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Episode 5: Read Some Bible Stories With Us! In the last episode, we walked through things to keep in mind as we read Bible stories. This time, we’ll each demonstrate those things as we each walk through a Bible story we’ve studied recently. Here are the questions we’ll be asking each other: How does the author set up and develop the story?Does the climax or ending shed any light?Are there any moral lessons?What does it teach us about God/Jesus?How does it connect to the story of Genesis?Where is this story in the big story?So what is this story teaching you about Jesus’ glory and walking in Jesus ways? Free Bookmarks! Ever heard this stuff and thought “I wish I had a list like this I could keep in my Bible!”? Well, we packed the concepts from the last few episodes into a set of bookmarks you can put in your Bible and refer to whenever you’re reading it. https://shepherdingandsong.files.wordpress.com/2019/02/bookmark.pdf Episode 6Download BookmarkDownload

Episode 4: How to Read Bible Stories The Bible is full of true stories: There are more stories in the Bible than anything else, so we can’t read the Bible well without reading stories well.  We’re calling them stories, but they’re true!Some say “narratives” instead because “stories” implies fictional bedtime stories (Fee & Stuart, 78-79). There are some fictional stories in the Bible, but the author makes it clear that they’re fictional Dave: Like a good movie saga, there are three stories going on at onceExamples: Star Wars, Marvel Movies, Harry Potter Movies The Story of the whole Bible (The Gospel, God creating worshipers of Jesus in a new creation)Andrew: Revelation of Jesus’ glory and Jesus’ waysAndrew: Know where you are in the big storyDave: Major points in the big story:Creation, Fall, and Initial PromiseGod promises Abraham: many descendants made into a nation and given a certain land (today’s Israel), one of his descendants would be a blessing to the whole earth God promises Moses & Israel: I have brought you out of slavery, I am your God, by my people and live this way, and I will bless you. Worship other gods and disobey me, and I will curse and scatter you. God promises David: one of David’s sons would reign foreverDivided Kingdom: they didn’t keep God’s law, and the kingdom broke in twoExile: the kept breaking the  Law and worshiping idols, so they eventually got taken away to Babylon. 70 years later they are allowed to come back, but it’s not the same. Jesus comes: fulfills all the promisesJesus leaves: church age begins, with the commission that Jesus’ church make disciples of all nationsReturn: he will come back and set up his final rule on earthJesus Storybook Bible and According to PlanAndrew: The Story of the Biblical book Dave: Most books have a storyline to them, so pay attention to the story of that book.  Most people pick up on that stuff if they read the whole book. So read the story of that books and pay attention.  Andrew: Look for thematic statements book the story is in. (Plummer, 194; Doriani, 37) Dave: Example: Acts 1:8, you will receive power . . . (Plummer, 194)Andrew: Judges 17:6 and 21:25, “everyone did what was right . . .” shed a lot of light on all the terrible stories in that section.  (Doriani, 37)Dave: Another example: Matt 4:18 “from that time Jesus began to preach, saying “repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” The Story Dave: How Stories Work: The setup and emphasis tell you the storyteller’s primary area of interest. (Wiarda, 61)Ex: Ezra 7: Three times it says that God’s hand was upon Ezra. Once you know to look for that, you see it all over the story. The setup beforehand also helps us understand why God’s hand was on Ezra. the climax and final comment usually present the main point (Doriani, 65)Ex: Luke 7:11-17. what’s the point? Luke records the people commenting on Jesus as a mighty prophet. (Doriani, 69)Ex: Ruth, Esther, Joseph, Samson, David’s pre-coronation yearsPay attention to the setting and the characters.Stories are supposed to fill our imagination, so imagine the setting and the characters. Look for repeated words or phrasesThey didn’t have bold or italics, so they emphasized with repetition. (Doriani, 37; Plummer 194)So much of this comes down to reading it like you would any other story: looking for the plot, imagining it happening, and wondering what will happen next. It’s not a boring book; don’t read it like it’s a boring book! Look for a moral lesson: Stories don’t just give moral examples, but they do give moral examples (Vickers, Narratives)1 Corinthians 10:11 “Now these things happened to them as an example, but they were written down for our instruction, on whom the end of the ages has come.”Sometimes the author clues you on who the good and bad guys are (Plummer, 194)Ex: Noah, Genesis 6. The story starts by telling us he’s righteous and walked with God, so we know he’s the good guy. But the point of the story is connected with the big picture. God promised that a descendent of Eve would crush Satan, which could not have happened if every human were wiped out in the flood.  Andrew: Watch for the one consistent character: God.  Bibliography Doriani, Daniel M. Getting the Message: A Plan for Interpreting and Applying the Bible. Phillipsburg, NJ: P & R, 1996. Fee, Gordon D., and Douglas K. Stuart. How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth: A Guide to Understanding the Bible. 2nd ed. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1993. Goldsworthy, Graeme. According to Plan: The Unfolding Revelation of God in the Bible. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2002. Lloyd-Jones, Sally. The Jesus Storybook Bible: Every Story Whispers His Name. Grand Rapids: Zonderkidz, 2007. Pennington, Jonathan T. Reading the Gospels Wisely: A Narrative and Theological Introduction. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2012. Plummer, Robert L. 40 Questions About Interpreting the Bible. 40 Questions Series. Grand Rapids: Kregel, 2010. Strauss, Mark L. Four Portraits, One Jesus: A Survey of Jesus and the Gospels. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2007. Vickers, Brian. Hermenutics. Lectures. Louisville, KY: The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary Wiarda, Timothy. Interpreting Gospel Narratives: Scenes, People, and Theology. Nashville: B&H Academic, 2010.

Episode 3: Why Did God Write the Bible? The subject of the Bible is a Person named Jesus The Message of the OT is “Yahweh is Lord:” the message of the NT is “Jesus is Lord” (Frame 16)  You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life. (John 5:39–40) The point of the Bible is for us to worship Jesus “Our ultimate goal in reading the Bible is that God’s infinite worth and beauty would be exalted in the everlasting, white-hot worship of the blood-bought bride of Christ from every people, language, tribe, and nation.” (Piper, 41) So read looking for Jesus’ glory and Jesus’ ways. Jesus is the subject; Worshippers from every tribe, tongue, and nation is the goal. The biblical phrase for trembling before God’s glory and walking in his ways is the “Fear of the Lord.” God is working this purpose through the human author’s intention, so we need to find the human author’s intention Ephesians 4: Paul wanted us to work together with our different gifts. That is part of revealing Jesus’ nature and ways, and part of making a people of every tribe tongue and nation who worship him 2 Sam 23: David wants those in authority to fear God and wants people to long for a coming ruler (which will be the Lord himself). We can see in it the glory of Jesus’ coming rule, the wisdom in his ways for leaders, and the way he wants those in power to conduct themselves. Bibliography: Frame, John M. Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Christian Belief. Phillipsburg, NJ: P & R, 2013. Piper, John. Reading the Bible Supernaturally: Seeing and Savoring the Glory of God in Scripture. Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2017. https://shepherdingandsong.files.wordpress.com/2018/11/1-3-why-did-god-write-the-bible1.m4a

https://shepherdingandsong.files.wordpress.com/2018/11/1-2-who-wrote-the-bible.m4a Episode 2: Who Wrote the Bible? WORD OF THE DAY Plenary Verbal Inspiration: God wrote all (plenary) the words (verbal) of the Bible. Who wrote the Bible? God really wrote every word and people also really wrote every word (Frame, 596) Many authors Many personalities Many types of writing Different Emphases One author 2 Timothy 3:16–17 16 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work. 2 Peter 1:21 21 For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit. That means: The authors had different reasons for writing their books Luke 1: “to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, that you may have certainty concerning the things you have been taught.” John 20:30-31: writing the Gospel so that people will believe 1 John 5:13: writing the letter to people who already believe so they will have confidence Yet God wove all these reasons together into one reason The story progressively unfolds Who he is, his will, his plan B.Warfield famously described the Old Testament as a chamber “fully furnished but dimly lit.” Bibliography Frame, John M. Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Christian Belief. Phillipsburg, NJ: P & R, 2013.

https://shepherdingandsong.files.wordpress.com/2018/10/1-1-how-to-approach-the-bible.mp3 Episode 1: We are here to help you read the Bible for yourself and get more out of it. Who are we? Andrew is pastor of Union Baptist Church in our little town of Hawesville, KY. Dave is Pastor of Worship and Discipleship at Hawesville Baptist Church in the same town. We’ve been friends since our seminary years. Just like learning a foreign language, an instrument, or a new job, you have to saturate yourself in the Bible to grasp it. If it seems confusing at first, keep at it! The Holy Spirit’s role in our Bible reading: Christians have an advantage in interpreting the Bible: the God who wrote it is working in us (Doriani, 7) The Holy Spirit helps us understand the Bible: John 14:25–26- These things I have spoken to you while I am still with you. 26But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you. Psalm 19:7- the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple;” Psalm 119:18- Open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of your law. The Holy Spirit helps us trust The Bible: 1 Corinthians 2:14- The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. The Holy Spirit Helps us obey the Bible: Ezekiel 11:19–20 And I will give them one heart, and a new spirit I will put within them. I will remove the heart of stone from their flesh and give them a heart of flesh, that they may walk in my statutes and keep my rules and obey them. And they shall be my people, and I will be their God. Mark 8:18 Having eyes do you not see, and having ears do you not hear? And do you not remember? Luke 24:25″ And he said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! 26 Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?” 27 And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself. Our role in our Bible reading: Pray (for help understanding, trusting, obeying) Faith (truth and submission) John 5:44- How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another and do not seek the glory that comes from the only God? Pharisees missed the point because they were reading for themselves (Piper 207-208) Three obstacles: (Doriani, 8-10) Immaturity- once you gain fundamental principles, you can build on them more easily. Give it time! Insensitivity- laziness or a stubborn trust in false ideas. Ex: the disciples never got it when Jesus foretold his crucifixion because they had false ideas about what a Messiah was Resist shaping your observations about a passage based on what you already believe, even if it’s right! (17) Rebellion- sometimes we don’t come wanting to obey God in the first place Piper’s example: Luke 16, Jesus teaches you can’t love God and money, and the Pharisees, who love money, ridiculed him. (Piper, 208-209) “You can’t see as beautiful what you see as ugly. You can’t embrace the glory of God as most valuable when you feel yourself to be more valuable.” (Piper, 187) Bibliography: Doriani, Daniel M. Getting the Message: A Plan for Interpreting and Applying the Bible. Phillipsburg, NJ: P & R, 1996. Piper, John. Reading the Bible Supernaturally: Seeing and Savoring the Glory of God in Scripture. Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2017.

https://shepherdingandsong.files.wordpress.com/2018/10/trailer.mp3 Our New Podcast, How to Read Your Bible, is coming Thursday, November 1, 2018. We’re making it because so many people want help understanding their Bibles but can’t afford a big library of books. If you’ve ever opened your Bible and haven’t been sure what to do, we made it for you. We hope to start with three episodes that we’ve already recorded, and then shortly finish off the first season with five more that we are working on.