‘All Scripture is inspired by God’ 2 Timothy 3:16

Dear Friends,
As I write I have a big smile on my face because last night we had the first session in our new Bible Course and there were 50 people on the zoom call! The course is taking place in three ways: on zoom, in person (particularly aimed at parents with little ones) and during our 11+ Sunday evening youth group. In total, therefore, over 70 people have now done session 1 of the course and I couldn’t be more delighted!

I’ve heard lots of comments ranging from, ‘it’s so good to take a fresh look at the Bible’ to ‘I’ve hardly opened my Bible for years and this has rekindled my interest’.

If you didn’t participate in session 1, please don’t worry, it’s not too late to join in from session 2, just get in touch and ask for the details.

Session 1 of the course ended with a time of reflection on a verse from 2 Timothy 3

‘All Scripture is inspired by God’ 2 Timothy 3:16

I wonder what that phrase means to you? Does it fill you with enthusiasm to get stuck in and find out more or does it evoke questions about the difficult bits and what God was doing or saying through those? Both are valid responses and you may well find yourself wavering between the two. As we embark on this journey, both in the Bible Course and on Sunday mornings, why not try keeping a note or a journal of your thoughts, discoveries and questions about the Bible. Ask God to speak to you afresh, even through very familiar passages and write down both what you sense he is saying to you as well as the parts you struggle to make sense of. I’d love to hear from you and gather together our collective thoughts so that we can explore some of the questions in a service or a zoom session together. Remember the golden rule – there’s no such thing as a stupid question!

It’s so good to dig deep into God’s word together whilst also living out its teaching in our lives and church. From the Harvest Supper exploring how we can and must care for this amazing planet, to the open doors of the vaccine centre welcoming in hundreds of people from our community, to our daily interactions with people we meet, God calls us to be bearers of the Word in the world. For many people, you and I, as followers of Jesus, are the only Bible they will read. What will they learn by looking at our lives?

Speaking of the vaccine centre….I wonder if you might have a few hours to lend a hand? We are in desperate need of people to come and serve refreshments to the staff, volunteers and some visitors too. This is a tremendous opportunity to show Woking URC hospitality so please seriously consider if you can give an hour or two. And don’t worry if you don’t know how to use the coffee machine – that’s not essential!

In Christ,
Lucy