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Index:
To read the whole magazine, click on the cover image to download a PDF version
To read previous issues of Bibles@Work - CLICK here |
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Dear friends,
Welcome to our expanded Bibles@work. When we commenced producing this magazine, we had some concern that we might not have sufficient news to report. However, we have had to add more pages because feedback has indicated you want to hear more about the worldwide work. This is very exciting, as there is so much that God is doing in His world! In this edition we have a new world report section, bringing you the latest information from across the globe and our region.
We are continuing on our path of reforming and renewing the Society. Since the Autumn edition we have opened our new facility at Macquarie Park. We have celebrated 200 years of Bible work around the world. We launched our new childrens magazine at Parramatta and staged another Easter Celebration spectacular. We have also spent a marvellous month in Newcastle.
At the same time, we are maintaining our bookshop presence in the city, while continuing to work hard at reducing our costs. In this way the maximum of donors dollars can be utilised in actual Bible provision. Gods faithfulness has continued and we praise Him for His constant provision through bequests and donations from individuals and churches.
It seems the threats of this world are on the increase and it is only as Gods Word is received and percolates through individual lives that real change is effected.
Our forebears in establishing this Society had this firmly in their minds.
They knew that it would only be through individuals interacting with Gods Word that change would be realised. How much more so today!
It is a great encouragement to see the dedication of our team of people, because of their love for Gods Word and their belief that it is powerful and effective. I know that you too have this same love and desire and we continue to be amazed at how many people partner with us in prayer and giving, so that many might know Jesus. What a privilege to serve our great King and you in this great ministry.
Daniel Willis.
Bible Society NSW CEO
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After the War
As Yugoslavia re-builds after the turmoil of years of war, the nation has elected its first Christian President since World War Two. Vojislav Kostunica came to power in what has been dubbed a peaceful revolution.
Now, the Bible Society in Serbia and Montenegro has embarked on an ambitious programme of distributing Gods Word at a vitally strategic time for this troubled nation. 16,000 Scriptures have been distributed in one year. The most popular Bible is the Serbian Scriptures. The Society has also sent out, free of charge, audio tapes of The Sermon on the Mount for blind children.
According to the Executive Secretary of the Bible Society in Serbia and Montenegro, Zvonimir Smiljanic, the work of distributing Bibles is now becoming more widespread under the new government, allowing many more possibilities. He says For the moment, we are one of the poorest countries in Europe. Lets pray and hope for a better future for my people who have suffered.
Will you join with us in supporting the distribution of Bibles in Yugoslavia at this important time in the nations history? Gods powerful Word can achieve mighty things as people re-build their lives.
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Official Opening
Since my earliest years, Ive been aware of the immeasurable greatness of the Bible. They were the words of the NSW Governor, Professor Marie Bashir AC, Patron of Bible Society NSW, as she spoke at the opening of our new headquarters at 5 Byfield Street, Macquarie Park.
The event was held on a significant day in the history of the worldwide Bible Society. The building was officially opened on 7th March, 200 years to the day after the Society was first formed in London.
More than 200 members and friends of Bible Society NSW gathered to give thanks to God for our new building and pray for the exciting new ways in which it will further the growth of our work.
Professor Bashir, before unveiling a special plaque said This building provides Bible Society NSW with a great opportunity for future growth. The Anglican Archbishop of Sydney, Most Reverend Peter Jensen spoke about the enduring relevance of the Bible, saying that in a society talking a lot about values, the Bible points us more to virtues giving us the clearest picture of right and wrong.
Bible Society CEO, Daniel Willis spoke of a future full of opportunities We are currently in the process of reshaping the way we do much of our work. That work needs to be state of the art. It must be relevant to the people of todays world. It must be engaging and thought provoking, but most of all, it must enable people to encounter Jesus.
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Light Dawns in Iraq
In the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, there are bomb attacks every week. In the midst of the ongoing turmoil there, a Childrens Bible has been launched, shedding much needed light in a shattered city. It contains 365 Bible stories in Syriac, the modern version of Aramaic, the language spoken by Jesus.
The new Childrens Bible took a team of seven Iraqis, led by Bible Society translators, four years to complete. It was launched after translators learnt that modern Syriac, long thought to be dying out, was alive and thriving in Iraq. The new publication also comes with a CD, containing illustrations and an audio version of the text.
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Jesus speaks Cuna!
There are 70,000 people spread across Panama in Central America, who speak the Cuna language. Traditionally an oral language, Cuna did not appear in written form until the publication of the Cuna New Testament in 1970.
Now, work is underway to produce a Cuna version of the Old Testament. Helped by five Cuna people and Wycliffe Bible Translators, the Bible Society of Panama hopes the Old Testament version will be finished in eight years.
They have also developed a Cuna sound-track to the Jesus movie. After one of the local chiefs saw the film, he exclaimed Jesus speaks our language! Jesus speaks Cuna!
Pic: Lino Smith, who is heading the project to translate the Old Testament into Cuna.
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Light to the Home
What is a house if we dont have Gods Word in it? It was a question posed by Pastor Mario Medina, as the Philippine Bible Society launched the Light to the Home Bible in his community of Kasiglahan Village. 5,000 of these special Bibles have been distributed throughout the region. Ultimately, the Bible Society hopes to supply Bibles to 150,000 families who are being resettled by the government from urban slums to new locations with better facilities.
This work has brought the regions churches together. Father Renato Villavicencio of the Roman Catholic cathedral says I salute the Philippines Bible Society for its efforts in bringing churches together. Through PBS, we are one body in Christ!'
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Word of Life
With Zimbabwe continuing to teeter on the brink of a total meltdown, The Bible Society is involved in a life-transforming ministry in the countrys prisons.
In the midst of severe overcrowding and disease, especially HIV/AIDS, prisoners usually abandon all hope of coming out alive.
However, Gods Word is giving life and hope for many of them. After one received a gospel of John in prison, he went to visit the Bible Society on his release and told Edward Mutema, the Bible Societys General Secretary in Zimbabwe - I thought I should pass by and say thank you for giving me the Word of Life. |
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