May 20, 2026
Dear Church of the Open Bible,
Every Christian should be a historian. Every Christian should seek to understand how God has worked in the past. Like many things, I am appreciating this more as I age. When I was younger, history was a means of entertainment in the historical fiction I read or watched, the captivating battles and fascinating figures. That changed a bit to appreciate history as a means of education in the form of courses and biographies. The nature of the hearts of men is such that general predictability is possible as the past informs the future. And while those elements are still evident in my life, my appreciation of history has gone from entertainment, to education, to encouragement.
I will open my mouth in a parable;
I will utter dark sayings from of old,
things that we have heard and known,
that our fathers have told us.
We will not hide them from their children,
but tell to the coming generation
the glorious deeds of the LORD, and his might,
and the wonders that he has done. - Psalm 78:2-4
Because we have a God who reveals Himself in concrete events, history matters. There has been recent interest, from younger believers especially, in how our current practice of Christianity is tethered to history. We want to encourage this by offering two Sunday evening classes in the coming weeks. The first is Scripture 101: How We Got the Bible (May 29th) and the second is Protestantism 101: Similarities & Differences from Roman Catholicism (June 14). More information will be coming out soon.
History matters because God’s actions in the past are the grounds for our current trust and future hope! So like the psalmist, may we listen and know what our father have told us, in order to show and tell the coming generation.
In Christ,
Pastor Jeremy