A Note From Rob ...
Week of February 5, 2006

     The Dead Sea Scrolls. I had the opportunity to see some of them while in Jerusalem. They were in a Museum behind glass, but to be near them was thrilling. I recall seeing the fragments and reading the passage of scripture I had heard so many times. The connection with my Judeo-Christian roots was intense.

     Later during the visit I had the opportunity to visit the Qumran community which is near the caves in which the scrolls were found. Could it be this was the community that hid them? Why would they hide them? From whom were they hiding these precious documents? What kind of people were these who chose to live outside of Jerusalem?

     An exhibit of the Dead Sea Scrolls is now in Charlotte. On February 23 a group from our church will travel in our church bus to see this exhibit. While the bus is full, I would encourage you to take the time to see them. Don't expect to see a whole scroll. But expect to see a glimpse of history and your heritage.

     On the first three Tuesdays in February from 10:30 to 11 :30 a.m., I will be teaching an introduction to the Dead Sea Scrolls which may help us get more out of the visit on the 23rd. If you can't come to all three, please consider coming to as many as possible to get acquainted with them.

     The sessions will be:

1. Discoveries: What, when and where were the Dead Sea Scrolls found?
2. Qumran and the Essenes
3. What scrolls were found and how did they impact Judaism and Christianity?

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