Core Practice::Bible Study

I study the Bible to know God, the truth and find direction for my daily life.

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."

Hebrews 4:12

Bible Study. Shouldn't this read, "I go to bible studies whenever a good one is offered that fits my schedule and meets my needs, both spiritually and physically - with my kids"? Sometimes it seems like bible study for us is more like sifting through the latest Eddie Bauer catalog to see if there is anything I want. Even the bibles that we have to choose from are a smorgasbord of personal advertising for authors, lifestyles, ages, colors, materials, etc. My personal favorite is the "Spirit-filled" Bible, as if all of the others were Spirit-deficient. It's often easier to pick up a DVD "bible study" and plug along rather than just open what you have. It seems like we have so cluttered our personal call and privilege to know God's word with celebritism (teacher-driven studies) that we have forgotten how and why we study the Bible.

If we truly believe the Bible is the Word of God and has the right to command our belief and action (Core Belief :: Authority of the Bible), we shouldn't let anything stand in the way of this practice. But I do...all the time. A couple of years ago, I did something to try to help myself in this area. I have difficulty reading the Bible as a story. I tend to read it with an eye on the page and an eye on you. I read to teach. I read to share with others. I don't want to be that way, though. I want to read to know God, so I made a translation switch. For years, I read the Bible in the New International Version, and my Bible was a Study Bible, so it had a lot of notes. I've always been enamored with the Message translation of the Bible. I got the New Testament, then I got the parallel version with NIV/Message side by side, but I always kept my "real" Bible (NIV) with me. Now, I am a full blown Message user. No notes, just story. It's written the way I talk, so I don't have to work so hard at reading it. This one change has brought joy back into Bible Study for me.

It all starts with the bedrock belief that this Bible is the Word of God. That moves us to study it. Just as with prayer, yesterday, we don't study the Bible to know stuff, but to know someone. We study to know God. John 1:1 calls Jesus Christ the Word, and the Word became flesh. Hebrews 1:3 lets us know that Jesus is the exact representation of God. If I want to know God, then I go to the Word. I study the Bible to study Jesus to know God. When I struggle with Bible study or Bible reading, it's because I have cloudy vision. I am not clearly seeing the Bible as words that were breathed out and inspired by God. When I am clear on that truth, then the desire to read the Story is there.

Resource: Eugene Peterson wrote a great little book called "Eat This Book." He chronicles the reasoning and development of the Message translation and challenges us to get back to reading the Bible as narrative. Excellent resource.

Bible Study: Flows directly from Authority of the Bible

Kids Q&A:

Kids' Big Idea: "I love God by reading my Bible."

Hand Motion: Holding palms open like a book.

Why do you read a book? We read books to hear a story. We read a book to know about someone. We read a book to take an adventure.

Why do you think it's important to read the Bible? The Bible is God's story. It's a book about Him. It tells us stories about adventures that others have had with God.

It's important to have a kid-friendly version of the Bible to get them started reading and enjoying reading. I suggest a story bible. My First Message is my favorite. There are 50 stories of the Bible running from beginning to end. The actual Message text is used, but it's broken up into readable parts. Included are reflective questions, prayers to pray with your kids and activities to drive home the point of the stories. There is even a seek-and-find character named Manty on every page that makes it fun for the kids. I started reading the stories to my daughter, and now she reads them herself.