exodus 13–14), the Holy One (Leviticus 19:2), the God of wrath and vengeance on sin (Num. 14), and a God of love (Deut. 7). God reveals to Moses His qualities in the Hebrew Bible (Exod. 34:6-7). Without the revelation of the Old Testament, we would not understand God as well as we do.
Ultimately you will also do well to remember that O.T. provides the foundation from which Christianity and the New Testament evolved is provided by the Old Testament. Christianity didn't just appear overnight. God was working among the Israelites to bring forth the Messiah, who would offer atonement for the judgment that sin brought upon humanity. The Hebrew Bible was frequently referenced by early New Testament preachers like Stephen (Acts 7) and Paul (Acts 13:16-41) when explaining God's plan of salvation. The Hebrew Bible sets the stage for God's work of salvation, and the New Testament builds on that theme that there is more, so we invite you to join us in this beautiful journey of exploration and self-discovery.
Now Preaching
October 23, 2022 - Joel 2: 23 - 32
October 30, 2022 - Habakkuk 1:1-4; 2:1-4
November 06, 2022 - Haggai 1:15b-2:9
November 13, 2022 - Isaiah 65:17-25
November 20, 2022 - Jeremiah 23:1-6
Mistruths or Half-truths and Even lies bout the Old Testament:
The first 39 (According to protestant traditions) is "Someone Else's Mail," or it is an old boring history book that has no practical or relevant information for today's fast pace, instant gratification times. Some might even say that the God of the O.T. is mean, cruel or violent, and they can't make sense of it, and untimely they prefer to hear about Jesus, "The Friend," because the Old Testament was rendered obsolete, which is why there is an OLD and a NEW. If you wish to read more on the subject, there are resources availableCheckck from the book by Brent A. Strawn called "Lies My Preacher Told Me - An honest look at the Old Testament."