During these Sundays in September and
October, we are focusing on the key disciplines that every Christian needs to
practice in order to be a fully devoted follower of Jesus Christ. Last Sunday,
we talked about the importance of prayer and many of us made personal
commitments in having a deeper prayer life. Today’s discipline of reading the
bible is just as important.
Many of us heard about or watched “The Bible Miniseries” on the History
Channel. The first episode of that series attracted 13.1 million viewers,
making it the highest entertainment broadcast of 2013. These incredible TV
ratings show that the American public is interested in the Bible.
The American Bible Society’s 2013 survey on what Americans think about
the bible offers us some very positive signs. I want to share two parts of that
survey with you this morning.
As you look at the first survey, you’ll
notice that 88% of Americans say that they own a bible. That’s a very high
percentage.
Notice that 80% of the people say that the
bible is sacred. That’s also a pretty high percentage.
And this is a very interesting statistic.
61% of people wish to read the bible more.
That’s encouraging. I was thinking that this percentage would be a lot
smaller. Knowing that most of us want to read the bible more shows that people
have a healthy curiosity about this ancient book.
Here’s a second
survey that I want to show you, also from The American Bible Study this year.
This survey focuses on the Mosaic generation which would be ages 18 to 28.
Notice how this younger generation scores higher than average on these
particular topics about the bible.
Now,
some of the topics, you can understand why they would score higher such as
parenting and dating and relationships. But notice this generation’s higher
than average interest in topics such as dealing with illness/death and
addressing family conflict.
I
really shouldn’t be too surprised by the results of this recent survey because
the bible speaks to every area of our lives. It helps us to see that the
questions we have about life and death and human interactions can be found in
the pages of this holy book.
The problem for most people isn’t that they see the bible as irrelevant.
The problem is that we just don’t make reading the bible a priority in our day
to day living. And that’s the reason for our focus on this very important
topic. By the end of our time together today, my hope is that many of us will
make a commitment to read the bible on a more consistent basis.
One of the major challenges as to why people do not read the bible is
that they find it very difficult to understand. It appears to be a very
intimidating and complicated book. I totally get why people feel this way about
the bible because in many ways, it is.
But that doesn’t mean that we can’t overcome some of those initial
impressions.
If
we think of the bible as a compelling story from beginning to end, it might
help us to read it for all it’s worth. Here’s the incredible thing about the
bible – Even though it was written over a span of a thousand years, by many
different authors, and written in three different languages; Hebrew, Aramaic,
and Greek, the bible displays an incredible continuity in telling the
hope-filled story of God’s desire to rescue the world from sin and death.
If
it helps any, I like to describe the plot of the bible’s storyline by using
five “C’s.”
The first “C” is Creation. In the beginning of the bible, we are told
that God created the world and all that is in it and called it good. How’s that
for a positive beginning to the greatest story ever told?! A loving God created
this world and called it good.
The second “C” is Corruption. Not too long after God created humanity,
we messed it up by sinning against God and that’s why we live in a world that
is filled with sin and death. And as we know, sin leads to all kinds of
negative consequences and despair.
The third “C” is Covenant. Thank goodness, that the bible doesn’t end
with the second “C” of corruption or that would be a very sad and tragic ending
to the biblical story. Since God is a loving God and created this world and
called it good, God is bound and determined to defeat sin and death once and
for all. To do this, God makes a covenant or an agreement with Abraham and
later with the people of Israel. It is through this covenant that God will save
and rescue the world from sin and death.
The only problem with this part of the biblical story is that God’s
people were not always faithful in living out their covenant with God.
Sometimes, they would obey God and experience blessings, and other times they
would break their covenant and suffer the consequences.
Reading this part of the bible is very frustrating because just when you
think that the people of God are going to finally make it, they disobey God and
things unravel again. And yet, as we
read these biblical stories, we can see ourselves in these stories. We can
identify with those times when we are living according to God’s designs and
purposes, but we can also identify with those times when we fail to be the
people God has called us to be.
And this leads us to the fourth “C” of the biblical story. Christ. Since
God’s people were not able to live out their end of the covenant, God sent
Jesus Christ to do what we were unable to do for ourselves. When Jesus was
dying on the cross and said, “It is
finished,” he was basically saying, “I
have fulfilled the covenant that God made to rescue the world from sin and death.”
And when Jesus rose again from the tomb with a new body, a resurrected body
that would never die again, he was giving us an advance sign of God’s new
creation when we all of God’s people will be made new again.
And this leads us to the fifth and final “C” of the biblical story,
consummation. Even though Jesus
fulfilled God’s covenant and defeated the power of sin and death, we still live
in a world that is filled with pain, brokenness, and sin. Jesus has already won
the victory but we still await that time in the future when Jesus will return
and heaven and earth will become one.
This final “C” of consummation is the spoiler alert part of the biblical
story. This is where the plot was heading all along when God will make all
things new.
And at the very end of the last book of the
Bible, the Book of Revelation, we are told that when this time comes which is
the ultimate Christian hope, death will be no more, mourning and crying and
pain will be no more, for the first things have passed away. All of God’s
people will be reunited in worship and praise and we will feast at a great
heavenly banquet.
But until that time of final consummation, God has sent us the Holy
Spirit to empower and equip us to be the people God has called us to be. We,
the committed followers of Jesus Christ, the church, are called to share this
good news with our community and world through both word and deed. That’s why
we exist as the church, to share the good news of Christ and offer God’s
healing love to every situation we encounter.
So, in just these past couple of minutes, we heard the main storyline of
the bible by thinking about the five “C’s” – Creation, Corruption, Covenant,
Christ, and Consummation. And whenever you read the bible, it’s good to keep these
five “C’s” in mind because these five “C’s” are interwoven throughout the
bible.
They
set the overall context of any particular scripture passage you may be reading
at the time. These five “C’s” remind us of where we are located in the larger biblical
story. They help us to not be intimidated by this ancient writing consisting of
sixty-six books since there is a riveting plot line from the Book of Genesis
and all of the way to the Book of Revelation.
The second challenge for us is to make reading the bible a priority in
our lives. While it’s easy to say that we believe the bible is an important
book, we sometimes just don’t make the time to read it on a consistent basis
for ourselves.
The good news is that there are a number of modern bible translations
that make the bible easier to read. The translation that we use here in
worship, The New Revised Standard Version is an excellent modern translation.
The important thing is to have your own personal bible, one that you can read
and understand.
We’re all busy people, so it’s important to have a routine where we read
the bible on a consistent basis. The more of the bible we read, the more we
will open ourselves to what God wants to say to us. Sometimes God has a
comforting and reassuring word for us. Other times, God wants to challenge us
or help us to see things in a new way. When we read the bible, it’s always good
to pray, “Lord, help me to hear what you
are saying to me today as I read your Word.”
The Upper Room bible reading devotional is a great resource to read the
bible on a daily basis. Each day contains a scripture passage, a brief story
connected to the reading, and a concluding prayer focus and thought for the
day.
You
may want to simply choose a book in the bible like the Gospel of Mark and read
a chapter a day. Or you may want to make it a routine to read the scripture
lessons we will be using for the upcoming Sunday in worship. There are many
ways to read the bible on a consistent basis.
I
continue to be amazed at how the several biblical authors over the course of
several centuries were able to add their parts to the unfolding drama of God’s
salvation history and how it all fits together.
It’s just remarkable. And we get to read this book and allow it to guide
us and give us hope in our day to day living.
No
wonder the Apostle Paul instructed young Timothy with these words from our
scripture reading this morning – “But as
for you, continue in what you have learned and firmly believed, knowing from whom
you learned it, and how from childhood you have known the sacred writings that
are able to instruct you for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.”
Tim Binkley, a member of our church loves to read and study the bible.
Let’s watch this video of Tim sharing what the bible means to him.
I invite us to turn to our commitment slip that is in your bulletin.
It’s on reading the bible and you can see the various commitments that are
listed there. I’m going to read these possible responses.
·
No,
I am not ready to make a commitment today.
·
No,
I am not ready to start, but I want to with all my heart.
·
Yes,
I will read the Bible sometimes.
·
Yes,
I will read the Bible frequently.
·
Yes,
I will read the Bible on a daily schedule…and I am ready for a structured plan
of Bible reading. (Check a plan below)
___The Upper Room
Devotional (print copy & online)
___Read scripture
readings for upcoming Sunday worship
___Read a book from
the Old Testament
___Read a book from
the New Testament
___ Other Plan
·
Yes,
I will sign up for a weekly small group/bible study
·
Yes,
I will attend a weekly Sunday School class
·
Reading
the Bible will be a priority in my life, growing to include the following:
I will strive for my daily life to reflect
the teachings of the Bible. I will surround my family and friends with
Scripture. Through reading the Bible, I will find strength, power, and
direction to face the week.
As you complete your commitment slip,
remember to complete both sides of the slip. You’ll need to tear off where you
see the dotted line. Keep the left side of the slip and we are invited to place
the rights side of the slip in one of the covenant baskets nearest you. There
are baskets down front here and there are baskets up in the balcony.
I want you to know that we will give these
commitments utmost care. We’ll have somebody who is very trustworthy collect
these just so that we can be aware of the commitments that are being made
today.
I
think we’re ready. May God bless you during this sacred time of commitment.
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