‘We saw it all happen - we’re eye-witnesses… Now we’re telling you what we’ve seen and heard so that you can share in this life with us.’ (1 John 1:1-3)

Could they have remembered wrongly? Jesus promised them ‘The Spirit will teach you everything and remind you of what I said while I was with you.’ (John 14:26)

3. Research. Luke wrote, ‘Many people have tried to tell the story of what God has done among us. They wrote what they were told by people who had actually been there from the start and seen what happened. So I made a careful study of everything and decided to write and tell you exactly what happened… so that you can know for sure that what you heard is true.’ (Acts 1:1-4)

Quite simply to ‘save’ humans - to get us in a relationship with God so we can go to heaven. One writer said, ‘these things are written so that you will put your faith in Jesus the Son of God… If you have faith in Him, you will have true life.’ (John 20:30-31) You can read it for entertainment and information, but also read it like a love letter that builds a relationship.

Learn to find the meaning behind the facts: e.g. Fact: Jesus saved the life of a prostitute that religious leaders were going to stone. Meaning: He said to her, ‘I do not condemn you. Go and sin no more.’ So he says to us, ‘I forgive you for XYZ sin. Now put it behind you and live right.’ As you read, keep asking what it means to you - but use common sense. (Not like the guy who picked out two texts at random: ‘Judas went out and hanged himself’ and ‘If you hear these things, you’ll be happy if you do them.’)