100:00:00,020 –> 00:00:08,320I know you have scientists experimenting with all kinds of genetic engineering200:00:08,320 –> 00:00:17,180today but this fact remains true. No woman has a child without a man. I’ve300:00:17,180 –> 00:00:21,620often smiled when I’ve looked down and heard people say they struggled to400:00:21,620 –> 00:00:26,120believe in the virgin birth. They say it’s a struggle for them. How do you500:00:26,340 –> 00:00:31,719think it was for me? Welcome to Open the Bible with Pastor Colin Smith. I’m David600:00:31,719 –> 00:00:35,560Pick. Glad you could join us today and Colin just imagine what it would be700:00:35,560 –> 00:00:41,860like to be in Joseph’s shoes or possibly sandals. His fiance comes and says I’m800:00:41,860 –> 00:00:44,880pregnant, were going to have a baby and he had no900:00:44,880 –> 00:00:49,560part in that, He had absolutely no part in it and of course that is the miracle1000:00:49,560 –> 00:00:53,799of the virgin birth. But what extraordinary faith he had and what1100:00:54,439 –> 00:00:59,340He had. The angel gives him the special word that he is not to put Mary away1200:00:59,340 –> 00:01:04,320because God is doing something and so this man has to persevere through all1300:01:04,320 –> 00:01:08,199the difficulties that he must have felt internally and experienced perhaps1400:01:08,199 –> 00:01:11,919externally in order to be faithful to what God was calling him to do.1500:01:11,919 –> 00:01:16,900Obviously Joseph’s been gone for about 2,000 years now but if he were to speak1600:01:16,900 –> 00:01:21,519to us today, how do you think he would respond to someone saying I have a hard1700:01:21,680 –> 00:01:24,059time believing this virgin birth story?1800:01:24,059 –> 00:01:27,379Well he would be the very best witness we could call1900:01:27,379 –> 00:01:32,660wouldn’t he? And that’s the point of the story today as we go into another2000:01:32,660 –> 00:01:38,339First Person I view version of the Christmas story what a great witness he2100:01:38,339 –> 00:01:42,900is to the great thing that God is doing in stepping into the world in Jesus2200:01:42,900 –> 00:01:44,940Christ born of the Virgin Mary.2300:01:44,940 –> 00:01:46,839Well I hope you can join us in your Bible2400:01:47,180 –> 00:01:52,519today in Matthew chapter 1 as we begin Joseph’s story, here’s Colin.2500:01:53,019 –> 00:01:53,519Well I really is wonderful2600:01:53,519 –> 00:01:57,860to be here you know John and Simeon have told me about what a wonderful group of2700:01:57,860 –> 00:02:02,320people you are they really enjoyed their time down here with you. Of course I’ve2800:02:02,320 –> 00:02:05,620been in heaven with them for the last two thousand years you understand2900:02:05,620 –> 00:02:10,259although we don’t count time like you do. By the way that is where I got this3000:02:10,380 –> 00:02:18,919accent though I’m sure that John and Simeon told you the same thing by the3100:02:18,919 –> 00:02:22,779way I took the opportunity of having a look at some of the tools you have in3200:02:22,779 –> 00:02:28,880Home Depot. I tell you they, the chippies in my day could not have imagined the3300:02:28,880 –> 00:02:33,500tools that some of you have in your homes. I tell you if I could travel back3400:02:33,500 –> 00:02:38,899to the first century and try and describe to some of my old3500:02:39,059 –> 00:02:43,660mates some of the stuff that you’ve got there, your skill saws and your cordless3600:02:43,660 –> 00:02:48,880drills and telling you they would not be able to conceive of what I was3700:02:48,880 –> 00:02:55,600describing to them and by the way if I was to tell you about heaven you’d have3800:02:55,600 –> 00:03:01,940the same problem. But I want to tell you that what’s there is as real as the3900:03:01,940 –> 00:03:08,460stuff in Home Depot and it lasts for much longer. Anyway I’ve got a marvelous4000:03:08,460 –> 00:03:16,059story to tell you today. Because I had a ringside seat for the greatest event4100:03:16,059 –> 00:03:21,919that has ever happened in the history of the world. Now as I tell you my story4200:03:21,919 –> 00:03:26,660you’ll understand that there was a lot of travelling involved and I’m told that4300:03:26,660 –> 00:03:31,399there are some children in the service today. So you might be interested as we4400:03:31,479 –> 00:03:35,479go through the story to add up the number of miles4500:03:35,479 –> 00:03:40,320that Mary travelled. And if you can add it up you might like to tell me4600:03:40,320 –> 00:03:46,320afterwards how many you think it really was. Well of course, you all know4700:03:46,320 –> 00:03:53,479that I was the one who was pledged to be married to Mary. I knew that she was the4800:03:53,479 –> 00:03:58,740one for me from the first time that I saw her. What I didn’t know was that she4900:03:58,759 –> 00:04:04,300had been chosen by God to bear the child that had been promised to the world5000:04:04,300 –> 00:04:10,660since the beginning of time. The first thing you need to know about Mary’s5100:04:10,660 –> 00:04:20,459child is that his birth had absolutely nothing whatever to do with me. You see5200:04:20,459 –> 00:04:27,079for us, the union between a man and a woman was sacred.5300:04:27,220 –> 00:04:35,320It was to be kept for marriage. You know there’s a purity about the union of one5400:04:35,320 –> 00:04:40,059man and one woman in marriage that isn’t found anywhere else.5500:04:40,059 –> 00:04:45,100I know a lot of folks in your day have lost sight of that and I tell you from5600:04:45,100 –> 00:04:49,239up there we see the pain and the insecurity that comes as a result.5700:04:49,239 –> 00:04:53,980Of course we never faced the pressure that some of you younger folks are5800:04:54,519 –> 00:04:59,640all the advertising that assaults your mind every day but I can tell you that I5900:04:59,640 –> 00:05:08,179have no regrets about the choice that we made. And if you choose to obey God in6000:05:08,179 –> 00:05:17,040this manner you will have no regrets either. I have kept myself for Mary and6100:05:17,040 –> 00:05:21,940Mary had kept herself for me.6200:05:22,160 –> 00:05:30,839And that’s why you see I was completely devastated when she came to me with the6300:05:30,839 –> 00:05:37,279news that was to shatter our entire world. I don’t honestly remember how she6400:05:37,279 –> 00:05:41,359started the conversation and I can’t imagine the trauma that it was for her6500:05:41,359 –> 00:05:45,980to begin to try and tell me. All I remember is that she said the word6600:05:46,700 –> 00:05:52,200pregnant and when she said that word I just about went through the roof. She6700:05:52,200 –> 00:05:58,140said it wasn’t like I thought and she had some story about an angel appearing6800:05:58,140 –> 00:06:01,440to her but I wasn’t able to listen to any of that I simply couldn’t take it in6900:06:01,440 –> 00:06:07,160after I’d heard that word. It would take an angel to make me believe what you’re7000:06:07,160 –> 00:06:14,179trying to tell me I said to her. I may have lived 2,000 years ago but that7100:06:14,380 –> 00:06:22,579make me naive nor foolish. I know that no woman has a child without a man. I know7200:06:22,579 –> 00:06:27,600you have scientists experimenting with all kinds of genetic engineering today7300:06:27,600 –> 00:06:39,420but this fact remains true. No woman has a child without a man. So I’ve often7400:06:39,420 –> 00:06:44,059smiled when I’ve looked down and heard people say they struggle to believe in7500:06:44,059 –> 00:06:49,059the virgin birth. They say it’s a struggle for them. How do you think it7600:06:49,059 –> 00:06:56,700was for me? You may think you’re more sophisticated in your scientific age7700:06:56,700 –> 00:07:01,059than we were, but I tell you no one in human history ever had more problems7800:07:01,059 –> 00:07:09,359over this issue than me. Put yourself in my position, what would you have thought?7900:07:09,679 –> 00:07:15,880Well all I can tell you is that I was absolutely distraught. My dream of a8000:07:15,880 –> 00:07:19,600wonderful marriage had in a moment to become a nightmare. Of course there was8100:07:19,600 –> 00:07:24,359no way that I could go forward with the marriage. How could I do such a thing8200:07:24,359 –> 00:07:29,679with one who had betrayed my trust at least that’s how I saw it at the time.8300:07:29,760 –> 00:07:37,540I still loved her. I still cared for her. I didn’t want to hurt her but moving8400:07:37,640 –> 00:07:44,679ahead with the marriage was simply not an option for me. And that was when she8500:07:44,700 –> 00:07:49,880told me that she thought the best thing to do was for her to go away.8600:07:49,880 –> 00:07:56,859She had a cousin Elizabeth who lived about 70 miles away in Judea.8700:07:56,859 –> 00:08:04,959I think I should go there for a while she said and then she was gone.8800:08:05,820 –> 00:08:08,019My world was absolutely shattered.8900:08:10,299 –> 00:08:15,959One minute I’m on the brink of a beautiful marriage,9000:08:15,959 –> 00:08:23,140and the next I’m sitting in my wood shop alone.9100:08:23,140 –> 00:08:28,000The strangest thing to me at that time was that while I was in an absolute9200:08:28,000 –> 00:08:35,059panic over all of this, Mary had a radiance about her.9300:08:35,059 –> 00:08:41,119In all of the trauma of what she was trying to tell me, she was not filled with shame,9400:08:41,119 –> 00:08:43,979but with joy.9500:08:43,979 –> 00:08:49,539And that was something I just could not begin to understand.9600:08:49,539 –> 00:08:55,500Then one night, I had an experience unlike anything else that ever happened to9700:08:55,500 –> 00:08:57,500me in all of my life.9800:08:57,500 –> 00:09:06,400An Angel of the Lord appeared to me in a dream.9900:09:06,400 –> 00:09:13,599Now by the way, I notice there’s a lot of talk about Angels in your country today.10000:09:13,599 –> 00:09:18,520Most of it of course is wild speculation, you do know that, don’t you?10100:09:18,520 –> 00:09:23,320I find it interesting, you might be interested to know this yourselves, that it was precisely10200:09:23,320 –> 00:09:28,179the same in my day, in fact, from the end of the period when the Old Testament was written10300:09:28,179 –> 00:09:35,179up until my generation there was all kinds of wild speculation about the activity of10400:09:35,179 –> 00:09:39,799Angels, most of it was sentimental nonsense.10500:09:39,799 –> 00:09:44,020The fact is you never heard more from people who knew less.10600:09:44,960 –> 00:09:49,900Let me tell you something worth remembering about Angels.10700:09:49,900 –> 00:09:54,400Angels are servants of God.10800:09:54,400 –> 00:10:00,919Angels have the ministry of glorifying the Lord Jesus Christ.10900:10:00,919 –> 00:10:06,760So the best way to be discerning when you hear stories about angels, is to ask this11000:10:06,760 –> 00:10:07,900question.11100:10:08,059 –> 00:10:14,500Has this activity led people to think more or less of Jesus Christ?11200:10:14,500 –> 00:10:18,239That’s how you discern the activity of angels.11300:10:18,260 –> 00:10:24,659If it hasn’t led a person to think more of Jesus Christ, it isn’t the activity of11400:10:24,659 –> 00:10:30,479an angel, or at least not the kind of angel you want to be associated with.11500:10:30,479 –> 00:10:35,200You’re listening to Open the Bible with Pastor Colin Smith and a message called Joseph’s11600:10:35,599 –> 00:10:39,679story, and that’s part of our series called Christmas Stories.11700:10:39,679 –> 00:10:43,239If you’ve missed any of the series to date, or if you want to go back and listen again,11800:10:43,239 –> 00:10:48,080you can do that by coming to our website, openthebible.org.uk.11900:10:48,080 –> 00:10:52,880Or find us as a podcast, those are on all the main podcast sites, search for Open the12000:10:52,880 –> 00:10:57,359Bible UK and subscribe to receive regular updates.12100:10:57,359 –> 00:11:00,559At Open the Bible we welcome contact with our listeners.12200:11:00,559 –> 00:11:05,000If you have been blessed by Pastor Colin Smith’s teaching, and you’d like to reach out to12300:11:05,000 –> 00:11:07,419us, there are several ways you can do that.12400:11:07,419 –> 00:11:17,479You can write to us, at Open the Bible, PO Box 1420, Cheltenham, GL50, 9pg or you can12500:11:17,479 –> 00:11:24,960phone us, on 0330 335 8089.12600:11:24,960 –> 00:11:30,159If we’re not available when you call, leave a message for us, and we’ll return your call,12700:11:30,320 –> 00:11:45,000I’m here to tell you that an angel of the Lord appeared to me in a dream.12800:11:45,000 –> 00:11:47,239And this is what he said.12900:11:47,239 –> 00:11:57,239Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, because what is conceived13000:11:57,539 –> 00:12:02,760in her is from the Holy Spirit.13100:12:02,760 –> 00:12:13,200She will give birth to a son and you, he said that to me, you are to give him the name Jesus.13200:12:13,200 –> 00:12:16,520I woke up in a cold sweat.13300:12:16,520 –> 00:12:21,919This was unlike any other dream I had ever experienced before I knew, beyond all shadow13400:12:21,960 –> 00:12:27,520of doubt that God had spoken to me.13500:12:27,520 –> 00:12:32,440And then, I began to think about the scriptures.13600:12:32,440 –> 00:12:39,760By the way, that’s a sure way of testing when you think that God may have spoken to you.13700:12:39,760 –> 00:12:45,960If God has said something to you, it will always fit with the scriptures.13800:12:45,979 –> 00:12:51,760And after that dream, verses that I had read in the synagogue came flooding back to my13900:12:51,760 –> 00:12:52,760mind.14000:12:52,760 –> 00:12:58,000Isaiah, for example, had said this, 800 years before my time.14100:12:58,000 –> 00:13:03,200A virgin will conceive.14200:13:03,200 –> 00:13:05,159And give birth to a son.14300:13:05,159 –> 00:13:13,359And Isaiah said that they will call him Immanuel, which means, God with us.14400:13:13,760 –> 00:13:24,200It was staggering and overwhelming beyond words for me to consider that what he had14500:13:24,200 –> 00:13:30,500said so long ago had actually happened.14600:13:32,159 –> 00:13:35,460Well the following morning, I knew what I had to do.14700:13:35,460 –> 00:13:37,200I headed straight south for Judea.14800:13:37,200 –> 00:13:40,580I don’t think I had ever traveled 70 miles so fast.14900:13:40,679 –> 00:13:46,359I could not wait to take her in my arms and tell her what had happened.15000:13:46,380 –> 00:13:52,559The more I thought about it over that journey, the more staggering it became to me.15100:13:52,559 –> 00:13:58,419Our little lives had been caught up in the sweep of God’s saving purpose for the whole15200:13:58,419 –> 00:13:59,659of the human race.15300:13:59,659 –> 00:14:05,099Our little home was going to be the place where the child promised the world would be15400:14:05,099 –> 00:14:15,539born and the calling of my life was to be the guardian of the Son of God.15500:14:15,539 –> 00:14:22,299Mary had spent three months with Elizabeth, and by the time we returned she was beginning15600:14:22,299 –> 00:14:25,400to show.15700:14:25,400 –> 00:14:28,460That was the beginning of our married life together.15800:14:29,400 –> 00:14:37,940Though we both agreed that we would not consummate our marriage, until after the child was born.15900:14:37,940 –> 00:14:44,059Well we were beginning to settle into a new life together in Nazareth when a herald arrived16000:14:44,059 –> 00:14:49,940in town with a proclamation from Rome that the new government had an initiative.16100:14:49,940 –> 00:14:53,099you’re always skeptical when the government has a new initiative.16200:14:53,099 –> 00:14:55,099It’s still the same is it?16300:14:55,099 –> 00:14:57,580Well we were too and sure enough it was bad news for us.16400:14:57,599 –> 00:15:06,059The entire population had been ordered to return to the town of family origin to reger16500:15:06,059 –> 00:15:12,239for a census that they decided they wanted to take, can you imagine?16600:15:12,239 –> 00:15:19,539It seemed that everybody was on the move, the roads absolutely chaos, families with16700:15:20,520 –> 00:15:27,520animals moving, all that they owned in every conceivable direction. I could hardly believe16800:15:28,719 –> 00:15:35,719it. Mary was nearly due but when the Romans gave orders, there were no exceptions so I16900:15:38,659 –> 00:15:45,659saddled up the donkey and the two of us headed south on the road to Bethlehem,17000:15:45,919 –> 00:15:52,919my home town, another 70 miles. Of course you get all sentimental about the donkey.17100:15:55,739 –> 00:16:02,739You should try riding on a donkey. And then imagine doing it for 70 miles. Then image17200:16:03,460 –> 00:16:09,599doing it at the advanced stage of carrying a child. I don’t know how she managed it17300:16:10,099 –> 00:16:18,640As she did. It was on the journey that it dawned on me that even this was part of the17400:16:18,640 –> 00:16:25,500plan of God. Y’know hundreds of years before the Prophet Micha had spoken of a ruler who17500:16:25,500 –> 00:16:31,719would come out of Bethlehem, not Nazareth where we’d been living but Bethlehem, my17600:16:31,719 –> 00:16:38,299town of family origin. It was years since I’d been in Bethlehem and I would never have17700:16:38,299 –> 00:16:45,599dreamt of going there if not it had been for the decree. Think about this God put it into17800:16:45,599 –> 00:16:55,020the mind of a European dictator who neither knew him nor believed in him to issue a decree17900:16:55,020 –> 00:17:00,679that resulted in us going back to my home town where a Prophet 700 years before said18000:17:00,719 –> 00:17:10,099that this child would be born. It’s amazing. Bethlehem’s a tiny place of course. When Luke18100:17:10,099 –> 00:17:19,060says that there was no room at the inn that’s what he means there was no room at the inn18200:17:19,060 –> 00:17:26,939and all that was left for us was the shelter of a cave and that was where he was born.18300:17:27,660 –> 00:17:34,520I cannot describe the joy of that moment to you. Some of you have been present at the18400:17:34,520 –> 00:17:48,380birth of a child and you know what it is like. I was the first to hold him in my arms. My18500:17:48,920 –> 00:18:03,900hands brought him into the world. I was the first one to touch the gift of God. It was18600:18:03,900 –> 00:18:13,300the strangest thing being in the cave, just the three of us. The child who had been born18700:18:13,300 –> 00:18:17,719promised to the world since the beginning of time, and just the three of us knowing18800:18:17,719 –> 00:18:24,020about it. But at least that’s what it seemed until a group of shepherds arrived saying18900:18:24,020 –> 00:18:31,140that they had seen that very night a company of angels in the sky, praising God and telling19000:18:31,140 –> 00:18:40,699them that a savior was born in Bethlehem. Now that he was born, I began to see the importance19100:18:40,719 –> 00:18:49,079of the role that God had given to me as his guardian. Of course, my first responsibility19200:18:49,079 –> 00:18:55,239was to find some proper accommodation. We decided to stay in Bethlehem for a while and19300:18:55,239 –> 00:19:04,040it was there on the eighth day that I had the immense privilege of naming him. There19400:19:04,040 –> 00:19:08,800was no discussion about this. The angel had already made it clear in that original dream19500:19:09,199 –> 00:19:15,780he had said, You are to give him the name Jesus because he will save his people from19600:19:15,780 –> 00:19:18,780their sins. And so I named him.19700:19:18,780 –> 00:19:26,079I named him Jesus. Of course I really had very little idea at19800:19:26,079 –> 00:19:31,819that point as to what all this meant. He will save his people from their sins, though I19900:19:31,819 –> 00:19:38,160see the glory of it now. But even then it seemed to be a name full20000:19:38,160 –> 00:19:45,359of hope and of meaning. And there was absolutely no doubt about why20100:19:45,359 –> 00:19:51,219he had come into the world. He had come to save his people from their sins, whatever20200:19:51,219 –> 00:20:00,420that meant and whatever that would involve. A month later, it was time for us to take20300:20:00,459 –> 00:20:06,219him to the temple in Jerusalem. More traveling for his mother and me, though20400:20:06,219 –> 00:20:12,459this time it was six miles into the city from Bethlehem to Jerusalem.20500:20:12,459 –> 00:20:18,500Moses had given us a law, that we should offer a sacrifice of two pigeons and that this was20600:20:18,500 –> 00:20:24,380to be done just over a month after the birth of a child, so that is what we did.20700:20:24,380 –> 00:20:30,979We were just about through with the ceremony, when an old man came rushing up to us.20800:20:30,979 –> 00:20:34,540Never seen him before, never seen him since.20900:20:34,540 –> 00:20:38,760But the old man asked if he could hold the child and Mary gave the child to him, and21000:20:38,760 –> 00:20:43,400as he held the child, words began to flow from him.21100:20:44,079 –> 00:20:47,640My eyes have seen your salvation, he said.21200:20:48,300 –> 00:20:52,459Would you have prepared in the sight of all peoples a light to the Gentiles and a glory21300:20:52,500 –> 00:20:54,780to your people Israel?’21400:20:54,780 –> 00:21:00,020I looked at Mary, she looked at me who is this old fella?21500:21:00,020 –> 00:21:03,660We marveled at what he was saying.21600:21:04,540 –> 00:21:10,479The same God who had spoken to Mary through the angel and to me through an angel in the21700:21:10,500 –> 00:21:16,780dream, and had revealed himself through angels to the shepherds, and had put it into the21800:21:16,780 –> 00:21:21,359heart of an unbelieving dictator to call a census.21900:21:21,359 –> 00:21:27,040The same God had answered the prayer of an old man who had evidently been praying for22000:21:27,040 –> 00:21:33,599years that he would live to see the birth of the Saviour.22100:21:34,719 –> 00:21:38,380You’ve been listening to Open the Bible with Pastor Colin Smith and a message called22200:21:38,380 –> 00:21:39,839Joseph’s Story.22300:21:39,839 –> 00:21:44,540It’s part of our series Christmas Stories, looking at the Christmas story through the22400:21:44,540 –> 00:21:47,199eyes of various people who were there at the time.22500:21:47,500 –> 00:21:51,599Of course, we hope you’ll be able to tune in every night to listen to Pastor Colin’s22600:21:51,599 –> 00:21:56,160messages, but if you ever miss one of the series, you can always catch up or go back22700:21:56,160 –> 00:21:58,119and listen again online.22800:21:58,119 –> 00:22:03,819Come to our website openthebible.org.uk and there you’ll find all the messages which have22900:22:03,819 –> 00:22:05,439already gone out on air.23000:22:05,439 –> 00:22:10,520You can also listen to Pastor Colin as a podcast, and those are on all the main podcast sites.23100:22:10,520 –> 00:22:16,260Search for Open the Bible UK and subscribe if you want to receive regular updates.23200:22:16,319 –> 00:22:21,420The Open the Bible website contains a number of resources, which are designed for individual23300:22:21,420 –> 00:22:24,079Christians as well as church fellowships.23400:22:24,079 –> 00:22:30,979For example, go to openthebible.org.uk forward slash articles.23500:22:30,979 –> 00:22:35,719There you’ll find a number of written articles based on Pastor Colin Smith’s teachings, which23600:22:35,719 –> 00:22:40,780are designed to help individual Christians with particular issues in their lives.23700:22:40,780 –> 00:22:46,260You’ll find articles on subjects such as 7 Virtues to pursue for spiritual growth,23800:22:46,260 –> 00:22:49,660How to overcome your fears,23900:22:49,660 –> 00:22:54,699and what does Watch Your Life and Doctrine Closely actually mean.24000:22:54,699 –> 00:22:59,939Open the Bible is able to stay on this station and the Internet and available as a podcast24100:22:59,939 –> 00:23:03,280because of the generous financial support of our listeners.24200:23:03,280 –> 00:23:09,300That’s people like you, and if you already give to support the work, thank you so much.24300:23:09,319 –> 00:23:13,280If supporting Open the Bible is something you’d like to start doing, this month we’re24400:23:13,280 –> 00:23:16,119delighted to offer a free gift.24500:23:16,119 –> 00:23:21,420When you set up a new direct debit to the work of Open the Bible in the amount of £524600:23:21,420 –> 00:23:27,380per month or more, or a one-off gift of £50 or more, we’d love to say thank you by sending24700:23:27,380 –> 00:23:31,160you a free copy of Pastor Colin’s new book,24800:23:31,160 –> 00:23:32,560Hike Through the Bible.24900:23:32,560 –> 00:23:35,979Colin, where did the idea for this book come from?25000:23:36,040 –> 00:23:41,959Well, we have fly through the Bible for those who are looking for a place to begin.25100:23:41,959 –> 00:23:45,640Then drive through the Bible obviously takes people a bit further.25200:23:45,640 –> 00:23:51,119But for everyone that wants to get serious about the Bible story, Hike Through the Bible25300:23:51,119 –> 00:23:52,119is for you.25400:23:52,119 –> 00:23:57,099I mean, this is where you get your boots on the ground and really get to grips with what25500:23:57,099 –> 00:23:59,020the Bible is all about.25600:23:59,020 –> 00:24:01,760And you’ll discover that the whole Bible is one story.25700:24:01,760 –> 00:24:06,839That the whole of it points to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.25800:24:06,839 –> 00:24:11,160And I wrote this for people who want to have a better grasp of the Bible.25900:24:11,160 –> 00:24:15,900I wrote it for people who want to have a deeper love for the Lord Jesus Christ.26000:24:15,900 –> 00:24:19,979And just by way of encouragement, if you think that hiking sounds like hard work, well you26100:24:19,979 –> 00:24:22,540can hike at a gentle pace.26200:24:22,540 –> 00:24:28,180This is 50 chapters and that’s designed so that you could do one a week, a nice gentle26300:24:28,560 –> 00:24:33,479through the Bible so that at the end of the year, you really have grasped the Bible as26400:24:33,479 –> 00:24:38,900a whole and you’ve got a clearer grip on what it is that God’s saying into your life.26500:24:38,900 –> 00:24:44,140Well, we’d love to send you Colin’s new book when you set up a new direct debit of26600:24:44,140 –> 00:24:50,140£5 per month or more or a one-off gift of £50 or more this month.26700:24:50,140 –> 00:24:57,380Full terms and conditions online at our website Openthebible.org.uk and you can give online.26800:24:57,819 –> 00:25:02,660Don’t forget to leave your name and address so we can send you your gift.26900:25:02,660 –> 00:25:06,400For Open the Bible and Pastor Colin Smith, I’m David Pick,27000:25:06,400 –> 00:25:09,199and I look forward to being with you again next time!27100:25:16,300 –> 00:25:23,140If the Christmas story seems a bit sentimental to you then you need to hear the rest of the story.27200:25:23,140 –> 00:25:26,439Find out what you’ve been missing next time on Open the Bible.