The purpose of a “movie trailer” is to give you enough of the storyline to get you interested. The hope, of course, is that after you have seen a little bit of the movie that you will want to see all of it.
If I were trying to find a section of scripture to use as a “movie trailer” for the word of God, I would pick Psalm 103. In this Psalm, David describes God’s nature, our relationship to him and our hope. Here is a sampling.
“Praise the Lord… who forgives all your sins” (verses 1 and 3).
“Who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's” (verses 4-5).
“The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love” (verse 8).
“For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us. As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him” (verses 11-13).
“From everlasting to everlasting the Lord's love is with those who fear (respect) him” (verse 17).
“Praise the Lord” (verses 20, 21 and 22).
And that is just the “trailer”!
The rest of the Bible goes on to say things like, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16). There is talk about a new birth (John 3 and 1 Peter 1:23) and a new life (Romans 6:1-4). The message of the Bible is one of hope and joy. As Jesus said, it is “good news” that should be heard and shared (Mark 16:15).
Sometimes once you have seen a movie trailer, you have seen all the best parts. The rest of the movie does not live up to the advertisement.
In this case, we have not even scratched the surface. The promises listed above are great, but they are only a fraction of the good things that God offers.
Best of all, for those who follow God, this story ends “happily ever after”.
If I were trying to find a section of scripture to use as a “movie trailer” for the word of God, I would pick Psalm 103. In this Psalm, David describes God’s nature, our relationship to him and our hope. Here is a sampling.
“Praise the Lord… who forgives all your sins” (verses 1 and 3).
“Who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's” (verses 4-5).
“The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love” (verse 8).
“For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us. As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him” (verses 11-13).
“From everlasting to everlasting the Lord's love is with those who fear (respect) him” (verse 17).
“Praise the Lord” (verses 20, 21 and 22).
And that is just the “trailer”!
The rest of the Bible goes on to say things like, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16). There is talk about a new birth (John 3 and 1 Peter 1:23) and a new life (Romans 6:1-4). The message of the Bible is one of hope and joy. As Jesus said, it is “good news” that should be heard and shared (Mark 16:15).
Sometimes once you have seen a movie trailer, you have seen all the best parts. The rest of the movie does not live up to the advertisement.
In this case, we have not even scratched the surface. The promises listed above are great, but they are only a fraction of the good things that God offers.
Best of all, for those who follow God, this story ends “happily ever after”.
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