This week at ABS, Jessie Beal taught on the authenticity of the Bible. It was a great message, and one that is certainly needed in our day. One of the main ideas that we try to communicate to people here is that the Bible is our final authority in every area. While many Ukrainians acknowledge that the Bible is a “holy book,” few have any real knowledge as to the many proofs of its divine inspiration.

Jessie teaches on the authenticity of the Bible at ABS, while Joshua translates.

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Last time at ABS (Audio Bible Study), I taught from John chapter 20 on the resurrection. During the course of the lesson, one of the verses I cited was I Timothy 2:5: “For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;” After the lesson had ended, one of our students, Marian, came up to ask me about this point.

Joshua and Marian discuss the Bible after ABS.

He began by explaining that once he had asked his priest why he should pray to an icon. The priest had replied that the icon was a “mediator” between himself and God. In contrast, we had shown clearly from Scripture that Christ is the ONLY mediator between us and the Father. “Why then would the Church promote prayer to icons if the Bible forbids this?” Marian asked.

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Standing (from left to right): Jessie, Evelina, Kelsie, Taras, Roman. Sitting: Joshua, Bohdan, Marian, Roman, Anya. (Click the picture to enlarge.)

After breaking last week for the Ukrainian Christmas (here in Ukraine they celebrate on the 6th and 7th of January), we prepared for English Club and ABS (Audio Bible Study) this week with anticipation. Over the past few weeks attendance had dropped due to the holidays, and we wondered if people would return. We had seen some good momentum and interest, but would it continue? On Monday we called our contact list, reminding people that we were resuming the meetings after Christmas. Everyone seemed excited to hear from us and promised to come. Sure enough, on Tuesday evening, the majority of our core group arrived with enthusiasm!

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