Crazy Corinthian Church (sermon series) and Message Bible Explanation

Crazy Corinthian Church (sermon series) and Message Bible Explanation

I’m starting a new sermon series that will involve an element in my preaching that I’ve never used before-here is my explanation of the who, what and why of it all-hopefully it helps… this by the way is the intro you will hear for the first sermon in the series on July 7^th.

Before I even begin I need to start explaining a few things since over the next several messages I’m doing something I’ve never done before. For the last 33 years I have taught and preached from one version of the Bible-NIV 1984 edition. It’s what I trust and am most familiar with. Most of you know my issues with the current 2011 revision of the NIV and my quest for a new version to teach and preach with since the NIV84 is out of print (though it remains available on line). I began reading different versions 2 ½ years ago and the first one I read was The Message. The main reason I did was all the insight we got as people would read it in our Winter Bible Intensive (WBI). That 3 month study is greatly enriched by the variety of versions we read together.

PLEASE UNDERSTAND: there are many accurate and authoritative versions of the Bible. I still love the KJV-the Lord’s prayer for us, John 3:16 and the 23^rd Psalm will always be with me in KJV. Since 1611 the KJV we, as English readers, have been blessed with many versions in which to read God’s word.

The thing I noticed about The Message in our WBI was in certain books the meaning became so clear, as the language was so fresh that it literally opened our eyes to the message God had for us. So The Message was the first Bible I read cover to cover in my quest. In the process I read the book of 1 Corinthians-and here again the clarity was profound. As we move thru this series I will be very interested in your feedback as to how this version sounds to you. I want to encourage you to grab a Message bible and dig into it over this series (I have a small collection of them if you want one-let me know). If you like you’re current version of the Bible and you really don’t want to read anything else that’s ok too-just know I will be preaching from the Message for the next few weeks.

So what is The Message?  It’s a Bible that was translated by Pastor, Bible scholar and author Eugene Peterson. There are oodles of Navpress videos on youtube of him explaining who he is and why he wrote this translation so I would recommend you look those up and hear it straight from him-if my explanation isn’t enough.

Here’s my take: he wanted a bible the average person in the pew could read and understand-and he originally wrote it for his congregation he pastored for 29 years! He also explains that the Greek and Hebrew languages that most of the Bible is written in was the conversational language of the day. Nobody had to go to the library or consult a scholar to know what the author meant-the meaning was plain b/c the language was plain-this is the hope I have for everyone who reads the Bible-that they would not be confused but clarified by the very words of God.

We are not Muslims who believe their holy book the Quran can only be read in the original language of Arabic or it is corrupt. For centuries Christians have translated God’s word into a language God’s people can understand. In fact, this is the whole reason Wycliffe Bible translators exists-to give people the Bible in the language they understand! Eugene Peterson died last year, but he’s left us 35 books and this transalation-that’s how he referred to it-he believed the Message was not his book-rather it’s God’s book-and so it is.

 As a side note, I find it good to try and address concerns before they become problems, so just in case, here’s one let’s deal with. A controversy was created when Peterson was reported to have expressed support for same-sex marriage, which had been endorsed by his denomination, the Presbyterian Church (USA), in an interview published in Religion News Service on 12 July 2017. He denied saying this the following day and further clarified his position by stating:

“Recently a reporter asked me whether my personal opinions about homosexuality and same-sex marriage have changed over the years. I presume I was asked this question because of my former career as a pastor in the Presbyterian Church (USA), which recently affirmed homosexuality and began allowing its clergy to perform same-sex weddings. Having retired from the pastorate more than 25 years ago, I acknowledged to the reporter that I "haven't had a lot of experience with it." To clarify, I affirm a biblical view of marriage: one man to one woman. I affirm a biblical view of everything.” 

Another concern may be that this would become my primary preaching and teaching text. After reading it cover to cover I can say it really wouldn’t be an option for me. Even now the language of this 17 year old translation can be a bit dated. In his effort to be current he used words that have already lost the original meaning and flare-at least for me. It also leans more toward a paraphrase than a translation and I know there are other versions that are more accurate-and for study they are more helpful to me. Depending on how you hear this series and the text that is read-I may dip into the Message again some day. For now, let's prayerfully go on this new Biblical adventure together!