Embracing the Journey: Connecting with God's Word
Devotional
Sermon Summary
Sermon Clips
"If you haven't been with us, we've been in a series called Remain, and the whole idea is staying connected to Jesus. And I believe that a way of how that looks is that we spend time in His Word. And I coach a kindergarten basketball team in Upward, and those kids are just awesome. I just love them. They got so much energy. They're so much fun. And if you ask them the objective of basketball, they know it. Get the ball in the hoop. But how to get it there, that's kind of a little different story." [00:00:00]
"We kind of know the objective, to read the Bible, but how to get there, what to read, and to understand. We feel a little lost in that, and yet I don't think that's really God's desire for us. I think His desire is that we can learn the Word, and the Word can speak into our lives, and help to shape us into the image of Jesus." [00:00:36]
"King David wants to communicate something to you and I this morning. You might be surprised, but this is what he's communicating. Say it with me. God speaks. He still speaks. He still speaks. He still speaks. He still speaks. He still speaks. God speaks today. God is not silent. He still speaks into our lives. And so the psalmist gives us, David gives us some ways in which God speaks." [00:03:05]
"David writes, The heavens declare the glory of God. The skies proclaim the work of His hands. Day after day they pour forth. speech night after night they reveal knowledge they have no speech they use no words no sound is heard from them yet their voice goes out into all the earth their words to the ends of the world in the heavens god has pitched a tent for the sun it is like a bridegroom coming out of his chamber like a champion rejoicing to run his course it rises at one end of the heavens and mates its circuit to the other nothing is deprived of its warmth these first six verses are what theologians call general revelation go look out in nature and if you look close enough you'll see a creator I love this verse because it says in the first six verses theologians call general revelation go look out in nature and if you look close enough you'll see a creator I love the picture of the sun rising and setting like a bridegroom if you've been with a couple on a wedding day they are so excited for that day and they know that today today begins a new chapter a new day in your life and so the writer in many ways is saying that every day is a new day it's a new day for new adventure it's it's a new day for new joys in relationship with god and it's also a time when there might be a new day for you and it's a new day for you and it's a new day for you might be difficulties but god is with us look around but here's the problem here's the problem and David hints to it creation speaks with a limited vocabulary and and what what happens in our culture today and might I add can even happen for those of us who go to church somehow we come to the place and we will worship the creation and not the Creator we can get confused about the message" [00:03:40]
"He says, the law of the Lord is perfect, refreshing the soul. The statutes of the Lord are trustworthy, making wise the simple. The precepts of the Lord are right, giving joy to the heart. The commands of the Lord are radiant, giving light to the eyes. The fear of the Lord is pure, enduring forever. The decrees of the Lord are firm, and all of them are righteous. They are more precious than gold and much pure gold. They are sweeter than honey, than honey from the honey cone. By them your servant is worn, and keeping them there is grace." [00:05:59]
"You can through hearing, through reading, and through studying. Okay. So that first way is hearing. And I want to remind all of us, that for those who were listening to Scripture, those Old and New Testament, most people who attended a synagogue, they were hearing Scripture. You might remember the Apostle Paul says, faith comes by hearing. Why does he say that? Because that's the cultural context." [00:11:00]
"most of people were illiterate they didn't know how to read and they didn't have scrolls in their home they didn't have a bible sitting on their nightstand they had scrolls that were in the synagogue and they may or may not have access to all of that and so hearing was a vital part of being able to engage in god's word if you look at lots of the old testament psalms you'll see repetition and you go why does it keep saying the same thing over and over that's because they're memorizing it and repetition helped them to memorize scripture we don't do that so much anymore we have access to it but some of you are auditory learners and the best way to you to do this is to listen and there are all kinds of apps for your phone that you can get and you can listen to scripture matter of fact i remember in my i've seen the bible in cassette form and in cds all kinds of ways that you could have listened to scripture and for some of you that's going to be your best method you're in a season of life that is so busy and so frantic you're trying to say how can i do this well it may be that you're going to listen to scripture on the way to work okay and on the way home maybe you're going to listen to it in scripture my wife ignores me every morning when she's having breakfast she has it right there in her ear set she's listening to scripture she listens to it when she goes to bed at night so there are various ways hearing can be your way of taking in scripture and of course there is the reading and just taking time and we're going to talk about ways that you can do that uh in in as i give you the challenge today but reading it and taking it in and making a i'm a guy that hearing doesn't work for me i need to be able to write and so i write in my bible by the way and it's not oh it's okay to do that um i write in my bible i make notes" [00:11:30]
"I reference back to things. That helps me to take the word in. And the third way is to study it. Now, my challenge to you is not going to be about studying scripture, because that is taking a deep, deep dive. And I want to encourage you, if that's where you're at, take our class with David and Cheryl Holm, and they will help you in walking through verse by verse and digging a bit deeper. But for most of us, most of us, we just need to either hear or read. And eventually, we may get to that place. So, how do I engage? I can hear. I can read. I can study." [00:13:20]
"Study Bibles help you to get that context. They will give you notes for verses and such to help explain certain things to you. But understanding that history becomes important. Take, for instance, you're going through the genealogies of the Gospel of Matthew. You notice Matthew starts with Abraham. But you go to Luke, and he starts with Adam. Why does he? do that? Well, Matthew is writing to a Jewish audience. And who is the father of the Israelites? Abraham. That's why he starts there. Luke is writing to a Gentile audience. He wants to look at humanity, so he starts with Adam." [00:14:55]
"So a good study Bible helps you with that. Good study Bible is going to cost you 25 to 35 bucks, but I'm going to tell you, if you don't have the resources for that, and you don't have a good study Bible, I got four of them up here, right here. And your church will give that to you. That's how much we believe in it. And I'll buy more if I need to." [00:15:52]
"After you're done with that, after digging in, take time to reflect. Spend some time. That goes under digging. We'll have to clear that up. But spend some time reflecting on what you heard or read. Are there words or phrases that stand out to you that you feel are speaking directly to you? Are there questions that you would like to ask someone? Who has a greater understanding of Scripture?" [00:25:52]
"Who am I to be? The Bible is about shaping us into the image of Jesus. One of the hard books to read in the New Testament is the book of James. He's the half -brother of Jesus. But I'll tell you, he'll rock your world. Because he's all about living out what you're trying to do. reading james says don't just listen to the word do it do what it says he's writing to christians asking us to live into this he's calling us to action" [00:27:19]
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"We kind of know the objective, to read the Bible, but how to get there, what to read, and to understand. We feel a little lost in that, and yet I don't think that's really God's desire for us. I think His desire is that we can learn the Word, and the Word can speak into our lives, and help to shape us into the image of Jesus." [00:00:36]
"King David wants to communicate something to you and I this morning. You might be surprised, but this is what he's communicating. Say it with me. God speaks. He still speaks. He still speaks. He still speaks. He still speaks. He still speaks. God speaks today. God is not silent. He still speaks into our lives. And so the psalmist gives us, David gives us some ways in which God speaks." [00:03:05]
"David writes, The heavens declare the glory of God. The skies proclaim the work of His hands. Day after day they pour forth. speech night after night they reveal knowledge they have no speech they use no words no sound is heard from them yet their voice goes out into all the earth their words to the ends of the world in the heavens god has pitched a tent for the sun it is like a bridegroom coming out of his chamber like a champion rejoicing to run his course it rises at one end of the heavens and mates its circuit to the other nothing is deprived of its warmth these first six verses are what theologians call general revelation go look out in nature and if you look close enough you'll see a creator I love this verse because it says in the first six verses theologians call general revelation go look out in nature and if you look close enough you'll see a creator I love the picture of the sun rising and setting like a bridegroom if you've been with a couple on a wedding day they are so excited for that day and they know that today today begins a new chapter a new day in your life and so the writer in many ways is saying that every day is a new day it's a new day for new adventure it's it's a new day for new joys in relationship with god and it's also a time when there might be a new day for you and it's a new day for you and it's a new day for you might be difficulties but god is with us look around but here's the problem here's the problem and David hints to it creation speaks with a limited vocabulary and and what what happens in our culture today and might I add can even happen for those of us who go to church somehow we come to the place and we will worship the creation and not the Creator we can get confused about the message" [00:03:40]
"He says, the law of the Lord is perfect, refreshing the soul. The statutes of the Lord are trustworthy, making wise the simple. The precepts of the Lord are right, giving joy to the heart. The commands of the Lord are radiant, giving light to the eyes. The fear of the Lord is pure, enduring forever. The decrees of the Lord are firm, and all of them are righteous. They are more precious than gold and much pure gold. They are sweeter than honey, than honey from the honey cone. By them your servant is worn, and keeping them there is grace." [00:05:59]
"You can through hearing, through reading, and through studying. Okay. So that first way is hearing. And I want to remind all of us, that for those who were listening to Scripture, those Old and New Testament, most people who attended a synagogue, they were hearing Scripture. You might remember the Apostle Paul says, faith comes by hearing. Why does he say that? Because that's the cultural context." [00:11:00]
"most of people were illiterate they didn't know how to read and they didn't have scrolls in their home they didn't have a bible sitting on their nightstand they had scrolls that were in the synagogue and they may or may not have access to all of that and so hearing was a vital part of being able to engage in god's word if you look at lots of the old testament psalms you'll see repetition and you go why does it keep saying the same thing over and over that's because they're memorizing it and repetition helped them to memorize scripture we don't do that so much anymore we have access to it but some of you are auditory learners and the best way to you to do this is to listen and there are all kinds of apps for your phone that you can get and you can listen to scripture matter of fact i remember in my i've seen the bible in cassette form and in cds all kinds of ways that you could have listened to scripture and for some of you that's going to be your best method you're in a season of life that is so busy and so frantic you're trying to say how can i do this well it may be that you're going to listen to scripture on the way to work okay and on the way home maybe you're going to listen to it in scripture my wife ignores me every morning when she's having breakfast she has it right there in her ear set she's listening to scripture she listens to it when she goes to bed at night so there are various ways hearing can be your way of taking in scripture and of course there is the reading and just taking time and we're going to talk about ways that you can do that uh in in as i give you the challenge today but reading it and taking it in and making a i'm a guy that hearing doesn't work for me i need to be able to write and so i write in my bible by the way and it's not oh it's okay to do that um i write in my bible i make notes" [00:11:30]
"I reference back to things. That helps me to take the word in. And the third way is to study it. Now, my challenge to you is not going to be about studying scripture, because that is taking a deep, deep dive. And I want to encourage you, if that's where you're at, take our class with David and Cheryl Holm, and they will help you in walking through verse by verse and digging a bit deeper. But for most of us, most of us, we just need to either hear or read. And eventually, we may get to that place. So, how do I engage? I can hear. I can read. I can study." [00:13:20]
"Study Bibles help you to get that context. They will give you notes for verses and such to help explain certain things to you. But understanding that history becomes important. Take, for instance, you're going through the genealogies of the Gospel of Matthew. You notice Matthew starts with Abraham. But you go to Luke, and he starts with Adam. Why does he? do that? Well, Matthew is writing to a Jewish audience. And who is the father of the Israelites? Abraham. That's why he starts there. Luke is writing to a Gentile audience. He wants to look at humanity, so he starts with Adam." [00:14:55]
"So a good study Bible helps you with that. Good study Bible is going to cost you 25 to 35 bucks, but I'm going to tell you, if you don't have the resources for that, and you don't have a good study Bible, I got four of them up here, right here. And your church will give that to you. That's how much we believe in it. And I'll buy more if I need to." [00:15:52]
"After you're done with that, after digging in, take time to reflect. Spend some time. That goes under digging. We'll have to clear that up. But spend some time reflecting on what you heard or read. Are there words or phrases that stand out to you that you feel are speaking directly to you? Are there questions that you would like to ask someone? Who has a greater understanding of Scripture?" [00:25:52]
"Who am I to be? The Bible is about shaping us into the image of Jesus. One of the hard books to read in the New Testament is the book of James. He's the half -brother of Jesus. But I'll tell you, he'll rock your world. Because he's all about living out what you're trying to do. reading james says don't just listen to the word do it do what it says he's writing to christians asking us to live into this he's calling us to action" [00:27:19]
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