February 2-9
A Light for my Path: Part 5, A Bible-Reading Community
The goal of this January series is to prepare our hearts for a new focus on immersing ourselves in God’s Word. We will spend time considering the importance of Scripture and how God uses it to transform our lives. Then in February, our church will engage in a 16-week journey through the entire New Testament. The Bible was written to communities, so we want to read it that way!
Shared experiences create communal memories.
The first biblical reference to communal reading is found in Exodus 17:14, when Moses wrote about Israel’s first military victory and read it aloud to Joshua.
When God gave Moses the agreements of his partnership with Israel, Moses shared them verbally with the people and wrote them down in their presence. (Exodus 24:3-4)
The consistent public reading of the law reminded Israel of who God is and what He had done for them. (Joshua 8:30-35)
When this practice ceased, the people eventually forgot God and His actions on their behalf. (Judges 2:10)
Renewing the public reading of Scripture reminded the people of who they were and how they were to live. (2 Kings 22-23, Nehemiah 8:8)
Jesus announced his identity through the public reading of Scripture in his hometown synagogue. (Luke 4:16-30)
Paul instructed his fellow believers to read his letters aloud (Colossians 4:16, 1 Thessalonians 5:27, 1 Timothy 4:13-14)
The Bible was designed to be read and studied in community with others.
We need to commit ourselves to personal Bible study and return to the practice of reading the Bible in community.
NEXT STEPS:
Participate in weekly worship gatherings
Connect to our community Bible reading plan.
Join a book club (life group) or start one.
Discussion Questions
Shared experiences create communal memories.
The first biblical reference to communal reading is found in Exodus 17:14, when Moses wrote about Israel’s first military victory and read it aloud to Joshua.
When God gave Moses the agreements of his partnership with Israel, Moses shared them verbally with the people and wrote them down in their presence. (Exodus 24:3-4)
The consistent public reading of the law reminded Israel of who God is and what He had done for them. (Joshua 8:30-35)
When this practice ceased, the people eventually forgot God and His actions on their behalf. (Judges 2:10)
Renewing the public reading of Scripture reminded the people of who they were and how they were to live. (2 Kings 22-23, Nehemiah 8:8)
Jesus announced his identity through the public reading of Scripture in his hometown synagogue. (Luke 4:16-30)
Paul instructed his fellow believers to read his letters aloud (Colossians 4:16, 1 Thessalonians 5:27, 1 Timothy 4:13-14)
The Bible was designed to be read and studied in community with others.
We need to commit ourselves to personal Bible study and return to the practice of reading the Bible in community.
NEXT STEPS:
Participate in weekly worship gatherings
Connect to our community Bible reading plan.
Join a book club (life group) or start one.
Discussion Questions
- What type of shared experiences do you have with other people? Take a few minutes and share one with your group and why that experience is meaningful to you.
- Have you experienced Scripture being read in a church community setting? If so, how has that practice helped you follow Jesus together with other believers?
- What do you find that is significant about the Old Testament examples of communal reading that are shared in this week’s notes? Spend some time with your group going through each one and discussing together.
- Read Luke 4:16-21 with your group. What do you think is significant about Jesus announcing his identity through this reading from Isaiah in the setting of the synagogue?
- How can you renew your commitment to being part of a Bible-reading community? Talk with your group about what it looks like to encourage and challenge one another through the next 16 weeks. Who can you invite to join your group?
January 19-26
A Light for my Path: Part 3, Connecting the Dots
The goal of this January series is to prepare our hearts for a new focus on immersing ourselves in God’s Word. We will spend time considering the importance of Scripture and how God uses it to transform our lives. Then in February, our church will engage in a 16-week journey through the entire New Testament. The Bible was written to communities, so we want to read it that way! This week our main text is:
This week’s message is much different from others. Rather than looking in great detail at one passage and focusing on practical truths from that text, we are examining a much larger concept: the unity of Scripture. Below are the main points from the message and the discussion questions will be based on these and the passage above.
Discussion Questions
Luke 24:13-27
That same day two of Jesus’ followers were walking to the village of Emmaus, seven miles from Jerusalem. As they walked along they were talking about everything that had happened. As they talked and discussed these things, Jesus himself suddenly came and began walking with them. But God kept them from recognizing him.
He asked them, “What are you discussing so intently as you walk along?”
They stopped short, sadness written across their faces. Then one of them, Cleopas, replied, “You must be the only person in Jerusalem who hasn’t heard about all the things that have happened there the last few days.”
“What things?” Jesus asked.
“The things that happened to Jesus, the man from Nazareth,” they said. “He was a prophet who did powerful miracles, and he was a mighty teacher in the eyes of God and all the people. But our leading priests and other religious leaders handed him over to be condemned to death, and they crucified him. We had hoped he was the Messiah who had come to rescue Israel. This all happened three days ago. “Then some women from our group of his followers were at his tomb early this morning, and they came back with an amazing report. They said his body was missing, and they had seen angels who told them Jesus is alive! Some of our men ran out to see, and sure enough, his body was gone, just as the women had said.”
Then Jesus said to them, “You foolish people! You find it so hard to believe all that the prophets wrote in the Scriptures. Wasn’t it clearly predicted that the Messiah would have to suffer all these things before entering his glory?” Then Jesus took them through the writings of Moses and all the prophets, explaining from all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.
He asked them, “What are you discussing so intently as you walk along?”
They stopped short, sadness written across their faces. Then one of them, Cleopas, replied, “You must be the only person in Jerusalem who hasn’t heard about all the things that have happened there the last few days.”
“What things?” Jesus asked.
“The things that happened to Jesus, the man from Nazareth,” they said. “He was a prophet who did powerful miracles, and he was a mighty teacher in the eyes of God and all the people. But our leading priests and other religious leaders handed him over to be condemned to death, and they crucified him. We had hoped he was the Messiah who had come to rescue Israel. This all happened three days ago. “Then some women from our group of his followers were at his tomb early this morning, and they came back with an amazing report. They said his body was missing, and they had seen angels who told them Jesus is alive! Some of our men ran out to see, and sure enough, his body was gone, just as the women had said.”
Then Jesus said to them, “You foolish people! You find it so hard to believe all that the prophets wrote in the Scriptures. Wasn’t it clearly predicted that the Messiah would have to suffer all these things before entering his glory?” Then Jesus took them through the writings of Moses and all the prophets, explaining from all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.
This week’s message is much different from others. Rather than looking in great detail at one passage and focusing on practical truths from that text, we are examining a much larger concept: the unity of Scripture. Below are the main points from the message and the discussion questions will be based on these and the passage above.
- The Hebrew Bible (Old Testament) is comprised of Torah (law), Nevi’im (prophets) and Ketuvim (writings) and is known as the Tanak, which is an acronym for the collection.
- These ancient books were written over a period of 1,000 years and include narrative, poetry and apocalyptic literature.
- The New Testament is a collection of Jewish writings from the 1st century and includes four Gospel accounts, letters from early church leaders and apocalyptic literature.
- Most people who read the Bible at first see it as a random collection of writings without a unified purpose. In fact, even God seems to operate differently in the Old Testament than He does in the New Testament.
- There are connections between these two collections that can be seen through the repetition of symbols, words, settings, plots, and characters. Examples include Genesis 1:1 and John 1:1, the presence of mankind in the garden of Eden in Genesis and the presence of Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane in Matthew, Mark and Luke.
- The authors of the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament came from various backgrounds yet collaborated together to tell the story of God and His people.
- The writers of the Hebrew Bible point to a time when all of God’s promises will be fulfilled. The writers of the New Testament say that, in Jesus, that time has come.
Discussion Questions
- What are some challenges you have faced as you’ve read the Bible? Be specific, and share these with your group.
- Does it help you to view the Bible as a collection of writings rather than one book? Why or why not?
- Why do you think it’s important to consider the authors, types of literature, various themes and the context of writings included in the Bible?
- How do you personally perceive the differences between the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament) and the New Testament? How have you worked through these differences as you’ve read the Bible? What unresolved issues do you still have regarding these?
- .Try to put yourself in the shoes (sandals) of the two disciples who encountered Jesus on the road to Emmaus. What would it have meant to you to hear Jesus himself explain how the Hebrew Bible pointed to him?
January 5-12
A Light for my Path: Part 1
The goal of this January series is to prepare our hearts for a new focus on immersing ourselves in God’s Word. We will spend time considering the importance of Scripture and how God uses it to transform our lives. Then in February, our church will engage in a 16-week journey through the entire New Testament. The Bible was written to communities, so we want to read it that way! This week our main text is Psalm 119:105-112. Below is some insight on Psalm 119 from the Tyndale Old Testament Commentary:
Psalm 119:105-112
Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.
I have sworn an oath and confirmed it, to keep your righteous rules.
I am severely afflicted; give me life, O Lord, according to your word!
Accept my freewill offerings of praise, O Lord, and teach me your rules.
I hold my life in my hand continually, but I do not forget your law.
The wicked have laid a snare for me, but I do not stray from your precepts.
Your testimonies are my heritage forever, for they are the joy of my heart.
I incline my heart to perform your statutes forever, to the end.
Discussion Questions
This giant among the Psalms shows the full flowering of that ‘delight … in the law of the Lord’ which is described in Psalm 1, and gives its personal witness to the many-sided qualities of Scripture praised in Psalm 19:7-11.
It is an acrostic psalm, an alphabet of prayers and reflections on the word of God, giving each Hebrew letter its turn to introduce eight successive verses on the subject. While different thoughts tend to predominate in different stanzas, partly from the stimulus of the alphabetic scheme,45 they are mingled with others that constantly recur. The mood is meditative; the poet’s preoccupations and circumstances come to light in prayers and exclamations, not marshalled in sequence but dispersed throughout the psalm.
Derek Kidner, Psalms 73–150: An Introduction and Commentary, vol. 16, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1975), 452.
It is an acrostic psalm, an alphabet of prayers and reflections on the word of God, giving each Hebrew letter its turn to introduce eight successive verses on the subject. While different thoughts tend to predominate in different stanzas, partly from the stimulus of the alphabetic scheme,45 they are mingled with others that constantly recur. The mood is meditative; the poet’s preoccupations and circumstances come to light in prayers and exclamations, not marshalled in sequence but dispersed throughout the psalm.
Derek Kidner, Psalms 73–150: An Introduction and Commentary, vol. 16, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1975), 452.
Psalm 119:105-112
Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.
I have sworn an oath and confirmed it, to keep your righteous rules.
I am severely afflicted; give me life, O Lord, according to your word!
Accept my freewill offerings of praise, O Lord, and teach me your rules.
I hold my life in my hand continually, but I do not forget your law.
The wicked have laid a snare for me, but I do not stray from your precepts.
Your testimonies are my heritage forever, for they are the joy of my heart.
I incline my heart to perform your statutes forever, to the end.
Discussion Questions
- Share with your group at least one thing about which you’ve been talking with God, and how your prayer time was this week. We aren’t currently using a reading plan. Where have you been reading in Scripture? If you haven’t been reading the Bible, ask your fellow group members for some ideas of what to read between now and February.
- In what ways have you experienced God’s Word as a light to help you navigate the journey of life? Be specific.
- How would you describe your level of commitment to keeping the Word of God in your life recently? What are some challenges you have faced or blessings you have experienced?
- Can you say with the psalmist that the Bible is the joy of your heart? Explain your answer.