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The Bible is God's Holy word. "Bible" means "book", and your Bible is a book of books. In fact, the Bible contains 66 different books. Together, all these books tell the story of God's wonderful love for us. They teach us how to live the way God wants us to live. The Bible tells us about God's son, Jesus Christ, who came to save us. It's a book you'll want to read and study over and over again. Whom is the Bible for? Most of the books in the Old Testament were written to the Jewish people (also called Israelites). They were the nation God had chosen to help him bring his son into the world. Books in the New Testament were written to many others. Sometimes the books themselves give you a clue. For instance, Paul wrote Romans to the Christians who lived in Rome. He wrote Ephesians, to the Christians at Ephesus. And he wrote Philemon to his friend, Philemon. Other New Testament books were written to all of Christ's followers. These books were passed around from church to church for everyone to read or hear read. But wait! The Bible was written for you, too. Just as it told the Christians in the first century how to live for God, it tells you, too. God's word, the Bible, is a personal guide for everyone who wants to follow God. It's God's love letter just for you. Has the Bible changed? NO. It's true that the Bible was not written in English. The Old Testament was written in the Hebrew language. Most of the New Testament was written in the Greek language. And some of the New Testament was written in the language of Jesus- Aramaic. Through the years, the Bible has been translated from those languages into other languages, including English. That means people used other languages to say exactly what the Bible said in Hebrew and Greek and Aramaic. They did not change God's meaning; they only put his meaning into our words. And that's great news for us! Now we can read and understand God's word for ourselves. Sections of the Bible - There are two major sections of the Bible: The Old Testament and the New Testament. The Old Testament - This first section of the Bible begins with how God created the world. It tells the story of God's love for his people from the beginning until just before he sent his son into the world. There are 39 books in the Old Testament section of the Bible. They can be divided into even smaller sections of God's library. Books of Law - The first five books of the Old Testament (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus,Numbers,Deuteronomy) are sometimes called the "Pentateuch." That just means "five books." The Jews called these five books the "Torah." They are called Books of Law because they contain the many laws God gave to the Jewish people to keep them pure and holy. It was very important for them to stay pure because God would someday send his Son, Jesus, to us through this people. These were special laws for God's special people. The Books of Law begin with the creation of the world. They end with the people of Israel ready to enter the land God had promised to them. Books of History - The next twelve books of the Old Testament (Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1-2 Samuel, 1-2 Kings,1-2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther) tell the history of God's chosen people. This part of the story begins with Joshua. He was God's chosen leader who brought the Israelites into the Promised Land. These books tell the stories of the kings (like Saul and David and Solomon) and what happened when they obeyed God and when they didn't. These books also tell how God allowed the Israelites to be captured by other nations when they disobeyed God. Finally, the books tell how the Jewish people returned to God and to their Promised Land. Books of Poetry - These five books of the Old Testament (Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon) are beautiful words of prayer and praise to God. They were written by people who loved God very much. These poems and songs were used by the Jewish people during their feasts and festivals. They used them to celebrate God's goodness to them. They also used them to praise and honor God. Today many of our songs of praise and prayer contain the words found in the books of poetry. Books of Prophecy - The last seventeen books of the Old Testament (Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, Daniel, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Hahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggi, Zechariah, Malachi) are about God's special messengers, or prophets. The books of prophecy are God's special messages to his chosen people, the Jewish people. The prophets (or messengers) were sent to remind the people about God's laws and how they were to live. There are five long books of prophecy by the "major" prophets. "Major" only means that their books are longer, not more important. The books that are callled the major prophets are Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations (by Jeremiah), Ezekiel, and Daniel. The other twelve books of prophecy are shorter. The writers of these books are called "minor" prophets. "Minor" only means that their books are shorter, not less important. The New Testament - This second major section of the Bible begins with the birth of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. It tells us about Jesus' teachings, how he was killed and buried, and how he came to life again. The New Testament tells us about God's church. It also tells us that Jesus will come back again someday. There are 27 books in the New Testament section of the Bible. They also can be divided into smaller sections of God's great Library. The Gospels - The first four books of the New Testament (Matthew, Mark, Luke, John) are called the Gospels. The word "gospel" means "good news". The Gospels contain God's good new. That good news is the story of his Son, Jesus Christ, who came to save God's people from their sins. The Gospels tell about Jesus' birth, teachings, death, burial, and coming back to life. It is the greatest story every told. Even though the Gospels have the same story to tell us, each tells the story in a slightly different way. History of the Church - The fifth book of the New Testament is the Acts of the Apostles. This book tells us how Christ's church began and how it grew. It begins with Jesus telling his followers to go and teach the whole world about him. Then Jesus went to Heaven. His followers began teaching everyone in Jerusalem about Jesus. They they traveled to other places and started churches by telling the story of Jesus to everyone they met. In the book of Acts, we read about the preaching of Paul. He preached in Jerusalem, all around Asia Minor and Greece, and as far as Rome, the capital of the Roman Empire. The church that began in those pages of the Book of Acts is still alive and growing today. The Letters - The next 21 books of the New Testament (Romans, 1-2, Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1-2 Thessalonians, 1-2 Timothy, Titus, Philemon, Hebrews, James, 1-2 Peter, 1-2-3 John, Jude) are essentially letters. Thirteen of these letters were written by Apostle Paul. They were written because some believers were confused about Jesus. Sometimes they didn't understand what Jesus had taught about living as God wanted his people to live. What the letter writers had to say was so good that their advice and teachings have helped all Christians for almost 2,000 years. The Book of Prophecy - The last book of the Bible (Revelation) is a book with a special message. It was written to Christians who were facing great danger. The Apostle John, who probably wrote Revelation, had a wonderful message. He told the Christians to expect hard times and trouble. But he also told them that they would be the winners at the end. Revelation tells Christians not to lose hope because they will share in the final victory with Jesus at the end of time. May God's Love and Grace be with you always. Return to Christ's Church of the Living Word |