The Bible as God’s living word (Psalm 1 vs 1-3: 2 Timothy 3 vs 16-17) (Rev. Nigel Coles)

 Today is Pentecost: the birthday of the Church! A time to welcome the Holy Spirit, who is right here, today, and here for ever. We need the Holy Spirit to live for Jesus, and to give us eyes and ears to hear God’s voice in this library of 66 books. So every part of who we are can grow as disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ (2 Tim 3 vs 16-17) The Old Testament is what Jesus knew as the Hebrew Bible: and Psalms was the hymn book of the Church. And it starts as it means to go on: how to delight in the law of God, meditate on it day and night, and be blessed. To live a life of meaning and purpose, resilient in the face of what life brings our way; to be a tree planted by the waters that doesn’t wither, stays evergreen, and produces good fruit. To be secure in God, not just in the love of other people. We live in a world of half-truths and outright lies, where it’s difficult to know what’s true and what’s fake. How do we know what is right and not questionable ? The psalmist says meditating on God’s word will bring delight to our souls, for it is reliable and good. Living with our own and our peers’ judgement and gut feelings could be called “expressive individualism”: and the Psalm says that is such a poor thing compared to God’s holy word to us.