Teach the Bible, Not Just Opinion

If I were to ask you what it means to teach the Bible, what would you say? I think many people have different ideas on what this means. Do we teach the Bible to people or do we teach people the Bible? Do we teach topical or exegetical? Do we have three points or just one?

All of the approaches are helpful when we take into account the power and truth of God's Word.

God's Word is alive and is powerful. If we do not believe this, we will replace the truth of the Bible with the next opinion of the day. Have we lost the expectancy of the scripture being alive and piercing to our hearts? Simply building a message on a whim or opinion loses the power of the gospel. A message from God's Word should always start and continue in God's Word. Giving God a courtesy call at the beginning and never referring to it anymore leads people to rely on the teacher's charisma and opinion more than finding the answers in the Bible. 

God's Word should be explained and expounded upon. Too much emphasis is placed upon whether a message is topical, verse-by-verse or one main thought. The Bible should be explained in a clear, passionate way. The people listening should be stirred by the background of the Bible. Who was Jesus talking to in the passage? Why is He speaking to them?

God's Word should be applied to our life. Without a clear explanation of the Bible then it cannot be applied correctly to our lives. In order to understand how to obey the Bible, we must first know the correct meaning of the context. Teaching the Bible should lead to life change. Give people clear takeaways as you land the message.

The Bible is relevant to our lives more than we give it credit. It is alive and powerful1! (2 Timothy 3:16-17).

What do you think about the need for teaching the Bible for life change? What would you add to the blog?

Man's need and God's Word...

One thought for the day... I think a lot about ministry today in 2007. We have people that over 50% have never experienced two parents at home. Some have never had a loving Father or Mother...Many people ask questions of, "Why am I hurting?" "Why do I have to go through all this pain?" The questions keep coming...

What is the church of Jesus responding with? I'm burdened for the students of this generation. My heart breaks when I see the pain in their lives. I remember why God called me to be a student pastor.

Psalm 17: 6-7 "I call upon you, for you will answer me O God; incline your ear to me; hear my words. Wondrously show your steadfast love, O Savior of those who seek refuge from their adversaries at your right hand."

What an amazing cry from Psalms. David cries out to God...Does that mean he is weak? Well in today's view of man, it means he is weak and doesn't have strength... but we serve a God that uses us when we are broken and weak. He is the strength, He is the power. God's Spirit is who comforts us, who convicts us, who enlightens scripture so we can know the heart of God.

When I listen to people and their needs I wonder about why we make it so difficult to reach them with Jesus. It is simply loving people, listening to them and understanding their pain and needs. This is the kicker...are you ready?

Jesus always met people right where they were at (messy and sinful) and changed their life.

That is what the "church" must make priority. Falling in line with God's Will and meeting people's needs with God's Word.

It takes understanding the people effectively to lead them to follow Christ. It is simply not standing and preaching a sermon, writing a blog, showing up to church...It is each Christian being available to show love and prepared to speak about Jesus whenever they get the opportunity.

Love God. Love people. It does not have to be hard. God will bless us when we fall in line with His Will....Do we always know His will? No...but He will show it when we are ready.

Are you ready to meet people's needs with God's Love and His word?