PRACTICE: Reading

Devotional

Day 1: Scripture Forms Us for Living Well

Internalizing Scripture is not about collecting right answers or simply managing sin, but about being shaped to live well in the world, equipped for every good work, and guided by God’s wisdom and presence. When you approach the Bible as a living conversation rather than a static manual, you open yourself to transformation that touches every part of your life—your actions, your relationships, and your sense of purpose. Let Scripture be more than information; let it be the breath of God that forms you for love and service. [04:37]

2 Timothy 3:16-17 (NIV)
All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

Reflection: In what area of your life do you most need God’s wisdom and equipping right now, and how might you invite Scripture to shape you in that area this week?

Day 2: Loving God Means Participating in His Ways

Loving God is not about having all the right answers or achieving perfection, but about wholehearted participation in God’s ways—aligning your heart, mind, and actions with His love and values. Obedience is not a burden or a test to pass, but a relational response to God’s invitation to live differently, to be a blessing, and to let love be the goal of your life. As you read Scripture, let it draw you into deeper relationship and active participation in God’s ongoing work. [08:17]

Deuteronomy 6:4-5 (NIV)
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.

Reflection: What is one tangible way you can participate in God’s love today—through your words, actions, or attitude—toward someone in your daily life?

Day 3: Interpreting Scripture Through the Lens of Jesus

Jesus is the clearest revelation of God’s character and the key to interpreting Scripture faithfully; He models how to move beyond rule-keeping to a life shaped by love for God and neighbor. When you read the Bible, test your understanding by asking, “Does this look like Jesus?”—letting His life, teachings, and sacrificial love guide your interpretation and application. In this way, Scripture becomes not just a source of knowledge, but a means of being formed into Christlikeness. [15:13]

Matthew 22:37-40 (NIV)
Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

Reflection: As you read Scripture this week, how can you intentionally let the example and love of Jesus shape your understanding and your response?

Day 4: Community Deepens and Expands Our Understanding

Reading and interpreting Scripture in community—especially with people who are different from you—broadens your perspective, challenges your assumptions, and reveals new facets of God’s truth and love. When you listen to diverse voices and share in honest conversation, you “turn the gem” of Scripture, discovering a richer, more beautiful vision of God’s kingdom than you could see alone. Community is not just a support system, but a vital context for spiritual growth and transformation. [16:54]

Romans 12:4-5 (ESV)
For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another.

Reflection: Who in your community sees things differently than you, and how might you seek out their perspective on Scripture or faith this week?

Day 5: Scripture Calls Us to Love in Action

The ultimate purpose of reading and wrestling with Scripture is to be formed by and for love—love that reaches out, includes others, and seeks the good of neighbors near and far. As you are shaped by God’s word in community, let it move you to tangible acts of service, hospitality, and reconciliation, so that your life becomes a living testimony to the love of Christ. The journey of formation is not just about personal growth, but about joining God’s mission to bless and heal the world. [23:24]

James 1:22 (ESV)
But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.

Reflection: What is one concrete step you can take this week to put God’s love into action in your neighborhood or community?

Sermon Summary

Today, we explored the practice of reading Scripture—not as a rote exercise or a quest for the “right answers,” but as a living, communal, and transformative encounter with God. Just as we approach poetry, history, law, and song differently, so too should we recognize the Bible as a diverse library, written across centuries in many genres, for and by real people in real contexts. Too often, we reduce Scripture to a manual for behavior modification, following a “quiet time formula” that equates reading and application with transformation. This approach can lead to pride or shame, but it misses the heart of what God invites us into: a relationship marked by love, not just rule-following.

Scripture is not a static list of answers, but an ongoing, ancient conversation about who God is and how God works in the world. We are invited to join this conversation through participation, interpretation, and communal imagination. Participation means that transformation is relational—rooted in loving God with all our heart, soul, and strength, and living out that love in tangible ways. Obedience is not about perfection, but about aligning ourselves with God’s values and participating in the new thing God is doing.

Interpretation is inevitable; everyone reads through their own lens. Even within the Bible, we see reinterpretation over time, and Jesus himself models this by re-centering the law on love for God and neighbor. Jesus is the lens through which we interpret Scripture, asking always: does this look like Jesus?

Finally, our understanding of God and Scripture is incomplete without community. Diverse voices—across cultures, backgrounds, and experiences—help us “turn the gem” of Scripture, revealing new facets and deeper meaning. Neighborhood Communities (NCs) are where this happens most powerfully: in the messiness and beauty of real relationships, as we read, wrestle, and imagine together how to love our neighbors better. The challenge is to commit to these communities, allowing God to form us not just as individuals, but as a people shaped by and for love.

Key Takeaways

1. The Bible is a diverse library, not a single-genre manual. Approaching it as a list of answers or a behavior management tool reduces its richness and can lead to pride or shame. Instead, Scripture invites us into a living, ongoing conversation with God and God’s people, where the goal is not simply to “sin less,” but to love more deeply. [04:00]
2. Transformation through Scripture is fundamentally relational. Loving God with all our heart, soul, and strength is not about knowing the right answers, but about participating in God’s ways and aligning our lives with God’s values. Obedience is not a prerequisite for relationship, but a response to God’s love, with the goal being love, not perfection. [09:09]
3. Interpretation is unavoidable and necessary. Every reader brings their own lens, shaped by culture, experience, and context. Even within Scripture, we see reinterpretation over time, and Jesus himself re-centers the law on love for God and neighbor, showing us that the heart of interpretation is always: does this look like Jesus? [13:43]
4. Community is essential for a fuller understanding of God and Scripture. When we read and interpret together—especially with those who are different from us—we “turn the gem” and discover new facets of God’s truth. Diverse voices, backgrounds, and experiences expand our imagination of God’s kingdom and keep us from a narrow or distorted view. [16:54]
5. Neighborhood Communities (NCs) are the primary context for this communal formation. In the ordinary, sometimes messy relationships of NCs, we are transformed far more than by solitary study or Sunday sermons. These communities are where we read, wrestle, eat, pray, and imagine together how to love our neighbors, and where God forms us into a people shaped by and for love. [22:43]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[00:23] - Introduction to Practices and Prayer
[01:03] - Exploring Different Types of Texts
[03:24] - How We Read Different Genres
[04:00] - The Bible as an Ancient Library
[05:23] - The Quiet Time Formula and Its Pitfalls
[07:28] - Scripture as Ongoing Conversation
[08:02] - Participation: Transformation is Relational
[11:17] - The Necessity of Interpretation
[12:46] - Jesus as the Model Interpreter
[13:43] - The Greatest Commandment Reinterpreted
[16:25] - Communal Imagination and Diverse Voices
[18:53] - Turning the Gem: Different Translations
[20:45] - Reading in Community, Not Isolation
[22:43] - Neighborhood Communities and Real Transformation
[23:24] - Communion and Being Formed for Love
[23:51] - Closing Prayer and Blessing

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading

2 Timothy 3:16-17 (ESV) — > All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.

2. Deuteronomy 6:4-5 (ESV)
> Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.

3. Matthew 22:36-40 (ESV)
> “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”

Observation Questions

According to 2 Timothy 3:16-17, what are the different ways Scripture is described as being useful? What is the end goal for the person who reads it?
In Deuteronomy 6:4-5, what is the first thing Moses tells the people to do before giving them the law? Why do you think this comes first?
When Jesus is asked about the greatest commandment in Matthew 22:36-40, how does he summarize the law and the prophets?
The sermon described the Bible as a “diverse library” with many genres and purposes. What are some of the genres or types of writing mentioned? ([03:05])

Interpretation Questions

The sermon warns against treating the Bible as just a “manual” or a “book of answers.” What are some possible dangers of this approach, according to the message? ([05:23])
The Shema (Deuteronomy 6:4-5) is described as a call to obedience rooted in relationship, not just rule-following. How does this shape the way someone might approach reading and living out Scripture? ([09:09])
Jesus re-centers the law on love for God and neighbor (Matthew 22:36-40). What does it mean to use Jesus as the “lens” for interpreting Scripture? ([13:43])
The sermon talks about “turning the gem” of Scripture by reading in community with people from different backgrounds. Why is this important for understanding God and the Bible more fully? ([16:54])

Application Questions

The sermon challenged the idea of reading the Bible just to “sin less” or get the “right answers.” When you read Scripture, what is your usual goal or expectation? How might you shift your approach to focus more on relationship and transformation? ([05:23])
Think about your own “lens” when you read the Bible—your background, culture, or experiences. How do you think these shape what stands out to you in Scripture? Can you think of a time when someone else’s perspective helped you see a passage differently? ([18:14])
The message said that obedience is not about perfection, but about aligning with God’s values and participating in what God is doing. What is one area of your life where you sense God inviting you to participate in his ways, even if you don’t have all the “right answers”? ([09:09])
Jesus said that loving God and loving your neighbor are inseparable. Is there a neighbor (literal or figurative) in your life that you find it hard to love? What is one small, tangible step you could take this week to move toward them in love? ([14:18])
The sermon described Neighborhood Communities (NCs) as places where real transformation happens through messy, ordinary relationships. What has been your experience of reading or wrestling with Scripture in community? How is it different from reading alone? ([22:43])
The idea of “turning the gem” means letting others’ voices and experiences help you see new facets of God’s truth. Who is someone in your life (or in your NC) whose perspective on faith is different from yours? How could you intentionally listen to or learn from them this month? ([16:54])
The message ended with a challenge to commit to community and let God form us together. What is one practical way you can invest more deeply in your NC or church community this season? ([23:04])

Sermon Clips

And that kind of reduces, that's a very productive thinking, is part of what we call the gospel of sin management. Which says that your life about God is all about just sinning less. And the gospel of sin management is actually no gospel at all. [00:06:05] (17 seconds) #BeyondSinManagement

And then another outcome is that we try to carry this out, but we have this immense burden of shame that we actually don't have all the right answers. Sometimes we don't know what to do, and we're really defeated by our imperfection. And I can tell you that it is very hard to love other people well when you yourself are ruled by shame and a sense of worthlessness. But we don't have to live this way. [00:06:52] (29 seconds) #FreedomFromShame

The good news this morning is that the Bible is not a list of facts or answers. It invites us to this ongoing ancient conversation about who God is and how God works in the world. And when we read scripture, we get to know God. We get to join in on this conversation with God's followers that has been happening for thousands of years. [00:07:21] (27 seconds) #ScriptureAsConversation

Loving God isn't about knowing the right answer. It's about living into his kingdom. And as God transforms our hearts through love, we live in tangibly different ways because we're participating in God's ways. We're participating in the new thing that God is doing. So my hope is that we engage scripture not simply to sin less, but to love more. [00:10:34] (28 seconds) #LoveMoreThanSinLess

But it might be the most compelling that Jesus himself models this for us throughout the gospels. This whole section of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus's answer to the question, this epic sermon features him using this pattern. You have heard it said, but I tell you. And he repeats this formula six times as he overturns these ancient understandings of things like murder, adultery, revenge, you know, small, trivial things. And he makes this point over and over. You thought, you thought it was about checking a box, but there's actually so much more. [00:12:44] (40 seconds) #JesusIsTheWord

``Jesus is saying that you cannot love God and not love your neighbor. He's also saying that all of the laws, every prophetic justice or every prophetic judgment was always about loving your neighbor. That was always the point. What you were reading was never meant for you to prove yourself or alienate yourself from other people. [00:14:33] (25 seconds) #CommunityShapesUnderstanding

Jesus reinterprets Scripture, and He's also our key as we interpret and reinterpret Scripture. Scripture tells us that Jesus shows us exactly what God is like and how we're supposed to live. [00:14:58] (19 seconds) #DiverseVoicesMatter

Nothing will show us what God is like more clearly than Jesus taking on a human body and making His home with us in embodied relationships. So if we are reading to experience God and to learn about God's character and to be formed like it, we must interpret through the word that is Jesus. Test your interpretation by asking, Does this look like Jesus? [00:15:49] (31 seconds) #ReadingTogetherTransforms

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