Millennials and Their Bibles

Recent study from George Barna reports some not so surprising news...

"However, these practices aren't always appreciated by others in their generation. While many Christians might hope that Bible-based films or sharing Scripture online would reach non-Christians, our research suggests the opposite. Non-Christians tend to be more skeptical of biblical films and often feel turned off or alienated by seeing Scripture shared via social media. On the other hand, in the rare cases when non-Christians have increased their Bible reading in the past year, they often did so as a result of seeing how Scripture changed someone they knew. Such responses emphasize the importance of meaningful relationships and evidence of life transformation.

"Finally, for non-Christian Millennials, the ‘brand' of the Bible is a negative one," Kinnaman continues. "The depth and range of these perceptions signal difficult challenges for younger adults who still believe in the Bible. As Bible skepticism increases in their generation, Christian Millennials will have to face those criticisms head on and wrestle with the implications for their own beliefs. Yet when it comes to the Bible—more than many other areas of their faith—Millennial Christians are starting off on comparatively solid ground."

Unbelieving Millennials don't get saved by reading Christian fiction books or by watching Christian movies. Is that a big surprise to anyone?

How does anyone get saved these days? Only through the conviction of the Holy Spirit. However, I am still saddened that Millennials have dropped away from the church. They say they want to use their gifts and their skills right away and not wait year upon year to grow into a position when someone dies.

This is why we really need to make sure we use the whole body and not just pieces parts of it. Otherwise those parts not used will atrophy. Does that surprise anyone?

Genesis...

Can you name what was created on which day... the first chapter of Genesis?

I could not. I thought I could, but I didn't remember them in the right order and I completely forgot about the little creepy crawlies. Living in South Mississippi, which is full of them, I just as soon forget them and prefer they never invade my living space.

In a Sunday school class one Sunday morning, we shut our Bibles and tried to name each thing that God created and which day He created it. Can you name them all?

Even with 12 minds and hearts put together we discovered that we didn't know them so well. [Insert shocked look] I did not cheat, either. When I studied the lesson the morning before I tried to name everything in order and couldn't so I figured that would be a good way to study the first chapter of Genesis. The ladies in my class were intrigued by looking between the lines of each 24-hour period.

Here we see a remarkable thing. God created something from nothing, because it was void, empty, nothing. Anyone who believes in the Big Bang, has to have a huge amount of faith because they believe something was there to begin with. But where did that something come from? Where did gravity originate? How could the law of gravity suddenly happen?

So we opened our Bibles, and looked really closely at each verse... looked at the different things between the lines... Like the fact God created things old and ready to seed and bearing fruit. He had to do that because it was what Adam and Eve would be eating, not to mention every beast of the field, all the cattle and other creepy crawlies. I firmly believe that when God said it was morning and it was evening of the first day, that meant He had created time, 24 hours meant a day, a yom. He didn't mean it was an era of time. That would be ridiculous to have an era of light and dark, and then an era of waters and firmament, then an era of grass and seeds and trees that fruit, and then an era of separation of lights of the day and lights of the dark on the fourth day. How could grass and trees survive without the sun's light? It had to be 24 hours lest they wither and die in the era of darkness.

There is something to make you go hmmmmm

God created the things of the earth old. He created it all for humans lest they starve waiting for a tree to grow big enough to bear fruit.

Then we see that God created all things vegetarian. The food chain was herbs and seeds and fruits, not large animals eating small animals, or humans eating small animals. The first recorded death in the Bible is the animals God slew to cover Adam and Eve after their disobedience. Sin brought violence into the world and it brought carnivores.

But, God let down a sheet for Peter to study, and He told Peter to rise up, kill and eat. That sheet had everything on it that was not "clean" according to Jewish law. Otherwise Peter would not have told the LORD, "No, I haven't ever eaten anything unclean, Lord. I won't start now."

God said, "What I have called clean, is clean and let no man call unclean."

Only God can create something from nothing.

Only God can cleanse.

Only God can make us holy.

From one man came sin and violence into the world and through one Man we are clean and holy. Amen.