The Bridge in Plain Text
Issue To Be Used Any Time After
Aug. 1, 2008
Below you will find all the
text from The Bridge in plain text format, so you can easily copy
and paste the information into your publications. Links to the graphics are
available below the text.
The Bridge
A monthly publication of the Southeastern Minnesota Synod, ELCA
Connecting the congregational, synodical, and churchwide expressions of the
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
The Book of Faith Initiative
Open Scripture. Join the Conversation.
What is the Book of
Faith?
The Book of Faith is an initiative of the Evangelical Lutheran
Church in America. The Book of Faith initiative invites the whole church to
become more fluent in the first language of faith, the language of
Scripture, in order that we might live into our calling as a people renewed,
enlivened, and empowered by the Word.
The Bible is a book of
faith
The Bible is the written Word of God that creates and nurtures faith through
the work of the Holy Spirit and points us to Christ, the incarnate Word and
center of our faith. The Bible invites us into a relationship with God,
making demands on our lives and promising us life in Christ. The Bible tells
the stories of people living their faith over the centuries and, through its
demands and promises, forms us as a people of faith. The language of
Scripture is our first language of faith.
The Bible teaches us about
God, about the world, and about ourselves. We become renewed, enlivened, and
empowered as the language of Scripture forms our hearts, our minds, our
community conversation, and our commitments.
We have a calling as the
people of God
Part of our calling is to know, hear, share, and be rooted in Scripture. We
are renewed, enlivened, and empowered by the Word. As we live into our
calling as people who are formed by Scripture, we become renewed in our
faith, enlivened through the Spirit, and empowered through the cross of
Christ to serve God and neighbor.
Featured Resources
The Book of Faith initiative has a lot
of online resources available at www.ELCA.org/bookoffaith. Visit the site
and click on “Resources” to find the following items and much more:
-
Opening the Book of Faith -
a book to introduce the initiative and get started
-
Individual and group
assessment tools for use in getting started
-
Conversation tools including
an online forum
-
More than a dozen different
Bible studies
-
“Dwelling in the Word” -
ideas to get your congregation in conversation, including sample stories
from others to get the ball rolling
-
Several videos to go with
the initiative and some studies
-
Additional basic Bible
resources
Monthly Bible Verse
This Bible verse was selected by Harold Usgaard, bishop of the
Southeastern Minnesota Synod, for everyone in the synod to study.
“These are written so that you
may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that
through believing you may have life in his name.”
John 20:31
About Our Synod
The Southeastern Minnesota Synod is a faith community of 130,000 baptized
people in 184 congregations as well as related institutions of the
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). Its geographic area includes
15 counties in the southeastern corner of Minnesota.
The Bridge is a monthly
publication of the Southeastern Minnesota Synod, ELCA. For more information,
contact the synod office:
Southeastern Minnesota Synod,
ELCA
1001 14th St. NW, Suite 300
Rochester, MN 55901-2551
(507) 280-9457
www.semnsynod.org
This issue is designed to be
used any time after Aug. 1, 2008.
Graphics from this issue
Right-click the link and choose "save to disk" to save the
graphic, and then insert it into your desktop publishing program. Graphics
are in high-resolution tiff format. If you require another format, please
call 507-280-9457.
|
