Baptist Church the Grace of Giving Reading

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Bible reading

When you first start reading the Bible, it's all then new that only taking information technology in can be overwhelming. Every bit you brainstorm to read more consistently, though, yous can't help only notice that stories near Jesus are oftentimes repeated in Matthew, Mark, and Luke. In fact, Jesus' teachings are frequently repeated also. As you wonder why, you might be told that the gospel writers are each giving an account of the event from their own perspective like witnesses to a traffic blow. And that much is truthful, but the reality is a niggling more complicated, and it affects how you should read what they've written. Let me explain.

So, yous've decided to read the Bible. You open the passage. You read information technology a couple of times and you notice some interesting things. Your curiosity takes over. Why is that there? Why is it phrased that way? Why didn't they say this instead? Before y'all know it, you've spent the unabridged time you had set aside for Bible study going down rabbit holes and, in the cease, learning very little most what God was likely trying to teach you. I had an experience like this yesterday. And it reminded me how critical it is to look for the right things and ask the right questions every bit yous read the Give-and-take of God. Missing the forest for the trees is a existent danger in Bible study and it's one that we can all avoid. Permit me explain.

I was on a road trip with my two sons and something they said led me to share a very personal story. I went into item near what happened, what I'd learned, and how it had such an impact on me. Equally I came to the cease, I looked over at my sons, half-hoping to run across broad-eyed expression of wonder and awe. They were both fast asleep! Communicating with children is hard. Permit me share some tips from the Bible about how to speak in a way that reaches your child.

When I was in university, I tried to tackle some of the Russian classics on my summer break. At start, I found the complexity of them overwhelming. The challenge was that they had and so many characters and they all had multiple names and different people used unlike names to refer to each other depending on the nature of their relationship. I came to the determination that yous need to exist prepared to but spend the first hundred pages trying to figure out who everyone is and how they're connected. One time you get past that, they're fascinating stories. Those books showed me the importance of a reading strategy.

It'south easy to keep doing the same things without thinking nigh what y'all're doing. That'due south not a recipe for personal growth, though. This week, I'grand taking a form chosen "Preaching the Narratives of Scripture." In that location were a couple of books that I had to read in preparation also as papers to write, summarizing their contents and my reflection on them. On Midweek and Th, I'll take in day-long lectures with the instructor, Kent Edwards, who will come to u.s.a. from California by Zoom video call. On Friday, I'll preach to my computer screen and then take the professor, and fellow pastor-students analyze and critique everything I've said and done. Pray for me! In the follow-up to the course, I'll submit another three sermons for written feedback from the others and in turn, evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the other participants. Having gone through the same process for the course I took in the wintertime, "Preaching Old Testament Poetry," I know the value (and the stress!) of the feedback and reflection. You can't abound in the echo bedchamber. Let me share some of the lessons I've learned so far.

These are non like shooting fish in a barrel days to be a parent of young children. Having kids home for summer holidays tin can exist difficult enough to programme for, just the COVID-19 school closures were too sudden to allow for planning and at that place are no camps to send them to or programs to enrol them in. Educators are doing what they can to provide online learning options and, every bit a church, nosotros're working to launch an online children'south ministry for our families. Simply still, many parents see this time as an opportunity to invest in their children'southward faith and discipleship and are looking for tools and resources to help. The best place to kickoff is the Bible itself. There's nothing that can replace reading the Bible to your children and helping them to read it for themselves. You want to make sure that your children's Bibles are well worn. But equally you lot do that, you may want to supplement the Bible reading. Permit me share what I feel are some of the best free materials available correct now to encourage your child's spiritual growth.

Tim Challies recently chronicled, "How the Church building Worshipped on I of the Nearly Unusual Sundays in Church History." People all around the world were gathered in front of laptops and television screens every bit preachers spoke into cameras and phones. God's Word was being proclaimed through YouTube, Facebook, and Zoom. It was a wonderful brandish of the flexibility and unstoppable power of the church. It was an of import offset. And if COVID-19 was going to be over in a week or two, that would probably be enough. But there'due south more that'south needed if we're going to ride out this pandemic over the long haul. Let me requite some suggestions for how nosotros tin can be the church building in the midst of this global pandemic.

The actor, Jared Leto, recently emerged from a silent meditation camp simply to learn that COVID-xix had become a global pandemic. Afterward close to two weeks in a desert retreat, it was a daze for him to learn what had happened while he had been unplugged. With the constant barrage of troubling news reports and alarming developments, escaping to a desert hideaway may sound tempting. Meditation sounds similar it may help deal with the uneasiness that many people are feeling. Merely does the Bible say anything nearly meditation? Is meditation Christian? And, if so, is it any different than Hindu and Buddhist forms of meditation?

The biggest difference between Christianity and other religions and philosophies is that the Bible declares that what God has washed for us – not what nosotros have done for Him – is the basis of our forgiveness, credence and salvation. By contrast, other religions teach what we have to do in guild to go to heaven, be acceptable to God or achieve our potential. Many Christians bring a non-Christian mindset to how they live the Christian life. When they hear a sermon, they only hear what they have to do. When they open the Bible, they only see God's commands. And, ironically, Christianity can become a not-Christian religion in the process. There's a unproblematic blueprint that the Scriptures give for correcting this: start with DONE before you motion to Exercise. Allow me explain.

On Sunday, we started a new series in one Thessalonians entitled, "Living Life in Calorie-free of the Finish." I'll be away camping with my family this calendar week so instead of my regular postal service, I want to encourage you to watch this video overview of ane Thessalonians from The Bible Project. I hope it gives you a better feel for the alphabetic character. I'll be back on Lord's day for a look at 1 Thessalonians 2:ane-6.

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Source: https://www.gracebc.ca/blog/tag/Bible+reading

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