News > North America

BACK TO THE BIBLE

Key Verse: 1 Timothy 4:13 ἕως ἔρχομαι πρόσεχε τῇ ἀναγνώσει, τῇ παρακλήσει, τῇ διδασκαλίᾳ.

 “Until I arrive, give attention to the public reading of Scripture, to exhorting, to teaching.”

I. 2014 Annual Review

Greetings! My 2014 key verse was John 6:48: Ἐγώ εἰμι ὁ ἄρτος τῆς ζωῆς. “I am the bread of life.” In 2014, I continued to read New Testament in Biblical Greek, in particular the Four Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John). As I studied them every week, I first translated weekly passages from Greek to English, did exegesis, developed questionnaires, and after leading group studies, finally, wrote messages.

Our Bible students (from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill) also continued to learn Biblical Greek grammar and became familiar with morphological analysis. A disciple began to enjoy reading NT in its original language. My wife and my two daughters have made great progress. This discipline of Biblical language studies enabled us to pay more attention to the NT during our English Bible studies and gain insights and foresights from above.

New students joined us through person-to-person invitation. For example, a disciple brought his younger brother (a freshman) to our ministry, while another brought his roommate. I focused on training them to be hungry for the words of God. Some began to show their genuine appetites for spiritual food. We acknowledged that Jesus is indeed the bread of life.

We were also blessed to be part of various events. To highlight one, Dr. Abraham Kim and Sarah Kim visited us; they had fellowship with our students. This led us to recommit ourselves to world ‘campus’ mission.

Overall, Chapel Hill UBF (a.k.a Carolina UBF) members grew in confidence in reading the NT in Biblical Greek.

II. 2015 Vision and Strategy

My 2015 key verse is 1 Timothy 4:13: ἕως ἔρχομαι πρόσεχε τῇ ἀναγνώσει, τῇ παρακλήσει, τῇ διδασκαλίᾳ. “Until I arrive, give attention to the public reading of Scripture, to exhorting, to teaching.” Generally speaking, we are susceptible to all kinds of cultural forces and messages that challenge our identity. Where within the vortex can a house church find its clear identity as God’s people? For this, we are reminded of a Latin expression: “Ad Fontes,” “To the sources.” As in Psalm 41 in the Vulgate (ad fontes aquarum), a disciple of Christ should go back to the primary fountain of his or her faith, that is, the Bible -- ideally the Bible in its original languages. In this view, 1 Timohty 4:13 lays out a practical advice; it urges us to find our identity by participating in the public reading of Scripture and renew it in the Biblical stories again and again. Frankly speaking, we are easily attracted to other competing stories and value systems for our sense of identity.

Therefore, in 2015, we plan to read aloud the Old Testament in Biblical Hebrew. A poet once said, "Reading the Bible in translation is like kissing your new bride through a veil.” There are many good reasons to study Biblical Hebrew as well as Biblical Greek, especially for those who are called to be spiritual leaders for the coming generations. A young intellectual wants to study it in order to become well-rounded. Yet we do so in order to renew our identity as God’s chosen people. Hopefully, by the end of 2015, our members may be able to read aloud Genesis in Biblical Hebrew with confidence. Additionally, we pray to advance in the mastery of Biblical Greek in the year 2015. The mercy of God may enable us to continue to grow in all aspects of our life in Jesus Christ and especially in making disciples and leaders of Christ who would lead the ever challenging future generations according to God’s sovereign will.