Opening the BibleSample

Overview of The Bible

The Bible was written by about 40 people over thousands of years. But what do you do with it? How do you read it and actually understand it? Is it relevant? Those are all great questions, and you might have a million more.

Sometimes it seems like we are supposed to have everything figured out, but that’s just not the case. In fact, our pursuit of these questions can actually lead us closer to the One with all the answers. So trust the process as you discover what the Bible is, what it’s all about, how it applies to your life, and how beautiful and important it really is.

The Bible is made up of several different kinds of literary styles. That’s important because the way it’s written impacts the way we read it. Just like in school when you learned to interpret novels or read different writing styles—you’ll want to take a different approach to different parts of the Bible, based on the author’s intent. Some of the Bible is poetry, revealing the beauty in God’s world. Some is narrative—straight up just telling you what happened. A lot of the Bible is letters written from different people to different churches. Knowing what style you’re reading impacts how you live it out and what you learn from it, so keep that in mind.

The Bible is all about God and His people. God doesn’t endorse every behaviour in it, and a lot of the characters we meet are kind of a hot mess. But that is actually a source of hope for us because it shows us how God uses imperfect people like us for His perfect purpose.

And even though the Bible was written by different people in different styles, it’s still one story that tells us about God. It shows us a story of a God who is unchanging and who always remains faithful no matter how faithless we are. It shows us a God who gives grace for mistakes. And it shows a God who is just but merciful.

Over the next few days, we’ll explore how the Old and New Testaments go together, how to read it, and what to do with it, but for now, just know that God uses His Word to reveal Himself to His world. It’s painting a beautiful picture of God’s unyielding, unending, unwavering love for us and the lengths He went to in order to be close to us.

Through this plan, we will also include a portion of Psalm 119, along with additional scriptures relevant to the day’s topic. Psalm 119 is a remarkable (and remarkably long!) psalm of David in which he exclaims his love for God and His Word over and over. And over.

Why not grab a few friends or your Life Group and read this together?

Prayer | God, thank You for using Your Word to lead us closer to You. Help me gain a better understanding of Your Word so that I can follow You more closely. Reveal something new to me today, and help me get to know You more today than I did yesterday.