Recently, Tyndale House Publishers conducted a survey asking Americans their opinions regarding the Bible. Among their findings were that the top three reasons people don’t read the Bible are:
1. Not enough time.
2. Too hard to understand.
3. Find it irrelevant.
The top three frustrations associated with Bible reading were:
1. Hard to understand.
2. Hard to relate to my life today.
3. Too long to get through.
So, what we see is that there are a lot of Christians who are discouraged for a lot of different reasons when it comes to reading the Bible. What I want to do this morning is very practical. I simply want to talk about how to read the Bible, how to discover what God has for you in the Bible, how to read the Bible for all it’s worth.
I have outlined these practical suggestions in your sermon outline for this morning.
Now, I figure we’ve got three groups in the congregation this morning: some of you have never read the Bible on your own before. You’ve never tried to have a time each day where you sit down with the Scripture and find out what God has for you. Let’s be honest: thinking about trying to read the Bible on your own for the first time can be overwhelming and scary and confusing, because you don’t know all the details of how to do it in an effective way and we all hate to try something and fail. I hope to help you in taking those initial steps into the Scripture by pointing you in the right direction, helping you to avoid some of the most common pitfalls, and giving you some clues toward learning to get what God has for you in His Word.
There is a second group of people in the congregation this morning that consist of those of you who are reading your Bible with some regularity right now or have been in the recent past, but you don’t really feel like you’re getting much out of it. For you this morning, I want to hopefully provide some insights into getting more out of the reading that you’re doing: moving you from the place where reading the Bible is an empty ritual or a boring chore and into the place where the Word begins to become more vibrant to you and begins to speak to your situation.
The third group here this morning are those of you who are reading the Word regularly and are getting what God has for you out of it. Now, you may still want to write down the outline toward helping others who may ask you for help in their Bible reading, but you’re
primary job this morning is to nod your head and maybe even say, “Amen,” occasionally as I’m talking about all that we can get out of the Scriptures so that those here this morning who are wondering if anyone actually can get anything out of the Scripture can see that we actually have some people in this church who are getting something out of the Word.
Although it would be nice to think that the majority of folks here this morning are in that third group, research by George Barna indicates that no more than about 20% of Christians read the Bible on a daily basis. So let me give those of you that don’t fall into that 20% some encouragement toward getting into the Word.
At the top of the sermon outline, I have listed a few “Prime the Pump” passages that contain God’s promises to us regarding what He will do through His Word and what impact God’s Word can have on us:
- Psalm 119:89, 103, 105; Isaiah 40:8; Matthew 5:18; Deuteronomy 8:3; 2 Timothy 3:16; Psalm 19:8; Romans 1:16; Hebrews 4:12; Acts 17:11; 1 Kings 8:56; Matthew 22:29.
I’m not going to take the time to go over those right now, but they are there if you desire a little
motivation in believing that God really will speak to you through His Word in the way we’re talking about this morning.
I have divided what I want to share with you this morning into three areas:
- getting ready,
- getting into the Word,
- and keeping at it.
Let’s start with “getting ready.”
1. Get a good translation that you are comfortable with.
- good translations:
- New International Version
- New American Standard Bible
- New Revised Standard Version
- New Living Translation
- New King James Version
- King James Version
- paraphrases:
- Living Bible
- The Message
2. Consider investing in a study Bible.
- you can greatly benefit from the helpful notes.
- recommendations:
- The NIV Study Bible
- NKJV Nelson Study Bible
- Thompson Chain-Reference Bible
3. Start with the parts of the Bible that are the easiest to grasp.
- don’t start with Genesis and try to read straight through.
- suggestions:
- Matthew
- Mark
- Luke
- John
- Galatians
- Ephesians
- Philippians
- Colossians
- James
- Genesis
- Esther
- Proverbs
- Jonah
4. Make a commitment to a daily appointment and stick to it.
- early morning tends to work best, but whenever as long as you are committed to it.
Now that we’re set up and ready to go, let’s talk about actually “getting into the Word.” You’ve got a solid translation, perhaps you’ve got a study Bible with helpful notes, and you’re sitting down to your first daily appointment: how do actually read the Bible so that you can get out of it what God has for you?
1. Read for life change, not trivia knowledge.
- you are not learning for Jeopardy or Trivial Pursuit.
- how does this passage apply to my life?
- what aspects of my life does this passage speak to?
- the Bible is the Living Word that speaks to us today.
2. Be quick to re-read and to ask questions.
>>>When Rembrandt’s famous painting, The Night Watch, was restored and returned to Amsterdam’s Rijksmuseum, the curators performed a simple, yet remarkable experiment. They asked visitors to submit questions about the painting. The curators then prepared answers to over 50 questions, ranking the questions according to popularity.
Some of these questions focused on issues which curators usually don’t like to include:
How much does the painting cost? Has this painting ever been forged? Are there mistakes in the painting? Other questions focused on traditional artistic issues: Why did Rembrandt paint the subject? Who were the people in the painting? What techniques did Rembrandt pioneer in the particular work?
In a room next to the gallery which held the painting, the curators papered the walls with these questions (and answers). Visitors had to pass through this room before entering the gallery.
The curious outcome was that the average length of time people spent viewing the painting increased from six minutes to over half an hour. Visitors alternated between reading questions and answers and examining the painting. They said that the questions encouraged them to look longer, to look closer, and to remember more. The questions helped them create richer ideas about the painting and to see the painting in new ways. (Source: Bits and Pieces)
- asking questions is key in understanding the Scripture.
3. Try to minimize interruptions and the feeling that you need to hurry up.
- go someplace and shut the door if you can (if you have to, go to the bathroom).
- if you have kids, get your spouse to support you in this and agree to keep them out of your way for 15 minutes.
- instead of hurrying through one chapter (and that’s a good amount to read a day), say to yourself, “The next 15 minutes are reserved for this book” and then relax and ease your way through it.
4. Pray and ask God, “Is there something here you want to show me?”
- it might be a promise.
- it might be a word of comfort.
- it might be something that gives you a deeper understanding of who God is.
- it might be a convicting word regarding some sin in your life.
The final thing we want to talk about this morning is “keeping at it.” Here are three problems you are likely to encounter and a word of encouragement to
overcome them.
1. When you don’t get amazing insights at first, keep at it.
- I was a horrible golfer the first time I played, but I’ve gotten better at it. So it is with
anything.
2. When you can’t seem to concentrate, keep at it.
- that’s normal.
- two suggestions if this becomes a problem:
1. Keep scrap paper and a pen nearby.
2. Read aloud.
3. When you encounter dry periods, keep at it.
- it happens to the best of us.
- three suggestions if this becomes a problem:
1. Personalize the promises of God.
2. Try a different Bible translation.
3. Pray Psalm 139:23-24: “Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: and see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.”
When you consider this morning that this is God’s message to you, would you consider this morning doing a 30-day trial? Commit to it every day for one month and see if God isn’t able to begin to speak to you through His Word.
God wants to talk to you. Do you want to hear it?
