Primer to "The Bible"

The Bible Miniseries starts this Sunday at 7pm CST!

I hope you're excited for the series we are doing on the Bible at Benson Baptist Church!  I know we are!  This Sunday, tune into The History Channel  to see a depiction of the Bible that hasn't really been done before.  For the next five weeks we will experience Genesis through Revelation in a new and powerful way through this made for TV miniseries.  As we embark on this adventure together there are a few things to remember:

• "The Bible" on TV is not scripture, it is an artists interpretation and screen adaptation of scripture.  We watch it with intrigue but also with healthy scepticism.  When in doubt always... always... turn back to the Word of God.  

• Pastor Paul and Pastor Josh will be preaching not on the miniseries but with it.  We will be looking solely at scripture as our basis for imparting the Word of God to others.  We will be preaching on passages of scripture that will be shown in the miniseries but we will be using the Bible as our basis for this preaching, not the miniseries' interpretation of it.  We are not using the History Channel to preach, we are using it to illustrate.

• TV has become one of the driving forces in our society, along with Facebook, Twitter, and the ever increasing presence of online "communities" TV is what draws many of these online groups together.  Because of this, using opportunities like this miniseries as a way to reach out to friends, co-workers and family for Jesus Christ is paramount.  Invite people to watch it with you, point them to our blog and bring them to church.  This is a great opportunity for outreach!

• I would encourage everyone to read along with this series.  While it does take the Bible (especially the Old Testament) at a very brisk pace it is also important to note the differences between how the stories are portrayed on the screen and how they are actually recorded in the Bible.

We are very excited to experience this with you and hope you keep checking back to view our thoughts on the topics and scriptures covered in this series leading up to Resurrection Sunday (March 31st).  Use this as a time to reach out to family and friends and invite people to that service.  People need to know that Jesus Christ is Lord!  How do they know unless they are told (Romans 10:14-15)?  I am excited to bring my thoughts to you each week through this blog and hope that this experience will edify, encourage and evangelize all of us.

- Pastor Josh