Our name | Mission | Vision | Leaders Ministries | Schedule | Directions | Contact Home   Gateway Church gathers for worship Sundays at 10:30 a.m. Location: 6425 Jefferson Rd. (Hwy. 129) in Athens, Georgia. For directions, click here. Ministry of the Word: Recent sermons Our quarterly e-magazine Gateway Today For the Gateway family Pastor Jerry's Weekly E-Mail A GATEWAY SERMON SUMMARY AUDIO The Holy Bible: Our guide for faith and practice (Second in the series, 'A Christian worldview') Jerry Varnado, pastor Gateway Church, Athens GA August 15, 2004 Main Scripture texts: Proverbs 2:1-5; Psalm 1:1-3. A Christian Worldview Sermon Series Aug. 8, 2004 • The Power of Perspective Aug. 15, 2004 • The Holy Bible: Our Guide for Faith and Practice Aug. 22, 2004 • Origins Aug. 29, 2004 • Will the Real God Please Stand Up? Sept. 5, 2004 • The Spirit World Sept. 12, 2004 • A Warfare Worldview Sept. 19, 2004 • War Stories: Invasion and Liberation Oct. 10, 2004 • War Stories: At the Front Oct. 17, 2004 • The Enemy's Battle Plan Oct. 24, 2004 • Personal Defense Oct. 31, 2004 • Our Weapons: The Sword of the Spirit Nov. 7, 2004 • Our Weapons: The Name of Jesus Nov. 14, 2004 • Our Weapons: The Blood of Jesus Nov. 28, 2004 • Warfare Worldview: The Real Star Wars A Christian worldview is one shaped by foundational truths found in The Holy Bible. The Book of Discipline of the United Methodist Church says the Bible is "to be received through the Holy Spirit as our true rule and guide for faith [i.e. our doctrine] and practice [i.e. our day-to-day living]." The Bible is the most incredible book in the history of humankind -- a collection of 66 separate writings written by 35 different authors from virtually every walk of life over a period of 1,500 years. Yet it all fits together into one harmonious composition. The Bible is the all-time bestseller of all books, with more than six billion copies in print. Tyrannical governments, seeing the Bible as a threat, have attempted to suppress or destroy it -- but the Bible has survived and prospered! Everywhere the Bible has been read, believed and put into practice, it has brought positive change to people, nations, and cultures. Some people will tell you the Bible isn't trustworthy, but I've found "many put down the Bible before they pick it up." They claim the Bible isn't reliable without ever having taken the time to read it or to study it. As followers of Christ, we need to equip ourselves to to help skeptics find their way to truth, as well as to keep their skepticism from eroding our confidence in the authority and the inerrancy of Scripture. Although we don't have an original manuscript of any part of the New Testament, the early surviving copies are believed to be highly reliable. Here's why: Thousands of such copies exist -- and the time gap between original and copy ranges from less than a hundred years to about 250 years. In contrast, the gap between many the originals and surviving copies of many other ancient writings is close to 1,000 years. In addition, modern archaeological discoveries have -- again and again -- confirmed biblical accounts of places, dates, and people. The bottom line: Bible is the most accurate and attested document of the ancient world -- and, because it points people to Jesus, it changes lives! The Holy Bible is our trustworthy "rule and guide for faith and practice." Supporting text: Jude 3 | 2 Timothy 2:15 A mp3 audio file of this sermon is here (34:00). (Download to a PC by right clicking on the link and choosing "Save Target As." Mac users: click, hold, and choose "Download Link to Disk." Depending on your connection speed, the file may take several minutes to download.) An audio tape of this sermon is available free of charge (U.S requests only). Request a tape by calling or writing the Gateway Church office. Please specify tape number 040815a: Our Guide for Faith and Practice. © 2004 Gerald R. Varnado To the Gateway Church home page How to contact us