Read the Bible for Life
Read the Bible for Life
Sunday May 05, 2013
Reading the Bible with the Family - Chapter 15 Cameron Jungles - 5-5-2013
Sunday May 05, 2013
Sunday May 05, 2013
Read the Bible for Life by George Guthrie
“Reading the Bible with the Family” Chapter 15 (Eastside Baptist/Sun PM/May 5, 2013)
Opening Thoughts
Ø What legacy do you want to pass on to your children?
o Inheritance or land?
o Heirlooms or memories?
o Character or work ethic?
o Knowledge of God and his Word?
Deuteronomy 6:6
These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts.
Deuteronomy 6:7
Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.
Building Home on the Word
Ø What are the goals of a Scripture-saturated home?
o The Love of God
ü Love of God is cultivated through delighting in and meditating on God’s Word.
Deuteronomy 6:4
Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one.
Deuteronomy 6:5
Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.
A Biblical Worldview
ü The Bible does not directly address every issue.
ü The Bible provides framework for understanding reality.
C.S. Lewis:
“I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else.”
Principles for Living Wisely
ü Within a biblical view of the world are individual principles to guide our choices and actions.
ü Sabbath rest
ü Focused on needs of others
Practical Tips
Ø Bible Reading & Listening
o Establish patterns
ü Set times and places
ü Incorporate singing
ü Devotional guides
ü Catechisms
ü Children’s Bible Storybooks
o Encourage individual Bible and prayer times
ü Provide reading plans
ü Allow time
ü Discuss as a family what each is reading
Ø Help your children understand the Bible’s big storyline.
o Reading through the Bible
o At special occasions and other times, review the Bible’s big story.
Ø Listening to teaching & preaching
o Make worship a priority
o Teach sitting and listening
o Teach note taking
o Review lessons and sermons as a family.
Concluding Thoughts
Ø Live out the Bible in front of your families.
Ø Cultivate a love for the Scriptures.
Ø What are the values and priorities of your family?
Ø Start somewhere.
Psalm 78:5
He decreed statutes for Jacob and established the law in Israel, which he commanded our ancestors to teach their children,
Psalm 78:6
so the next generation would know them, even the children yet to be born, and they in turn would tell their children.
Psalm 78:7
Then they would put their trust in God and would not forget his deeds but would keep his commands.
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Cameron Jungels
Eastside Baptist Church
May 5, 2013 Sun PM
Unless otherwise noted, the verses are in NIV.
Sunday Apr 28, 2013
Sunday Apr 28, 2013
Read the Bible for Life by George Guthrie
(Cameron Jungels/Eastside Baptist/Sun PM/4.28.2013)
“Bible Reading in Times of Sorrow and Suffering” Chapter 14
Psalm 90:10
Our days may come to seventy years, or eighty, if our strength endures; yet the best of them are but trouble and sorrow, for they quickly pass, and we fly away.
Opening Thoughts
Ø Trouble and sorrow are part of life in a sin-cursed world.
Ø They are part of the tapestry of our life of faith that God is weaving.
Ø How do we respond in these times?
A Place for Lament
Ø Our secular culture and even often our church culture do not have a place for lament.
Ø The Psalms are not all praise.
Ø Both praise and lament are intended to draw us to God.
What Is Lament?
Ø A form of prayer or worship.
Ø A difficult conversation with God.
Ø Expressing disappointment, suffering, anger, & bitterness.
Ø Modeled for us in the Bible.
Ø Very relational in nature and involves total honesty
Ø Lament is intended to strengthen our relationship with God, to drive us closer to him in times of sorrow.
Ø God desires to relate to us even on our worst days.
Perspective in a Dark World
Ø Laments help us to worship in moments of powerlessness.
Ø Lament reorients our view to God’s perspective.
Ø God’s timing – not ours.
Ø Not always answers, but a closer relationship with God.
Laments for Real Life
Ø Lament is often ongoing, not momentary.
Ø Lament may be opportunity for service – for God to display his strength in my weakness.
Ø My weakness and sorrow can be offered to God in worship.
Kinds of Laments
Ø Lament of Contrition – sin
Ø Lament of Betrayal –abandonment or rejection (by people or God!)
Ø Lament of Sickness – battling illness or disease
Lamentations 3 as Example
Ø Written by Jeremiah, who witnessed the devastation on Jerusalem by Babylonians.
Ø In Lamentations 3, Jeremiah’s lament moves from corporate (we) to personal (I).
Lamentations 3:1
I am the man who has seen affliction by the rod of the LORD's wrath.
Lamentations 3:2
He has driven me away and made me walk in darkness rather than light;
Lamentations 3:3
indeed, he has turned his hand against me again and again, all day long.
Lamentations 3:5
He has besieged me and surrounded me with bitterness and hardship.
Lamentations 3:7
He has walled me in so I cannot escape; he has weighed me down with chains.
Lamentations 3:8
Even when I call out or cry for help, he shuts out my prayer.
Lamentations 3:15
He has filled me with bitter herbs and given me gall to drink.
Lamentations 3:19
I remember my affliction and my wandering, the bitterness and the gall.
Lamentations 3:20
I well remember them, and my soul is downcast within me.
Turning Point in Lament
Ø Biblical lament never stays in sorrow and grief.
Ø Through lament, one gains perspective about God and his ways.
Ø Lament leads to hope in the mercies of God.
Lamentations 3:21
Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope:
Lamentations 3:22
Because of the LORD's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail.
Lamentations 3:23
They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.
Concluding Thoughts
Ø Lament is biblical and draws us closer to God.
Ø Lament honestly pours out our hearts to God.
Ø Lament reorients our perspective to remember the mercy and love of God.
1 Peter 5:7
Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.
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Cameron Jungels
Eastside Baptist Church
April 28, 2013 Sunday PM
Unless otherwise noted, the verses are in NIV.
Sunday Apr 21, 2013
Sunday Apr 21, 2013
Read the Bible for Life by George Guthrie
“Reading the NT Letters”: Chapter 11
Ø Appeal of NT Epistles
o Personal nature
o More familiar with genre
o Practical daily issues
o Greatest treasury of instruction of post-resurrection doctrine and how to live the Christian life
Ø Letter Writing in 1st Century
o Difficult to Produce and Deliver
ü Materials
ü Scribes
ü Delivery
o Reading done publicly in community
Ø Reading with a map
o Parts make better sense in light of the whole.
o 1st century letter structure
o Read the whole letter in one sitting if possible.
o Use reliable guides to help with structure and purpose.
Ø Original Setting is Key
o Letters are occasional
o One-sided conversations
o Writer? Readers?
o Occasion? or Situation?
o Purpose(s)?
o Key Themes?
o Historical/cultural info
Ø Bridging the Gaps
o Different Cultures – forms, structures, and practices
o Sinful human nature is fundamentally unchanged.
o God’s character and his plan of salvation is unchanged.
o On different cultural matters, seek foundational principles.
Ø Reading with Joy & Humility
o Read purposefully but with an openness to receive God’s truth in humility…
o Even if that means changing previously held assumptions and beliefs.
o God’s Truth shapes us.
Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will. (Rom. 12:2, NIV)
All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.
(2 Tim. 3:16-17, NIV)
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Cameron Jungels
Eastside Baptist Church
April 21, 2013 Sun PM
Unless otherwise noted, the verses are in NIV.
Sunday Apr 21, 2013
Sunday Apr 21, 2013
Read the Bible for Life by George Guthrie (Cameron Jungels/Eastside Baptist/Sun PM/April 21, 2013)
“Reading the Bible for Personal Devotion” Chapter 13
1 Peter 2:2
Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation,
Opening Thoughts
Ø Biblical illiteracy hurts our personal devotional life.
Ø Our personal walk with the Lord and our times of prayer will be greatly enhanced by being saturated with God’s Word.
Key Question:
Why is it so hard to maintain a consistent devotional life of Bible reading and prayer?
Delighting in God’s Word
o Problem: merely reading to accomplish a task.
o Solution: meditating on Scripture.
Ø How to Meditate on Scripture
o Mediate=thinking deeply about the meaning and application of Scripture.
o Meditation is not merely a suggestion, but lifted up in the Bible as the normal part of a believer’s devotional life.
Psalm 77:12
I will consider all your works and meditate on all your mighty deeds.
Psalm 119:15
I meditate on your precepts and consider your ways.
Ø How to Meditate on Scripture
o Slow down and linger over the meaning of passages, verses, phrases, and words.
o Probe the passage by asking key questions: what, who, where, when, how, and why?
Ø What if you are too busy?
o Don’t skip meditation.
o Read shorter passages.
o Select key verses or passages.
o Schedule “slow down” times.
o Use creative times.
o Remember: It’s not a to-do-list task.
Ø Balancing Meditation and “Big Picture” Bible Reading
o Both “cover much ground” reading and “slow down” meditation are important.
o Have a plan to read through the Bible.
o Use a plan that includes variety.
Integrating Mediation and Prayer
Thoughtful biblical meditation leads to fuller and more enjoyable prayer life.
Pray through passages of Scripture (eyes open).
From Drudgery to Delight
o Pray through a passage of Scripture with yourself and others in mind.
o Psalms are a good place to start (also NT letters).
Ø Bible-saturated Prayer
o Brings variety to stale, repetitive prayers.
o Awakens imagination.
o Provides new themes and vocabulary for prayer.
o Anchors our prayers to biblical truth.
o Brings our prayers in line with God’s will.
o Reminds us of relationship with God: God speaks to us through his Word; we speak to God through prayer.
Bible
Prayer
Closing Thoughts
Ø Consistent Bible reading, meditation, and prayer is doable.
Ø It is also enjoyable, when we view it as part of a relationship with God who is our true source of joy.
Psalm 119:16
I delight in your decrees; I will not neglect your word.
Sunday Feb 17, 2013
Sunday Feb 17, 2013
Read the Bible for Life by George Guthrie - Chapter 5 - Cameron Jungels 2-17-2013
Sunday Jan 27, 2013
Sunday Jan 27, 2013
Read the Bible for Life by George Guthrie - Chapter 3 - Cameron Jungels 1-27-2013
Read the Bible for Life By George Guthrie
Reading the Bible In Translation
chapter 3
As we are reading the Bible as a guide for all of life…
We should be grateful that we have access to God’s Word in our own language, so that we can understand its truth.
Ø Why do we need the Bible to be translated?
• God chose to inspire his prophets and apostles to write in Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek.
• Translation of God’s Word into another language has a long history and is even present in the Bible itself.
Laban called it Jegar Sahadutha, and Jacob called it Galeed. Laban said, "This heap is a witness between you and me today." That is why it was called Galeed. (Gen 31:47-48 NIV)
They read from the Book of the Law of God, making it clear and giving the meaning so that the people understood what was being read. (Neh 8:8 NIV)
About three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, "Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?" (which means "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"). (Mat 27:46 NIV)
• Jesus and the apostles quoted from the Greek translation of the Old Testament that was available in their day.
• Throughout the history of God’s people, the sacred writings have been translated into various languages.
Ø Why do we have so many translations?
• Challenge of translation
• Advances in textual and linguistic information
• Language changes
• Different intended audiences
• Different translation techniques
Ø What are the different types of translations?
• Formal equivalent
• KJV, NKJV, NASB, ESV
• Functional equivalent
• NLT, CEV
• Balanced
• NIV, HCSB
Ø Is a translation the Word of God and can I have confidence in it?
• Translations are done by committees of scholars and are reviewed and checked for accuracy.
• Translations have been used by the church from the beginning.
Ø Should I use one translation or more than one?
• Yes.
• One regular translation for consistency and familiarity in reading and memorization.
• Multiple translations for study and comparison.
Ø Should I be thankful for the Bible in translation?
• 2251/6912 languages still do not have any Scripture.
• Those before us gave their lives so that we could have the Bible in our language.
• The Bible in our language is a gift of God’s grace.
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Cameron Jungels
Eastside Baptist Church
Jan 27 2013 Wed PM
Unless otherwise noted, the verses are in NIV.
Sunday Jan 20, 2013
Sunday Jan 20, 2013
Read the Bible for Life by George Guthrie - Chapter 2
Sunday Jan 13, 2013
Sunday Jan 13, 2013
Read the Bible for Life by George Guthrie
Chapter 1
If we are going to read the Bible as a guide for all of life…
We must have a commitment to:
The Bible comes from God.
The Bible is true and without error.
The Bible is my authority.
The Bible is my authority.
All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. (2 Tim 3:16-17 NIV)
Baptist Catechism #5
Q. May all men make use of the holy scriptures?
A. All men are not only permitted, but commanded and exhorted to read, hear, and understand the holy scriptures (John 5:38; Rev. 17:18, 19; 1:3; Acts 8:30).
How do we know the Bible is the Word of God?
The Bible evidences itself to be the Word of God by the heavenliness of its doctrine, the unity of its parts, and its power to convert sinners and edify saints. But only the Spirit of God can make us willing to agree and submit to the Bible as the Word of God.
This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual realities with Spirit-taught words. The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit. (1 Cor 2:13-14 NIV)
We must allow our thinking and view of the world to be shaped by the truth of the Bible.
God’s view of the world is reality.
The Bible’s truth and authority touches on every area of life.
We don’t just read and interpret the Bible; it interprets us.
For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. (Heb 4:12 NIV)
Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. (James 1:22-24 NIV)
If the Bible is going to shape our view of the world, we need purposeful and constant exposure to it.
Unexpected Tornadoes
Not an encyclopedia, but daily food
Life Habits
Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God--this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will. (Rom 12:1-2 NIV)
If the Bible is going to be our guide for life, we need to discipline ourselves to read it well.
Misinterpretation
Misapplication
Reading our situations into the Bible
Failing to see the big picture
As we read the Bible to shape our view of the world, we have to read the parts in light of the whole.
Bible’s Big Story
Creation, Fall, Redemption, New Creation
Progressive Revelation
Unfolding of Covenants
As the Word shapes our view of life and provides light for our path, it will also provide strength and encouragement for the journey.
For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through the endurance taught in the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide we might have hope. (Rom 15:4 NIV)
Reading the Bible as a guide for life is more about a whole-life commitment than a quick-fix methodology.
Sunday Jan 06, 2013
Sunday Jan 06, 2013
Read the Bible for Life by George Guthrie
Introduction
1. What is the Purpose of the Study?
a. To Read the Bible
b. To Read the Bible Well
c. To Understand the Bible
d. To Live the Bible
2. Why is this study necessary?
a. It is important that we read the Bible and read it well.
i. Everyone needs the Bible.
1. Biblical literacy helps us understand the English language.
2. Biblical literacy helps us understand the history of our culture and how societies continue to be shaped by the Bible.
ii. Christians especially need the Bible.
1. The Bible is God’s Living Word (Heb 4:12).
2. The Reading of the Bible should be effecting love for God and life change.
3. Why Should Christians Read the Bible?
a. To know the truth (2 Pet 1:20–21).
b. To know God in a personal relationship (1 Cor 1:21; Gal 4:8–9; 1 Tim 4:16).
c. To live well for God in this world, showing our love for im (John 14:23–24; Rom 12:2; 1 Thess. 4:1–8; 2 Tim 3:16–17).
d. To experience God’s freedom, grace, peace, and hope (John 8:32; Rom 15:4; 2 Pet 1:2).
e. To give us joy (Ps 119:111).
f. To grow spiritually, rejecting the world and conforming to God’s will (Rom 12:1–2; 1 Pet 2:1–2).
g. To minister to other believers and to those who have not yet believed the gospel (Josh 1:8; 2 Tim 2:15; 3:16–17).
h. To guard ourselves from sin and error (Eph 6:11–17; 2 Pet 2:1–2; Ps 119:9).
i. To be built up as a Christian community with others in the body of Christ (Acts 20:32; Eph 4:14–16).
b. We are not reading the Bible.
i. Biblical literacy among everyone, and even church attenders, is down.
ii.
“Our biblical illiteracy hurts us personally, hurts our churches, hurts our witness, and, thus, hurts the advancement of the gospel in the world.” (p. 8)
iii. Why is biblical literacy down?
1. Reading generally is on the decline.
2. Technology may be hurting our ability to read.
3. We are distracted and overextended in our schedules.
4. We don’t know the Bible’s grand story or how its parts work.
3. What does this study attempt to do?
a. The focus of this study is to help us:
i. Read the different parts of Scripture well
ii. Read it for application to the various contexts of life
Thursday Jan 03, 2013
Read the Bible for Life by George Guthrie - Chapter 4 - Cameron Jungels 2-3-2013
Thursday Jan 03, 2013
Thursday Jan 03, 2013
Read the Bible for Life
By George Guthrie
Reading the Bible for Transformation chapter 4
“The Bible is meant not only to inform us but also to transform us in ways that bring us closer to God and enable us to live more effectively for him.” - George Guthrie
Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. (James 1:22 NIV)
What is Bible application?
Challenges to application
Types of application
Steps to proper application
What is Bible application?
“The thoughtful appropriation of biblical truth to our lives”
Changing our thoughts
Changing our affections, motives, ambitions, and attitudes
Changing our actions
Out of love for God for the glory of God
Challenges to application
Application isn’t easy.
Vague, mushy, generalities that don’t really change us.
Our sinful condition makes us unreceptive to the Word.
For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh.
They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want. (Galatians 5:17 NIV)
Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. (James 1:22 NIV)
Types of application
Actions
Worship and praise
Giving thanks
Change our thinking/doctrine
Meditation/mind transformation
Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God--this is your true and proper worship. (Romans 12:1 NIV)
Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will. (Romans 12:2 NIV).
Steps to proper application
Not something tack on the end, but begins the moment we start reading – with a receptive heart
Flows out of sound interpretation
“We must read well to live well.”
Clarify the main point(s) and how the original audience would have applied the truth being communicated.
Think through both the similarities and differences between you and the original readers of the passage.
Think through the different contexts of your life to which the passage might apply.
Think about a specific application of the biblical truth to your life.
Concluding Reflections
Am I open to hearing what the Spirit is saying to me through the Word in ways that I need to change?
Am I characterized by making changes to my life based on God’s Word?