Good morning,
Just a quick update this holiday week…I hope that each of you had a wonderful Christmas. Thanks again to all who served for our Christmas Eve and Christmas morning services. In this morning’s newspaper there was an article titled “Building A Better Biblical Clock” that was very interesting to read, especially in light of our current Sunday School series.
The article, which was first published in the New York Times, discusses a new method of archeological dating that uses geomagnetic data from soil samples, instead of radiocarbon analysis. You can read the article in full here (non-subscribers get a few free articles):
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/20/science/archaeology-bible-geomagnetism.html
To briefly summarize the article, the author states that “radiocarbon analysis that scientists use to date organic remains is less accurate for certain epochs.” Later in the article an archaeologist is quoted, saying “ And in return, archaeology gets a new tool for dating, whose main application is in the first millennium B.C., a period when radiocarbon is less effective and impossible to rely on.” (emphasis mine). We’ve talked about this very thing in Sunday School over the past month…much of the work done with radiocarbon dating is hardly “settled science.”
The article goes on to give two examples of how this new dating method is impacting how people view the historical accuracy of the Bible. And guess what? It’s proving that the Bible is right! This shouldn’t surprise us, but it is always reassuring to see the accuracy of the Scriptures acknowledged by the secular world. It will be very interesting to see how this new technology impacts our understanding of the events of the Old Testament.
I also want to mention briefly that on Sunday 1/15/23 I will be using the Sunday School hour to give something of a “State of the Church” address. I’ll be discussing some of the strengths and realities of our church and offering some goals for 2023. I would really, really, really encourage you to attend, even if the 9 o’clock hour isn’t a normal part of your Sunday morning. There will be a Sunday School class for the younger children that morning.
Here’s what’s happening:
- Men’s Breakfast THIS SATURDAY at 8 am at Hometown Kitchen.
- Junior Youth meeting THIS SUNDAY after the church service.
- This is the last Sunday to bring in items for our Advent outreach project supporting Solanco Neighborhood Ministries. Thank you to all who contributed!
- The 2023 church budget is now available. Please take some time to review it. Any questions or concerns should be communicated to the elders or myself before the next elders meeting, which is on 1/4/23. A vote of affirmation will be taken after the worship service on 1/15/23.
This Sunday is New Year’s Day! Just as a reminder, we won’t be holding Sunday School again this week. We’ll be gathering at 10 am as usual. Don’t worry, you’ll be home in plenty of time for pork and sauerkraut!
We’ll be spending some in Matthew 2 and looking at the famous visit from the Magi from the east. The Magi have come to visit a baby, and their response is to worship Him. Others in the story, however, have a very different response to the newborn king. We’ll look at each response and what each one means for us today.