WEBVTT 00:00:04.480 --> 00:00:05.440 Alright. 00:00:05.679 --> 00:00:09.839 Now take your Bibles and open them up. 00:00:10.080 --> 00:00:13.439 And we're going to be in the Word this morning. 00:00:13.679 --> 00:00:15.119 As I said, my name's Russ. 00:00:15.199 --> 00:00:17.039 I'm one of the pastors here at Church of the Grove. 00:00:17.199 --> 00:00:18.320 Excited you are with us. 00:00:18.399 --> 00:00:26.160 And please bear with us as we uh as we deal with the fact that we're out of room. 00:00:26.320 --> 00:00:29.920 And I can tell you that we've got a remedy for that. 00:00:30.480 --> 00:00:31.920 We've got a remedy for that. 00:00:32.000 --> 00:00:36.240 And you see this field out here across from us. 00:00:36.719 --> 00:00:39.280 We're planning to hopefully break ground. 00:00:40.479 --> 00:00:46.640 I'm hoping by the end of March that we'll see some dirt moving out there. 00:00:46.880 --> 00:00:49.439 And we'll move forward with that. 00:00:54.640 --> 00:00:56.880 And I think y'all might have something to do with that as well. 00:00:57.039 --> 00:01:06.879 Y'all can pray and then you can give and and God can bless and we'll we'll see God continue to move in our church and to continue to reach people in our church. 00:01:06.959 --> 00:01:13.200 And so today we're we're in we're in the the final stages of our series called the Bible. 00:01:13.280 --> 00:01:24.400 And we're just looking at what God's word is all about, how we're to study God's word, how we're to dive in, how we're to rely on God's word, depend on God's word. 00:01:24.799 --> 00:01:28.319 And today we're looking at specifically how do we study God's word. 00:01:28.560 --> 00:01:30.000 How do we study God's word? 00:01:31.280 --> 00:01:34.560 Y'all may know that Jill and I have three kids. 00:01:34.879 --> 00:01:40.159 We've got a son named Josiah, we've got a daughter named Abigail, we've got a son named Caleb. 00:01:40.239 --> 00:01:52.959 And so our youngest son just recently moved out, and so he's the third and final uh butcher child to move out of the house, to spread his wings, to establish some independence. 00:01:53.040 --> 00:01:55.280 And so all three of my kids now live in Tennessee. 00:01:55.359 --> 00:01:56.799 I don't know how that happened. 00:01:56.959 --> 00:02:08.639 Um, but they're they're all in Tennessee now, and so so Caleb has been out for a few weeks or maybe a month and started a new job right outside of Nashville. 00:02:08.800 --> 00:02:16.000 And so, along with him leaving the house, it means the bedrooms beside the master bedroom, all of our bedrooms are empty. 00:02:16.240 --> 00:02:22.400 And so, so mom Jill, my wife Jill, she started this process of going in. 00:02:22.479 --> 00:02:27.120 So when the kids move out, does that mean that they clean up their bedrooms as they leave? 00:02:27.599 --> 00:02:34.080 Y'all, I see all the parents of uh that that are empty nesters now are shaking their head. 00:02:34.159 --> 00:02:35.360 They know, they know, no. 00:02:35.439 --> 00:03:05.840 They they leave and they leave everything kind of just the way it was that last week that they were living in the house, and so mom's been in the room going through uh all kinds of stuff, and she's discovered pictures and notes and letters, and and and one of the things that we kind of came across is is we've been going through a lot of that stuff, is the fact that she and I began our relationship writing letters and notes to one another. 00:03:06.080 --> 00:03:16.560 Now, a letter and a note is is is is a is a message that is transmitted via paper and pen. 00:03:19.039 --> 00:03:24.960 So paper and pen is is not the same as an electronic device. 00:03:25.120 --> 00:03:27.439 It actually takes a little more effort. 00:03:27.599 --> 00:03:32.639 It takes your giving of yourself and and writing an actual note. 00:03:32.719 --> 00:03:48.240 And so it's kind of emotional to go back and look, you know, we we started dating uh 93, 94, 1993, 94, got married in 95, and go back and look at those actual letters and notes. 00:03:48.400 --> 00:04:18.319 And I remember what it was like to get a love letter from my girlfriend or from my fiance, and it was so, I was so giddy with excitement when I would get that letter and to get that message because I knew that my my most significant other person on this planet is gonna share her heart and tell me how she feels about me with pen and paper. 00:04:18.480 --> 00:04:20.319 And she's gonna she's gonna send me a message. 00:04:20.399 --> 00:04:32.879 And I used to get so giddy with excitement because I knew that I'm about to get a message that reveals her heart and it reveals her love, it reveals her her care for me. 00:04:34.079 --> 00:04:43.759 She might even reveal how she how much she loves me, how she thinks about me, how she thinks I'm so big and strong and good looking. 00:04:46.240 --> 00:04:49.120 Yeah, yeah, I see looks on your faces. 00:04:49.279 --> 00:04:52.399 Um I was once big, strong, and good looking. 00:04:54.319 --> 00:05:03.439 But the point is, I when I got that note or I got that letter from her, man, I I didn't go sit it down and say I'll read it later. 00:05:03.839 --> 00:05:18.720 Man, I I I couldn't wait to get to a place where I could sit, open it up, and read it, and just cherish the word that my wife or my wife to be has written me. 00:05:19.600 --> 00:05:24.160 Man, a message of love, a message of hope, a message of uh of truth. 00:05:24.240 --> 00:06:16.319 And and and so as we talk about studying God's word, um, and I was thinking about this message, because we can talk about the mechanics, we can talk about the details, but it all comes back to the fact that the God of the universe, the creator of the universe, loves us so much that he has made sure that his love letter, his word, has been protected and guarded over time, that I could receive it and read it with anticipation, read it with excitement, read it with knowing that my creator is sending me a message that tells me how much he loves me, how important I am to him, and how he wants to save me through a relationship with his son Jesus. 00:06:16.480 --> 00:06:19.439 And so that's how I'm supposed to approach God's word. 00:06:20.639 --> 00:06:25.279 It's very similar to how I would approach a love letter from my wife. 00:06:25.439 --> 00:06:29.120 Now, we live in a day and age where we don't write notes as much anymore. 00:06:29.279 --> 00:06:51.839 We tend to text and we tend to communicate electronically, and we lose some of that magic of what it's like to get an envelope and actually touch it and hold it and to anticipate pulling out that letter and reading what God has said and what that important person wants to say to us and about us. 00:06:52.000 --> 00:06:54.160 And it's the same with God's word. 00:06:54.720 --> 00:06:56.240 God wants us to know his word. 00:06:56.399 --> 00:07:18.160 And it's and it's and yes, we can talk about the practical steps to study, how to study and understand it, but it all starts with a love for God and a love for his word, a true understanding that he loves us and he has protected and guarded and made sure that we had access to this incredible message. 00:07:18.800 --> 00:07:23.199 The message is pretty much summed up in one verse, right? 00:07:23.360 --> 00:07:25.040 I didn't grow up going to church. 00:07:25.199 --> 00:07:27.680 I didn't grow up with my family going to church every week. 00:07:27.759 --> 00:07:30.480 I would go to church with my grandmother occasionally. 00:07:30.720 --> 00:07:41.839 And so I remember sitting in church not having a clue what this man is talking about, but but knowing that this book that they're all reading and studying is probably pretty important. 00:07:42.399 --> 00:07:47.839 It's probably an important message that God wants to reveal to us. 00:07:48.160 --> 00:07:50.319 And so I remember going to church with my grandmother. 00:07:50.480 --> 00:07:58.720 I remember the other the other vivid memory I have about the Bible is growing up in a family where sports was so important. 00:07:59.199 --> 00:08:02.240 And sports was at the center of everything we did. 00:08:02.399 --> 00:08:11.759 And so when you watched a sporting event on the television, you would see an individual sitting in the end zone behind the goalpost. 00:08:11.920 --> 00:08:21.519 If you're watching a football game, and and this individual would be wearing this big multicolored wig, like a clown's wig. 00:08:21.759 --> 00:08:28.639 And that individual will be holding a sign up, and on that sign it would read what? 00:08:30.480 --> 00:08:32.720 John 3, 16. 00:08:33.200 --> 00:08:47.120 And so I didn't know I didn't know the Bible, I didn't know that verse, but but after watching sports and after going to church with my grandmother, I soon discovered that that verse was a pretty important verse in the Bible. 00:08:48.159 --> 00:08:49.679 And a lot of people quote this verse. 00:08:49.759 --> 00:08:52.159 I mean, it's just at the center of the gospel message. 00:08:52.399 --> 00:09:01.840 God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whoever would believe in him would not perish, but have everlasting life. 00:09:02.639 --> 00:09:05.440 And so I knew that that was an important message. 00:09:05.600 --> 00:09:14.080 I knew that that message came from a book that we refer to as the Bible, but I didn't know how to study the Bible. 00:09:14.159 --> 00:09:15.600 It was, it was, it was hard. 00:09:15.759 --> 00:09:30.080 It was a book that that was rather, and here's the word that we often, probably many of us even today, would would bear witness with, the book called the Bible was intimidating. 00:09:30.480 --> 00:09:32.320 It was intimidating. 00:09:32.559 --> 00:10:03.200 Especially if you start at the beginning in Genesis and you start reading and you get to Exodus, man, there's some exciting stories, some fun stories to read, but when you get to maybe that third book, Leviticus, and you can get bogged down not knowing the genre, not understanding the teaching, not understanding the law, and you can get lost in some of that detailed writing. 00:10:03.440 --> 00:10:05.679 And so I remember trying to read the Bible. 00:10:05.840 --> 00:10:07.600 Many of us have tried to read the Bible. 00:10:07.759 --> 00:10:13.840 I I talk to people all the time that said, I hey Russ, have you ever read the Bible all the way through from beginning to end? 00:10:14.080 --> 00:10:22.799 And they, you know, and I would say, yes, I have, but but I they said, I've tried to do it, but I can't, I can't get past the beginning, those first few books. 00:10:22.879 --> 00:10:23.440 I just can't. 00:10:23.519 --> 00:10:28.000 It gets confusing, it gets it gets weighty, and it's intimidating. 00:10:28.159 --> 00:10:30.639 There's that word again, it's intimidating. 00:10:30.879 --> 00:10:39.840 And I and I've told those people, and I'll tell you, you should read the Bible, you should have a method of studying the Bible. 00:10:39.919 --> 00:10:43.200 And let me encourage you, don't start at the beginning. 00:10:43.279 --> 00:10:44.720 Don't start at Genesis. 00:10:44.799 --> 00:10:51.120 I always tell people go to the New Testament, start in the Gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. 00:10:51.279 --> 00:10:55.360 These are the biographical accounts of Jesus' life. 00:10:55.440 --> 00:10:57.679 This is the best place for you to start. 00:10:57.759 --> 00:10:58.639 It's the best place. 00:10:58.720 --> 00:11:09.360 Just study and read sections at a time and read them over and over and just fall in love with the stories about Jesus. 00:11:10.080 --> 00:11:18.000 And so that's the key, that's the key thing that I've tried to emphasize with people when it comes to learning how to study the Bible. 00:11:18.159 --> 00:11:19.519 And so let's dive in right here. 00:11:19.600 --> 00:11:20.559 Matthew 4, 4. 00:11:20.639 --> 00:11:21.279 Let me pray for us. 00:11:21.360 --> 00:11:26.559 Let me pray for us as we actually open up scripture and look at how to study. 00:11:26.720 --> 00:11:32.480 Father, thank you for just the salvation that comes through our relationship with Jesus. 00:11:32.639 --> 00:11:38.000 Thank you for the word that communicates this salvation to us. 00:11:38.159 --> 00:11:53.519 And through uh hearing the word, God, I pray that the Holy Spirit will do a work in us and give us a hunger to be made right with Jesus, but also a hunger to know more and more about the Lord through his word. 00:11:53.759 --> 00:12:00.399 Help us to learn how to study and then to discipline ourselves to make this a part of our daily life. 00:12:01.039 --> 00:12:02.639 It's in Christ's name we pray. 00:12:02.720 --> 00:12:04.159 And everybody said together. 00:12:04.720 --> 00:12:15.679 Alright, so I want to I want to give you some tools today that kind of help you begin your journey of learning how to study scripture and and to dive in. 00:12:15.759 --> 00:12:26.080 When Jesus was tempted by the devil, Jesus, um before he began his public ministry, he goes out into the desert for 40 days to fast and pray. 00:12:26.399 --> 00:12:32.879 And while he is being tempted by the devil, he says this back to Satan. 00:12:33.039 --> 00:12:34.960 He uses scripture as a weapon. 00:12:35.200 --> 00:12:36.399 Jonah referred to this. 00:12:36.559 --> 00:12:38.639 We talked about it earlier in this series. 00:12:38.960 --> 00:12:40.159 Matthew 4, 4. 00:12:40.240 --> 00:12:52.000 But Jesus told him, No, no, the scriptures say people do not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God. 00:12:52.399 --> 00:12:55.360 And so you underline circle that word bread. 00:12:55.519 --> 00:13:01.840 The word of God is like bread for us that sustains us and gives us life. 00:13:02.639 --> 00:13:04.960 Looking at John 6, 35. 00:13:05.200 --> 00:13:10.720 John 6, 35, it says, Jesus replied, I am the bread of life. 00:13:10.879 --> 00:13:12.799 So Jesus himself is the bread of life. 00:13:12.960 --> 00:13:15.759 Whoever comes to me will never be hungry again. 00:13:16.000 --> 00:13:21.200 Whoever believes in me, whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. 00:13:21.440 --> 00:13:28.320 And then I want to look at a verse from the prophet Jeremiah in the Old Testament that says this, Jeremiah 15, 16. 00:13:28.559 --> 00:13:32.320 When I discovered your words, I devoured them. 00:13:32.960 --> 00:13:34.240 I devoured them. 00:13:34.399 --> 00:13:36.639 They are my joy and my heart's delight. 00:13:36.720 --> 00:13:37.360 I love that. 00:13:37.519 --> 00:13:38.159 Devoured. 00:13:38.480 --> 00:13:39.440 I devoured them. 00:13:39.840 --> 00:13:46.720 Have you ever been so hungry that somebody put a meal in front of you and you devoured that meal? 00:13:46.960 --> 00:13:51.120 Um that's watching our kids eat sometimes. 00:13:52.080 --> 00:13:55.360 They devour the food that we prepare for them. 00:13:55.519 --> 00:14:04.080 And so there's this theme in the Word of God, in Scripture, in the Bible, where we understand that God's word is sustenance. 00:14:04.240 --> 00:14:06.000 God's word provides for us. 00:14:06.159 --> 00:14:07.759 God's word sustains us. 00:14:07.840 --> 00:14:11.840 It is the bread that gives us life. 00:14:12.320 --> 00:14:23.120 And so using that theme, I want to use that word bread as an acrostic to give you some practical tools for how to study the word. 00:14:23.360 --> 00:14:27.840 And so here's the acronym, and I'm just going to walk through that word bread. 00:14:28.000 --> 00:14:28.320 B. 00:14:28.639 --> 00:14:31.759 B stands for begin with prayer. 00:14:32.159 --> 00:14:33.360 Begin with prayer. 00:14:34.159 --> 00:14:37.200 Always approach God's word with prayer. 00:14:37.759 --> 00:14:56.720 On a daily basis, as you read through Scripture, the most important thing you can do is to stop before you open God's word and you begin to read and to say, God, I don't take lightly that you have given me this word as a gift. 00:14:57.120 --> 00:14:59.919 And I pray that you would speak to me through it. 00:15:00.240 --> 00:15:02.080 God, give me a word. 00:15:02.399 --> 00:15:03.200 Give me hope. 00:15:03.360 --> 00:15:04.080 Give me life. 00:15:04.240 --> 00:15:05.759 God, speak to me. 00:15:06.080 --> 00:15:10.480 Bring yourself through your word to touch my life. 00:15:10.720 --> 00:15:11.919 So we begin with prayer. 00:15:12.080 --> 00:15:13.279 God, speak to me. 00:15:13.600 --> 00:15:14.320 Speak to me. 00:15:14.480 --> 00:15:20.879 This is, this is, listen, when I open this, this is not a stale, boring document. 00:15:21.360 --> 00:15:25.200 This isn't the rules and regulations for your religious life. 00:15:25.519 --> 00:15:35.919 This is the living word of God, a love letter that is given to you to introduce you to your heavenly Father. 00:15:36.159 --> 00:15:38.480 And he gives us directions through his word. 00:15:38.799 --> 00:15:42.159 You get to know me through knowing my son Jesus. 00:15:42.480 --> 00:15:57.519 And so at the center of the message in the Bible is that God is calling us into relationship with him, calling us to a place of repentance, calling us to a place where we can have this ongoing relationship with him. 00:15:57.840 --> 00:16:11.519 And part of our prayer when we read Scripture is, God, I pray for your Holy Spirit to dwell in me and to bring to light what you want me to know as I read today. 00:16:12.240 --> 00:16:26.559 Hebrews 4, 12 says, the word of God is living and active like a sharper than a two-edged sword, dividing between the bone and the marrow, and discerning between what is right and what is wrong in our life. 00:16:26.720 --> 00:16:29.120 And so God's word is living. 00:16:29.440 --> 00:16:37.840 John 14, 26, Jesus said this, but when the Father sends the advocate as my representative, he's talking about the Holy Spirit, that is the Holy Spirit. 00:16:38.080 --> 00:16:43.039 He will teach you everything and will remind you of everything I have told you. 00:16:44.159 --> 00:16:49.919 And so when we when we come to the Lord in prayer, I can't give you a specific prayer. 00:16:50.000 --> 00:16:59.360 There's not something I want you to repeat, but it's just you coming and say honestly, Lord, as I read your word today, open my eyes to understand your truth. 00:16:59.600 --> 00:17:06.480 Give me a greater revelation of who you are and what you've done on my behalf and how you want me to live moving forward. 00:17:06.720 --> 00:17:14.720 Help me not just to learn about information or retrieve information, but let me be transformed by what you show me today. 00:17:14.960 --> 00:17:16.559 Something like that. 00:17:17.039 --> 00:17:19.680 Where you just you you begin with prayer. 00:17:19.839 --> 00:17:22.559 And then R stands for read the passage. 00:17:22.880 --> 00:17:23.920 Read the passage. 00:17:24.079 --> 00:17:29.680 Now studying the Bible is different than just having a devotional. 00:17:30.640 --> 00:17:32.000 Like a devotional book. 00:17:32.079 --> 00:17:42.480 So I love, I love one of the devotionals that I go back to over and over is called Experiencing God by Henry Blackaby. 00:17:42.720 --> 00:17:47.440 And it's a devotional I go back, but it's not, it's not, I don't read through a passage. 00:17:47.759 --> 00:17:56.400 I get a verse or two, and then he he shares what what is out of his heart and in into the devotional book. 00:17:56.480 --> 00:18:02.640 So I'm hearing what Henry Blackaby has received from the Lord through his study. 00:18:02.799 --> 00:18:10.559 But but what's different with studying the Bible from reading a devotional is you study the Bible for yourself. 00:18:11.359 --> 00:18:13.200 You study the Bible for yourself. 00:18:13.279 --> 00:18:17.680 And I'm gonna talk about some tools and stuff, but read the passage. 00:18:18.160 --> 00:18:19.599 Read the passage. 00:18:20.160 --> 00:18:21.119 Read the passage. 00:18:21.279 --> 00:18:32.079 I don't have time to do this today, but but if I had time, and maybe we'll come back and do this again, but I if I had time, I would love to take a passage and walk through it. 00:18:32.720 --> 00:18:49.279 And we may not have time to do that today, but but I've one of the books that I've and and passages that that means so much to me that I've come across recently, back across, is Ephesians chapter 2, verses 1 through 10, one of my favorite passages in Scripture. 00:18:49.519 --> 00:19:09.519 And it's a letter that the Apostle Paul wrote to the new church at Ephesus, and he describes to them what their life was like before Jesus, how they came to know Jesus, and now as a result of knowing Jesus, how their life is to be transformed. 00:19:10.240 --> 00:19:14.720 And and and so and so you read that those ten verses. 00:19:14.880 --> 00:19:16.240 That's the passage. 00:19:16.480 --> 00:19:21.680 You read the passage and you stop, and you might you might pray and then read it again. 00:19:21.839 --> 00:19:24.160 Read it, read it a couple times. 00:19:24.480 --> 00:19:28.000 And now I I I'm giving you permission to write in your Bible. 00:19:28.480 --> 00:19:34.720 I'm giving you permission to write in your Bible, and I've I've I've pulled up Ephesians 2 there in my Bible. 00:19:34.880 --> 00:19:51.359 You may not be able to see it from here, but but and I wish I had taken a picture maybe and put it up on the screen, but you can see where I've I've I've got words underlined, circled, I've got stars, I've got little little notations to myself to remind me of things. 00:19:51.599 --> 00:20:00.559 And and I I begin to write, I begin to underline and I begin to circle important words or phrases that just pop out to me. 00:20:01.519 --> 00:20:07.519 And and so that's reading the passage, beginning to read the passage, beginning to understand it. 00:20:07.680 --> 00:20:12.880 And then the E is this explore the meaning. 00:20:13.119 --> 00:20:14.160 Explore the meaning. 00:20:14.319 --> 00:20:19.279 You encounter the Lord in the passage and you explore the meaning. 00:20:19.440 --> 00:20:24.079 The Bible was written for you, but it wasn't necessarily written to you. 00:20:24.720 --> 00:20:29.440 The Bible was written for you, but it wasn't necessarily written to you. 00:20:30.319 --> 00:20:40.160 It's written to a particular group of people in a particular time in history in a particular location on this planet. 00:20:40.720 --> 00:20:43.759 And so you have to dig a little bit. 00:20:43.839 --> 00:20:51.039 You have to ask them exploratory questions as you read the passage and read it again. 00:20:51.359 --> 00:20:56.160 Who is the author that has written this letter? 00:20:56.559 --> 00:21:00.640 Who wrote the letter to the church at Ephesus? 00:21:00.799 --> 00:21:01.359 Who wrote it? 00:21:01.680 --> 00:21:03.680 I've already kind of given you that answer. 00:21:04.240 --> 00:21:05.039 What's his name? 00:21:05.200 --> 00:21:06.400 The Apostle Paul. 00:21:06.559 --> 00:21:09.279 You know these, you need to know these details. 00:21:09.519 --> 00:21:11.440 These are important facts. 00:21:11.680 --> 00:21:12.319 Who wrote it? 00:21:12.480 --> 00:21:13.680 The Apostle Paul wrote it. 00:21:13.759 --> 00:21:14.640 Who's he writing to? 00:21:14.720 --> 00:21:16.160 The church at Ephesus. 00:21:16.480 --> 00:21:18.480 What has just happened? 00:21:18.799 --> 00:21:20.160 What has just happened? 00:21:20.240 --> 00:21:23.359 So, so so there's a church that's been planted there. 00:21:23.519 --> 00:21:28.079 The church is encountering the difficult culture. 00:21:29.119 --> 00:21:39.440 Ephesus is a metropolitan area, lots of business, lots of lots of sin, lots of um bad behavior. 00:21:39.680 --> 00:21:50.000 And so Paul is writing to the church regarding how do you hold on to your faith in the midst of living in a worldly culture? 00:21:50.799 --> 00:21:53.839 What does this passage tell us about God? 00:21:54.559 --> 00:21:59.519 What does this particular passage say about the character of God, who God is, what God has done? 00:22:00.240 --> 00:22:04.000 What he is promising for us, what he will do in the future. 00:22:04.240 --> 00:22:07.440 What does this passage tell us about humanity? 00:22:07.680 --> 00:22:14.240 What does it tell us about who we are as people living on this planet called Earth? 00:22:14.720 --> 00:22:22.000 How does this passage fit into the entirety and into the narrative of Scripture? 00:22:22.319 --> 00:22:23.279 You see it? 00:22:24.160 --> 00:22:28.240 And so we encounter and we explore the meaning. 00:22:28.720 --> 00:22:31.200 And this is where you need some tools. 00:22:31.279 --> 00:22:33.200 You need a few tools that are important. 00:22:34.319 --> 00:22:40.720 One of the most important tools you can have in studying the Bible is a good study Bible. 00:22:41.279 --> 00:22:47.200 A Bible that has the text in it, but also has some study notes that are solid. 00:22:47.920 --> 00:23:04.720 And so I have on my night table at home, I've got the ESV study Bible sitting there right by my chair and right where I sit on a regular basis. 00:23:04.880 --> 00:23:06.799 And it's a go-to study Bible. 00:23:06.880 --> 00:23:13.279 As I'm reading, as I'm reading and studying just for my own walk with Jesus, not to prepare a sermon. 00:23:13.759 --> 00:23:16.559 That's the study Bible that I use most often. 00:23:17.039 --> 00:23:21.920 I have another study Bible that was given to me this past year by Lynn and Joanne Martin. 00:23:22.000 --> 00:23:23.200 They're a couple in our church. 00:23:23.920 --> 00:23:30.960 I think Lynn is about 94 years old, and Joanne's 89 or 90 years old. 00:23:32.319 --> 00:23:34.640 And they were a part of Summit Baptist Church. 00:23:34.720 --> 00:23:36.640 My brother was their pastor for years. 00:23:36.799 --> 00:23:40.319 And so they are kind of in the twilight stages of their life. 00:23:40.480 --> 00:23:40.880 They know. 00:23:40.960 --> 00:23:45.680 They know that the time is coming where they'll be reunited with the Lord. 00:23:45.839 --> 00:23:49.039 And so they're starting to clean out and give away stuff. 00:23:49.119 --> 00:23:56.480 And so I was over there with, I think, with David and Pat, and they they I don't know why they didn't want to give David or Pat the study Bible. 00:23:56.559 --> 00:23:58.000 They wanted to give it to me. 00:23:58.240 --> 00:24:01.359 Because Pat and David don't don't don't study the Bible, I guess. 00:24:01.519 --> 00:24:02.799 No, I'm kidding. 00:24:03.359 --> 00:24:04.079 I'm kidding. 00:24:04.160 --> 00:24:08.640 They they they probably study it uh a lot better than I do. 00:24:09.039 --> 00:24:12.400 But but so but Joanne says, I want you to have this. 00:24:12.640 --> 00:24:13.680 And it is special. 00:24:13.839 --> 00:24:14.880 You know why it's special? 00:24:15.039 --> 00:24:16.799 Because it's large print. 00:24:19.279 --> 00:24:28.799 And so when they started handing me the Bible, I'm like, you know, I I have a Bible, study Bible similar to this, and all of a sudden I saw the large print, and I'm like, thank you, I'll take it. 00:24:29.440 --> 00:24:32.559 And and so that's that's just where I am in life right now. 00:24:32.640 --> 00:24:38.400 You know, you need a good study Bible, it needs to be in large print if you're over 20 years old. 00:24:38.640 --> 00:24:46.880 And so their study Bible is called the NIV study Bible. 00:24:47.039 --> 00:24:51.759 ESV, NIV, those are probably two of the two of my favorites. 00:24:51.920 --> 00:25:00.400 There's so many different study Bibles for all types of groups, all types of situations, and and and but find you something that's good. 00:25:00.480 --> 00:25:18.400 And listen, if you're not sure about the theological notes, the theological foundation that's found, then you ask somebody in your life, like a pastor or or or a Bible study leader that would that can affirm, hey, this is a great study Bible for you to have. 00:25:19.039 --> 00:25:26.000 And so you need a study Bible, uh, maybe maybe a a good uh commentary or a dictionary. 00:25:26.559 --> 00:25:27.359 And let me go back. 00:25:27.440 --> 00:25:29.839 These are a couple of things that we've already mentioned. 00:25:30.000 --> 00:25:36.480 I mentioned a couple of weeks ago that this tool that's online called the Bible Project, Bible Project.com. 00:25:36.640 --> 00:25:46.160 And a lot of people don't know about the Bible Project, but it's a it's a group of scholars, younger scholars, that have now merged technology and the Bible. 00:25:46.319 --> 00:26:04.240 And so you can go online, you can go, there's an app, you can have on your phone or a tablet, and you've got at your fingertips a just incredible resource of study notes, and they're all they're all produced with videos. 00:26:04.720 --> 00:26:06.079 So I love I love it. 00:26:06.319 --> 00:26:26.559 So it's it's something that grabs the attention of kids and children all ages, but it's got the theological depth to give you as an adult some great foundational um uh theological uh you know more to hold on to and anchor yourself to. 00:26:26.720 --> 00:26:32.319 Um and enduring word commentary is is is David Guzik is online. 00:26:32.559 --> 00:26:38.000 If you looked up his name, there's another another study Bible called the Blue Letter Bible that is online. 00:26:38.400 --> 00:26:45.119 And I know this is gonna sound crazy, um, but there's a fairly new resource called Chat GPT. 00:26:46.160 --> 00:26:53.279 And listen, I I'm hesitant to give that as a resource to people because you have to fact-check. 00:26:53.440 --> 00:27:14.880 You can't go uh studying something like Chat GPT, which which gives you a lot of information, and and a lot of that information is actually good information, but because you can't have study notes that come with it, you've got to be careful because Chat GPT is not a it their purpose is not to help you study the Bible. 00:27:15.119 --> 00:27:31.039 You know, they want you searching information on their site, and so but I'm telling you that it can be a good resource to answer some questions, but always always back that up with making sure that you're talking to the right people and the right resources. 00:27:31.119 --> 00:27:33.119 And then A is apply. 00:27:33.440 --> 00:27:34.640 A is apply. 00:27:34.799 --> 00:27:38.079 So E is for exploring the text, exploring the passage. 00:27:38.319 --> 00:27:39.279 A is apply. 00:27:39.359 --> 00:27:39.920 What does that mean? 00:27:40.000 --> 00:27:42.319 It means you apply what you're learning. 00:27:42.559 --> 00:27:49.839 You apply what you're hearing God speak to you, and you are applying that in your life. 00:27:50.079 --> 00:27:59.839 See, God's goal is not just to save us, but he wants to equip us to be used in his mission. 00:28:00.079 --> 00:28:02.480 He wants us to share our faith with other people. 00:28:02.640 --> 00:28:07.039 He wants us to be able to minister and pray with and for other people. 00:28:07.279 --> 00:28:16.319 And so we've got to ask the Lord, help me apply this truth from your word to my life and becoming more like Jesus. 00:28:16.880 --> 00:28:20.079 Matthew 7, 24 through 27 says this. 00:28:20.400 --> 00:28:26.640 Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock. 00:28:26.880 --> 00:28:35.680 Though the rain comes in torrents and floodwaters rise and the winds beat against that house, it won't collapse because it is built on bedrock. 00:28:35.839 --> 00:28:39.680 But anyone who hears my teaching and doesn't obey it is foolish. 00:28:39.839 --> 00:28:42.720 Like a person who builds a house on the sand. 00:28:42.960 --> 00:28:49.200 When the rains and floods come and the winds beat against that house, it will collapse with a mighty crash. 00:28:50.559 --> 00:29:01.359 And so the implication here is that is that we wouldn't just listen to the word, but we would build our life on the word and how to apply the word is key. 00:29:01.519 --> 00:29:07.759 Part of our prayer should be, God, as I read your word, would you direct me in how I can live this out? 00:29:08.000 --> 00:29:10.240 How I can be more like Jesus. 00:29:10.480 --> 00:29:15.039 And then finally, the last letter of this word bread is the letter D. 00:29:15.279 --> 00:29:17.279 And that D stands for devote. 00:29:17.359 --> 00:29:20.400 It means to devote your life to the Lord. 00:29:20.640 --> 00:29:22.160 Devote yourself to the Lord. 00:29:22.319 --> 00:29:24.400 Continue to devote yourself to prayer. 00:29:24.640 --> 00:29:27.920 Continue to devote yourself to the studying of Scripture. 00:29:28.160 --> 00:29:35.039 Um, one of the things I've done fairly regularly in my journey with Jesus is journal. 00:29:35.200 --> 00:29:40.480 And so I don't I don't do it every day, but and there's seasons where I'm more consistent. 00:29:40.720 --> 00:29:48.160 But it it allows me to flesh out and to think through and to process what I believe God is saying to me. 00:29:48.480 --> 00:30:04.720 And it allows me to go back in in future years and look back at how God spoke to me, how I adjusted my life, and and how I lived my life more devoted to Him. 00:30:05.519 --> 00:30:13.200 And so that letter D means live devoted, live live your life, giving your life to Jesus. 00:30:13.440 --> 00:30:15.359 Live your life on mission with him. 00:30:15.599 --> 00:30:25.279 Understand that his word is given to me to give me new life through Jesus, but also to give me direction for how to live my life. 00:30:25.440 --> 00:30:38.880 And so I'm gonna continue to study, I'm gonna continue to read, I'm gonna meditate, I'm gonna memorize, and I'm gonna do God's will based on how he reveals his will through studying his word. 00:30:39.119 --> 00:30:40.559 Remember what Jeremiah said? 00:30:40.799 --> 00:30:44.400 Let me finish with this verse that we kind of began with. 00:30:44.720 --> 00:30:46.319 Jeremiah 15, 16. 00:30:46.480 --> 00:30:51.200 When I discovered your words, it says, I devoured them. 00:30:51.759 --> 00:30:53.039 I devoured them. 00:30:53.200 --> 00:30:56.319 They are my joy and my heart's delight. 00:30:56.559 --> 00:31:09.599 That means you don't go home and just take this book and throw it, throw it on a table, throw it on a in your car, in the floorboard, throw it on a seat, whether it's at home or in your car. 00:31:09.759 --> 00:31:15.039 You take this and you make sure that you open it up on a daily basis. 00:31:15.440 --> 00:31:30.640 And as you open it up, just like you devoured the love letters that your spouse or your wife, depending on what stage of life you're in, if you're in a stage of life like me, you can look back to some of those letters that were written. 00:31:30.880 --> 00:31:32.160 And you devoured them. 00:31:32.240 --> 00:31:37.759 And they meant they they they they helped build into your relationship. 00:31:38.160 --> 00:31:40.000 And so that's what God's called us to. 00:31:40.079 --> 00:31:42.079 That's what He's given us in His Word. 00:31:42.240 --> 00:31:52.400 He's given us a gift to communicate who He is and what He came to do and to give us direction in our life for moving forward. 00:31:52.799 --> 00:32:08.799 So here's what I want to do to finish this morning is I want you to, I want you to take your Bible, whether it's a leather paper edition or whether it's electronic, pull out, pull out your Bible, and I want you to go to a passage. 00:32:09.039 --> 00:32:10.480 I want you to pick a passage. 00:32:10.559 --> 00:32:13.920 And if you don't have one, Ephesians 2, 1 through 10. 00:32:14.079 --> 00:32:17.680 Ephesians 2, 1 through 10 is what I want you to read. 00:32:18.160 --> 00:32:19.920 Ephesians 2, 1 through 10. 00:32:20.000 --> 00:32:28.480 But if you if you have a passage you've been reading, or if the Lord has put a passage on your heart, here's what I want you to do. 00:32:28.559 --> 00:32:34.000 In a minute, I'm gonna pray and I'm gonna say amen, and I'm gonna give you a few minutes. 00:32:34.160 --> 00:32:49.599 We're kind of finishing just a tad earlier than normal to give you a few minutes, three to five minutes, to read through that passage as our team plays, and and and you can recreate this moment at home. 00:32:49.759 --> 00:32:54.160 You can turn on some worship music. 00:32:54.559 --> 00:33:09.839 And as you read through a passage and as you pray and ask the Lord to guide you and to speak to you, um you you you kind of read through that and you can listen to that worship music and you kind of be sensitive to how the Holy Spirit leads you and guides you. 00:33:09.920 --> 00:33:13.680 But Jeremiah says this, he said, When I discovered your words, I devoured them. 00:33:14.000 --> 00:33:15.519 Do you want to devour God's word? 00:33:16.079 --> 00:33:17.680 Are you hungry for God's word? 00:33:18.720 --> 00:33:21.119 Maybe the prayer, your prayer starts with that. 00:33:21.359 --> 00:33:25.279 God, give me a hunger for your word. 00:33:26.160 --> 00:33:28.160 Give me a hunger for your word. 00:33:29.680 --> 00:33:32.480 And if you don't know where to start, start in the Gospels. 00:33:32.640 --> 00:33:36.799 Start in the Gospel of Matthew, Mark, Luke, or John. 00:33:37.759 --> 00:33:40.799 Start with those biographical stories of Jesus. 00:33:42.079 --> 00:33:48.640 So I'm gonna ask you to sit there and just read through that passage, prayerfully asking the Lord to speak to you. 00:33:49.680 --> 00:34:03.359 And then as you read through the passage, be sensitive to a particular word or phrase or command or direction that jumps out at you. 00:34:04.240 --> 00:34:12.639 And let's take about three or five minutes, and then and then one of our leaders will come back up here and pray for us and dismiss us. 00:34:14.400 --> 00:34:19.440 And then make this a habit, make this a regular part of your daily life. 00:34:19.679 --> 00:34:23.039 Father, we thank you for Jesus. 00:34:23.199 --> 00:34:26.800 We thank you for the hope that we have in our Savior. 00:34:27.280 --> 00:34:35.679 I pray that you would lead us and guide us through this time that we pull out a little passage and we read it. 00:34:35.920 --> 00:34:37.360 God, would you speak to us? 00:34:37.519 --> 00:34:38.880 Would you challenge us? 00:34:39.199 --> 00:34:51.840 Would you help us to learn and to grow and uh and uh to to become more like Jesus in all we do, all we say, who we are. 00:34:52.079 --> 00:34:53.599 Father, we love you. 00:34:53.840 --> 00:34:59.760 I pray for that person that's here this morning that their first step is to put their faith in Jesus. 00:35:00.000 --> 00:35:04.719 Say yes to Jesus and repent and believe in the good news. 00:35:05.039 --> 00:35:13.599 Lord, we thank you for the testimony of Primrose this morning and watching her uh dad and brother baptize her. 00:35:13.760 --> 00:35:16.239 Lord, I pray that you would just continue to work in her life. 00:35:16.400 --> 00:35:30.000 Let that be an example for all of us and how we we take tangible steps through repentance, through belief, through baptism, and through studying your word continually. 00:35:30.480 --> 00:35:35.039 Father, I pray you give us a hunger to devour your word. 00:35:35.679 --> 00:35:36.559 God, we thank you. 00:35:36.639 --> 00:35:38.639 It's in Jesus' name we pray. 00:35:38.960 --> 00:35:40.559 And everybody sit together. 00:35:40.880 --> 00:35:48.400 Hey, take about three to five minutes and just read through that passage a few times and listen to how the Holy Spirit might guide you.