In worship this Sunday morning, you will not only have the opportunity to give - you will receive a gift, as well! The gift is a free MP3 New Testament on disc. I want you to have one . . . for your sake, for the sake of our church, and for the sake of God’s Kingdom!

A nationally-recognized research organization made this declaration: “Half of your church will never read the Bible.” I must tell you, I balked when I heard that statement. What did they discover that led them to say such a thing about us?
65% of Bible-believing Christians have never read the entire New Testament.
43% of Americans function at or below basic literacy levels.

I am certain that more of us fall into the first category than the second - but that only elevated my concern. Which is worse: not being able to read the Scriptures - or not making the effort to read the Scriptures?

In Romans 10:17, we find that “faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God.” How can we know God through faith? By hearing the Word of God. How can we grow in our faith? By hearing the Word of God.

Here’s my hope: instead of “giving up something” during the season many call “Lent” - why not create an opportunity for God to speak to us through His Word? I am challenging each member of our church to listen to the New Testament during the forty days beginning February 17 and ending on Resurrection Sunday, April 4. I want us all to hear it all and I want us to do it together!

How can we do that together? Using the free MP3 disc, we can listen 28 minutes a day for 40 days and hear the entire New Testament. It may be during your commute; it may be in lieu of the news or a sitcom on television. The truth is, “you’ve got the time - what matters is how you spend it!”

In conjunction with our “listening exercise,” our Missions Committee is leading us to share a special offering that will result in having the New Testament recorded for the very first time into the Chin-Tiddim language. We can do it for $948 per book of the New Testament!

I’m glad to “be on the same page” with you all,

Jerry