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0 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? e-edition | subscribe | newsletter | deals Classifieds Jobs Autos Real Estate FEATURED » NEWS NOW Medford police say domestic violence intervention is preventing homicides, ... SOU grads' salaries lowest for state schools ... Our View: Protect pristine headwaters from nickel mining ... Medford police say domestic violence intervention is preventing homicides, ... SOU grads' salaries lowest for state schools ... Our View: Protect pristine headwaters from nickel mining ... Marketta Gregory: What's in the Bible Comment By Marketta Gregory More Content Now MailTribune.com By Marketta Gregory More Content Now Posted Dec. 22, 2014 at 12:01 AM By Marketta Gregory More Content Now Posted Dec. 22, 2014 at 12:01 AM » Social News I’ve heard many feisty sermons – the kind that step on toes and challenge even good, moral people to improve. Those are the sermons you remember years later. Sometimes those sermons are delivered by clergy. Sometimes by a frail grandmother who refuses to complain. Or, in my case, by a kids’ show. The guy who created VeggieTales, Phil Vischer, also has a DVD series called “What’s in the Bible” ($14.99 Tyndale). Even though everyone loves his singing vegetables with their great lessons, Vischer wanted to provide more context – more of the big picture – for kids and the adults they hang out with. “Through Sunday School and kids’ videos like VeggieTales, kids get snapshots from the Bible. Moses. Noah. Jesus. They’re like pictures in a photo album,” Vischer told me. “What we’re missing is the ‘connective tissue.’ What does Jesus have to do with Moses? What does any of this have to do with Adam and Eve? How do all these stories fit together to tell ONE story, and how does that one story explain our world today?” I kept that in mind as I watched the first video. I thought my son was going to roll off the couch laughing at some of the clever jokes and silly songs. But I was busy thinking of something else: The realization that I have never read the Bible cover to cover. I’ve tried to read it straight through several times, and I know I’m not alone – lots of churches have huge initiatives to get people reading more. But this is one time I don’t feel comfort in numbers. I’ve done lots of devotionals and Bible studies that are based on one book or one theme. I’ve jotted notes as ministers read from the pulpit. I’ve even considered myself pretty knowledgeable about the Bible, when in reality, I’ve only read the Cliff notes. And I haven’t even read those in order. I’d never open up another bestseller and start reading in the middle and then jump back to the second chapter. That would make it almost impossible to follow the plot. Yet I do that all the time to a book that’s central to my faith. And it took some puppets to teach me that. Thank God for challenging sermons, no matter how they are delivered. Marketta Gregory is a former religion reporter who now shares her own journey of faith with readers. She lives in Rochester, New York, with her husband, their three young boys and one very vocal Pomeranian. To contact Gregory, email [email protected] or write to her at P.O. Box 12923, Rochester, NY 14612. You can also visit the Simply Faithful page on Facebook and follow her on Twitter (@MarkettaGregory). By Marketta Gregory More Content Now MailTribune.com By Marketta Gregory More Content Now Posted Dec. 22, 2014 at 12:01 AM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... 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