Solid Foundations

The Bible is foundational for the Christian life and for the fellowship of the church.  Scripture provides a stable, solid footing in this shifting 21st century world.  Who builds a house without first laying a firm foundation?  It’s essential.  A life that hears and follows Jesus’ teaching is a life built on the solid rock of God’s truth (Matthew 7:24-27).

Jesus said, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4).  So just think:  God’s Word is our life—it’s how we survive spiritually.  Scripture is soul food for followers of Jesus, both in our personal walk of faith and in our life together.

What’s more, the Bible is the weapon by which we’re enabled to fight back and stand strong against Satan’s temptations.  Each time the Enemy came at Jesus with a new and devious enticement, the Lord replied, “It is written!” and rebuked the Tempter (Matthew 4:4, 6, 10).  A vital part of our spiritual armor is the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God (Ephesians 6:17).

And so, in light of the great urgency of being shaped and formed by God’s Spirit through Scripture, let’s commit together, here at the threshold of a new year, to study and meditate on and feed on God’s Word!  You need the support of your church in this—and we as a church need our people to be growing strong and deep in faith through the Word.  It’s a win-win.

Here at Goshen we want to pave the way and open doors so you have all kinds of resources at your fingertips.  We provide a number of opportunities to meet in groups for study and discussion of Scripture—like our Bible Study options (for women, and for men), various Sunday classes, and numerous informal discipleship opportunities.  And, in case you didn’t know it, our children’s and youth Sunday School classes use the Gospel Project curriculum, a terrific resource that helps students learn the big story and the specific truths of Scripture.

We also provide various tools to assist you in your personal life of devotion, such as Bible reading plans (and we all need a plan of some kind), and our 2018 Bible Memory Challenge—you can access these on our website (scroll down on that page—and notice that these take effect this coming Sunday, January 7th).

There are, of course, many fine resources online to help us read and reflect on and interpret the Bible.  Let me recommend two in particular:  The Bible Project, summary videos on each biblical book and on numerous themes of Scripture which can be extremely helpful.  And John Piper’s “Look at the Book” video labs, in which he demonstrates how to see the structure and logic and inner-workings of a passage.  Take some time and explore these resources (and block out distractions when you do so).

If the Bible is foundational for our Christian lives as the primary and spiritually decisive way we hear from God, prayer is how we respond.  That’s the way relationships work—we speak, we listen.  The Lord reveals his will to us in his Word, and we reply in prayer.  How healthy can a relationship be if there is nothing but one-way communication?  Scripture is primary, but prayer is essential as well.  Our Goshen 24-Hour Prayer will take place this Saturday and Sunday, and we’d love to see everyone in the church family taking part.  You can pray at home or wherever you like; pray alone or with friends/family.  For guidance on what to pray for, see our 1 Peter Prayer Guide (scroll down), or check out this excellent article.

May the Lord bless you as you seek him in his Word and call out to him in humble, grateful prayer!