People frequently assert that the Bible has undergone corruption over time. Copied and re-copied. How can we be sure it says what it is supposed to say? Well, check this out! 

The Coffee Beans Video (by permission), locally without tracking.

The video's original source may have less buffering.

https://arkencounter.com/blog/2018/03/22/can-we-trust-new-testament-manuscripts/

Have a look at this picture. Can you read this sentence? ... Give it a try; after all, it is only simple English. Don’t feel too bad if you can’t get it all. This is old English, and there have been four very major changes to our language since it was last used in 1066 AD.

You would probably say today, “Then she went to speak this in her native language, English." This statement does not constitute a complete thought for today.

As followers of Christ, how much do we focus on his direct teachings? How much do we actually apply them to our everyday lives? Here is a list of some common simple commands that we can start to apply:

For (approximately) the first twenty-four years, I had heard 1248 sermons, attended 1248 home Bible studies, and sung (badly) about 3744 hymns, but how many people had I introduced to the Lord?

How much over those 24 years had I thought just about my needs and not about anyone else’s salvation and growth, let alone being a part of growing the Kingdom here on Earth?

Of all those years of knowledge and studies, how much of it did I actually obey and put into daily practice? Not much at all, really, when I think honestly about it!

How about you? What is your track record?

This is a little exercise that my friend Dave K. added to our Blind Spot Test ice breaker. (Like the Blind Spot test it can be used for ice breaking evangelism or discipleship.)

Someone put a black dot in the middle of a white A4 piece of paper and held it up. Dave was then asked to tell them what he saw. He replied “a dot?”.

In this practical world, what does it really mean to make Jesus your Lord today?  It is always a good idea to get a potential new Christian to count the cost before they commit to a lifetime commitment to Jesus Christ.  It is especially good to explain to someone with a "high church" history what it means to have a personal relationship with Jesus. (e.g., Catholic, Orthodox, Anglican, etc.) 

Remember to let them decide what their main life activities are and how big a slice of pie to give to each one!

Which focus is better (church planting or disciple making)?

As someone who participated in church plants many years ago, I am shocked to see how many of these endeavours have survived and, nevertheless thrived!  Why is that?  The team I was a part of, as a very junior member, was very experienced. We did nothing without God.

The answer came to us years later and recently I saw a very good analogy in nature. 

As a hobby beekeeper, I have seen two types of bee hives.  Natural Hives and Man-made hives. 

5 Top Tips for reading the Bible for all its worth:

1. PRAY! Pray that the Holy Spirit will teach you and give you understanding
2. Source different versions of the Bible
3. Study large blocks of text instead of individual verses
4. Ignore headings (IE: chapters, subheadings and verses) and try not to start with joining words (EG: but, therefore, likewise, etc.).  Instead, determine where the topic begins and start from there.
5. Use a tool like S. O. S. (details below)

Basic SOS is all most people need, most of the time but let’s take a look at the next level.  “Sitz im Leben”. Are you OK, did you sneeze? No this is not a German blessing after a sneeze but it is the next level of studying the bible using a tool like S. O. S.  It sounds complicated but it’s not.  It is an old German phrase that roughly means “settings in life”.  It is just the process of putting the bible into the daily lives of people in its proper context.