What Is "The B.C. Blog"? An Intro By Sojourn Lead Pastor Daniel Montgomery

Welcome to The B.C. Blog — Sojourn Church’s year-long trek through the Old Testament in the blogosphere.  This blog will supplement and expand on the 52-week sermon series on the Old Testament in Louisville’s Sojourn Community Church, led by Pastor Daniel Montomery.

A whole year in the Old Testament?  Why would Christians do that?  Pastor Daniel has the scoop below:

Let’s face it – the Old Testament is tough:

• What do we do with all of that bloody animal sacrifice?
• What do we do about page after page of dietary laws and restrictions?
• What do we do with the picture of a God who orders violent deaths of thousands of people who seem to be guilty of nothing more than not being Hebrew?

It can be confusing.  A lot of people, even in the church, simply don’t know what to make of the Old Testament, so they will respond in one of two ways:

Some will avoid it — they will camp out in the New Testament and maybe, but only occasionally, dip into the Old for an inspirational refrigerator magnet verse.

Others will abuse it — they will stand over it to dissect it and pick and choose what they want to believe, and deny its total beauty and reality for their own lives.

Let’s not walk down either of those paths.  Let’s hold fast to the belief that understanding the whole Bible is necessary for authentic spirituality.

So, how do we unlock this violent, bloody, law-filled book?  The key is Jesus — He unravels the whole Old Testament mystery.

As you work through the Old Testament you will see:

In Genesis, Jesus, the promised one who would ‘crush the head of Satan’ (Genesis 3:15)

In Exodus, Jesus, the bread of God, came down from heaven (Exodus 16:11-35; John 6:33)

In Leviticus, Jesus, our ‘sacrifice and great high priest’ (Leviticus 21; Hebrews 9:19)

In Numbers, Jesus, our ‘rock’ (Numbers 20:11; 1 Corinthians 10:4)

In Deuteronomy, Jesus, the ‘prophet’ (Deuteronomy 18:15-19; Acts 3:22-23)

We will see Christ as the key of every book in the Bible, from creation through the slavery of Israel, the eras of the judges and kings, through the writings of the prophets, all the way to the Gospels, where Jesus Himself said, ‘these are the Scriptures (refering to the Old Testament) that speak of me’ (John 5:39).

So whether you’re a skeptic, full of doubts and questions, someone seeking the truth about God, or a Christian simply longing to understand the whole Bible, even the hard parts, the invitation remains the same: step into the ancient scriptures with us.  Wrestle with them.  Find the truth about God.  And find the truth about yourself.

Peace,

Daniel Montgomery