In1947, the year before modern Israel and I were born, a group of Bedouin shepherds came upon a series of 11 remote caves high above the coast of the Dead Sea. Inside the caves, the greatest archaeological discovery of the century lay waiting — the Dead Sea Scrolls, an incredible library dating back to the time of Christ. Click here for a quick overview of what these scrolls are all about.

The incredible work of sorting through and translating such a fabulous quantity of material and the infighting of dueling bands of scholars kept the public in the dark for years about many aspects of the contents of these scrolls. They contain both biblical and extra-biblical items, including an almost complete copy of the Book of Isaiah a thousand years older than any other. Many questions remain about the group who assembled this library, their purposes, and the content of some of the scrolls. The bottom line: the Dead Sea Scrolls are an amazing confirmation of the accuracy of the Hebrew scripture, or the Old Testament as we Christian call it. Fragments of every book except Esther were found. They are of vital interest to every Christian and Jew.
Next month, Kansas City will be one of only seven North American Cities to host a traveling exhibition on loan from the Israel Antiquities Authority. The exhibition will be here for only a limited time and will be at Union Station. There will surely be crowds and you will want to make plans and get your tickets ahead of time to see this. This would be a great small group activity. Our pastors have already planned to go together. I’m going with them and another time with Cheryl. For maximum benefit, read up a bit before you go. Can you spell google?