By Jason Berl

RESOURCES FOR BIBLE READING AND STUDY

For the last two weeks in our sermon series The Word & Prayer, we have been considering what the Bible is and what it does. I wanted to recommend a few resources to help encourage and equip you in your own Bible reading and study.

COMPREHENSION | INTERPRETATION | APPLICATION

One of my favorite methods of studying the Bible is to pick a section of scripture, which may be a few verses, a paragraph, or a few paragraphs, and focus on comprehension, interpretation, and application. I strongly recommend going through a book of the bible a few verses or paragraphs at the time. Check out the following 3-5 minute videos by Jen Wilkin and The Village Church that help explain this method.

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So, next time you sit down to read and study, consider grabbing a journal. Read your text (a few verses or a chapter) a few times. Write "COMPREHENSION", and then seek to summarize the facts of what you read. Then write "INTERPRETATION." Write out one or a few timeless principles based on the comprehension, what you know about the author, and what you know about the original audience. Finally, write out "APPLICATION," and consider how this text ought to change you. If you do not finish in one sitting, that is okay. Take your time and meditate on God's word. It may be helpful and worshipful to write out a prayer after studying. I generally praise God for what I learned about Him, confess sin that may have been revealed to me, and ask God for wisdom, desire, and strength to walk out the application. This is not the only way to study and pray, but I want to share a way so that you can get started and personalize it over time.

Jen Wilkin wrote a great book to help teach people how to study the BIble. It is geared towards women, but helpful for anyone.

RECOMMENDED BOOK TO GET THE BIG PICTURE

Max Anders wrote a book that has helped me so much in Bible reading and Bible comprehension. This books helps you to understand the story of the Bible as a whole, which helps you to study specific parts of the Bible with context in mind. We have several copies of this book available on the Next Steps Table, or you can order it on Amazon by clicking on the picture below.

BIBLE READING PLANS

Sometimes you may want to study a few verses at a time to really meditate on the text, but other times you may prefer to read larger chunks of the Bible to see the whole story and move through the entire Bible in a year or so. Bible reading plans are great for that, and there are several options. You can find plans on your smartphone with the YouVersion app. If you are a paper and pencil type of person, check out the following plan:

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BIBLE TRANSLATIONS

The BIble was originally written in Classical Hebrew, Biblical Aramaic, and Koine Greek. Praise the Lord, it has been translated into English. At Sojourn, we use the ESV (English Standard Version) for preaching. There are several trustworthy and good translations. Some translations are looser translations. The most common example is the NIV. These are normally easy to read, but not as literal as other translations. Other translations are word for word or very literal, but tend to be more difficult to read. An example of this is the NASB. The ESV has sought to be more readable than some of the literal translations and more literal than some of the easy to read translations. If you have a trustworthy translation of the Bible that you love, great! I am surely not seeking to bash any translation here. If you do not have a favorite translation, I recommend picking up the ESV. A great Bible to purchase is the ESV Study Bible.

There are so many resources that could be recommended here. There are other books, podcasts, teachings, reading plans, and study bibles that are so helpful. Hopefully this will get you started. May you find life, wisdom, and joy as you read, study, meditate on, and memorize God's Word.

Finally, remember the gospel. We do not read or study the Bible to earn God's favor. He is not mad at you when you miss a day (or two, three, etc.). He is not impressed when you dont miss a day. He fully loves you and approves of you because you are united to Christ by faith. Legalism would have us feel very proud if we are consistent in Bible reading and prayer, and legalism would have us despair if we are not performing well in these areas. The gospel says there is now no condemnation in Christ. The gospel invites us to have our soul revived, be built up in wisdom, and have our hearts given joy (Psalm 19) as we feast on God's Word.

Last Friday night we had a church event called A Night of Listening. Approximately 30 people gathered in the church office to watch a panel of Acts 29 pastors discuss personal experiences and insights into race and reconciliation. It was a great night. The event ended at 9 PM, but a good number of people were still having discussion, listening to each others experiences, and enjoying each other's company at 11 PM. I wanted to give you access to the video that we watched so that you can share it with others and so that you can watch it if you were not able to be at the event.

Race tends to be a lightning rod topic for many. We called the event A Night of Listening for a reason. Remember James 1:19-20, which says, "Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God." We must be able to listen and keep on listening whether we immediately agree or disagree with someone's viewpoint.

This panel discussion happened in 2016, approximately a week after an unarmed black man was shot and killed by a police officer in Baton Rouge and five police officers were shot and killed in Dallas. The panel makes reference to these events, so knowing the context is helpful. Also, this panel discussion takes place at an Acts 29 Pastors Retreat. The panel sometimes applies principles directly to pastors, but the principles are applicable to us all.

If you feel encouraged, convicted, confused, offended, or anything else, we would love to hear about it if you would like to share. Please feel free to email us at pastors@sojournchurch.net or email a pastor individually. Our email addresses can be found here. If you would like to have follow up conversation, please let us know in the email and we can set up a time to get together.

I hope and pray that healthy conversations, empathy, and connection result from hearing this content. Thanks for taking the time to watch.

Jason B.