A cartoon in the New Yorker magazine portrays a man making an inquiry at a large metropolitan bookstore. The clerk begins tapping on her computer, spelling out the word B-I-B-L-E. “Yes,” said the clerk, “we have it. You will find it in the self-help section of the store.” Sometimes I wonder if that cartoon is all too true.

Have we who read the Bible reduced the Bible to nothing more than another book in the self-help section? When we ask new members to affirm their faith in the scriptures as found in the Old and New Testaments, what do we mean? Let us think about some of these things today.

I. The Word of God for the People of God. Thanks Be To God.

The word of God is inspired by God. Paul said it well when he said to Timothy, “All scripture is inspired by God.”

To inspire is to stimul…