Hello everyone this is the day the lord has made a lets rejoice and be glad. [applause] good morning. Welcome to the dedication of the museum of the bible the first worldclass museum in the history of a the world what a blessing to have you here. You will hear from wonderful people today making History Today is rededicate this museum in the of washington d. C. Area and also as the worlds museum. So as you can see we are located in the world stage theater we are coasting amazing grace. They are here with the second performance last night and will perform a limited engagement get your tickets go on line to the museum of the bible. [laughter] our mission as educational Innovative Institute our purpose is to invite all people to engage in this wonderful work recall the bible the history and its narrative and impact those are the three things you will see throughout the museum and it continues to lift up the people with those grand opening events before we created a new exhibit were policy or procedure we ask those questions every day. Well lift up the bible and lift up people . We are nonsectarian and in the tradition so we want to honor all of them and present gods word will speak for itself so the museum has been developed with three engagement elements of biblical scholarship everything you will see for accuracy and authenticity and also those exhibits are interactive if you have not seen already also engaging of program with community are reached to this Wonderful Community as well to the rest of the world. As a Nonprofit Museum of course, donations are accepted but were very pleased about that so now sit back and enjoy this history making yvette. [applause] ladies and gentleman give a welcome to the greatest gospel singer of all time the tenth time grammy award winner. [applause] good morning i did not know that. [laughter] this is an amazing place of gods amazing grace. Here we go. [applause] ladies and gentlemen be will receive the of blessings from leaders and scholars. Archbishop washington, chief chaplains of the United States navy in president of the rabbinic cabinet of the Jewish Federation of north america. My dear sisters and brothers first is to read of message that comes from the blessing and opening of a the museum of the bible from pope francis. His holiness with readings and prayerful best wishes that of gathered in washington with the inauguration of the museum of the bible. And with that constitution with an extensive collection and exhibits to promote a better understanding not only of the rich and complex history but also the enduring power with every time and place where all many others would be introduced into the chapter of this prayerful history. So with those dollars of various traditions and with cooperation to communicate the bibles teaching is. And call to shaping of our world with all associated with the museum of the bible and the participants of the opening ceremonies a blessing of wisdom and this message is signed by the secretary of state. I was also asked to make a comment in a prayer that the comment is to take the form of something that we see. I had an opportunity to work bin number of years ago in the vatican and. But as a part of that there is a facsimile end a couple of weeks ago when we visited mr. Summers and mario were kind enough to show us around we went into the river there were many exhibits i was reminded of our shared gaffes of this facsimile. Let us now pause and pray. Good and gracious father, as we come together today we ask your blessing on this museum of the bible and on all who make this day possible, the benefactors, the staff, the volunteers, as well as the board of directors and everyone was commitment is manifest here as the museum is dedicated and officially opens its doors to one and all. We ask that you bless all of those who visit the museum and that their ears, hearts and minds will be open to the good news that pours forth from the pages of the holy bible. May your word renew our faith and give us the confidence to share it with others as we strive to be a sign of your love and your mercy with the whole human race. This we pray in your most holy name, amen. Since 2003 perry black has opened our countrys Senate Deliberations with prayer and provided counseling and spiritual guidance for senators, their family and staff. Over his career as deputy chief of Navy Chaplains he has provided ministry to the chief of naval operations, secretaries of the navy and fence and commandant of the marine corps and coast guard. Please Welcome Senate chaplain perry black. [applause] ladies and gentlemen please welcome admiral. [applause] one would never want to follow chaplain perry black. [laughter] i will be important enough to proceed perry black. [applause] would you pay with me . Almighty and eternal god, we humbly ask your boundless presence here this morning, that you would bless the efforts and aspirations of all those who have labored to bring us to this day. We ask that you would follow this moment, open these doors to reveal how alive and active your word has been throughout the centuries, how sharply it has pierced through the competing voices of culture and power to reveal its own authority. How an eminently in his divided soul and spirit to influence the thoughts and attitudes of countless hearts of all ages. Breathe your gracious spirit into the displays of art, literature and history. It may these collections painstakingly collected and preserved serve to the be useful for the instruction, wise in their correction of misunderstanding and effective in their revelation of the righteousness of the faithful you called and equipped to share its good news. For this light that you have shed on the paths of history we are eternally grateful and on this museum we pray your sustaining grace. It is in the strength of your name we pray, amen. Standing here in this beautiful new facility on this day of dedication, standing as representative of the people of the book, i cannot help say thank you for this museum. You for this wonderful gift and how appropriate to use that terminology for what we call the bible a gift. We speak of [inaudible], the gift of [inaudible] in this museum which is dedicated to the book which has had such a Lasting Impact on the world tells in a creative and imaginative way the story of the book, of the book that tells the story of the wanderings of a nomadic people, the history of a motley crew, a motley group of slaves who dare to challenge the supreme power of its era, who dare to go against the prevailing notion of the time and the belief in one god. It is the book that tells the story of israels encounter with the divine and what it is that god asks of us. For as the prophet micah talked what the lord require of you, only to do justly, to love mercy and to walk humbly with by god. The bible indeed is unique work of literature with laws and legislation, morals and ethics, philosophy of poetry, even love poetry, as well as the inspiring idealism imparted by the prophets, imploring us to implement their clarion call for justice for all. The bible demands of us that we create a world where all will be treated with respect and dignity for in its opening passage we are told we are all created but [inaudible] in the image of god. Throughout the ages our people have studied the bible, pouring over its word and analyzing every veteran in search and nuance and meaning because it is treated as the word of god and is therefore the foundational sacred text of our heritage. To interpretation the book comes alive and remains relative and everchanging and in fact, as soon as we complete the annual cycle of reading material on holiday known as [inaudible] we began to renew the reading because we seek to clean from gods eternal message to us. The story is told about a rabbi who once was asked why is it that when you pray you do it so quickly but when you read the bible you take your time and it takes a long. Periodparagraph i replied that is because when i pray i am speaking to god and god has the prayers of a lot of people to listen to so i dont want to take up too much of his time. But when i read the bible he said god is speaking to me and so i must do it slowly so i can hear every word and understand what it is that god asks of me. My bible teacher once said there are those who say the bible is holy and that is why it is great and there are those who say the bible is great and that is why it is holy. Regardless, it is clear that it is great and it is holy. For are there any passengers or word more uplifting than love your neighbor as yourself. Do not stand idly by the blood of your neighbor, justice, justice shall you pursue. In the beginning, god. Am i my brothers keeper . Though i walk through the valley of the shadow of death i will fear no evil for thou art with me. You shall be holy because i, the lord your god is holy. Nation shall not lift up sword against nation neither shall they learn war anymore. There is a time for everything under the heavens. A man once asked rabbi thousands of years ago to sum up the essence of [inaudible] and while standing on 1 foot and after giving its concise answer he said the rest is commentary, go and study. So, dear friends, may this be a place where people from all over the world will come to study. May people come here to grow and be inspired. May we take to heart the word of the prophet isaiah in the days to come the mountain of the lord house sold stand firm about the mountain and shall tower above the hills and all the nations shall gain gaze upon it with joy. Many people so they come, let us go up to the mountain of the lord, to the house of the god of jacob so that he may teach us of his ways so that we may walk in his path for out of zion shall come forth the law and the word of the lord from jerusalem. We pray me the word of god emanate from this place, as well, we pray that may also come here may grow and be inspired by the eternal truths and messages that are found in this book so that its words are not just proclaimed is great but so that men and women shall strive to live by teachings and bring it into their daily life and let us say, amen. Ladies and gentlemen, please Welcome Senate chaplain perry black. [applause] praise the lord. To paraphrase cc winans i did not know that margaret wanted to follow me after i gave a presentation. This is my walter mitty moment. I have been the chaplain of the senate for nearly 15 years and ive had the opportunity to have some amazing moments, spend time with the dalai lama, shake hands with the pope, the first ones to show shake hands with him when he entered the capital and offer an indication at the funeral of Ronald Reagan and the funeral of gerald ford. Prayed a prayer when rosa parks was lying in honor in the Capitol Rotunda with president george w. Bush standing next to me and he did not even have a speaking part so this is but this is the walter mitty moment and the museum of the bible is god rewarding me for my faithfulness on capitol hill. You need to know that is why this building is here. Praise god. [applause] walking distance from my office and it is a museum that celebrates the thing that i am most passionate about in my life because the word of god has enabled me to live on the cutting edge. The word of god is powerful. Hebrews four twelve says it is quick and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing the dividing asunder of bone and marrow and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the human heart. That is why the rabbi credit so slowly. It searches you more than you search it. It is a treasure for me. I pray the scriptures and our a day because i love to hear the voices of god reverberating in the corridors of my spirit. It has taught me it is possible to live on the cutting edge. We are facing challenging times. When people start using Motor Vehicles as weapons of mass destruction, when people defile the sanctity of the house of worship with automatic weapons we are living in challenging times. In ephesians six reminds us that there is the element of the demonic in our world. We wrestle not against flesh and blood but against polities, powers, the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Ephesians six is put on the whole armor and there is only one offense of weapon in that armor. You got the helmet of salvation, the shield of faith, shoes, shots the preparation of the gospel of peace, but i love the sword of the spirit and that is what this museum celebrates, the sword of the spirit which is the word of god. That is cutting edge again. I discovered that the bible is three things it is powerful, convicting and it is effective. I discovered it was powerful when i was in south america. I was a student missionary and we went to prison for capital felons, in the jungles of peru, and i was seated between two serial killers. One guy had told me he had murdered the members of his family and i remember and it was the most uncomfortable worship experience i had ever had. There was the Mission Director declaring the word of god and there i was seated between him and he mustve seen my discomfort because he said and now barry will come and sing the hymn of invitation. I was not even a singing evangelist but i leapt up and iran to the front. I started singing and i didnt think anything of it but just singing. [speaking in native tongue] i wandered far away from god and now im coming home. [speaking in native tongue] fell and started coming down to accept my lord and we baptized about 40 prisoners that very night because the word of god is powerful. Then i learned the word of god was convicting when i arrived in college in alabama i didnt have much money and the students were on strike about 1500 students. My mother, who would give in my siblings and me a monetary incentive for knowing the word of god, had inoculated me against all kinds of challenges and although the student said this was horrible food, acts four sixteen, left to my mind strive to have a conscious void of offense toward god and humanity. I had to ask myself a boy from the hood who is used to eating welfare cheese is this the worst food youve ever had . [laughter] and my conscience said no. So, two of 1500 students cross the picket line and i lost a girlfriend from georgia because i did that. What i did not know that god was setting things up and not long after that the faculty got together to select the First Student missionary from that school and i did not realize that there was a full scholarship attached to the one who was selected and so asked 24 sixteen paid my way through college because of the convicting power of the word of god. Finally, i learned that the word of god is effective. I must confess senator langford, when i entered the ministry pastoring a church is simultaneously my biggest fear was that i would not be able to baptize anybody. I was depending upon my training to bring about souls coming to the lord and when i got up and simply preached the word of god things began to happen because second timothy three says the word of god is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness that the people of god may be completely equipped for every good work. I remember waiting to exhale and i was waiting to dip that we do in my tradition, we called it the watery grave of baptism to dip in the watery grave of baptism and when it happened i knew that in spite of my ineptitude this book was a weapon that could enable me to live on the cutting edge. In alabama, i use to end every television at the end when the television would go off they would quote high flight. I use to think when they would quote high flight from first thessalonians four sixteen and the lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout with the voice of the archangel and the god and i always imagined that as the day when i will meet the word made flesh. Jesus of nazareth said in john five thirtynine, search the scriptures for in them you thank you have eternal life and these are they that testify. So, one day i will slip the surly bonds of earth, danced the skies on laughters silver wings, joined the tumbling mirth of tongue split clouds and do a hundred things we have not dreamed of. Soar high in the sky, hovering there i will chase the shouting wins along and fling through the optic, the scriptable, putting on immortality throughput calls and up the long delirious burning blue, we will top the windswept heights with easy grace where never lark or eagle even eagle flu and what a day it will be when on a sea of glass we will be beyond the sphere and can say with the poet we will be able to put out our hands in touch the face of god. God bless you. [applause] welcome on the newer, author, elevator and our lifelong student of the word, the president of museum of the bible, carrie summers. [applause] now i have to follow very black. [laughter] i told him several months ago i would never do that again and here i am. Thank you for being here this morning. Today the museum takes its place among one of the newest and brightest stars in the galaxy in the museum world and we are incredibly fortunate that it is here in washington dc. I made the statement several times that the corporation that was received in washington dc among the various committees and agencies that function within the district but also the federal committees that we had to work through and its one of the most experiences weve had. Its amazing cooperation, sometimes washington dc does not get that accolade but i can testify that for us it was just fantastic. News media, print that, if you would. [laughter] we are in this moment right now of dedication and sometimes it is nice to stay in the moment but just for a second and gives us a chance to reflect back on the long journey that is taken to get here, the challenges and the boundaries that we pushed this museum create new partnerships and to build a museum that is unlike any other in the world. One news article said that it may have redefined museums in the future, not sure if that is true or not but certainly i think there are things that weve done that other museums can benefit from and id be more than happy to share that with others. We also take a moment to thank the people put this together. We have an Amazing Construction Company and smith group and our Architect Firm and the many, many other contractors it took to assemble all of this. As we said last night that alter that 5000 people touched this job and the people who pour the concrete to the people who are still here holding all the duct tape together as we talk. But it also deals with the skilled artisans and all the people outside and that was another 3000 people and in total 8000 people have touched this and id also like to thank to a