Author: Andrew

By Pastor Andrew Gordon

Originally posted in the New Year season of 2015. 

This is the final installment of a group of posts concerning Bible study in the New Year. I hope that these posts might give you some practical tools to discipline yourself unlike the typical New Year’s resolution. In this post I will share examples of how I structure my time in the word.

In “Bible Reading in the New Year (Pt.2)” I explained that I try to go through one book at a slower pace to listen to what God is saying at the verse and paragraph levels, while at the same time reading larger chunks of scripture to try to grasp what God is saying through the overall flow of a book and scripture as a whole. Here is what that looks like for me:

3-4 days a week I am in a book studying smaller chunks of the Word. I try to be going through a book rather than randomly picking a new passage each day. This helps to really get to know the purpose and flow of the book. I read the passage once, then go back through it again. This is how I set up my page for taking notes:

The observations help you move toward the author’s Big Idea–what did this writer try to communicate to his audience? Then the Big Idea helps you move toward a Theological Principle. In other words, each passage teaches us something about who God is that is applicable for all times. So the Theological Principle helps us see specific applications for our own lives.

The other 3-4 days, I read a chunk of scripture. This is often 3-5 chapters. Take notes about the main themes, repeated concepts, and what you’re learning about God and his people through the passage.

Note: In 2017, we are going through the Journible for the Gospel of Mark. The set up is different than the note page above, when I was going through James. But hopefully with several different examples, you will find a method that works best for you. 

You can decide how this looks, but I usually do not go back and forth everyday between small passages and large ones. Normally, I let the structure of the smaller passages dictate when I break from that to longer reading. For instance, maybe I want to get through a section in Mark before I go back to Genesis for a few days. Maybe you will want to split it between the first half of the week and the second. It’s up to you. If you are trying to keep up with the Bible-in-a-Year plan and the Journible, there will be some built in “catch up” days. After all, it gets easier and easier to quit altogether when you have a stack of unfinished days to check off the list.

In all of this, I cannot over emphasize the importance of prayer in this process. Each day, open with a prayer of praise to God, confession of sins, and a request for insight and wisdom from your Bible study that day. After studying and meditating on the Word, pray that God would help you apply it in meaningful ways throughout your daily life. Look for opportunities to specifically plot out how you will apply it, and ask God for his help.

Memorize the Word

“I have stored up your Word in my heart, that I might not sin against you” (Psalm 119:11). This is one of the best ways to understand the passage. It will also bring the passage to your mind throughout the day to fight off temptation with the Word of God like the example of Jesus in Matthew 4 in the wilderness. Start with one verse at a time. or even work through a chapter over a longer period of time. Repetition and being full of the Bible will help shape you in a Christlike way into a person who bears the fruit of the Spirit.

For memorization I use note cards, repeated writing, and multiple readings of the passage. There are also helpful apps available for your devices. I find the app FighterVerse is particularly helpful.

Submit to it!

Look for specific areas of your life where you can apply what you are learning. God’s Word will push you to grow and change. But if you are not submitting to that growth and change, you will soon come to believe that you do not need it and will fall away. But if you submit to the Word you will experience this type of clarity:

“Your Word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path” (Psalm 119:105).

–To see what we are doing at WBC in 2017, check out this post here. 

By Pastor Andrew Gordon

Originally posted in the New Year season of 2015. 

This is the second part in a quick series on establishing habits and rhythms of reading and studying God’s Word in a meaningful way. Our New Year’s Resolutions often bite the dust early, but how can we change that trend when it comes to Bible reading? In part 1, I wrote about several reasons why we should read and study scripture regularly. Today’s post will hopefully provide you with some practical ways to develop good habits this year in the Word.

How do I get into a routine of reading and studying the Bible?

“Train yourself for godliness; for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come” (1 Timothy 4:7b-8).

Routines can be of great value, but sometimes, actually training or disciplining ourselves to establish them is difficult. I hope this section is extremely practical for anyone who is just starting to set aside a time and a place for Bible reading and prayer all the way to the one who is established but needs some encouragement. How can we discipline ourselves for godliness?

1) Find a place. One of the important things about studying the Bible is finding a place where we can shut out distractions. If you are going to hear from God, the last thing you need is to be hearing from the TV, radio, and smartphone all at the same time. So find a place where you can avoid distraction. Keep it consistent for a while, but be willing to switch it up on down the line.

2) Find 5 minutes. If you are not regularly in the Word, and your day is jam-packed; don’t try to start with getting up an hour earlier than you always do. That is a recipe for failure by way of the snooze button. A very wise man once told me to set my alarm just 5 minutes earlier for a week or two or even a month. Use that time to read a passage and meditate on it as well as prayer. Your body will not miss the five minutes of sleep, and you will find you desire more time in the Word. Then after a set period of time, add 5 minutes. Eventually you will be in a routine of up to a half hour, hour, or more.

[Aside: Do I have to do it in the morning? Of course not. But I find that there is too much value in the morning to justify moving it to another time during the day. I want to open my day with God being the first voice I hear in a world of news, sports, Twitter, and Facebook.]

3. Meditate. I’m not referring to some mystical search for inner peace. But sit with the passage asking what God is teaching the original audience about himself and about mankind. Then seek out applications for how you can apply what you are learning. Pray that God will open your eyes to the text and its meaning. The meaning in scripture can be difficult and deep, but it’s never hidden.

4. Choose what you read with purpose. I will go into some more specifics of my practice in the next post. However, in short, I try to make sure I am doing two things in my study of the Word. First, I want to always be studying on a verse by verse basis, walking slowly through a book. Secondly, I want to be reading chunks of scripture to help myself see the bigger picture of God’s revelation as a whole. You can decide what days work best to do which. But try to build some consistency. God is teaching us things in each verse and paragraph as well as in the flow of his revelation on a large scale. For the days you read longer portions, there are plenty of Bible-in-a-year plans out there you can easily find via Google or apps like YouVersion.

5. Find a Friend. We are not walking through the Christian life alone, and reading God’s Word is no different. Find someone in your life that you can trust to challenge you to stay in the Word. This person should be able to ask you at anytime what God is teaching you. This will challenge you to both be in the Word and be able to answer the question well. If you are married, stick with your spouse in this or a close friend of your same gender. When two are paired, and one falls, the other can pick him/her up.

Note: In 2017 at WBC, we will be offering a Bible-in-a-Year plan for reading big chunks. For the shorter, deeper study, we will being going through the Journible for the Gospel of Mark. Click here for more information. Since many of us are doing the same thing, it shouldn’t be hard to find a partner for encouragement and accountability.

In the coming days, I will add an example of what my routine looks like. Remember, this is very important to our spiritual lives. But start small, and commit to grow.

By Pastor Andrew Gordon

Originally posted in the New Year season of 2015. 

In just a few weeks, many people will go to the gym for the first time in 11 months. Others will have a brand new diet to commit to long term…you know, at least 3 weeks. And many of us will commit to reading through the Bible this year. Some of us will make it a week or so longer on our Bible reading resolution than our diet and exercise plans. Some of us, starting in Genesis, will make it to Leviticus and will get bogged down in the Law before quitting.

Getting in the Word daily takes discipline, but it is vitally important to our lives (Psalm 1). What better time to establish new habits and routines than January 1? But how do I make this resolution stick? Over the course of 3 posts, I will suggest (1) why we should be in the Bible on a daily basis followed by (3) how to establish these rhythms, including (3) examples from my personal practice.

Why is it important to read the Word daily?

If asked, almost every professing Christian would say that it is important to read the Bible regularly. However, fewer could explain why. I would venture to predict that those who cannot explain why they should be reading and studying the Bible would be the same ones who struggle to do it on a regular basis if ever.

In Psalm 19, David begins by praising God for how he has been revealed in creation. The glory of God is clearly displayed for us all in the wonders of creation. In verse 7, David takes a turn from creation and dives in to worship of God for his Word. “The law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple” (Ps. 19:7, ESV). David understood that though the “heavens declare the glory of God” (v. 1), God’s Word reveals his glory as well. See, creation fills us with wonder. But it should fill us with greater wonder that the God who created all of that would desire to have a relationship with us. What’s more, he reveals the way to have that relationship through his Word.

David rightly knew that the Word of God holds the message of eternal life. The Word teaches us how to live as God’s people. God does not leave us guessing. Since the God of the universe has chosen to speak to us, through the Bible, are we compelled to listen? Don’t we want to hang on every last word? If you need convincing, try reading Psalm 1 or the great song of the Bible, Psalm 119.

When God speaks, his power is put on display. Through reading his written word and humbly accepting it, we are yielding ourselves to his power to transform us more into the likeness of Christ. We open ourselves up to be the people he has called us to be in terms of holiness and evangelism. We learn the heart of God so that we might love what he loves and hate what he hates.

If you believe that God is glorified through creation, then you have to see him through his Word!

The Bible is sufficient for the Christian life. This means, we do not have to rely on God to audibly speak to us or add to what he has already revealed in scripture. In 2 Peter 1, Peter says that it is by the knowledge of Christ and his promises. These are found in scripture. James teaches us to look into scripture to evaluate ourselves and to live in light of what we find (James 1:22-25). God’s Word is sufficient for our lives, and God wants us to know him through the words he has spoken.

I hope this post will set up the two to follow. We should not just be sitting under preaching of the Word. Rather we should be mining the depths of God’s revelation. Next, I will post some help in establishing some patterns. Later, I will add a 3rd post with some examples of how I read and study God’s Word.

Until then, I invite you to check out this post on how NOT to read through the Bible this year here.

Lastly, This post from last week helps set up how WBC plans to work through Bible study together in 2017.