Reaching Out: LBF Global

Taking God’s Word to Others
By Carol Hawkins, Missions Coordinator

Over the past few weeks, we’ve been in a sermon series on Sunday mornings learning about the Bible – God’s word to us. Here in America it is our privilege to have access to the scriptures in many different translations so we can freely read it whenever we want to and in a translation that we enjoy reading. We have that choice. However, in many different countries and cultures, the people do not have the Bible in their own language. They cannot pick up a copy of the Bible whenever they want to see what God has to say to them. It’s not even an option for them. That’s why there are men and women serving around the world to translate scriptures for different people groups, to bring that culture God’s word in a way that’s understandable, in a way that God can speak His truths to their hearts.

You may not realize it, but LBF has two families that we support who are doing just that – taking God’s word and translating it to the language of the people they are living with.

Scott and Tonia Berthiaume live in San Luis Potosi, Mexico and are translating God’s word to the Pame people.

And Leigh and Barbara Labrecque are living in Vanuatu, an island chain in the South Pacific, where they are translating the scriptures into two different languages – Southeast Ambrym and Paama. Within the next few years, some of these translations will be complete and Bibles will be printed and delivered to these communities. The people will then be able to read and understand God’s word in their own heart language.

Did you know...? When a people group has the scriptures available in their own language, we say it is in their “heart language,” because that’s the language they know and use. That’s the language that is close to their heart and reaches into their emotions as well as their intellect.

As you’ve heard the sermons about the value of God’s word, and as you read your Bible at home on your own or with your family, please remember that LBF is reaching out to three different language groups through our two missionary families. Because of your faithful support, you are helping to make it possible for these cultures to one day have a copy of God’s holy word in their very own language. That’s such a treasure. We praise God for His incredible word to us, and for the opportunity to help others receive that valuable message.

This Weekend's Message: A Real Page-Turner

I passionately collected baseball cards from about 1987-1991, and then sporadically for a few years after that. Then, when I went off to college, I put my baseball cards in the garage and didn’t look at them for years and years. Finally, I went back into the garage, took out the baseball cards, and started to look through them. I had set aside several cards that I knew where special in 1991. But I was wondering if any card that wasn’t special back then had become special (and valuable) since then. To my delight, I found many. Rookie cards of Jeff Kent, Derek Jeter, Randy Johnson, and Chipper Jones (if you’re a baseball fan, these names are meaningful to you). I was so excited to realize that I had these special (and valuable) cards. For years I had no idea; I only found out because I looked. Sometimes our greatest treasures are right under our nose.

Many of us have a great, unused (or underused) treasure right under our noses. It is called the Bible. If we open it up, we will find treasures that will make sense of our lives, give us practical wisdom, and most importantly, connect us to God’s heart. But we will never experience these wonderful benefits if we leave the treasure chest unopened.

Dan Franklin

This Weekend's Message: Riveting From Beginning to End

One of the main reasons why Christians don’t read the Bible as much as they would like is that we aren’t quite sure how to approach it. Sometimes it seems like a rule book, but many sections of the Bible don’t fit this grid. Sometimes it seems like a collection of wise sayings (much like the collected works of Confucius), but again, this only covers part of the Bible. Sometimes it seems like a collection of stories that are meant to give us moral messages (much like Aesop’s Fables), but sometimes the stories in the Bible seem to fall short in the presentation of clear moral lessons.

The Bible certainly contains rules, but it is not a rule book. It contains wisdom, but it is more than a collection of wise sayings. It contains stories, but it is more than just an anthology. At its core the Bible is none of those things. It is something much different and much better.

Dan Franklin

This Weekend's Message: A True Story

Why should we believe the Bible? How do we know that the right books were chosen for inclusion in the Bible? How do we know that the Bible we have today is the same one that was originally written? Isn’t the Bible full of factual and textual contradictions? If we can’t answer these questions, we will never truly embrace the Bible. We can’t embrace a book that we believe is full of inaccuracies and corruptions, no matter how much it moves us on a heart level. We will only embrace the Bible on the deep level that it demands if we are convinced that it is, in fact, a true story.

Dan Franklin

This Weekend's Message: From the Author of Life

True Story: Joey, a nine-year-old boy, went to his Sunday school class and heard his teacher talk about how Israel escaped from Pharaoh and the Egyptians. When Joey got home, his mother asked what he had learned.

He said, “Well Mom, our teacher told us how God sent Moses behind enemy lines on a rescue mission to lead the Israelites out of Egypt. When he got to the Red Sea, he had his engineers build a pontoon bridge and all the people walked across safely. He used his walkie-talkie to radio headquarters and call in an air strike when the Egyptians were closing in on them. They sent in the bombers to blow up the bridge and destroy the enemy and all the Israelites were saved.”

“Now Joey, is that REALLY what your teacher taught you?” his mom asked.

“Well, no, mom, but if I told it the way the teacher did, you’d never believe me!”

We may find this story entertaining, but it does show an attitude that is common in our world today when it comes to the Bible. Many talk about the Bible as if it were based on myths and legends – some people question the Bible's historical accuracy while others merely ignore it as fiction and an invention of man. This week as we start our new series called “Bestseller,” we will start by examining the Bible’s authority, its author, and its relevance for the 21st century.

I hope to see you this week!

Also I want to extend a HUGE thank you to each of you who signed up to love and teach our kids this summer. All of our classes in our three services are now covered for the summer with many substitutes – our children can look forward to a spiritually important and fun summer because of you!

Gary Keith