During these Sundays in September and October, we are focusing on the key disciplines that every Christian is encouraged 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.
A few years ago, The History Channel aired “The Bible Miniseries.” The first episode of that series attracted 13.1 million viewers, making it the highest entertainment broadcast that year. These incredible TV ratings show that the American public is interested in the Bible.
The American Bible Society’s recent 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. And again, these surveyed did not focus only on people who attend church, they were random calls of people throughout the country.
As you look at the first survey, you’ll notice that 87% of Americans say that they own a bible. That’s a very high percentage.
And this is a very interesting statistic. 58% 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.
56% of people surveyed said that reading the Bible is an important part of their faith journey. More than half.
As you look at the 2nd survey, notice that 58% of people claimed that the Bible had transformed their life. That also is encouraging.
I wanted to show you those recent national surveys about the Bible to show that there is a desire among people to read the Bible and see how it connects to their everyday lives. And I would have to believe that those percentages are even higher within a church like Athens First.
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 six “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.
The fifth “C” is the church. The church is called to be the living presence of the Risen Christ in our world.
And this leads us to the sixth 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 six “C’s” – Creation, Corruption, Covenant, Christ, Church, and Consummation. And whenever you read the bible, it’s good to keep these six “C’s” in mind because these six “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 six “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.”
To help us with this third commitment in reading the Bible as part of our Faith Builder’s series, up on the screen are some choices for us to consider. I’m going to give us time to think about these choices and which one we would like to be our commitment in this area.
Here are some possibilities for us to consider in making bible reading more of a priority in our lives. You can choose one or more of these ways to grow in your reading and understanding of the Bible.
• 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.
I’ve asked Jeff to play some music for the next minute or so as we silently make our commitment to God.
[PAUSE]
I’d like to share one final thought about reading the Bible that I have found extremely helpful. I have discovered that the Bible is not primarily an answer book. It’s more of a guide that invites us to wrestle in our faith as we walk together with God. It’s the wrestling that will build up your faith over time. So keep at it. Don’t give up on it.
Let it challenge you. Let it comfort you. Let it speak a new word to you in a new and fresh way.
May God bless you as you make reading the Bible more of a priority in your life.
Faith Builders: Reading
Sermon Discussion Questions
II Timothy 3:10-17
September 29, 2019
During this seven week “Faith Builders” sermon series, we are focusing on six vital areas in having a growing and vital faith. This week’s focus is on reading the Bible. Pastor Robert shared a couple of surveys about the Bible.
[1st SURVEY]
[2nd Survey]
Do these surveys offer any surprising results?
Sometimes we don’t read the Bible because we are intimidated by it. Let’s face it. The Bible can be difficult to understand but it’s also important to remember that it offers us a very compelling and unifying overall narrative that can be summarized by the six “C”s. These are 1) Creation - God created the world and called it good. 2) Corruption - Our disobedience has led to brokenness and death in God’s good creation. 3) Covenant - God’s plan to restore creation is through making a covenant with Israel. 4) Christ - Because we have failed in living out God’s covenant, Christ’s life, death, and resurrection has fulfilled the covenant. 5) Church - The church is the presence of the Risen Christ offering God’s healing love in the world. 6) Consummation - Christ will come again and restore creation fulfilling the Bible’s promise of new heavens and a new earth.
How can this “Six ‘C’” summary of the Bible help you when you read the Bible?
Reading and understanding the Bible involves a commitment to make it more of a priority in our lives. Read over the commitment options below and discuss which ones best apply to you:
- 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.
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