8 9 26 - The Bible For Grown ups | Week 1: Last Things First

Aug 09, 2026

Devotional

Day 1: When Tombs Stay Closed, Stories Die

The Bible’s existence hinges on an empty tomb. If Jesus’ story had ended with burial spices and a sealed grave, no one would’ve risked persecution to document a dead teacher. Luke’s careful investigation began because something unprecedented happened – a corpse didn’t stay buried. The women preparing embalming spices expected decay, not a world-changing reversal. Their resigned practicality makes the resurrection’s shockwaves more profound. [44:50]

Many have undertaken to draw up an account of the things that have been fulfilled among us, just as they were handed down to us by those who from the first were eyewitnesses and servants of the word. With this in mind, since I myself have carefully investigated everything from the beginning, I too decided to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, so that you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught. (Luke 1:1-4, ESV)

Reflection: Where have you assumed “the story ends here” in your own life? How might the reality of resurrection reframe what you consider final?

Day 2: Ink Stains and Empire Chains

Early Christians smuggled scrolls under threat of death, not to preserve a book but to share a person. When authorities banned gatherings and burned documents, believers memorized stories of Jesus like vital contraband. Their urgency reveals what they valued most – not paper, but the living Word who had walked out of a grave. [01:00:38]

We cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard. (Acts 4:20, ESV)

Reflection: What truth about Jesus feels worth protecting in your current season? How does persecution throughout church history challenge your view of faith comforts?

Day 3: The Unlikely Library of Fish Stories

The Bible’s first bestsellers were fishermen’s memories. Peter’s street preaching about catching men became Matthew’s job interview for sainthood. These ordinary men documented miracles and failures with equal honesty, their rough hands penning history while Roman nails still rusted in Jerusalem’s dirt. [46:10]

That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life—the life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life. (1 John 1:1-2, ESV)

Reflection: Which biblical character’s raw honesty about doubt or failure most encourages you? Why does their inclusion in Scripture matter?

Day 4: Burying Pages to Save the Story

Third-century believers tore Bibles apart to preserve them. Pages hidden in walls and memorized under torture became seeds for new churches. Their fragmented Scriptures highlight a startling truth – the Word survives not through perfect preservation, but through relentless proclamation of Christ’s victory. [01:00:55]

The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever. (Isaiah 40:8, ESV)

Reflection: What “fragment” of Scripture have you clung to during difficult seasons? How does its endurance strengthen your trust in God’s bigger story?

Day 5: John’s Dangerous Gift Wrap

John wrote his Gospel so readers would “believe Jesus is the Messiah.” Not accept doctrines, but trust a person. His scroll circulated independently for centuries, a standalone invitation to relationship. Binding it with other testimonies didn’t dilute its power – it amplified the chorus of witnesses saying “He’s worth following.” [55:34]

Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. (John 20:30-31, ESV)

Reflection: If you could ask John one question about his firsthand experiences with Jesus, what would it be? How does his stated purpose for writing shape how you read his words today?

Sermon Summary

The Bible for grown ups begins with the gap between Bible stories and the story of the Bible. Bible stories can be learned as children, but the backstory of how this book came together matters deeply for adults, especially when hard, terrible, complicated parts of the Bible start making faith feel shaky. The modern Bible arrives all neatly wrapped together, with a table of contents, maps, and an index, but the world did not receive it that way.

Luke’s account gives the real starting place for the story of the Bible. Luke was a first century Greek doctor, and he did not know he was writing the Bible. Luke set out to write an accurate account for Theophilus because many eyewitness reports about Jesus were already circulating. Theophilus already believed, not because a Bible existed, but because witnesses were talking about someone they had seen and experienced.

Jesus’ death looked like the end of faith in him. Jesus had claimed to be the way, the truth, and the life, and had said that anyone who had seen him had seen the Father. Then Rome killed him, and the crowds unfollowed him because God does not die and life does not rot in a tomb. Joseph of Arimathea buried Jesus, and the women prepared spices because they expected his body to stay there.

Easter changed everything. If Jesus’ story had ended in a tomb carved out of rock, there would be no Luke, no church, no Christians, and no Bible as it exists today. Peter, who had gone into hiding, soon stood in the streets saying, “God raised Jesus from the dead, and we are all witnesses of this.” The movement began with witnesses, not with a bound book.

The Bible did not create Christianity. Easter Sunday did. The Bible documents the life of Jesus and the events that followed; it does not make Christianity true any more than a birth certificate makes a person alive. Matthew wrote to show Jewish people that Jesus was the Messiah. John wrote so that readers would believe or continue to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that life comes by the power of his name.

The early documents became treasured, memorized, hidden, and protected because Christians believed Jesus had conquered death. Persecution tried to destroy Christian writings, but the movement kept spreading because it was fueled by a person. Christian faith stands on Jesus, the risen one, whose story no government can finally keep out.

Key Takeaways

1. Bible stories need the Bible’s story. The Bible can become easier to dismiss when its difficult parts are discovered without any framework for how the book came together. The story behind the Bible does not make every hard passage simple, but it keeps hard passages from becoming cheap excuses for walking away. Mature faith does not require pretending the complicated parts are not there; mature faith learns where the Bible came from and why it was preserved. [32:17]
2. Christianity begins with Easter Sunday. The Christian movement did not start because a finished Bible landed in someone’s hands. The movement started because followers of Jesus believed a crucified man had walked out of a grave. The resurrection is not an accessory to faith; it is the event that made the documents worth writing, copying, hiding, and dying for. [48:58]
3. Witnesses came before sacred documents. Theophilus believed before there was a New Testament because living witnesses were already telling what had happened. Luke’s writing served the faith that had already been formed by testimony, investigation, and encounter. The earliest Christian confidence rested first on people saying, “This was seen,” before later generations held the written record. [40:57]
4. John narrows faith’s central question. John did not write so that people would first believe in a bound Bible that did not yet exist. John wrote so that people would believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that life is found in his name. The central question is not whether every inherited assumption about the Bible survives examination, but whether Jesus is who John says he is. [53:37]
5. Power cannot bury Jesus’ word. Diocletian tried to destroy Christian writings because power often assumes that burning documents can end conviction. Christians hid, buried, tore out, memorized, and protected those words because the words bore witness to the risen Jesus. Persecution scattered believers, but the scattering carried the story farther than suppression could reach.

## [60:38]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[30:44] - A Bible for Grown Ups
[31:54] - Bible Stories and the Bible’s Story
[32:57] - When Hard Passages Shake Faith
[36:44] - The Bible Does Not Begin in Genesis
[37:24] - Luke’s Carefully Investigated Account
[40:34] - Theophilus Believed Before a Bible Existed
[41:18] - Jesus’ Death and Disappointed Followers
[43:23] - Joseph’s Tomb and the Women’s Spices
[46:10] - Witnesses Proclaim the Resurrection
[48:58] - Easter Created Christianity
[50:27] - Matthew’s Account for Jewish Readers
[52:15] - John Writes So Readers Believe
[59:35] - Persecution and Hidden Christian Writings
[62:08] - Scholars Gather the Sacred Texts
[63:26] - Practical Next Steps

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading

Luke 1:1-4
“Inasmuch as many have undertaken to compile a narrative of the things that have been accomplished among us, just as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word have delivered them to us, it seemed good to me also, having followed all things closely for some time past, to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, that you may have certainty concerning the things you have been taught.” [37:24]

John 20:30-31
“Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.” [52:15]

Acts 2:32
“This Jesus God raised up, and of that we all are witnesses.” [46:10]

Observation questions

In Luke 1:1-4, what sources does Luke say he used as he wrote his account, and what reason does he give for writing to Theophilus? [37:24]
What details show that Jesus’ followers expected him to remain dead, including Joseph’s burial of Jesus and the women’s preparation of spices? [43:23]
In Acts 2:32, what exactly does Peter say the apostles are witnesses of, and why is that wording important? [46:10]
According to John 20:30-31, what does John say he selected for his document, and what response does he hope those written signs will produce?

Interpretation questions

If Theophilus had already been taught before Luke wrote, what does that suggest about how Christian faith first spread in the earliest days? [40:34]
Jesus’ death seemed to disprove his claims in the eyes of his followers. Why would the resurrection be the turning point that changed fear, disappointment, and hiding into public witness? [41:18]
The Bible documents the life of Jesus and the rise of the church, but it did not create Christianity. How does that idea help someone whose faith has been shaken by difficult or confusing parts of Scripture? [48:58]
John says he wrote so that people would believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and have life in his name. How does that focus help clarify what the central question of faith really is? [53:37]

Application questions

Many people know Bible stories but have never really thought about the story of how the Bible came together. Where does that describe this group’s experience, and how might learning that bigger story strengthen a shaky faith? [31:54]
Hard passages can become a reason to quietly step back from faith. What is one part of the Bible, or one question about the Bible, that has made trust harder for someone here? What would it look like to bring that question into the open instead of hiding it? [32:57]
Christianity begins with the risen Jesus, not with a neatly bound book. How might that change the way someone talks with a friend, child, or spouse who feels stuck on difficult parts of the Bible? [49:04]
John wrote so that people would believe and continue to believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. If someone feels spiritually tired or uncertain right now, what would it look like to return to that simple center again? [52:15]
The earliest believers treasured these writings because they believed Jesus had conquered death. What habits could help this group treat Scripture less like background noise and more like treasured witness to the risen Christ? [56:36]
Power could not bury the message of Jesus, and persecution only scattered it farther. Where is someone here tempted to act as if faith is too fragile to survive questions, pressure, or opposition? [01:00:38]
Reading John is a simple next step for someone exploring Jesus or coming back to faith. What would make that a realistic step this week, and what might get in the way? [01:03:39]

Sermon Clips

66s

#BibleDidntCreateChristianity

“``The Bible, you need to understand this, the Bible did not create Christianity. Easter Sunday did. The the Bible simply documents for us the life of Jesus, the events around Jesus, and some people mistakenly believe that that this book is responsible the the Christian movement, and their thought is if they can find something wrong with this, then they undermine the message of Jesus and the whole thing will unravel, but that's just simply not true. Christianity was thriving for hundreds of years before we ever had one of these. It would be like saying, if you found an error on my birth certificate that I no longer would exist. I mean, that's just not true. The birth certificate documents that I am alive. It does not make me alive. Right? Same is true with the Bible.”

50s

#JesusFueledMovement

“And even though the powers tried to squash the Jesus movement as the Christians scattered, the message of Jesus spread and more and more people came to faith in Jesus. And it made life difficult for Christians, but it did not stop Christianity because the movement was not fueled by the Bible. The movement was fueled by a person named Jesus who had overcome death in the grave and walked away and claimed that anyone who had seen him had seen God the father and anyone who had placed their faith and trust in him would experience life both now and forever.”

53s

#FaithBuiltOnJesus

“And and this is so important. For the very first time, maybe up till that point in the history of the church, Christian scholars could gather together without fear of persecution, without fear of having their ancient documents taken away from them, and they were able to work for the very first time in the open. It was these scholars that brought together all of the sacred texts and presented us with what we have today, the Bible. But it's important to remember that our faith is not built on the bible. Our faith is built on a person who did something so extraordinary that it had to be recorded and told to others.”

50s

#LifeBeyondTheCross

“And if Luke's account of the life of Jesus had ended there, there would be no Bible. There would be no gospel of Luke. If the story of Jesus ended there, that would be really the end of the story. Luke wouldn't have set out to write an account about him. There wouldn't be any Christians. There wouldn't be any church. There wouldn't be any Old Testament, at least not the the way we have it today. And the reason that Luke set out to document the life of Jesus is because the life of Jesus did not end on a Roman cross, and the life of Jesus did not end in a tomb carved out of rock.”

32s

#BeliefThroughWitnesses

“But it's important to note, he does not believe because of something that he read in the Bible because there was no Bible. There wouldn't be a Bible for quite some time. No. He became a believer because there were witnesses talking about something, someone that they experienced, and and people were talking about it. And Theophilus heard about it, and then he believed in it.”

59s

#JohnWroteForBelief

“Jesus is the Messiah to the Jews, and he is the son of God to the Greeks and the Romans. And if you believe in him, you will have life both now and forevermore. And John says, I wrote all of this so that you would continue to believe. Who's the you? Well, it's whoever happens to pick up the document, really. And I'm sure when John wrote it, he wasn't sure if this document would last a month or a year, but I'm pretty sure that John had no idea that two thousand years later, people would still be reading his words the world over, and he certainly didn't know that it'd be bound together with three other accounts of the life of Jesus and called a bible. He had no idea that that was gonna happen.”

59s

#ExtraordinaryEventRecorded

“And the answer is pretty obvious. Because something remarkable happened. That's why. Something super, something extraordinary. Not something was, you know, exceptional was written. That would happen too sometime later. No. Something extraordinary happened, and they wanted to be sure that the events that they were experiencing recorded, preserved, and documented. So several of them set out write the accounts, write their experiences with this person, Jesus, or they sat down to tell their story to someone else as someone else wrote down for them through, you know, basically dictation.”

66s

#MultipleEyewitnessAccounts

“So writing an account of the life of a person, happens to be Jesus, would have been a a pretty big undertaking. And yet remarkably, Luke tells us that even he knows he was not alone in doing this. There were others who were seeking to document the life of Jesus, and there are virtually no ancient examples of people recording the events, the same event, the same events. There's people didn't do that. The the life of Jesus stands apart in that regard. Now why are so many people scrambling to write an account of this man named Jesus? And the answer is pretty obvious, really. Something worth documenting occurred. Something happened, and they wanted to write it down. Now Theophilus, he was already a follower of Jesus. That's what Luke says. He already believes.”

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