A couple of years ago, we celebrated JOY Lutheran’s 25^th Anniversary as a congregation.  We were fortunate to still have seven charter members with us.  Leading up to the celebration, we had different charter members from our congregation speak before worship about the history and memories they had from when JOY first began.  Then, at the celebration party, we had the mission pastor, Pastor Swenson, who started JOY tell us many stories about the beginning times of our congregation.  We also appointed a church historian, Margaret Todd, to record our history as a congregation in scrapbooks.  Currently, we still tell most of the stories in pictures because we all know either first hand, or through stories, who all the people are and what and who the pictures represent, but at some point we may wish to explain the pictures with more written words so those looking at the scrapbooks in 25-50 years will know the stories, too.  This is our story as a congregation.  It was remarkable to hear how similar the stories told were between charter members and JOY’s first pastor.  Having our founding pastor and charter members tell the stories helped us to hear their memories first-hand and give us the most accurate accounts possible.

Similarly, in the early church, people shared and recorded their stories to pass on to future generations.  Stories were passed on and shared orally for hundreds of years among the Jews and then written and recorded by scribes.  These scribes wrote down oral stories, compiling, expanding, adapting and integrating different accounts in efforts to most accurately capture and pass on church history.  The Old Testament was created from these scrolls.

The discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls gave us confirmation of the Old Testament Scriptures by providing us with multiple copies of the texts from much earlier dates than we had before and from every book, except Esther.  Jesus also confirms the authority of Scripture by teaching and quoting Scripture often.  Specifically, Jesus confirms Scriptural accuracy in Luke:

Then he [Jesus] said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you—that everything written about me in the law of Moses, the prophets, and the psalms must be fulfilled.”  Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures.  (Luke 24:44-45)

What gives Scripture its ultimate authority is not how it was created, but rather that God chooses to meet us in Scripture and reveal God’s self to us through it.  We encounter a Living God in Scripture.  Read your favorite Scriptural text today, and remember: God loves YOU unconditionally!

Annie