I'd like to read another brief selection from Paul's letters to the Corinthian church, from his introduction in the 1^st letter: (I Corinthians 1:2) -- "Paul, called to be an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God... to the church of God in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be holy, together with all those everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ--their Lord and ours: Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ."

The story goes that a young wife was in tears when she opened the door for her husband. "I've been insulted by your mother!" she sobbed. "My mother!" he exclaimed. "But she is six hundred miles away." The wife replied, "I know, but a letter came for you this morning from her and I opened it." He looked stern, "I see, but where does the insult come in?" "In the postscript," she answered. "It said: 'Dear Alice, don't forget to give this letter to George.'" Although the letter was addressed to George, it was obvious from the content that the mother knew Alice would read it as well! It may be stretching an analogy, but the same goes for Paul's letters. The Epistles were letters to individuals or to individual churches, but it is clear from the content that the author knew would be read by other readers; in fact, they were intended to be read by others. Paul especially notes this in his introductory words; the epistles to the Corinthian church from which we read this morning were indeed written to the Corinthian Christians, but also to all those everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. For that matter, that principle applies to this entire compilation of letters and books and historical accounts we call the Bible ... these books and letters and accounts were addressed to specific audiences and individuals, to be sure, but they were meant for all of God's "Alices" to read...all of us "in-laws" who are part of God's family through our "marriage" to Jesus Christ.

As I mentioned in my very first sermon as your pastor, these sixty-six different books and letters, written over thousands of years, with many wildly different authors from all walks of life: kings, shepherds, soldiers, lawyers, scholars, ex-slaves, fishermen, rabbis, these were all written to specific audiences and individuals, to be sure, but they were also meant by God, the divine author, to be read by all who seek to know Him. These sixty-six different books and letters were written by wildly diverse authors from all walks of life and from a wide, wide range of cultural backgrounds and life experiences. What makes this Bible such a beautiful work of art and literature is that there is a remarkable unity in its diversity. There is a remarkably intricate symmetry and proportionality and balance and harmony in these pages. I have spent years studying and reading the Scriptures, and I still find things fitting together which I never discovered before. There is no doubt in my mind about the ultimate divine authorship of these pages through the medium of human writers; in reality, this is the work of one author, God the Holy Spirit. The central theme, the central message, of the Bible can be narrowed down to two words: Jesus Christ. This Book is about Him. He is the protagonist, the central champion, in this 66 book, millennia-long drama of redemption. The Old Testament points toward His arrival on the stage of this world. The New Testament reports of and refers back to this central event, and also points toward the climactic event in human history, when the Protagonist will set foot on the stage of this world again. As anyone who attends the theatre knows, when the main character steps on stage after his main role is completed, that means the play is over; and the curtains are about to fall ... and real life will commence.

Again, this Book is about Jesus Christ; more specifically, it is about what God had planned to do, has done, and will bring to completion in and through Jesus Christ. THE central message, the main drama, the Scriptures express from beginning to end is three fold: