John 1-2

"Word became flesh". Logis is a Greek term that we translate as "word" in English, but is one of those words that doesn't adequately translate into an English word. It is often used for the concept that we translate as "reason", the highest of Greek virtues. Reason became flesh. That's a little different. I wonder why the word isn't translated as reason. That's a question I will have to look into some more. Isn't Bible study fascinating?

As you read John, notice the themes of "light".

What you might also notice is there is no baptism scene in this Gospel. John leaves it out. This is called "high Christology". Since Jesus is divine from the outset, a baptism seemed out of place. In the book of Mattthew, John the Baptist protests baptizing Jesus (Matt. 3:13-15). In this story, John sees the dove descend, but doesn't actually tell about a baptism.

Read deeply - and enjoy. I am going to go watch the Robbie Seay band assist with worship.

Headed to Annual Conference - in the Woodlands

I am packed up and ready to head to the Woodlands. Of course, the battery on my computer has died, so since I have a Dell laptop, I had to order it online. I will try the AC cord and hope it continues to work when I am near an outlet. Since there is a lot that goes on at Annual Conference, I am not sure when I will have time to check in with you and see if you have any questions about what you are reading. John is a fairly simple book, so maybe there won't be too much you have questions about.

Remember the "Word" is a living word, not just the printed word. In the book "Working the Angles" by Eugene Peterson the author talks about the pre-Gutenberg printing press world. In that world people did not read "to themselves". They listened to others read aloud. Eventually though the "orality in which the word held people gave way to discrete individuals silently reading books alone"...Today, when nearly all reading is silent, the connection with the living voice is remote...When we read more books, look at more pictures, listen to more music than we can possibly absorb the result of such gluttony is not a cultured mind but a consuming one (pg. 91)." Let him who has ears hear (Mark 4:23). Try reading some of the scripture aloud and hear the difference.

Think about being in relationship to the the person who once spoke and then wrote. The voice of the writer comes alive again as you read for transformation and not just information.

I look forward to your questions. I may not have all the answers! I will also be thinking about questions to ask you.

We printed almost 900 pictures of our trip to France. Google Roussillon. It is a town of reds and golds. Beautiful!

Let's begin our journey together...

Tips on Preparing for the New Testament Challenge

The schedule for the New Testament Challenge can be found on the website at www.cypress-umc.org. Click on Ministry, Spiritual Growth Plan, and then New Testement Challenge. The first book we will be reading (or listening to if you do MP3 files) will be the book of John. As I mentioned on my Facebook post today, I find it helpful to have a commentary. I also suggest a one volume Bible dictionary. You can buy both the Interpreter's One Volume Commentary and the Interpreter's Bible Dictionary from Cokesbury (www.cokesbury.com or call 713-621-1755 and ask them to ship you a copy). Of course, if you don't want to spend the money on your own copies, the church has a GREAT library with lots of commentaries and dictionaries.

It is important to remember these books and letters were written a long time ago in a different language. Languages do not always translate directly. Even the English language has changed over the years. Try reading Chaucer (1343-1400) or Shakespeare (1564-1616). Interesting reading, but not so easy.

There are even audio commmentaries on the internet that are interesting to listen to. I fine the audio commentary by J. Vernon McGee in the Blue Letter Bible online to be very interesting from a conservative viewpoint.

Remember you will be reading for transformation, not just information. "O taste and see that the Lord is good." (Psalm 34:8).

Sign up for the New Testament Challenge

June 1st will be the beginning of our New Testament journey for the summer. 90 days to complete the whole New Testament. To sign up you can go to www.cypress-umc.org and click the Ministry button at the top of the home page. Then click on Spiritual Growth Plan, and go down the right hand column to "New Testament Challenge". To read my blog, and to comment on our study, just click "Traveling Light" on the NT Challenge page. We now have 23 people signed up! What a wonderful way to grow in our faith together!
My new picture is in front of the Cathedral in Rouen. Last week at this time I was in sunny Provence. Thursday was market day in Isle-Sur-la-Sourge. I will be posting pictures soon. Market day was so colorful!

Bonjour - We're back from France

We just got back from France yesterday afternoon. I found out it is possible to pack only one pair of pants and one skirt and make it through 10 days by doing wash in the sink every night. We took over 800 photos, and it would have probably been more, except that when I was in the castle in Beynac and tried to hand Waddy my camera, I dropped it. There is nothing like the sound of a digital camera crashing on the floor of a medieval castle floor.

Every where we went was phenomenal. I highly recommend all the places we stayed. The guide we used to do the World War 2 Band of Brothers tour was fantastic. In Normandy I ran into someone in the little bitty town where we stayed that I had worked with when I was Executive Director of Houston NW Habitat. I only worked for Habitat for 6 months, and Ron was on the Board of Directors. Ron and and his wife have lived in Florida for 7 years. I am still wondering what God wanted from that random meeting.

Here are the places we stayed:
Manoir Du Quesnay - manoir-du-quesnay.com (Normandy)
Le Petit Versailles - www.lepetitversailles.fr/ (Dordogne)
Le Mas Grand Jonquier - http://www.grandjonquier.com/ (Provence)

I believe France must have been the Garden of Eden. When the God sent the Flood, I think that is when humanity had to start all over again in the Middle East. It is so beautiful and there is so much history. Au revoir for now...

This is challenging...

Creating and computing - Wow!