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Bible
They say that familiarity breeds contempt, but with the Bible, familiarity often breeds laziness. The first problem with the story of Joseph and Potiphar’s wife is that everyone assumes that they know what it means. The Sunday School story and our own casual reading seem to present a classic story of seduction, so we don’t feel that we need to put much effort into actually studying the passage.
An unchristian message about discipleship or the Christian life is one where our effort is the only solution to the problem. It’s the message that says, “Be a good person” and “Just try harder.” Or worse yet, “You’re a terrible person; look how bad you are.” These messages create Pharisees, not Christians. So how do you avoid teaching an unchristian message from the Bible? Let me offer four questions to ask any time you prepare a talk whether it’s for a youth group, a Sunday School class, or even your own kids.
I was speaking with another pastor once and they told me they felt that there were two different kinds of preachers: there are those who fill their messages with personal stories and anecdotes and those who give their congregations the meat of the Word of God. The disdain with which he described the people in the first camp made it clear to me that he felt that illustrations diluted a message. The more Bible the better. I understood his point, but I don’t think the two extremes he compared or the conclusions he drew were helpful. Let me explain what I believe to be the purpose and value of illustrations, so if you’re ever asked to teach a Bible lesson or give a talk to a youth group or seniors meeting, you’ll know when to use them and how.
Some people love to dig into the original setting of the Bible passage they’re teaching. When done poorly, these messages can sound like history lectures. Other people are determined to be more relevant. It feels easier to apply, but it’s not always clear whether the message came from the Bible or whether something was lost in translation. Let’s consider how to cross the bridge into the setting of the Bible and then back across the bridge into the present context.
I thought that the goal of a message from the Bible was to tell people what the Bible says and how it applies to our lives. But I was missing a crucial step that’s essential to avoid losing people as you speak. I didn’t realize the importance of organizing my talk around a central idea. Let me share why that’s important and how you can do it.
Just because you’ve sat through a bunch of sermons and Bible studies, it doesn’t mean that you understand what makes them work when they do or fall apart when they don’t. Let’s dissect some of the most common reasons an otherwise interesting Bible message lacks power or impact. Then, hopefully, next time you have an opportunity to give a talk, you’ll know where to start.
When you first start reading the Bible, it’s all so new that just taking it in can be overwhelming. As you begin to read more consistently, though, you can’t help but notice that stories about Jesus are often repeated in Matthew, Mark, and Luke. In fact, Jesus’ teachings are often 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 accident. And that much is true, but the reality is a little more complicated, and it affects how you should read what they’ve written. Let me explain.
Christians love the Parable of the Prodigal Son. And why wouldn’t we? There’s drama, loss, family tension, crisis, and reconciliation – all the ingredients of a great story! While it’s one that we love, there are lessons that we seem to keep missing when we read it. Jesus’ parable wasn’t just told as a beautiful illustration of the gospel. It was told in response to the grumbling of the religious elite over his eating and drinking with sinners (Luke 15:1-2). There are 3 lessons we can’t afford to miss.
So, you’ve decided to read the Bible. You open the passage. You read it 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 you know it, you’ve spent the entire time you had set aside for Bible study going down rabbit holes and, in the end, learning very little about 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 as you read the Word of God. Missing the forest for the trees is a real danger in Bible study and it’s one that we can all avoid. Let me explain.
Have you ever wondered how much confidence you should put in the four gospel accounts that open the New Testament? Are they just legends? Should we read them as reliable accounts of what Jesus actually did? Could they have preserved Jesus’ teachings after such a long time? These are questions I asked when I first began to investigate Christianity, but a course that I’m taking in the gospels with Wayne Baxter this term has given me greater clarity in understanding them. Let me share what I’ve learned.
