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Unity Community
Understanding the Bible with Pastor Jeff Manning
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Host Tim DeCresie discusses studying and understanding the Bible with Pastor Jeff Manning
Hello, and welcome to the Unity Community Podcast. This is a place where our church family can hear real stories of life change and discover how God is working through our ministries and missionaries, both here and around the world. From conversations with our staff and leaders to testimonies from our people, we're pulling back the curtain on what God is doing in and through Unity Church. Thanks for listening. Let's grow closer to the Lord as we grow closer one to another.
SPEAKER_00Welcome, I'm your host, Tim DeCreesty. We're here today with Pastor Jeff Manny. We're excited. We are taking a little detour from what we've normally been doing over the past podcast, and we are diving into a topical session. And that's something we want to do once a month is hit that topical just for your own benefit. We will typically do a ministry, a member, a missionary, and then hit that topical one, you know, once a month. So we're at the topical session, so I'm very excited. We have an excellent conversation today, and that is helping us understand the Bible. And so that being said, we need Jeff Manning to help us understand the Bible, because today he's going to tell us everything we need to know about the Bible.
SPEAKER_01I don't think I'd say everything, but I'm I'm honored to be a part of today's podcast. And um man, obviously, as the lead pastor and therefore the lead most frequent preacher and teacher of God's Word, I would like to think that everybody here knows how passionate I am about the Bible and it being correctly interpreted, taught, fleshed out. So, I mean, this is an excellent subject for us to be talking about. And Tim, in preparation for today, I mean, I just thought about the fact how privileged we are that God has spoken. You know, He's not silent. He has spoken. He has given us, you know, the book that we refer to as the Bible, but within it, man, I think if we viewed it as love letters from the Lord, I think it would help us have the right kind of heart attitude toward it, even before we open it to read it, just to know that God loved us enough to reveal Himself to us. Um, you know, if if if a person finds themselves totally not wanting to read the Bible, not attracted by the Bible at all, I think it would it would, I don't know, I think it would kind of call to question their relationship with the Lord. Because let's suppose that I say how much I love Jennifer, and I think, you know, the whole church knows I love Jennifer. I I brag on her and rightfully so. She she deserves any and all bragging I do on her. But imagine if Jennifer came up one Sunday and said, you know, Jeff said all this stuff about loving me, but he has never read any of the cards, letters, or notes that I have left for him all through these years. He's never read them. That would communicate something totally different about my relationship with my wife. And so if we say we love the Lord and we want to know, you know, how to live a life that's pleasing to him, and yet we don't ever read the Bible, it it kind of questions, do we really love the Lord like we say we do? Um and man, the word can be so um um transformational in our lives. Just think about the the encouragement and the exhortation that God gave to Joshua. So if you'll recall, Moses, the incredible man Moses, his job is done. He has died. He has been buried with his fathers. And now it's time for Joshua to assume the leadership mantle. It's time for Joshua to lead the people of Israel into the promised land, to do all the conquering, all the settling, etc. Just listen to what God said to him. Joshua 1, verses 7 and 8. Be strong and be very courageous. Be careful to do according to all the law that Moses, my servant, commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may, listen, that you may have good success wherever you go. This book of the law shall not depart out of your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it, for then. So you read it, you meditate on it, so that you can obey it, for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. Well, okay, I know that was written a few thousand years ago to Joshua, but the principle, it is timeless. When you invest yourself in God's word, you read it and apply it to your life, you set yourself up to be the recipient of success as God defines it for your life. You you put yourself in a position to uh receive God's favor, and I I think that's something that we should all be interested in.
SPEAKER_00So obviously we want to be able to read the Bible, but I think people get bogged down and I don't even quite understand what I'm reading. You know, as I'm going through numbers right now, I don't know, it's just a bunch of numbers, you know, generational things, and it's just hard to understand. That can be discouraging. So, you know, how do we go about interpreting the Bible correctly so it is impactful in our everyday walk with the Lord?
SPEAKER_01Well, um, for starters, I mean, the Bible's not your average book. I mean, it is the inspired, infallible, inerrant, authoritative word of God. And so therefore, you know, our whole heart attitude toward it should be different than any other book we open. Um I mean, we we could have any number of Bible commentaries and a Bible dictionary and and other books about the Bible, but there is only one holy Bible, which is which is God's Word. So our whole attitude toward it should be one of reverence and an understanding that this is God who has spoken. Um, I I think one of the most important things is, you know, make sure that you don't take scripture out of context. Uh that happened to me one time in particular. This was during President Trump's first um Um presidency, and I have no idea. I can't remember now how in the world some um social media news reporter got my name. I have no idea. And so he contacted me and asked if he could do an interview with me. He was gonna be in this area, if I remember correctly. And so reluctantly, I think I even talked with the rest of the guys on staff. Did they think this was a good idea? And they thought, well, I mean, somebody, somebody needs to speak. Somebody's gonna do it, so why not you? So so I did it. I went into the interview with the guy with the full understanding that you I want to read what you're going to post before you post it. He agreed to that. So we met and he asked questions and I gave answers, et cetera. And so he when he left, left the house, because he came to my house and did the uh the interview, when he left, I said, now you're gonna get back in touch with me, right? He said, sure. Well, okay, so then I'm I'm curious. I'm I'm I'm kind of wondering, okay, how's this gonna how's this gonna turn out? What's he gonna say? How's he gonna quote me? Well, next thing I know, I'm checking the online news magazine that he was reporting for, and the article was already there. And people, buddy, they were ripping into me. And so I got on, I called that guy, texted that guy, I think I texted him and said, What I thought we had an agreement. Well, well, well, I but So he quoted me out of context, and it ticked me off. And um, well, can you imagine how the Lord feels when we perhaps quote him out of context or claim promises that really aren't addressed to us? Um the the whole conversation we're having now is partly um bringing to bear some some principles and some guidelines that we need to observe if we're going to properly understand the Bible.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, because my thought is um, you know, you're reading through whether you're a new believer or a believer of 50 years, you're reading through something. You're not necessarily looking at to take it out of context. You just misunderstand it out of context. And so what are some ways to help us avoid that?
SPEAKER_01Yeah. So the very first one is to read it in context. I like to say that context is king. Um and so make sure that you don't take one singular verse and just focus on it without looking at the verses before it and after it. View that verse in its context. All right, so uh this this might burst a bubble or two and might frustrate a person or two, but Jeremiah 29, verse 11, it's one of the most popular verses in the Bible these days. Um people have it put on plaques, uh, they they give it away at you know various events and whatever, but you know, uh Jeremiah 29, 11, for I know the plans I have for you. And we know that it talks about, you know, prospering, et cetera, et cetera. Well, that verse is not intended for us today. That was a promise that God gave to the people of Israel. That verse was given by Jeremiah to the people of God in the context of their suffering. They had been so sinful and wicked and turned their backs on God that God had allowed them to go into captivity. And the captivity was going to last for 70 years. So, in the same context of that verse, he tells them to build houses and grow gardens and build your families, because you're going to be here for a long time. But just know this: while you're out of your homeland, I have plans for you. And this is for your good, and one day I will fulfill all of my promises to you. So it's not for individuals, it was for the people of Israel in particular. Um, speaking of verses that get quoted out of context, maybe number two, if we were to rank them, would be Philippians 4, verse 13. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. And I wonder how many, you know, high school Christian athletes step up to the free throw line. They're down by one, and they're shooting a one-and-one with two seconds to go on the clock. Boom, boom, boom, they bounce the ball. I can do this through Christ who strengthens me. Brick. Well, then, did God fail on his promise? That's not, that's not what God intended. When it says that I can do all things through Christ who strengthened me, that doesn't mean you're going to ace the SAT. It doesn't mean that you're going to ace impressing your boss and get the promotion. It's in a context where Paul is saying, he's writing that in prison, and he's just got through talking about, you know what, I have I have had times in my life when I lived in abundance, and I've had times like right now when I'm in adversity and life is hard. And I have learned that through Christ, I can live the way he wants me to live, whether in abundance or in adversity. I've learned that I can I can do all things, regardless of my circumstances, and live a life that can be met with God's favor. So context is so crucial. Read verses in their context. Um, something else that, you know, like when I'm um dealing with preacher boys and stuff and teaching preaching, you know, authorial intent. That is so important. Authorial intent. What does the author, what did the author intend by what he wrote to this group of people when he wrote it to them? And so, you know, in in today's world of, you know, home Bible studies and this, that, and the other, you know, w it's almost like some people want to focus on what does that mean to you? I don't give a rip what it means to you. That's that's not important. What did it mean when Paul or Mark or Luke or Timothy w wrote what they wrote, not Timothy, Timothy got letters, he didn't write them. Uh what did it mean when the author wrote that to that group of people? Once you get to the meaning, then you can say, now how does that apply to my life? But you've got to get to the meaning first. So what does it mean comes before uh what does it mean to me? How do I apply it to my life?
SPEAKER_00So do you feel like that's a common mistake people make? Absolutely. You know, just like we're read just reading any book. Oh, well, what does that passage mean to you? Oh yeah, absolutely.
SPEAKER_01I yeah, I'm afraid that in today's culture of um of just kind of I don't know, lazy Christianity. You know, there's so much of that. There's so much what I call, you know, cotton candy theology out there, just superficial stuff instead of digging into the word and letting God's word speak for itself.
SPEAKER_00I'm this is something along those same lines, you know, as we're doing the Bible recap. Um, one thing I like about that is they always steer it back to what have we learned about God in this passage. And so that has been very insightful for me to not just turn it around to, I don't even understand what this is talking about. What are we learning about God? Not necessarily what am I learning about me or in that time frame.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. Absolutely. Um, you know, something else that I think is important, especially for people that may find themselves stumped as to what maybe this verse means or this paragraph means, um, trying to figure out does this d uh does this contradict other stu other stuff? I thought I knew about the Bible. And so another principle would be, you know, compare scripture with scripture. Um you know, the best interpreter of scripture is scripture. So if you're reading a verse, and and we we can talk about this a little bit later, but I mean I I could not recommend more highly that people invest, invest in a good study Bible. Because a good study Bible will often give you references to other scriptures that will help you better understand the scripture that you're currently reading. Scripture interprets scripture. And so, you know, you you might have a scripture that's a little harder to understand, but if you have a parallel passage, it might be clearer and shed light on the one that maybe isn't quite as clear.
SPEAKER_00Well, that's one thing I will give you um credit for is you know when you do your sermons, you know, you don't you're not just reading Mark 4. You know, you're referring back to eight other passages, you know, which makes the sermon longer. You know, but hey, we appreciate it. But over time, you know, and I guess that would be the importance of coming on a Sunday, not just reading Bible on your own, but or just coming on Sundays and that's enough. Coming on Sundays is not enough, you know, just like you just not gonna see your wife once a to your point of with Jennifer. Oh, I'm gonna see my wife once a week and then, oh, I love her. She knows that because I see her every Sunday. Yeah. You know.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, well, and that's why I mean, you know, the scripture I read earlier from Joshua, you know, y this this word of the law you shall meditate on day and night. Um a scripture that many of us are familiar with, Psalm, Psalm 1, just the first couple of verses, blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers, but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on on his law he meditates day and night, daily, consistently. Not just getting a a buffet spiritual meal on Sunday. We we almost could view coming to church on Sunday and hearing biblical preaching and teaching um like a buffet meal, and most of us when we go to buffets we we eat so much. Well, uh eventually it's gonna be digested and you're gonna need more nourishment the next day, and the next day, and the next day. And so that's where reading the Bible for yourself, studying it for yourself helps feed your soul as well.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I I Yeah. That's that's an excellent point. I mean, as you're as you're saying that, I'm thinking, yeah, I mean, the more you meditate on it, then the more because it's the Holy Spirit that's teaching us. So that Holy Spirit lives within us, and if I'm meditating on this day and night, he is gonna direct me to the understanding. Absolutely.
SPEAKER_01And if if you're not in the word consistently, then you don't have something to meditate on that day. You don't have something maybe to share with somebody in your daily conversations. And um I think that's just something that so many believers, their lives, their walk with the Lord would be so vastly improved if they were just in the word consistently. Not necessarily trying to become a Bible scholar, though that's great and some people will, but man, just consistently in the word, just as consistently as we feed our bodies.
SPEAKER_00Okay. What are some other important things that we need to know?
SPEAKER_01Well, so um I for somebody who who might be maybe intimidated a little bit, I mean, because there are portions of scripture that can be very intimidating. Um I mean, look, for those of us who were a part of our church family when I preached through Revelation, that was that was not easy for me. And I'm I'm not ashamed to admit it. It that was not easy. And so, I mean, here I am saying that, and I've I've been preaching and teaching the Bible for 35 years. I got three pieces of parchment on my office wall that says I'm supposed to really know what I'm doing. There are portions of the scripture that are difficult. I mean, I mean, who was it? Um was it Paul or Peter that said the other one's writings were hard to understand? So if somebody is going into it thinking, man, I I I need help. I I'm intimidated by all this, I I would just offer a few suggestions. This first one's going to sound so obvious, but it shouldn't be neglected. Begin with prayer. Just simply um ask God to give you insights. Ask God with a humble heart, Lord, would you help me understand your word today? After all, Psalm 119, verse 18, open my eyes that I may behold wondrous things from your law. If the psalmist prayed that in that psalm, then to be sure we would benefit from doing the same. Lord, would you help me understand what I'm about to read? Um I I would so encourage people to get a modern translation of the Bible. Um you know, I I'm I'm preaching out of the English Standard Version now. I think most folks have kind of figured that out. Um so I I think man, the ESV would would benefit some people. The NIV, you know, back when the NIV was first um on the market, I think back in the mid to late 70s, man, it got so much ridicule and scorn partly because, you know, but the King James had been the standard Bible translation for English speaking people for so many years. What in the world we got something new for? Look, the NIV is not going to lead anybody astray. The um the new living standard uh Bible translation, it's um it's more dynamic equivalents than uh a literal translation, but for some people it would be an excellent translation for them. So I I told a few people the other day I I bought my first large print Bible like uh about a month ago. That was that was humbling. I had to buy my first large print bible. Even with glasses, I could not read what I was reading. And so I decided to go with the legacy standard Bible. Um, and I have really enjoyed that. That's just from my own personal Bible reading. So I would recommend people, if they don't have a modern translation, get them a good, solid modern translation. I mentioned it earlier, but I think getting a good quality study Bible would be so important, so important. Um I use the ESV study Bible almost every day of my life. The NIV Zonerfin Study Bible would be an excellent choice. The New Living Standard Application Study Bible, an excellent choice. And so if if anybody listening to our podcast does not have that, I I I would recommend it so highly. It'll be worth every penny that you pay for it. Um for some people, I would I would recommend using a Bible reading plan. I mean, there are scores of options out there. Um I really think now having said, you know, consistency and reading the Bible and meditating on every day, let's I'm gonna be real. For the for most people, it is incredibly hard to read the Bible like you should every single day. There are a number of 25 days a month reading plans. That's currently what I'm using. It's a 25 day plan. Um and so it's got a plan for basically averaging five days a week so that if you miss a day or two, you you you're you can still stay on track. Um the Bible recap, you mentioned it earlier. I've not done the Bible recap myself, but I've heard enough about it and I've looked into it enough to. Know that, man, for some people, that would be an excellent option. I think it has what about 12 to 15 minutes of Bible reading and then a 9 to 12 minute summary at the end. For some people, that would take their Bible knowledge to another whole, not just another whole level, another whole dimension. So I would recommend that people, you know, as they're reading the Bible, write down what they discover. Write down what they learn. You know, I don't I don't want to intimidate anybody into thinking, oh man, you mean Tim I got to keep a journal? Well, I mean, depending upon how you want to define a journal, jotting down what you learn and what you discover, highlight certain verses and write them down in your in a in a in a notebook of whatever sort, that would be beneficial. Um and I, man, Tim, I would just tell people, trust the process. Trust the process. That is, keep at it. Don't quit. Don't get discouraged. You know, circumstances of life may come up and maybe maybe there's a crisis and your kids are really sick and you're making a trip to the hospital, doctor's office, you go on vacation and you miss a few days. Don't, don't, don't beat yourself up. Don't let the devil get the victory. Just be consistent. Pick it back up and keep on keeping on to the best of your ability. Um, I like what Jen Wilken said. She says, if you ever had to learn a skill, you will probably remember the frustration that accompanies it, the feelings of inadequacy, the monotony of repeating a process until you have finally learned it, the strong desire to quit and find an easier way. Well, learning the Bible is not unlike that. Um, it can introduce some of the same feelings. Man, I just I just don't get it, I just don't understand it. Just keep at it. Trust the process. And if it were possible to plot people's spiritual growth, I guarantee you, if they will consistently be in the word of the Lord, asking for his insights, asking for his understanding, and they're trying to apply it to their lives in addition to what they get on any given Lord's day, man, they will grow. They will grow.
SPEAKER_00And so And I don't know, you know, I don't know how you feel about this. I I went through a period where I was doing two different um reading plans, but I would listen to one at night before I went to bed. I've just always liked the radio on when I go to sleep. So I would put on one of those plans. I know I'm not gonna stay awake for it, but whatever, I could either turn on sports radio or I can turn on the Bible, I'm gonna fall asleep. Then I wrestled with, is that disrespectful to God? I should be trying to stay awake, even though that was not my intention. I was doing another reading plan. But I just like ah, maybe I shouldn't do that um as part of my Bible study, I guess. I really wasn't studying it. I was just trying to put it into me. And I can either put in sports when I'm going to sleep, or I can put in the Bible.
SPEAKER_01Well, I mean, so you mentioned, you know, listening to that as you're going to sleep. Well, some people as they're reading the Bible, they fall asleep. They get drowsy. So man, I think it's just the more word you take in, the more scripture you take in, the better. And so to that point, you know, that that's another option for any number of people. Man, we've got apps today. You could have the Bible read to you while you're driving to work. You could have the Bible read to you, you know, while you're exercising. Um anytime we are seeking to hide God's word in our heart, it helps us not sin against our God. And so any any app like that, any unique approach, I think is a good thing.
SPEAKER_00And that's where I go back to the Holy Spirit's living within us. So, you know, if you're putting that in you, then that's something the Holy Spirit can use to equip you.
SPEAKER_01Absolutely. And I mean, few few better ways to fall asleep at night than meditating on the scriptures, hearing hearing them read to you, even if you're not fully engaged.
SPEAKER_00Um But now with the Unity Sermon app, I just listen to that and I'm out within two minutes. Oh that's funny, Jim.
SPEAKER_01That's real funny. I'm sure our listening audience will find that very humorous.
SPEAKER_00Uh no, I do not I do not do that. Um So what else may we need to consider, you know, so we're not taking we're A, understanding it, but then not taking it out of context.
SPEAKER_01Um Well, I mean, again, you you read reading verses and reading them within the paragraph that they're found. Don't be very, very careful that you just take a verse out. Now it's good to memorize singular verses, but just make sure that your understanding of them is in the context of where that verse is found. Um and I think having having a good study Bible will help make sure that you interpret things in context. You know, that's the thing that you have to understand with with almost any of these um quality study Bibles. There are scholars from all over the world who have spent, for example, you know, 30 years in maybe a seminary level teaching the book of Romans or teaching uh Paul's epistles. And they're going to take all of that knowledge, all of that experience, and then write in some just nuggets of truth, explanatory notes here and there. Who in the world wouldn't want that? Um it's almost like having a Bible scholar sitting right beside you to help you understand what you're reading. That that would be extremely beneficial. And so study Bibles help you do that. For others, I mean, you could invest in some commentaries. You know, there are some, and of course you can go online now. I mean, you've got any number of reliable online resources that can help you understand the Bible.
SPEAKER_00Um so that that brings up an interesting point. You know, I can go online. I probably could Google or go to YouTube and find any number of, hey, I need something on the book of Mark. That takes us back to interpretation, you know, Joe Smo's sermon, is that something I should be pouring into me because what he is. How do we then discern, I guess, is where I'm getting at that the truth that the word that we're supposedly hearing, you know, is something we actually should be putting into ourselves?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I mean that's that's a very good question. Um I mean, and depending upon who's listening to this and who that person is, I mean, when in doubt, leave it out. If if you're listening to somebody and they say something that you're thinking, that that that just doesn't sound right, well then maybe either do your due diligence to research it further and find out if it's right, or when in doubt, again, just leave it out. Or ask, ask one of the pastors, ask somebody else in the church that you've got confidence in. Hey, you know, are you familiar with this person or that person? Um, because sometimes it's a sheep, I mean it's a wolf in sheep's clothing. And they may be, you know, sharing uh distorted truth that would lead people astray.
SPEAKER_00Um I will say, you know, as a caveat to that, there are a lot of smart people that disagree on certain aspects of the Bible.
SPEAKER_01Yes.
SPEAKER_00You know, so just because you know, I was sharing that example with you the other day, you know, once saved, always save, you can lose your salvation. You know, it's people on both sides of that aisle. I'm not losing my mind over which side people are on. Right.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. There there are fundamental Bible truths that all believers agree upon. And then there are some secondary issues that might be outstanding points of theological arguments and debate, but neither side is heretical. And so I think that's that's what you're talking about. There are certain maybe theological differences between maybe, you know, us and a sister church down the road. Um but that doesn't mean that either side's heretical for those differences. Right.
SPEAKER_00And I appreciate like when you were going through Revelations, you could say, oh, the rapture before, in the middle, after. Here are three different opinions on that, this is where I fall. And so then it's just a matter of, okay, I agree with that, or uh, I don't know if I think that's right.
SPEAKER_01And those kinds of differences between believers is not going to have an impact on the trajectory of your life. You know, when when scripture is taken out of context and we claim promises that were not intended for us, and then it seems as though God didn't keep that promise. Well, that's when a person's faith can be shaken. That's when a person can have disappointment in God when when God hadn't not done something that he said he would do because he didn't say he would do that for you. He gave that promise to this group of people for this purpose at that time.
SPEAKER_00Okay. Well, what else? As we're nearing the end, what else may we need to know that we haven't covered?
SPEAKER_01Um, well, I would say that if people have any questions, you know, about a Bible translation or or an interpretation of a given scripture, by all means just reach out to us and ask. You know, one website that I have found to be very reliable. I'm I'm not saying that it's inerrant, only the scriptures are inerrant, but gotquestions.org. I mean, that's an excellent website. And if if you're reading a passage and you're kind of trying to figure out, okay, what what might this mean, you you could actually put that into a website like that. And I have found it to be incredibly helpful the vast majority of the time.
SPEAKER_00And that would be uh true also with you know all these AI tools that are coming out. But again, it's understanding what you're reading, and then is that actually.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. And um I I'm gonna be a little bit um presumptuous when I say this, but I I'm in the process of learning that Logos, which is which which is the Bible study um electronic tool that I use, and and I use the elevated version of it just because of the kind of studying that I do. They, I believe, are coming out with an opportunity for churches to like provide, I mean, pay for a membership and all their people get to benefit from it. Not unlike we do with um right now media. And so I'm I'm gonna investigate that and I'm hoping that maybe I can let our church know in the next few weeks that that is that is an option. And if that's the case, boy, that that would be a very reliable option because it does have an AI component that is going to be super reliable. Again, not without error, but super reliable to help further people's understanding of the scriptures. Trevor Burrus, Jr.
SPEAKER_00And ultimately it boils down to how much time do you want to to give to your Bible study?
SPEAKER_01Aaron Ross Powell Well, yes, absolutely. And and along those lines, you know, when when I mentioned earlier that if a person's got a question, I I'm not saying that they just can only ask, you know, Kevin or me or Jeremy or Jordan or Ty. Man, we've got some people in our church that are excellent students of the scriptures. You know, I I mean, I will name just a couple or three that, but I will leave out a bunch. I guarantee you, uh a Bobby Jackson, a Don Sutherland, a Jimmy Garrett, people like that in our church, they they would be delighted to answer a question for somebody here and there. So if if if you need help, just ask. If you need help, just ask. We will do our best to get you the help that you're looking for.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, and we hope all, you know, everybody in the Unity community, you know, wants to thirst after that righteousness and understanding.
SPEAKER_01And and the beauty of it is, man, um the ultimate teacher lives inside of all of us as believers. And man, when you when you do crave the truth and you really want to know the Lord better through his word, then the Holy Spirit, he's right there, ever present, ever ready and willing to help you understand his truth.
SPEAKER_00Well, Jeff, I just want to thank you so much for you know giving us your time as uh you know, that because that pulls you away from studying, you know, for Sunday mornings. So I appreciate that.
SPEAKER_01I'm delighted to do it.
SPEAKER_00And before you leave, let me just pray for you and um and then we'll sign off. Okay. Dearly Father, I just thank you so much for a your word that you give us that we can read through every day of our life, Lord, and um 24-7, and we can have that uh just etched into our heart. And that's what you want from us, and you know, that's what we should want to do. And so I just thank you for Jeff and his dedication to studying and understanding the scripture that he so faithfully gives to us on Sunday mornings. And I just ask that you continue to um work in his life, Lord, give them that understanding, and be able to explain that in such a way that we all can understand it. And I would pray for our members that we would just grow and not just learn in our knowledge, Lord, and our understanding, but grow in our thirst to want to know more about you, Lord, so it can impact our daily lives. And so with that said, I just thank you so much for all that you do for us, how you've blessed this church, how you've blessed uh the pastors and the the members and the lay people that do all that they do here. And so I just ask that you continue to work in our lives, Lord, as we work to serve you and be a light in this darkened world. In that name I pray, amen. Amen. Thank you, Tim. All right, thank you so much. And as always, as God is writing the story in your life, go and tell.
SPEAKER_01Thanks so much for listening to the Unity Community Podcast. If today's conversation encouraged you, we'd love for you to take one or more next steps. Join us this Sunday morning for worship at 9 or 10:30. Get connected to a life group and or find a place to serve. You can learn more about Unity and how to get plugged in by visiting the links in the show notes. So until next time, let's grow closer to the Lord as we grow closer one to another.