Many of us are accustomed to reading the Bible ‘backwards’ because we have jumped around enough in our reading to get some ideas of what is going on. Have you ever wondered what it would be like to ‘live’ in each of the sixty-six Books of the Bible without knowing the future beyond what each Book reveals? You now have that opportunity. All you have to learn to do is ‘ride the donkey sitting backwards’ like the old Chinese philosopher did in order to see where he came from. ‘Thinking through the Bible’ is an overview that is not like a typical Bible Survey.
Have you ever wondered where Bible Commentators came up with their comments about the Bible? It could be that if you were prepared to read the Bible as God’s Story to you, and do some serious thinking as the story develops in each Book of the Bible, you may discover things you never knew before.
Notes are available to guide you in reading God’s Story so that you remember not to think beyond where you are in the study. This way you can better appreciate how people lived at the time. The notes are not intended to do the ‘thinking’ for you, but merely to keep your attention on what life was like at that time. The notes are available in printed or electronic format. Phone us at 206-855-7809.
“The Bible is one book, and you cannot take it in texts and expect to comprehend the magnificence of divine revelation. You must see it in its completeness. God has taken pains to give a progressive revelation and we would take pains to read it from beginning to end. Don’t suppose reading little scraps can ever be compensation for doing deep and consecutive work on the Bible itself.” (Samuel Chadwick)
“Effective evangelism among unreached people groups needs to start with Genesis.” (Don Pederson)
‘Thinking through the Bible’ lessons on Sunday mornings will provide the opportunity for you to question your assumptions and theories – you can question your questions! While ‘thinking’, you discover that Scripture is more than just a record of the history and religion of people. Rather, it records God’s dealings with His people and with their culture, and is itself the fruit of that engagement. After all, the Bible is HIStory.
Speaking about the Bible without reading it leads to godless chatter. This Bible Overview is a challenge to you to read through the Bible Book by Book, and discover for yourself what it was like to know God during that time in HIStory. You will discover that God was there in each generation, revealing enough about Himself for a journey of faith. It was not necessary to know all about the future to trust in the God of the Bible at that time in HIStory.
“Having the New Testament without the Old is like having a sword without the handle.” (Doming Lucasi). Understanding the Bible as ‘One Book’ means moving beyond a focus solely on the last half of God’s Story, which is known as the New Testament. The Bible is a Book about God long before it is a Book about us, and its strongest relevance is to teach us His unchanging nature and His relation to us from the very beginning… In the beginning, God…
We are not the focus of the story, and we are not to read ourselves into each and every circumstance or experience. The Bible really is to be in the ‘driving seat,’ dictating the content of the message, its shape, and its contemporary application. This study teaches you to “Watch God at Work!”
Join us in becoming known as people of the Book.
