How To... Study the Scriptures w/Pastor Jenn

Hi everyone. If you don't know me, I'm Pastor

Jen. I've been here since the beginning of the

church. Since the very start. Oh, right, yes.

Since the very beginning of the church. Like,

since the era of Peter and Jesus. I aged very

well. We are in a series of how -to. Marissa

led us through how to pray last week. You're

going to hear me say the words nuts and bolts

a lot this week, today, because that, I think,

is a good descriptor of what it is that we're

getting into. We're getting into the nuts and

bolts of how we grow in our faith, how it's constructed,

how it's formed, so that it is, as we talk about

here at the house, it is forming a foundation

for us and building a house for us to live in,

and a structure in which... We live our lives

with the embodiment of Christ and his message

in us. So this week is another how -to. My first

semester, I went to Indiana Wesleyan University,

and my first semester at that school was really

hard. I had actually transferred in from another

school in upstate New York where I grew up, and

I left behind a lot of friends and what felt

like a very safe... version of myself. I did

not gracefully swim into that first semester.

We could say I floundered. But the end of my

first semester, I got a reckoning because much

of it was of my own doing. I received my letter

on Christmas Eve that uninvited me to participate

as a student in the school. I was kicked out.

And that was a tough moment. I had failed two

classes and done poorly in the rest. And so one

of those classes was methods of Bible study,

everyone. It was to teach inductive methods of

studying scriptures. And through the petition

of a really, really gracious professor, I was

readmitted with... very distinct and serious

academic restraints. But because methods of Bible

study was a required class for those seeking

to become pastors, I found myself back in my

seat for the second semester learning the topic

once again. I will say on the second round, I

actually did turn in the final paper, which had

previously been my downfall. So today I come

to you, a two -time student of Methods of Bible

Study with Steve Lennox. Is Dave Hodge here?

He's not. Dave also had Steve Lennox as a professor.

So with Steve Lennox with this week's how -to

message, which is how to study the scriptures.

So may your confidence be bolstered, everyone.

I joke, but I even have messaged Steve now, you

know, in my future self, in my current ministry

life, I've even messaged Steve to say, thank

you for failing me. I needed the wake -up call,

for one, but also I was honestly so fortunate

in the long run to have been taught by him and

to have had a couple go -rounds in his class.

It gave me such an incredible perspective on

the variety of writing found in the Bible, the

tone of authorship, the importance of language

and grammar and syntax, the importance of when

something was written and the history of its

translation over time. But with Steve, it wasn't

all academic. Steve loves the scriptures and

is propelled by their teachings. And he also

taught of the power they hold to transform us

because of the message that they hold. The scriptures

are rich and they are deep. They are mysterious

and clear. They are ancient and contemporary.

And they have been passed through generations

to get to us today. And we... owe a debt of gratitude

for those that preserved them throughout the

ages. The scribes and historians that recorded

them, those that rewrote them so that they could

be passed on, those that kept them safe when

invading entities would have stolen them away,

those that wrote them small so that they could

be tucked into secret places when it was illegal

to have possession of them. I am obliged to express

deep Deep respect to those who protected these

words through history. Because the Bible as we

now know it has not always been. The original

pieces, and I mean pieces, are many. And they

have been lost and they have been found. They

have been fought for and over. They have been

transcribed and translated. They have been carried

away so as not to be lost. And they have been

carried with in order to be preserved. When the

scriptures were read by Ezra, after the return

of those from exile, the people wept to hear

them. The words were precious to the hearers,

and they still are. I read a book a handful of

years ago called Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony

Doerr. Do you know it? Some of you have probably

actually read All the Light We Cannot See. That's

also his. That's a pretty popular book. But a

handful of years ago, I read this book, and it

takes place in multiple timelines. And in each

timeline, these characters are trying to protect

an ancient piece of writing that has made its

way to them in one way or another. One character

escapes the attack of the Ottomans of Constantinople

in 1453, taking the writing with her as she fled

the city. Another acquires a copy during a war.

Another is tasked with its care sometime in the

future. And I remember thinking of all the various

ways in history that people have done this with

the pieces, the scrolls, the scraps of scripture

that they have had possession of throughout the

last multiple millennia. I have visited the town

of Ancient Corinth in Greece a couple times.

Kelsey Campbell and I got to go together last

summer. The first time I was there, I walked

around thinking about Paul meeting Priscilla

and sitting in the marketplace, having conversations

with people, starting the young church that was

going to be there and his time that he spent

there. I then sat in my car with the city ruins

directly in front of me, the Temple of Apollo

making a shadow on my car, and I read the opening

passages of 1 Corinthians, and I was so moved.

Paul wrote letters to this community, to his

friends, to those that were wanting to grow in

their dedication to Jesus. Those letters got

circulated around. They were rewritten so that

they could travel with people and go to other

communities. They got rewritten again when the

materials wore out, and that happened over and

over and over again. They held on to these words.

And as I sat there 2 ,000 years later in my modern

chariot, as it were, next to a town that is now

no longer. It is simply in ruins. I still get

to read Paul's words on my iPhone. How wild is

that, right? But the words, because the words

were so precious and people took them so seriously

and kept them so cared for, they were life for

those people and the people kept them safe. The

early church did not have the Bible as we know

it. That wouldn't appear for a long time later.

They had pieces of what we call the Old Testament,

the Hebrew writings, that they viewed as scripture

during their own time. In their world, it was

known as the Septuagint because that was a Greek

translation of the Hebrew scriptures that was

now available because the Hebrew scriptures were

now ancient to them. in the New Testament, in

the New Testament times, in the early church.

And so it had to be updated for a Greek Hellenized

world to be able to have access to them. So that's

what the early church, when you hear in what

we call New Testament writings, scripture, they

are referring to the Septuagint. Or if they are

Hebrew people, they would have read also some

of it in Hebrew and in Aramaic. So this is what

they had. These scriptures were old and from

a long lost era to even the New Testament people.

But the books of what we call the New Testament

were generally letters and accounts just being

passed around at that time. And the Bible that

we know is not self -aware in that everything

that became scripture did not know in its own

time that it was going to eventually be considered

sacred. Now, the early church did consider things

like apostolic letters from like Paul and others

that were considered apostolic in their connection

to Jesus. They took those very seriously as items

of great importance. They were to be held onto

and shared and even read in gatherings in partnership

with The ancient scriptures. Because they held

great practical information about now how to

live as Christ followers in this new world that

they were in. When there was no template. There

was no instructions other than what Jesus left

them with. And so they had to just rewrite it

and share it and share it and share it over and

over. But Paul... when he was writing his letters,

was not writing to all of Christendom for the

next two millennia when he wrote to the church

in Corinth to talk about lawsuits and his upcoming

travel schedule. He didn't know that these writings

were going to have the longevity that they had.

It, in its time, did not know its sacred value.

And so, to have all of this bound neatly in our

lifetime in a book you can get with a pretty

cover, And shiny stuff on the ends is extraordinary

and is a miracle. It is a miracle we have it.

So in order to study the scriptures, we have

to understand their value and how extraordinary

it is that we even have them at all. We're so

fortunate. God has cared for us in such an extraordinary

way. that the story has held, the story has continued,

and it has come to us. And I get to be a believer

in Jesus and know about his salvation in my life

because of these faithful people who cared so

much, not in only their time, their own time,

but to keep and care for these scraps and scrolls

and bits and pieces. It's amazing. So to get

into the nuts and bolts of it. I want to start

with the Pauline and pastoral book of Timothy.

And this book, these two books, these two letters,

were written as sort of a final word to Timothy,

who had become a trusted ministry partner. It's

these final thoughts on the nuts and bolts of

ministry. And what sounds like, at this time,

a church that has become more established. So

there are things like, keep in mind these things.

Don't forget. Watch out for. Be alert. And devote

yourself to the scriptures which point you to

Jesus, our salvation. So let's read from 2 Timothy.

At the house, we give the scriptures our full

attention, and so you may stand for their reading

if you would like to. If you don't have a Bible,

you can look the passage up on your phone. Again,

how amazing. We just have it on our phones. You

can download a Bible app, and there are some

Bibles on the table, I think. Yeah, there's some

Bibles on the table and out in the hall. If you

need one, you may take one. But I'm going to

read from 2 Timothy 3. 14 through 17, and I'm

reading from the New Revised Standard Version,

updated edition, lots of letters, NRSVUE. 2 Timothy

3, 14 through 17. But as for you, continue in

what you have learned and firmly believe, he

says to Timothy. knowing from who you've learned

it and how from childhood you have known the

sacred writings that are able to instruct you

for salvation through faith in Jesus Christ.

All scripture is inspired by God and is useful

for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for

training in righteousness, so that the person

of God may be proficient and equipped for every

good work. Let's pray. God, we are so grateful

that here we stand in the time that we are in

and these ancient words are still alive to us

today and that they have made their way to us.

They have made their way to people throughout

history and have transformed us and have inspired

us. They have taught us. They have corrected

us. They have led us to you. And may they endure.

May we be people that bear the word and bear

your truth so that these things do not die but

continue, at least as much as we can help it

along. May we be preservers of the good word

in which you have revealed yourself. We pray

this in your name. Amen. As I said, what we consider

scripture today looks different than what...

This letter was calling scripture. The early

church was born out of Judaism, but with the

twist that the long waited for Messiah had in

fact come. And now the new church was doing its

best to follow him and keep the message before

them. So the church needed teaching. It needed

redirection on the things that were old that

are now coming true. The old is gone. The new

has come. What does that mean for us? They still

needed redirection and words that brought them

back to center. And we need that too. It needed

to understand, the early church needed to understand

how the kingdom of God that Jesus talked about

so much, how it worked so that everyone could

be fully informed and fully informed and equipped,

that no one would have secret information that

only a few people were allowed to know. The message

was for everyone. And so this was the concern

of this and the previous letter to Timothy, how

to care for yourself and others in this life

of being a pastor, preach the word, like root

yourself in the scriptures and make sure people

know. And so here we are today. We still need

this, don't we? We are still needing this. And

even I would go so far to say, it's not a stretch.

This passage also doesn't let us off the hook

either. Because we as a congregation, as believers,

are also in need of the guidance of how to be

pastoral in our world. Being called a kingdom

of priests, meaning we have been given the call

to serve God, represent him in the world, and

live in a way that draws others to him. And so

let's talk a bit about how to approach scripture

with these things in mind. I'm going to go through

three concepts. Big and broad. And very, very

sort of like, again, nuts and bolts, it's the

best term to use. It's very easy. Secondarily,

how do we listen to the scriptures? And thirdly,

what does it mean once we've embodied it and

move from there? So there's a caveat I'd like

to make, too, because how many people, when the

question was asked, what do you like to read,

said, I don't like to read? Anybody? That's a

real thing. So sometimes when we get into conversations

about reading scripture or studying scripture,

that's like, I don't like to read. What am I

to do? And on a very real level, there are some

very real restrictions that prevent people from

reading and enjoying the written word. And so

I do want to say, listening to scripture. audiobooks

you can get them through the library you can

get them as apps please know that that is also

valid because even in the early in the early

in the early testamental years mostly people

were listening to the scriptures they weren't

they weren't pulling out their home scrolls and

going through and reading them. So be encouraged

that listening to the word, listening to it is

another way of getting it in you. If you don't

like to read, and that is okay. Be clear on that

point. So, and if you need help finding some

good resources along those lines, talk to Greg

and myself. Andy's a big reader. There's plenty

of other people. Scott has also expressed some

of the ways he's listened to scripture. So ask

questions. But yes, this big book can feel overwhelming

to some degree, even for those that have known

Jesus a long time, can have a sense of where

do I begin? How can it be made new again? How

do I approach it? And if you're not somebody

who enjoys reading, what do you do? So let's

talk through a couple of ways that I think actually

work for multiple different learning styles and

different intelligence styles. So I want to talk

about the Bible as an anthology. It is not one

book. It is a compilation of books, which I think

is fascinating. And maybe that helps. I'm not

just referring to the Bible in two parts, the

Old Testament and New Testament. The breakdown

is that there are, in the Protestant Bible, 66

different books. And they're very unique, depending

on the variety of your tradition. Catholicism,

Orthodoxy, Protestantism has even more books

in it. And so we have... All these different

kinds of books in here covering a large span

of time. And so when the Bible feels a little

like singular to you. Take a moment to realize

the diversity that is set up in it, not just

the diversity of books, but people it represents

and the moments in history it represents. It

is an incredible anthology, a collection of books

over time and history in which we get so many

different voices that come through to us. And

I love to talk about how the Bible was formed,

like how we actually got it to this form. So

if anybody's interested in that, I will go deep.

So we have a book of books. That is valuable

to know when you are approaching the Bible and

digging into it. Also, the books are not one

kind of book. They are multiple different genres.

So who reads fiction? I heard Africa earlier

say fiction. Who loves fantasy in particular?

Who loves history? Andy. Who loves, like, really

just, like, you love reading the news. Like,

that's such a delight for you to get, like, the

Sunday paper and read the news. Listen, you laugh,

but I'm like, give me the news. I want it. Adventure.

Choose your own adventure. Do you remember those

books? Genres matter. We're not going to read

a history book the same way we're going to read

fantasy. Reading about the history of the Constitution

is much different than reading about dragons.

Genres matter, and the collected scriptures we

have is an incredible anthology of diverse books

that represent a long stretch of people's relationship

with God and God's relationship with us over

time. Some of the styles or the genres that the

Bible includes are wisdom, law, history, letters,

allegory, prophecy, apocalyptic literature, which

I would like to say the book of John is not the

only one of. Lament. Songs, parable, poetry,

narrative, sermon, genealogy. Knowing what genre

a biblical book is and how to read that genre

is valuable. I just finished reading Jurassic

Park last week. I loved it. But I cannot expect

to find elves where there are dinosaurs. Reading

the Constitution with Gandalf the Grey's voice.

yelling at the Balrog is not going to, I mean,

that's going to be a weird constitution. And

though I won't stop you from trying, it will

be weird. If you read Greek mythology with the

same approach as one might read a newspaper,

you might find yourself trying to unearth fact

where there is meant to be fiction. That's important.

So knowing the intended style of a book will

help you with your expectations of what the book

is meant to be. You will not find Frankenstein's

monster piloting the Millennium Falcon. Or maybe

you would. I think I would probably watch that.

But we can't read Jesus' parables with the same

understanding or application as we read Paul's

letters to the Corinthians. Genres matter. Style

matters. So knowing what kind of book you are

reading informs what the book is saying. Context.

You know how much I love context. The Bible's

collection of books spans this incredible range

of time in the world that we know now as the

Mediterranean West Asia. Culturally, here as

Americans, we will. This is going to happen.

We will read our Americanism. and 21st century

norms onto the scriptures. It is inevitable.

We will, if not alert, read with the eyes of

the world we know, but we need to recognize that

this is unhelpful. Taking time to understand

some context, some surrounding information is

worth it. And listen, we live in an amazing time

of information. You can do a simple search on

Book of 2 Timothy, Book of Revelation. Simple

searches will help bring up the authorship, the

time frame it was written in, who the book was

written to, major themes, locations, what was

going on at the time. That is accessible to all

of us. So I encourage you, do a little bit of

research. And finally, translations matter. Knowing

a little bit about your translation can be helpful

because translation does have bias in it. Some

translations are fairly literal. The attempt

is to try to get as word for word as possible.

One -to -one translation. But some translate

in the spirit of the phrase or the word. And

even in one translation. NIV, New Living Translation,

NRSV, King James Version. Even in one translation,

you're going to find a mix of that stuff that

maybe the book of Revelation was really well

translated for the language, but the book of

John, probably another translation is going to

give you better insight. So I'd like to offer

that even with a translation, use a few. Read

a few. It's going to give you, if anything, a

broader approach and understanding of a passage.

And the books of the Bible were not written in

vacuums, and neither were their translations.

The King James Bible was translated and made

available in its time because of its time. So

useful things to know. So taking time to understand

these things will enrich your form of reading.

So, okay, those are very practical. What did

I say they were? Nuts and bolts. Thank you, Chris.

So those are some very practical shop talk pieces

that I want to just put on the table. It feels

very academic. I understand that. And it kind

of is. But they're tools that give you both broad

approaches and scalpels. And both of that is

valuable. However, and I would also dare to say,

in an era of information like we have, it's almost

non -negotiable. for you to add some of that

to your study of scripture. Just do a little

bit more. So these things I just mentioned are

only a part of it. And like I said, they are

seemingly academic and even almost detached way

of considering the scriptures. Objective and

informative. They are meant to get us though

to another layer. They are not the end goal.

Knowledge is not the end goal and it is not useful

if it doesn't lead us to wisdom. So we need to

go further. What I just went through are technicalities

of our approach, practical tools. They are enriching

and useful, but do they get us to the layers

of what God is saying to us? Because if we do

not read scripture to understand God and hear

from God, we have missed the point. So like I

said, the nuts and bolts. That is what we have

done. Paul has affirmed, Romans 15, 4, whatever

was written in former days was written for our

instruction. But, John 5, 39, Jesus has taught

us that the scriptures bear witness about me.

And the apostles preach Christ as the fulfillment

of the law and the prophets. So the authority

of the Bible was not abstract, but was Christ

-centered. It was all going in one direction.

This conviction shaped the church's early mission.

The Old Testament was read in light of Christ,

and the apostolic writings proclaimed his death

and his resurrection. So as Paul summarized,

1 Corinthians 15, 3 and 4, Christ died for our

sins in accordance with the scriptures. He was

raised on the third day in accordance with the

scriptures. They looked back at the scriptures

and then built the story from there in the new

apostolic era. And as a collective, we get that

full picture that even they didn't have in their

own time. The authority of scripture was tied

to its power to reveal Christ and to call sinners

to faith. And so scripture is not only practical,

it is spiritual. Greg even said literally that

a couple weeks ago. I have a different approach

to it, but that's exactly right. It is practical,

but it is also spiritual. And they're hand in

hand. They're not exclusive of each other. The

early Christians understood that the Bible's

authority was not merely to instruct, but to

redeem. And so the practical things help get

us to the core. When I was in my methods of Bible

study class, both times, I was introduced to

the idea of asking, what was the scripture saying

to its original audience? And what is it saying

to now? Unsurprisingly, if you've been around

for a minute, you know I can get caught in the

weeds on word studies and context and, of course,

history. I love history. While writing this message,

even, I went down a whole rabbit hole on the

word graph and went through about 20 scriptures

and where it was featured because I wanted to

know more about that word. None of that made

it into this message. But I love... I love the

knowledge that comes with it. But I can easily

focus on gaining knowledge, and then I can also

easily overlook the wisdom and the voice of the

Spirit if I'm not staying in tune and paying

attention. So I need to invite the Spirit into

it. We all do. That's the thing we all do. But

I'm being mindful here. I need to remember, invite

the spirit into the reading and to the experience

here. When I read scripture, there is knowledge

to be had and knowledge to be applied. That is

good, but it is not the end. If I am not inviting

the spirit to speak to me, to guide me in wisdom,

I am missing out on the whole thing. I am missing

out on the hope. I am missing out on the transformation.

I am missing out on the story of redemption.

So I need to further ask, what is the Spirit

saying? What does this passage tell me about

God? Because the Bible is the authoritative source

on the Christian God. There are no other sources

that have the range or the depth of the story

of Yahweh in the world. And ultimately, I need

to ask, what from this do I need to carry with

me and respond to? And I need to let the scripture

through the enlightenment of the spirit speak.

Eugene Peterson, you would know him from his

paraphrased translation of The Message. He loved,

loved scripture. In his book called Eat This

Book, I always bring books with me, Eat This

Book, he talks about whether we read the Bible

for information. about God and salvation for

principles and truths that we can use to live

better? Or do we read it in order to listen to

God and respond in prayer and obedience? So lastly,

as we move from knowledge into wisdom, ultimately,

we need to read and study scripture so that we

ultimately embody its message. It doesn't stay

on our skin. It comes into our hearts. It comes

into our minds. So Deuteronomy 6, 1 through 9.

These are the commands, decrees, and laws the

Lord your God directed me to teach you to observe

in the land that you are crossing the Jordan

to possess so that you, your children, and their

children after them may fear the Lord your God

as long as you live by keeping all his decrees

and commands that I give you. so that you may

enjoy long life. Hear, Israel, and be careful

to obey, so that it may go well with you, and

that you may increase greatly in the land flowing

with milk and honey, just as the Lord, the God

of your ancestors, promised you. Hear, O Israel,

the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord

your God with all your heart, and with all your

soul, and with all your strength. These commandments,

these were their scriptures. the law and the

prophets. These commandments that I give you

today are to be on your hearts. Impress them

on your children. Talk about them when you sit

at home, when you walk along the road, when you

lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols

on your hands and bind them to your forehead.

Write them on the door frames of your houses

and on your gates. Get them into your life. Get

them into your whole being. May these words,

may the message permeate your life in every way.

May they inform you. May they lead you. May they

be in you so that when the Lord needs to call

them to mind, they are in place. They are in

you. When you need to speak encouragement, the

words are close to the surface. When you need

to teach or correct, may it be done with the

message of life that comes from these pages because

they are living in you. May they live in you

like the breath you breathe so that when you

speak, you speak the message that is encapsulated

in it. May not just the words, but the heart

of the spirit -inspired witness to God's saving

plan from Genesis to Revelation be embedded in

you in such a way that the message of God comes

through you, not as a weapon to hurt others,

not as a way for proving a point or a tool for

an argument, but as a message of life and of

creation and of salvation and of hope. Now, I

did go to school to learn a number of these things.

I went to pastor school to learn these things.

You don't have to go to pastor school to study

scripture well. You don't have to go to school

to love this book and to love the words of life

in it. You have tools at your hands. You have

tools at the ready that are available to you,

and I encourage you to dive in. Dive into words

of life, dive into words of hope, dive into words

of salvation, not just for your own sake, but

again, once they are in you, then they move with

you through the world. They go with you. And

when we are talking about dark places that we

are seeing and we know about, the light lives

in you and you can take it with you. We don't

read these words because we have to discipline

ourselves to spend time reading three chapters

for my Bible study plan. I mean, that's useful

as a method if that is helpful to you. But we

don't do it to check off boxes. We do it because

these are words of life that we need and others

around us need. incredibly runs throughout the

whole thing. And then we need to get it in us

so that we embody this message too and are transformed

by it. So if you hope to see transformation in

the world, I think this is where it begins. It's

not the sole place because Marissa talked about

prayer last week and I'm like, that's good too.

You should also do that. It is a full picture.

It is a full picture of these things that we

do to place ourselves in the way, following the

rabbi, being in the way of Christ. But I said

a lot of things, as I normally do, but I'm trusting

God to bring to the surface what you need. If

it's some of the practical nuts and bolts stuff

of, oh, I've never thought about the translations.

I've never thought about just doing a quick Google

search on what was the context and the setting

of this particular book. If that's new to you,

awesome. That's so great. If you want to rededicate

yourself to the questions you ask of the scripture,

Christ, speak to me. God, what can I learn about

you through this passage? Amazing. Moving from

words to full embodiment of the message is a

new idea to you as well. Amazing. Let that go,

let that be with you as a hopeful thing, that

the Spirit will help you with that and will make

that possible for you. But as we move into communion,

we often have a moment just for reflection, and

I encourage you to use that reflection time to

just simply ask God, what from? These bits will

be your next step or the thing that you want

to think about this week.