Please no!

This morning in conversation the question was asked "what verse have you chosen as your theme for the new year?" Let me explain my perspective on this. I am a youth pastor and I think it is lots of fun coming up with themes for messages and events, sometimes a theme can really make an event more appealing to the crowd. For instance for valentine's day rather than calling it "Valentine's Party" we're calling it "A dynamite valentine's party" and using Napoleon Dynamite as a theme. So I'm all about themes.

I also think it's good to have goals...

If you walked into a science room and the class was disecting something. The parts are all over the tables and there is no recognizable animal only animal parts. One of the students runs up to you holding a small organ...it's a liver. The kid exclaims...look it's a frog. You want to correct him but really don't know how. He goes on and on about how the "frog" is so cool and how it changed his life and that this frog is his best friend.

It sounds stupid but that's how I feel we treat the Bible sometimes. Look at this one little verse 12 words in a sea of millions yet this one verse explains all there is to know about 2005, the world, science, and God. Hogwash!

The Bible is not a rule book!
The Bible is not a list of guidelines!
The Bible is not a devotional book!

The Bible IS the living word of God of HIS interaction with his creation...and us!