Series 100: Why We Can Trust the Bible
This series is an introduction to the Bible. It is designed to give an overview of how the Bible came to be; how it was assembled, copied and translated throughout history. This is not just for new believers! No matter what your background is with the Bible, take a listen and let this information inspire awe at the length God has gone to speak into the lives of his people and preserve that message tangibly. Sit in awe of the Word of God. Its creation is miraculous! Its preservation is astounding and its message is breathtaking!
Faith Foundations 101: Intro to the Bible, The Miraculous Book!
Written over 1,600 years (OT 1500-400BC) and (NT 45-100AD)
Written over 40 generations
Written by over 40 different authors from all walks of life (Leaders, Kings, peasants, philosophers, prophets, Rabbi, fisherman, herdsman, military general, cup-bearer, prime-minister, tax-collector, doctor, and musician)
Broad educational training: ranging from basic education to the highest of Royal Educations
Written in the wilderness, dungeon, hillside, palace, prison, exile on the isle of Patmos, while traveling and even during war.
Written on 3 different continents: Asia, Africa and Europe
3 different languages (OT - Hebrew and Aramaic, NT Greek)
The bible is a collection of 66 total books
Divided into the Old testament and New Testament.
Old Testament: 39 Books also Known as the Hebrew Bible. (different order but same content)
5 different categories of books:
Pentateuch, Historical, Poetry/Wisdom, Major Prophets, and Minor Prophets.
Pentateuch: First 5 books (called the Torah by the Jews) written by Moses (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy)
Historical: 12 (Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1&2 Samuel, 1&2 Kings, 1&2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther)
Poetry/Wisdom: 5 (Job, Psalms. Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon)
Major Prophets: 5 (Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, Daniel)
Major because of the length of the books not the message or quality.
Minor Prophets: 12 (Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi.
New Testament: 27 Books (5 categories: Gospels, History, Paul’s Letters, General letters, Prophetic)
Gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.
Eye-witness accounts of the Life and ministry of Christ from different perspectives.
Matthew: Jesus is the long awaited Jewish KIng and Messiah. Jesus qualifies by birth to be both the King and priest.
Mark: Jesus is the suffering son of man sent to serve
Luke: Luke was a physician and He wrote to show Jesus as the Savior of the World who has compassion for all humans.
John: wrote to show Jesus as the Son of God, The Word made flesh
History: Acts - Acts of the apostles written by Luke. This is the History of the Early Church
Paul’s letters: (Romans, 1&2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1&2 Thessalonians, 1&2 Timothy, Titus, Philemon.) They were written to a specific audience and address current issues going on within the Church Community. When reading an epistle, it is very helpful to research the city, culture and audience as well as the author. Remember scripture cannot mean something for us that it did not mean to its original audience and context.
General Letters: Hebrews, James, 1&2 Peter, 1,2&3 John, Jude (letters not written by Paul)
Prophetic: Revelations
Resources:
Rose Book of Bible Charts, Maps and Timelines
Living By the Book by Howard Hendricks and William Hendricks
