An explanation of the significance of the Bible

1. Why reading your
Bible is important
Laindon
8th September 2013

2. Reading your Bible
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3. Making lists
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4. Urgent v important
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5. Hanging on to life…
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6. The big question…
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7. Where should we turn?
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8. Finding the answer to life
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Ask a doctor?
Speak to a psychologist?
Ask a friend?
Study academic literature?
Ask a priest or minister?
Go straight to the very source of life?
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9. God’s amazing revelation…
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10. Why should we believe it?
1. Its unity:
– 66 books
– 40 writers
– Written across a period of 1500 years
– Written in three different languages and
three different continents
– In complete harmony because it has one
author
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11. Why should we believe it?
2. Its historical accuracy:
– It covers a 4000 year period, starting
6000years ago
– Provides historically accurate details
concerning people, places and events
– Authentic secular writings corroborate
its accounts
– Archaeology has confirmed its accuracy
when places and people were often
classed as fables
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12. Why should we believe it?
3. Its indestructibility:
– It has survived for thousands of years
despite many attempts to supress or
even destroy it
– In AD303 Roman Emperor Diocletian
commanded all churches destroyed, all
Christian scriptures burnt and all
Christians stripped of their civil rights
– In the 18th century Voltaire declared
Christianity would disappear within 100
years
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13. Why should we believe it?
4. Its scientific accuracy:
– When referring to matters of modern
scientific study it is accurate
– It speaks of the circle of the earth long
before the earth was known to be a
sphere (Isaiah 40:22)
– It contains none of the wild and fanciful
ideas of its contemporary literature
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14. Why should we believe it?
5. Its prophetic accuracy:
– The Bible contains 100s of fulfilled
prophecies concerning
nations, empires, individuals and world
events
– The prophecies are detailed and
startlingly accurate, such as the
founding of the State of Israel
– The prophecies exactly describe the
society we live in, identifying our times
as the last days of God’s plan
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15. Why should we believe it?
6. Its authentic and truthful style:
– Not a book of heroes
– Contains many undesigned
coincidences
7. Its profound theme of Jesus Christ:
– Teaching concerning Christ beginning to
end
– Promised, symbolised, prophesied, his
thoughts and his life, death and
resurrection, followed by his gospel
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16. Why should we believe it?
8. Its intellectual integrity:
– Can still be believed in the 21st century
9. Its unique teachings:
– A unique and direct revelation from God
totally different from contemporary
religions
10.Its impact on people’s lives:
– Over 1000’s of years has deeply
influenced people and in many cases
transformed their lives
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17. Organising to read the Bible
• Use an accurate word by word
translation
• The best way is not to read at random
• Better to read systematically
• Make notes on key topics
• Use a concordance to look up related
topics
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18. Help is at hand…
• Come and see us at the Essex
Country Show, Barleylands:
– Saturday 14th September 10.00am –
5.00pm
– Sun day 15th September 10.00am –
5.00pm
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19. Join us here at the OBL centre
• For individual study and Bible reading
(by arrangement)
• On Sundays at 3.00pm for individual
Bible presentations
• On Tuesday 17th September from
6.30pm onwards for our Open Day and
an introduction to our Bible study
courses
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