How to read your Bible
intro
Bible as a big story that we are a part of
Plan
You need a devotional routine
You need a study routine
Routine in Community reading
Routine in Meditation
Psalm 119:103
Sometimes it’s my busy schedule. Sometimes it’s disappointment in God. Sometimes it’s stress. Sometimes I’m just plain tired.
Jewish kids - studying torah is sweet - chocolate (your favorite? yell it out)
Engaging with the Bible should be both a DESIRE and a DISCIPLINE
PNG - literacy
Ask an Honest “Why don’t I want to read the Bible?”
Enschede - Manuela. Easy to stop. Hard to start again. Awaken desire and discipline (ask them, which two words?)
Moses reassured the people of God's deliverance
passing through the river- Joshua 3, cross Jordan into promised land. Dangerous crossing. fire that will not burn you - Daniel 3, Sons of Judah not scorched in the fire.
Isaiah 43:2 - great metaphors - Exodus 14:9-12
the richness of the bigger story and the power of each portion of Scripture containing deeper layers of meaning.
Bible is story of God
This story is part of a larger story of the Kingdom of God. It’s not just about the people of Israel or the early church. Our church fathers are a part of the story. The Bible is not something that is far from our bedside, but something we are caught up in ourselves. You are a part of the story. The Bible is God’s story. And by becoming His child, we are now a part of this story.
biblical characters lived their lives, interacted with God, and this shows us how to live this life with God.
You are part of the big story of the Bible (say to your neighbour)
differing stories from adam to disciples retold again and again in different ways
So it's not a story about Noah where we can memorise the facts and 'know' the story, but it's becoming part of the story and the tradition that precedes and follows it. C3 Imagine Almere is a part of the larger story of the Bible. So when we read our Bible, we learn who God is, and what he is like, and what our place is in His story. And as we read and embody scripture together as a church, we continue the story of God.
not a rulebook, principles, encouragement
You need a plan. If you don’t have a routine, if you don’t have a plan, you won’t read your Bible.
What’s the second word?(ask them) DISCIPLINE
Manuela first nap lap or bed - 1 verse
prime time and you can make consistent and choose a small goal.
What is prime time for you? Give that time to God.
Routine gets stale: 3 Bibles sold or given away every second
So you grab your phone - Youversion - because you don’t even know where your bible is - start tapping
any cover, font, layout, translation, Magazine. etc
You need a devotional routine
if you read it, listen to it and vice versa. Read scripture you don't normally touch. Good devotional book.
Bible: no firsthand accounts
We read words that are thousands of years old with the perception of life centuries later. These words were written on stone tablets, while our toddler understands how to operate a different type of tablet. Is it crazy to suggest that perhaps we might be missing a bit of context? We literally are set up to fail at interpretation more than we are to succeed. We are faced with a problem: We don’t know what that culture and time in history was like back then.
Problem, we were never there. We rely on firsthand accounts to tell us.
The Bible is formed over a span of 1,500 years. Many different people contributed, arranged and supplied the written words. It contains the customs and jargon of five different cultural eras and stretches from the Bronze Age to Roman times. It is a complicated book.
Grandma WW2. War museum, movie, history class stories
We need to read in context, we need to understand the genre, the Bible contains at least ten major genres. There are different types of Bible translations which have an impact on how each Greek, Hebrew and Armaic word is translated. - IBC plug
How I do this
Do your research (tell your other neighbour, do your research)
Our working memory wasn’t designed to hold information for very long—only about fifteen to thirty seconds. With repetition, though, you keep information in your working memory long enough for the hippocampus to consolidate the information into your longer-lasting memory. Anything we want to remember, we must rethink. Your brain was designed to remember things through repetition.
Example with: For God has not given me a Spirit of fear, but of power, love and a sound mind
Challenged myself - since Raphaël's birth
1 Timothy 4:15
The Bible can quickly become an inspirational, personal guide. But this verse says: You are accountable to one another. The community, not the individual, is the foundation for spiritual formation. We all need the accountability a community provides.
We have a corporate walk with Christ, not an individual one. Christian discipleship is anything but individualistic.
Our place in the story is to live out God’s Kingdom here on earth. And in order to do that we need to be transformed to be like Christ.
Idependace promotes confidence, self-esteem and fosters self-reliance. It’s a crucial development phase that a toddler learns to distinguish between themselves and others.
2 Timothy 3:16-17
Chloë help with holding head up - 2 years - upside down zipper or half an hour lid
Psychologists conducted research on this matter and found out that people tended to stay with their own beliefs and attitudes because changing them might prevent them from living the lives they were living. We do this almost unconsciously. Change is uncomfortable. Change means loss of control. Uncertainty. We must recognise that Scripture is in fact an outsider.
If the Bible’s goal is to transform us, we will resist it. Our natural minds love to interpret in a way that allows us to continue in the lifestyle we’re living. We love Scripture that fits the models and mindsets we already have. We love cherry picking Scripture. Our lifestyle determines our theology, instead of our theology determining our actions.
We need to allow others in our church community to endorse or reject our interpretations, as well as the lifestyle we connect to what we have read.
Erkenning
You might be thinking, but Judith, I don’t trust people around me. I have been burned by Christians. I get that. My trust has been betrayed by family, a close friend, an employer and by people I’ve led and given my all to. Every single time someone breaks trust, it hurts. In some instances it hurts more than others because it’s a nasty curveball you had not been expecting. Learning to trust them, or anyone after that can feel a long road to recovery. Maybe you’re there right now. Maybe your walls are built up high around your heart, in fear of being betrayed again.
One thing I have learned is to not focus on those who hurt me, but first focus on Jesus himself. Every pain of betrayal has a root emotion attached to it. Anger, disappointment, rejection, vulnerability, fear, shame, embarrassment, loss. What are you feeling? Explore that feeling and then take it to God. What does the Word of God say about it? God wants to heal your pain. Take your emotions to Him. He gave us one another, because He knew we needed community. His Story, the Bible is one big community. And then look for people in your church community with whom you can rebuild trust. We have groups in this church with lovely people who want to love on you and cheer you on in becoming more like Christ. Take it slow, but you have to take a step. Join a group. Start to get to know people. Start to share you walk with Christ with them.
Conclusion & Altar call
Desire: You are a part of the God’s big story
Discipline: routines, devotional, study, meditation, community
“You Christians look after a document containing enough dynamite to blow all civilisation to pieces, turn the world upside down and bring peace to a battle-torn planet. But you treat it as though it is nothing more than a piece of literature.” - Ghandi
Response: Stand up: How have you treated Scripture? How is your Desire? How is your Discipline? Make a decision today.
Everything leads back to Jesus at the center:Unified story of 66 books -> Jesus. Look for Jesus in each chapter, even in OT - Altar call
top 5 reasons you need to read your Bible:
- Your children don’t understand your bedtime story about Jonah the shepard boy and his colourful ark 2. When someone asks you to find 1 Philistines 3:18, you actually open the table of contents to find it 3. You open your Bible at the book of Mark and a 5 gulden note falls out 4. You think Abraham, Isaak and Jacob were a popular band in the 80’s 5. When you pick up your Bible you have a dust allergy attack