John’s purpose for writing the gospel: “these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ” (John 20:31).
John’s background for his book: “the framework for Jesus’ understanding of his own mission is shaped by the Scriptures mediated by the Jews” (D. A. Carson).
John’s 2 questions for the reader to wrestle with: 1) Who is Jesus? 2) What do I do with his words/teachings?
Continue reading The 7 “I AM” Statements of Jesus: OT Background & NT Meaning
“If the Word does not dwell with power in us, it will not pass with power from us.” John Owen
As believers, all of us desire to be in the Bible more often than we are and with greater depth and intimacy than we do. But we don’t all struggle with the same challenges with our Bible reading.
For one person, their biggest obstacle might be not knowing how to read, interpret, or understand the Bible. They’ve never been equipped to do so, which results in regular frustrations of putting the Bible back down without having a clue what they read. For others, it might be distractions from a phone blowing up with emails and text messages. Each of us have unique circumstances, varying levels of maturity, and our stages of life might differ. This is important because if we want to go deeper in God’s Word, we have to diagnose what’s personally keeping us back. We need to ask, “What are my biggest obstacles to more consistent and more meaningful times reading God’s Word?”
Continue reading What Makes Going Deep in the Bible Hard for You?
If you’re looking to grow in studying the Bible, here are some recommended resources. There are countless books, sermons, podcasts, articles, and blogs available on the topic, so this is just to get you started.
A common approach to studying the Bible is the Inductive Method. The goal is to draw out and rightly interpret a passage, not read into it or force our own meaning into it. While people use various words or acronyms to explain steps in the Inductive Method, the most simple is Observation-Interpretation-Application. In this post, I’ll provide suggested questions for learning how to make observations in a passage of the Bible. The observation stage asks, “What do I see?”
I first listened to Marilynne Robinson’s Pulitzer Prize winning novel Gilead on Audible and now have read it, alongside her two follow-up novels (Home and Lila). The trio share overlapping characters and stories from the vantage of three different characters. It’s similar in ways to what Wendell Berry has done with some of his Port William characters in his stories and vignettes.
A key part of understanding what we read is to read the Bible reflectively. The questions below are not exhaustive, but they provide a framework of Look, Understand, Apply, and Pray to guide your reading. Find ways that help you study and apply God’s Word. Take notes; write down thoughts and prayers; ask questions; chew on or meditate on what you see; and ask a friend or use a good Study Bible or commentary if something doesn’t make sense.
We all need encouragement to read the Bible regularly. Maybe one thing that’s kept you from consistent Bible reading is not knowing what to read or where to turn. The nice thing about a reading plan is it provides a starting point. It takes out the question, “What should I red today?”
Up at The Gospel Coalition, you can read my latest post on how five classic Christmas movies point us to God and His grace.
Feel free to let me know what favorite Christmas movie of yours I missed!
After recently preaching, I was reminded of a Wendell Berry poem about how we work but we ultimately rest as God does the work. I think this applies not only to preaching and ministry but to parenting, relationships, speaking truth to someone, any attempt at making a difference, gardening, our work, and many other things. There’s so much work for us to do, and yet in some ways so little we can do. Much has to be “left to grace” while we rest.
“Love is holy because it is like grace—the worthiness of its object is never really what matters.” Gilead
I don’t dislike Santa. My wife has even said that for someone who isn’t a “Santa supporter” I enjoy a number of Santa related things. I like Santa movies (Miracle on 34thStreet; The Santa Clause; Elf) and Santa Christmas songs. I like some Santa decorations and knick-knacks. I like when local stores offer pictures with Santa for children. I’m not anti-Santa.
indycrowe 