Bible ;

The Bible is the account of God’s action in the world, and his purpose with all creation.
The word "Bible" comes from the Greek word Biblion, which means "book." The Bible, then, is
the "book" of the church. This is an excellent description of its place and function in the
Christian community. However, the Bible never uses this term to describe itself.
Well, in addition to all the above, the Bible is:

 A guide for living life to the full. It gives us a road map for the perilous journey of life. Or
to put it another way, on our voyage through life’s ocean, the Bible is an anchor.

 A storehouse of wonderful stories for children and grownups. Remember Noah and the
ark? Joseph’s coat of many colors? Daniel in the lion’s den? Jonah and the fish? The
parables of Jesus? These stories emphasize the triumphs and failures of ordinary people.

 A refuge in trouble. People in pain, in suffering, in prison, and in mourning tell how
turning to the Bible brought strength in their desperate hour.

 A treasury of insight as to who we are. We are not meaningless robots, but we are
magnificent creatures of a God who loves us and gives us a purpose and a destiny.

 A sourcebook for everyday living. We find standards for our conduct, guidelines for
knowing right from wrong, and principles to help us in a confused society where so
often “anything goes.”

History;
The history of the "Bible" begins with the Jewish Scriptures. The historical record of the
Jews was written down on leather scrolls and tablets over centuries, and the authors included
kings, shepherds, prophets and other leaders. The first five books are called the Law, which
were written and/or edited primarily by Moses in the early 1400's BC. Thereafter, other
scriptural texts were written and collected by the Jewish people during the next 1,000 years.
About 450 BC, the Law and the other Jewish Scriptures were arranged by councils of rabbis
(Jewish teachers), who then recognized the complete set as the inspired and sacred authority of
God (Elohim). At some time during this period, the books of the Hebrew Bible were arranged by
topic, including The Law (Torah), the Prophets (Nebiim), and the Writings (Ketubim). The first
letters of these Hebrew words - T, N and K -- form the name of the Hebrew Bible - the Tanakh. 
Beginning as early as 250 BC, the Hebrew Bible was translated into Greek by Jewish
scholars in Alexandria, Egypt. This translation became known as the "Septuagint", meaning 70,
and referring to the tradition that 70 (probably 72) men comprised the translation team. It was
during this process that the order of the books was changed to the order we have in today's
Bible: Historical (Genesis - Esther), poetic (Job - Song of Songs), and prophetic (Isaiah -
Malachi). 
After approximately 400 years of scriptural silence, Jesus arrived on the scene in about 4
BC. Throughout his teaching, Jesus often quotes the Old Testament, declaring that he did not
come to destroy the Jewish Scriptures, but to fulfill them. In the Book of Luke, Jesus proclaims
to his disciples, "all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and the
Prophets and the Psalms concerning Me." 
Starting in about 40 AD, and continuing to about 90 AD, the eye-witnesses to the life of
Jesus, including Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Paul, James, Peter and Jude, wrote the Gospels,
letters and books that became the Bible's New Testament. These authors quote from 31 books
of the Old Testament, and widely circulate their material so that by about 150 AD, early
Christians were referring to the entire set of writings as the "New Covenant." During the 200s
AD, the original writings were translated from Greek into Latin, Coptic (Egypt) and Syriac (Syria),
and widely disseminated as "inspired scripture" throughout the Roman Empire (and
beyond). 5 In 397 AD, in an effort to protect the scriptures from various heresies and offshoot
religious movements, the current 27 books of the New Testament were formally and finally
confirmed and "canonized" in the Synod of Carthage. 
etymology;
The word Biblecomes from the Greek word "Biblos," which is translated "book." The original
manuscripts of the Bible were kept in the synagogues. Those who had custody of the manuscripts first
used the Greek word to describe the collection, which later became known as "the Book."

The Bible is comprised of 66 books with two major divisions: the Old Testament (39 books) and the New
Testament (27 books).

The Old Testament has four major divisions: (1) the Law - 5 books; (2) History - 12 books; (3) Poetry - 5
books; and, (4) Prophecy - 17 books.

Similarly, the New Testament has four major divisions: (1) the Gospels - 4 books; (2) the Acts of the
Apostles - 1 book; (3) the Epistles - 21 books; and, (4) the Revelation of the Lord Jesus Christ - 1 book.

The Bible is far more than a compilation of books; it is the inspired word of God (2 Timothy 3:16). It is
2read and understood to be God's instructions and revelations to the individual members of Christ's
church and to the Body of Christ, as a whole. The Bible not only instructs Christians on how to relate to
one another and those outside the church, but reveals how we are to relate to our Heavenly Father.
More important, it paints a clear portrait of God's love for us and how He longs to relate to us. Clearly,
since the beginning of time we have spurned His love. . .yet He continues to reach out to us.
An individual can only relate to God the Father by believing and confessing that He sent His Son, Jesus
Christ, to die on the cross for the sins of all mankind. The result of believing that Jesus Christ died to
save you from your sins and confessing your belief publicly is known as "salvation."

So where did the word "Bible" come from? It came from the heart of God, the author of our lives, who
has written the definitive book on us all.

contribution;
kon-tri-bu'-shun (koinonia, "communion" or "fellowship,". The meaning "contribution" is drawn from
the context, rather than from the Greek word. The phrase in the passage cited, literally rendered, would
be "to exercise" or "put fellowship into activity." The koinonia subsisting among believers because of
their inner communion with Christ places them and their gifts and possessions at the service of one
another .They are enjoined. not to forget to communicate. To be "communicative" (koinonikoi) is to be a
habit of their lives, the Christian principle being that of the holding of all property as a trust, to be
distributed as there is need. The first occasion for calling this fellowship into activity, by way of
"contributions," was within the church at Jerusalem and for its needy members. The second occasion
was repeatedly from the infant Gentilechurches for the poor within the same church the fellowship thus
widening from intra-congregational to general church benevolence. These contributions were gathered
weekly, were proportioned to the means of the givers were not exacted or prescribed, in a legalistic
manner, but were called forth as the free-will offerings of grateful hearts, springing from the community
spirit, and were sent to their destination by accredited representatives of the congregations.

Parts of the bible;

The two main parts of the Bible are the Old Testament and the New Testament. The Old Testament
begins with the history of how God created the world. In the Old Testament, we find books of the law,
which tell about God's commands. We also find books of history that tell about God's chosen people,
the Jews (Israelites). Books of poetry help us praise God. Books of prophecy tell what God will do in the
future. Many of these prophecies have already happened, proving that the Bible is God's Word.

The New Testament tells about God's Son, Jesus Christ. Reading it helps us know how to follow Jesus
and what will happen in the future. 
Altogether, the Old and New Testaments have 66 smaller books that make up the whole Bible. Every
word comes from God, but He used many different people to write His Word.

The Old Testament Books can be divided in four categories:

 The Books of the Law (a.k.a. Pentateuch or Torah): Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers,
Deuteronomy - written by Moses, which describe from the Creation to the end of the time the
Jewish people spent in the wilderness.
 The Historical Books: Joshua, Judges, Ruth, First Samuel, Second Samuel, First Kings, Second
Kings, First Chronicles, Second Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther - which tell the history of the
nation of Israel and describe from the conquest of the Promised Land to Israel's Restoration
after the Babylonian captivity.
 The Poetical Books (a.k.a. The Books of Everyday Wisdom or The Writings): Job, Psalms,
Proverbs, Ecclesiastes.

The Prophetic Books:

Major Prophets - Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, Daniel.

Minor Prophets - Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah,
Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi.