Early in his senior year at Portland Adventist Academy (PAA), John Moor, a member of the class of 2007, committed to translating the book of First John from its original biblical Greek text to a modern and applicable English text for his senior project. The senior project, which is required for graduation at PAA, took Moor 180 hours to complete. It resulted in a 42-page book and commentary called First John Applicably, which gives the reader an applicable understanding of First John.

Moor's passion for biblical language developed when he was a sophomore at PAA. "At the time I was feeling a bit bored by what I was reading in the Bible," says Moor. "But then I noticed how much more interesting it was when my pastor would bring the original words and their meanings into his sermons." So Moor began studying biblical Greek with Stephen Lundquist, Pleasant Valley Church youth pastor at the time.

Throughout First John Applicably, Moor gives commentary of his work. "I designed the book so that the reader can fully understand how I came to form a sentence." The first sentence, which reads "Jesus was from a beginning," took Moor four hours alone to translate. The surprising translation acts as an introduction for what Moor sees as the most important thing to understand. "The book is about Jesus," he explains.

Moor had high hopes for himself when he started the project. "I wanted it to be the perfect translation," he said. "I wanted it to be an NASB meets The Message. But I know I'm an amateur," said Moor when asked what he learned from the project. "It was so humbling for me to realize that I can't make a perfect translation. But I also learned that God can still work through me, despite my imperfections."

Moor is now a freshman at Walla Walla University where he is earning his degree in biblical languages. For more information about First John Applicably, go to www.lulu.com, or call (503) 255-8372, ext. 256.