DID YOU KNOW: Does the New Testament refer to the Old Testament?

"DID YOU KNOW?" will be a summer series where we review issues of the Bible and the Christian faith of special interest. If you have a suggestion/question that you'd like addressed in a "DID YOU KNOW?" segment, please e-mail the coaches.

Does the New Testament refer to the Old Testament?

Some Christians tend to focus only on the New Testament when studying the Bible, but the whole Bible is the Word of God.  And the New Testament makes references to the Old Testament all the time.  As a matter of fact, Jesus knew the Old Testament by heart, and quoted from it often.

The most commonly quoted books of the Old Testament in the New Testament are:

1. Isaiah: referred to 419 times in twenty-three New Testament books.2. Psalms: referred to 414 times in twenty-three New Testament books.3. Genesis: referred to 260 times in twenty-one New Testament books. 4. Exodus: referred to 250 times in nineteen New Testament books. 5. Deuteronomy: referred to 208 times in twenty-one New Testament books. 6. Ezekiel: referred to 141 times in fifteen New Testament books. 7. Daniel: referred to 133 times in seventeen New Testament books. 8. Jeremiah: referred to 125 times in seventeen New Testament books. 9. Leviticus: referred to 107 times in fifteen New Testament books. 10. Numbers: referred to 73 times in four New Testament books.

PHOTO OF THE WEEK: October 2013 Bible Quiz Meet in Monroe

MUSICAL INTERLUDE: How Can It Be?

QUIZ CHALLENGE: Word Jumble

This week's Bible Quiz Challenge is a word jumble.  Can you unscramble the letters to discover the hidden message?

HUMOR: Sibling Rivalry

Not mine.  From here.

  After explaining the commandment to honor your father and mother, a Sunday School teacher asked her class if there was a commandment that teaches us how to treat our brothers and sisters.
      One boy, the oldest in his family, immediately answered, "Thou shalt not kill."

BIBLE NEWS: Rare Bible Sells for over $157,000

The Bible is not only the Word of God, but also an important part of world history.  Rare and antique Bibles can be extremely valuable.  Recently, a rare 1669 King James Bible sold for over $157,000!

People travelled from all over Sydney to make a bid on the intricately illustrated Bible, which was printed in London by royal printers John Bill and Christopher Barker.
The auction was so packed, the crowd spilled out the door, Ms Stannard said.
“There were four bidders in the auction, but the man who won is a North Shore local who goes to church in the area and will have a special protective case built for it before he gives it to the recipient as a gift in December,” she said.

WEEKLY COMIC: Near Life Experience

DID YOU KNOW: Were there ever any misprints in Bible editions?

"DID YOU KNOW?" will be a summer series where we review issues of the Bible and the Christian faith of special interest. If you have a suggestion/question that you'd like addressed in a "DID YOU KNOW?" segment, please e-mail the coaches.

Skeptics are often looking for errors in the Bible.  Were there ever any documented misprints in Bible editions?

The Holy Bible, as written, is inerrant and inspired by the Holy Spirit.  But various editions printed by humans - copied from the originals or copied from copies - have had errors over the years.  But, as you'd expect, these errors were quickly discovered and resolved.  This article covers some famous misprints.

The "Placemakers" Bible The second edition of the Geneva Bible, published in 1562 has been given the name the "Placemakers" Bible because it printed: "Blessed are the placemakers" instead of "peacemakers" in Matthew 5:9.The "Wicked" Bible In a 1631 edition of the King James Bible, in Exodus 20 verse 14, the word "not" was left out. This changed the 7th commandment to read, "Thou shalt commit adultery." Most of the copies were recalled immediately and destroyed on the orders of Charles I. But there are 11 copies still remaining. They are known as the "Wicked" Bible. The Bible museum in Branson, Missouri, has one copy of the "Wicked Bible". Fortunately for this interesting Bible fact the printer was fined heavily for his mistake.
The "Sin On" Bible In the 1716 King James Version John 8:11 should read: "Go, and sin no more." However, the printer accidentally inverted the "n" and the "o" in the word "on," so it read, "Go and sin on more."
The "Fool" Bible The printer of the 1763 KJV was ordered to pay £3,000 for his inadvertent printer's error which he made in Psalm 14:1. There he printed: "the fool hath said in his heart there is a God," instead of: "the fool hath said in his heart there is no God." As soon as this error was spotted all copies of this Bible were suppressed.

PHOTO OF THE WEEK: Family Bible

How well used is your family Bible?

MUSICAL INTERLUDE: Lazarus

QUIZ CHALLENGE: Crossword Puzzle

This week's Quiz Challenge is a crossword puzzle.  Are you ready to challenge your vocabulary AND your Bible Knolwledge?

HUMOR: Aces High

Not mine.  From here. 

Another Sunday School teacher said to her children, "We have been learning about how powerful the kings and queens were in Biblical times. But there is a higher power. Who can tell me what it is?" Tommy blurted out, "I know, Aces."

BIBLE NEWS: Is an electronic Bible any less Holy?

There is a long and storied tradition in our country of swearing in public officials on a Bible.  A recent trend of swearing in people on Bible apps on tablets is causing some consternation amongst traditionalists (and praise from modernists).

“There is an inherent respect given to the print version of the Bible that doesn’t attach itself to a Kindle or the iPad," Donald Whitney, a professor at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, told Fox News Latino. "Because the Bible is nothing else. It is a holy book to Christians and it is the Word of God. If you have a digital device it may contain the Bible but it also contains other things.”“I don’t think it’s sacrilegious," said Walter Kim, associate minister at the Park Street Church in Boston. "In fact, during our own worship service it’s a regular experience that people are pulling out their iPads and iPhones, looking up the passages that are being read or preached from the pulpit. We recognize that the most important thing is that people are engaged with the Bible. In whatever form it comes, whether it’s electronic or print.” 

WEEKLY COMIC: Judging

DID YOU KNOW: The Feast of Mary Magdalene

"DID YOU KNOW?" will be a summer series where we review issues of the Bible and the Christian faith of special interest. If you have a suggestion/question that you'd like addressed in a "DID YOU KNOW?" segment, please e-mail the coaches.

I heard July 22 is the "Feast of Mary Magdalene".  What is that?

Unlike our tradition, Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, and Lutheran churches celebrate feasts for the great heroes of the Faith (whom they call "Saints").  The Feast on July 22 commemorates Mary Magdalene, the sister of Martha and Lazarus.  She is the most commonly mentioned woman in the New Testament, and was at both Christ's crucifixion and resurrection.

PHOTO OF THE WEEK: Trumbull at Challenge 2014

Thanks to quizzer Nibbles for this picture of the folks from Trumbull who went to Challenge 2014.

MUSICAL INTERLUDE: No Man Is An Island

BONUS COMIC: Meet Cute

HUMOR: Not quite the Trinity

Not mine.  From here. 

Several children found a dead robin. Feeling that a proper burial should be performed, they secured a small box and some cotton batting, dug a hole in the back yard, and made ready to dispose of the deceased. The minister's 5-year-old son was chosen to say the prayer. And so with great dignity, he intoned, "Glory be to the Father...and unto the Son...and into the hole he goes."

BIBLE NEWS: Champions of the Baptist Bible Drill

We love our form of Bible Quizzing, but the EFCA doesn't have a monopoly on competitive Bible-knowledge competitions.  The Baptist Bible Drill - a system focussed on quickly locating and reciting verses from scripture - just had their championship and declared their winners.

Many people might say they know the Bible backwards and forwards, but in the case of siblings Michael and Sarah Last, it is the absolute truth.The two Moulton teenagers recently competed in the Southern Baptist national Bible drill in Helen, Ga., after having won their age group in the state competition.The competition was divided into three sections, which differed in the youth and high school age groups.In the youth category's first section, each competitor was given a part of a Bible verse, and then had to look up the verse and recite it.For the second section, competitors were given doctrine and had to look up a verse that aboded by that doctrine.The third section consisted of competitors being asked questions such as "What does the Bible say about a godly woman?" or "What does the Bible say about facing fear?"The competitors would then look up verses that would answer those questions.The high school age group had the same doctrine and questions categories, but also had a section where they were given a verse of the Bible and had to look it up and recite it.

WEEKLY COMIC: Blowing up with grace

CHALLENGE 2014: Are You Watching?

The bi-annual Challenge Conference is a national event for teens gathered from EFCA churches across the country.  (We used to call it "Nationals", if you need to connect it to old stories the coaches tell from time to time.)  It is a wonderful chance to meet brothers and sisters in Christ from all over, hear great speakers, do good works for the community, and explore the country.

Even if you couldn't make it this year, you can still follow along and enjoy the event.  Click on over to their blog, instagram account, twitter handle, or facebook page to keep an eye on the action!

PHOTO OF THE WEEK: EFCA Challenge 2014!

This week, many of you are in Kansas City for the Challenge Conference.  Here's a quick pic from the official Instagram account from the event.

MUSICAL INTERLUDE: Hope in Front of Me

DID YOU KNOW: Where was the Holy Spirit in the Old Testament?

"DID YOU KNOW?" will be a summer series where we review issues of the Bible and the Christian faith of special interest. If you have a suggestion/question that you'd like addressed in a "DID YOU KNOW?" segment, please e-mail the coaches.

Where was the Holy Spirit in the times of the Old Testament?

We previously discussed where Jesus was before the New Testament, but it is even more logical to ask that question about the Holy Spirit.  Jesus and the Apostles are very clear that the Holy Spirit is God and is part of the Trinity (along with the Father and Jesus, the Son).  If that is the case, why did it take until the New Testament to learn about Him?

But it turns out that - like Jesus - the Holy Spirit is all over the Old Testament, once you know what to look for.  The first mention is Genesis 1:2.

The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.  (Genesis 1:2 ESV)

And it pops up again just a few chapters later in Genesis 6:1-3.

When man began to multiply on the face of the land and daughters were born to them, the sons of God saw that the daughters of man were attractive. And they took as their wives any they chose. Then the Lord said, “My Spirit shall not abide in[a] man forever, for he is flesh: his days shall be 120 years.” (Genesis 6:1-3 ESV)

The "Spirit of God" or "God's Spirit" or "My Spirit" appears all over the Old Testament.  The last reference is in Malachi 2:15.

Did he not make them one, with a portion of the Spirit in their union? And what was the one God seeking? Godly offspring. So guard yourselves in your spirit, and let none of you be faithless to the wife of your youth. (Malachi 2:15 ESV)

So, if the Holy Spirit appeared all over the Old Testament, what the special significance of Pentecost?  Before this event, the Holy Spirit would endwell or empower just one person at a time.  For instance, it came upon King Saul when he was anointed king of Israel by Samuel, but then left him and eventually came upon King David when he was anointed king.  After Pentecost, anyone who became a Christian received the Holy Spirit, and could be empowered by Him.

God is the same yesterday, today, and forever.  Anytime you think the Old Testament and the new Testament might be in conflict, check again!

HUMOR: Always be ready!

Not mine.  From here.

  Going over our church finances I found a receipt from a local paint store signed by someone named Christian. I wasn't aware of anyone buying paint, so I called the store to point out its mistake.      "I'm sorry," I told the manager, "but there are no Christians here at First Baptist Church."

Happy Birthday Coach Mark

WEEKLY COMIC: Potluck Power!

Happy Independence Day!

Today is the day we celebrate the founding of a "nation under God" which was "endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights."  Enjoy the day, and thank God for our nation.

QUIZ CHALLENGE: Who's Who?

This week's Quiz Challenge cover a list of "Who's Who" in scripture.  It's not one of the more challenging quizzes, but it's a different way of looking at the Bible.

PHOTO OF THE WEEK: Beautiful Bible

This is an illuminated Bible from Ethiopia.

MUSICAL INTERLUDE: Taste of Eternity