Chapter 2 – God’s Word to Us

Notes for Test

Vocabulary Words

 

Sacred Scripture – is a collections, or group, of holy writings.  These holy writings were inspired, or guided, by the Holy Spirit and were collected in the Bible.  The Holy Spirit guided the human writers to write God’s word for his people. 

 

YHWH – the four letters of the Hebrew alphabet for the name for God the he revealed to Moses.

 

Old Testament – the first 46 books that make up the first part of the Bible.

 

New Testament – the 27 books that make up the second part of the Bible.

 

Gospels – The first four books of the New Testament.  These written accounts of the good news of Jesus Christ are named after four followers of Jesus: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. 

 

NOTES

 

Sacred Scripture

            The first stories of our faith were passed down by word of mouth or oral tradition.  Later these stories were written down.  The people who wrote down the faith stories of God’s people were called scribes.  The collection of these stories is called Sacred Scriptures which means “holy writings.” The Holy Spirit inspired, or guided, the human writers of the Bible to write God’s word for his people.  God is the real author of the Sacred Scriptures. 

 

God Reveals Himself to Moses

            God revealed himself to Moses and told Moses that his name was YHWH, which means I AM in English. 

 

The Old Testament

            The Bible is divided into two sections.  The first section is the Old Testament begins with the story of Adam and Eve.  It tells about their turning away from God and God’s promise to send someone to renew their friendship.  All the writings of the Bible after that tell the story of God fulfilling that promise.  The first five books of the Old Testament contain the laws of the Covenant.  These books are also known as the Torah.  We find the Ten Commandments in this section of the Bible. 

            The homily is the part of the Mass where the priest or deacon preaches.  The homily helps us understand God’s word and faithfully live our covenant with God and with one another. 

 

The New Testament

            The New Testament is the second part of the Bible and it tells about the fulfillment of God’s promises in Jesus Christ. The Gospel is the heart of the New Testament.  The word gospel means “good news.”  The four Gospels are named after four followers of Jesus: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.  These writers are called Evangelists.  The Gospels share the good news of Jesus’ life from the announcement of his birth to the Ascension of the Risen Lord to his Father. 

 

Reading the Bible

            The Church tells us to read and pray the Bible often.  When we pray Sacred Scripture, we listen and speak to God.