Engaging with the Bible (September 2016)
Later this month (15th September at 7.30pm) there will be an important event at the cathedral to launch a year-long initiative for all of us to further develop our Bible reading. Please do make every effort to attend this, at 7.30pm on Thursday 15th September. In preparation for that, I thought it would be good to focus on engaging with the Bible. © Phil Collins, Ph.D., 2014. This material was created in partnership with the Taylor University Center for Scripture Engagement and published on BibleGateway.com. There is much research to show that the way churches grow in their walk with God, is through regular prayer and bible reading. So, if we want our church to grow, we each of us have a responsibility to make sure we are reading our bible regularly. The Scriptures are so vital to spiritual growth because they are living and active (Hebrews 4:12-13), give freedom (James 1:25), make truth known (Psalm 19:7-11), and equip for service (2 Timothy 3:16-17). All this and more is true, but perhaps the most important reason is based on the simple description that the Bible is “God’s Word.” Every time we come to the Bible, we can meet and know God. Engaging the Bible is about coming into a relationship with it, and therefore, coming into a relationship with God. So what is Scripture engagement? It is a way of hearing and reading the Bible with an awareness that it is in the Scriptures that we primarily meet God. It is a marinating, mulling over, reflecting, dwelling on, pondering of the Scriptures, resulting in a “transformative engagement” with God. Besides “Scripture engagement,” phrases that have been used to convey the same idea include "holy attention", “spiritual reading,” “participatory reading,” “formative reading,” and “existential reading”. How do you tend to approach the Bible when hearing it or reading it for yourself? Take a minute and consider honestly what your attitude tends to be and what you actually do. When you’re done, ask yourself if your attitude and process is helping or hurting your Scripture experience. Now that you’ve considered your current method, how do you think we should approach the Bible? The foundational premise of Scripture engagement is that when you engage the Bible, you engage God. Spiritual reading of the Bible is a relational process; we primarily read to meet and know God. We should approach the Bible the same way that we would want to approach God. Here are some simple suggestions for preparing yourself to meet God as you engage with the Scriptures:
The key lesson is that as Christians it is really important for us to be regularly – daily - reading some of the Bible. So, may all of us keep persevering with it! Tina Upton
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