BYOB – Bring Your Own Bible
This Sunday, new things will be stirring all around our church. One of the big new beginnings will be evident in our worship gathering as a nine-month-long “Walk-Through-the-Bible.” There are a few practical recommendations that I’m going to make here in the spirit of helping you to maximize the spiritual benefit from this journey:
Bring your own Bible to church
A shocking recommendation, I know! For many decades, Elmhurst CRC was the kind of church that always had Bibles in the pews, and in more recent years, we’ve projected the words of Scripture on screens, but that’s about to change. We want to see our people walking through life while literally walking with our Bibles.
Of course, many of us read or listen to the Bible these days with a phone or on a screen. There will be an easy online option for how to do this, but for now, I want to simply recommend the old school technology. Bring your Bible and let’s see what happens!
Consider using a highlighter and/or “book darts” on the Walk-Through-the-Bible
The Bible is a really big book. We’re not going to cover every single passage in the next nine months, but we will be diving deep into nearly 40 passages to help us get a better grip on God’s story. I’ve already used book darts in my own Bible to mark these passages (you can download the list here) in advance so that the Holy Spirit will have the freedom to easily draw my attention to them again and again over the course of the year. Similarly, I’m the kind of person who finds value in highlighting and writing in my Bible. It’s amazing to see prayers, with dates, scribbled in the margins, and be encouraged to remember how God has worked and answered.
By the way, each worship folder will have a “book dart” attached to it on Sunday. If you’d like to order one, you can find a variety of options on Amazon or other retailers.
Let’s keep our attention on Jesus – He’s the center of God’s story!
As we Walk-Through-the-Bible, we’ll have the weekly benefit of being guided by someone who had firsthand experience with Jesus: the disciple-turned-apostle-turned-Gospel-writer, John.
I like to think that every passage in the Bible, even the quirky Old Testament ones, are subtly whispering the name of Jesus. I’m hoping that every Sunday sermon and worship service make this connection - from the Old Testament to John’s Gospel - beautifully and gracefully clear.
Lastly, I’m really thankful for the Elders of our church. It was their idea to send our community on this long Walk-Through-the-Bible together. I can genuinely say that every good thing that has come into my life is a result of God speaking a creative Word, whether through his Spirit or through what’s been written in the pages of the Book-of-Books. And I’m so hopeful that God will stir up all kinds of good, new things this year in the midst of our church as we lean into his story together.
Blessings to you as we begin,
– Pastor Gregg