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“Just Keep Reading” by Marilynn Fryer

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“Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved by him, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly explaining the word of truth.”
2 Timothy 2:15

During the pandemic, I took advantage of enrolling in two classes through the American Baptist Churches’ Holy Spirit Renewal Ministries, one on how to discern the Bible and another a survey of the New Testament. The topics covered run deep, but there is one important starting point … read the Bible, and read it regularly.

Make Time for the Bible

We hear many claims today about Christianity and what the Bible says. Do we understand the Word of God for ourselves, or how to respond? We are called to understand and, as in 2 Timothy above, “rightly explain the word of truth.” Make time daily for reading the Bible, and make it a priority. Setting aside time each day is a great practice.

Today’s technology increases the ways we can read the Bible. You can open an app like BibleGateway.com or Bible Hub on your smartphone and read whenever you have a few minutes. You can download a version of the Bible right to your phone, tablet or computer, allowing you to read even if there is no Wi-Fi signal. Of course, you can always grab a Bible and read.

Use a Study Bible

A good study Bible will help in understanding scriptures. BibleGateway listed above includes notes from many study Bibles (some resources require membership and a fee while some are free; use your own judgment). I use the Quest Study Bible, which includes introductions to each book of the Bible, notes and short commentaries throughout. There are many study Bibles to choose from; a Google search will get you started.

Read More Than a Few Verses

Bible books were meant to be read in their entirety. Read through the Bible in longer sections, not just a verse or two. If you can read a book in one or two settings, you will better understand patterns and themes. Reading through the entire Bible in a year or two will help you understand how it all fits together.

As you read, look for context and meaning.
• Who is the author of the book?
• When was it written?
• Who was it written for?

Answers to these questions will give an understanding of both the author’s meaning and what it means for us today. Again, a good study Bible will help. A big idea from my study of hermeneutics, or biblical interpretation: the Bible cannot mean today what it did not mean when it was written. To start, we need to understand what the author meant.

These are a few suggestions to enhance your own personal Bible study. Keep reading and exploring God’s Word. Reading the Bible will help us get to know Jesus better, and what more could we want?

I Didn’t Expect to Celebrate My Family Secrets

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In Matthew’s first chapter of the gospel, he shares the family story of Jesus. It’s a long family story with highs and lows. While we often want to hide our family secrets, Matthew unveils them before we even meet Jesus. Join us for our second week of our series, An Unexpected Christmas!

Advent is a season of anticipation for the light that emerges in the darkness. We anticipate hope in the midst of despair. We anticipate faith in the mist of wandering. We anticipate love in the midst of hate. While we anticipate God’s transformative work, we acknowledge that God’s ways are often difficult to predict even when we’re anticipating them. As we read the biblical story of the events leading up to the birth of Jesus, we read of people’s responses to God’s unexpected ways. This Advent, facing a year full of dashed expectations, let us continue the tradition of hopeful anticipation.

Sermon preached by Pastor Dallas Flippin on Sunday, December 6, 2020.

Want to listen to the sermon on the go? Our sermons are available on your favorite podcasting app. Listen to this sermon from our audio podcast page.

A Firm Foundation

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How strong is your foundation? In Luke 6:46-49, Jesus invites us to prepare for the storms that come by not just hearing God’s instruction, but living it.

For our sermon series, The Kin-dom of God, we are calling on people to grow into the family of God that breaks down barriers instead of building them up in a divisive election season. Each weekday of the series, we will have a morning devotional from Luke 6. You are invited to join us in reading and praying from Luke 6 each day.

Devotion by Pastor Dallas Flippin.
Music by Worship Leader Brently Groshong.

Calling Jesus Lord

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What do you call Jesus? In Luke 6:46, Jesus invites us to answer why we call him Lord, but don’t act like he’s Lord.

For our sermon series, The Kin-dom of God, we are calling on people to grow into the family of God that breaks down barriers instead of building them up in a divisive election season. Each weekday of the series, we will have a morning devotional from Luke 6. You are invited to join us in reading and praying from Luke 6 each day.

Devotion by Pastor Dallas Flippin.
Music by Worship Leader Brently Groshong.

Known By Their Fruit

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What does the way you are living today say about your heart? In Luke 6:43-45, Jesus invites us to examine trees by their fruit and people by their heart.

For our sermon series, The Kin-dom of God, we are calling on people to grow into the family of God that breaks down barriers instead of building them up in a divisive election season. Each weekday of the series, we will have a morning devotional from Luke 6. You are invited to join us in reading and praying from Luke 6 each day.

Devotion by Pastor Dallas Flippin.
Music by Worship Leader Brently Groshong.

Removing the Log in Your Eye

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Are we willing to work on our own issues before trying to fix somebody else? In Luke 6:40-41, Jesus invites us to remove the log from our own eye before addressing the speck in our neighbor’s eye.

For our sermon series, The Kin-dom of God, we are calling on people to grow into the family of God that breaks down barriers instead of building them up in a divisive election season. Each weekday of the series, we will have a morning devotional from Luke 6. You are invited to join us in reading and praying from Luke 6 each day.

Devotion by Pastor Dallas Flippin.
Music by Worship Leader Brently Groshong.

Seeing the Log in Your Eye

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Why are you seeing everyone’s flaws but your own? In Luke 6:40-41, Jesus invites us to explore the way we see the world and what we don’t see about our selves.

For our sermon series, The Kin-dom of God, we are calling on people to grow into the family of God that breaks down barriers instead of building them up in a divisive election season. Each weekday of the series, we will have a morning devotional from Luke 6. You are invited to join us in reading and praying from Luke 6 each day.

Devotion by Pastor Dallas Flippin.
Music by Worship Leader Brently Groshong.

Following the Right Guide

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Who are you following right now? Today’s devotion comes from Luke 6:38-39, where Jesus invites us consider who is guiding you and where you are headed.

For our sermon series, The Kin-dom of God, we are calling on people to grow into the family of God that breaks down barriers instead of building them up in a divisive election season. Each weekday of the series, we will have a morning devotional from Luke 6. You are invited to join us in reading and praying from Luke 6 each day.

Devotion by Pastor Dallas Flippin.
Music by Worship Leader Brently Groshong.

A Good Measure of Generosity

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How generous are you being to those around you? Today’s devotion comes from Luke 6:37-38, where Jesus invites us to transform the world through extravagant forgiveness and giving.

For our sermon series, The Kin-dom of God, we are calling on people to grow into the family of God that breaks down barriers instead of building them up in a divisive election season. Each weekday of the series, we will have a morning devotional from Luke 6. You are invited to join us in reading and praying from Luke 6 each day.

Devotion by Pastor Dallas Flippin.
Music by Worship Leader Brently Groshong.

Do Not Judge

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Who are you trying to control with judgments? What would it take to let go of them? Today’s devotion comes from Luke 6:37-38, where Jesus invites us to stop the cycle of judgment.

For our sermon series, The Kin-dom of God, we are calling on people to grow into the family of God that breaks down barriers instead of building them up in a divisive election season. Each weekday of the series, we will have a morning devotional from Luke 6. You are invited to join us in reading and praying from Luke 6 each day.

Devotion by Pastor Dallas Flippin.
Music by Worship Leader Brently Groshong.