This is the letter that will go out with the free Bibles that people will call to receive after our banner goes up this week. Since I presume to speak for you all, I thought you should read the letter!! Pray that hundreds would call, and that many would believe.

Greetings from Bethlehem Baptist Church.

We are glad to send you a copy of the Christian Scriptures, better known as the Bible.

We have offered them to thousands at no cost because of how eager we are for others to discover the good news about Jesus Christ. We believe that the Bible is a reliable guide to eternal joy through faith in Christ.

The main story of the Bible from beginning to end is about how God creates and sustains and saves. It’s about God’s purpose to be known and loved and enjoyed and admired. It’s about the coming of sin into the world. It’s about how God took the penalty for sin onto himself when Christ died for the sins of all who trust him. It’s about how Jesus rose from the dead so that he could give eternal life to all his people.

We are excited that you have in your hands a copy of the most important book in the world. We believe it has the power to convince you about its truth. You don’t need to take our word for it. If you read it with a sincere prayer for God to help you see the truth, amazing things will happen in your life.

The Bible was written originally in Hebrew and Greek. So all English versions are translations. The New International Version is recognized by Christian people of all denominations as a faithful translation. It is not the work of one denomination.

Our hope is that you will find the joy of knowing and trusting Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. We have included a brochure, Quest for Joy, that we wrote to give a short introduction to how the Bible helps us get right with God. You will notice that the publisher of that brochure is Desiring God Ministries. That is a ministry of our church which distributes more good news from the Bible.

We hope you like your Bible. We hope you will seek for Truth with all your heart. Jesus said, “I am the way the truth and the life” (John 14:6).

Since the Bible is a collection of books, you can start reading in different places. One good place would be the Gospel of John or the Gospel of Luke. These books tell the story of Jesus’ life and ministry.

If we can be of any help, please call us. Our prayer for you is that God would make himself very real to you as you read his word, and that you would find his plan of salvation authentic and compelling.

I speak for about a thousand Christians at Bethlehem when I say, “May 1997 be the best year of your life.”

John Piper
Senior Pastor