On the Other Side of Scripture

Instead of learning it, I'm teaching it.

You'd think after reading the Bible pretty consistently for 10 years or so, I could do this pretty well. Turns out, it's really difficult. There's an overarching theme, main characters, subplots, twists and resolution. It's like any other story. On the other hand, it's huge and overwhelming, and if I spout off at the mouth about what I think any "green light" means, I fail at more than eleventh grade English.

Last year was the year of the fail. Much of these past six months have been intentional efforts to grow. The half-marathon was part of that. I'm also mentoring a couple students. My most difficult project lately has been specifically Bible-related.

I meet with two guys each week, and our intention began as "learning the Bible." Now it's moved into "learning to use the Bible for devotional study." But I'm trying to intertwine the two.

Today we'll look at narrative. Using stories from Genesis we'll look at characters and plot, and ask some questions.

Who do I relate to in this story?

Have I experienced anything like this?

What does this story reveal about God?

About God's relationship to us?

What's my response?

My hope is to teach a man to fish, so to speak. That reminds me of the old saying, "Build a man a fire, he'll be warm for a day; light a man on fire, he'll be warm for the rest of his life."

We'll start with narratives, then go into law (not sure what to do with that yet), history (differs from narrative?), poetic/wisdom books, prophecy, Gospel, epistle, and maybe apocalyptic. It'll be a great growing experience for me. I'm doing challenging things I've never done, and that's a serious step-up in my life.

If you have any helpful resources or ideas, please share!

If you're interested in my study guide/notes, comment with your email and I'll send you copies.