Telling God's Story: A Parents' Guide to Teaching the Bible, Peter Enns (Olive Branch Books, 2010).

This is an outstanding book. At only 99 pages, it can be a quick read, but it is packed with solid and useful information. Enns wrote this book as a guide for parents who desire to teach their children the Bible. He presents a threefold approach: in the early elementary years, focus on the story, life, and mission of Jesus; in the middle school years, focus on the "hook and hangers" of the Bible, specifically, the "pegs" of the larger story that they will be able to "hang" later knowledge upon; and in the high school years, begin to flesh out the Bible in more detail.

Enns suggests this progressive approach against other approaches because it focuses on the main "person" of the Bible--Jesus Christ--and on God's redemptive story, rather than our own theories or concepts of what we want the Bible to be about. For example, he encourages us not to teach the Bible simply as "stories" or as character studies, because these are often reduced to moralistic life lessons having nothing to do with the redemptive backstory; nor should we teach it (to children) book-by-book, because this approach often requires more maturity and a longer attention span than children have; nor should we teach it defensively, as in the current "creationism vs. evolution" arguments.

Instead, we should see the Bible not as a book of rules or a manual for morals but as a complex and fascinating story with a beginning, middle, and end. Our role as parents is to slowly work through this material with our children, linking the different parts of the story together over time. The Bible does not address modern issues the way we would like it to, so we must remember that it is the story of God's deliverance of his people and it presents a vision of what it means to live in that context. We acquire wisdom for living as we understand The Story in deeper ways.

Enns concludes with a five chapter discussion of this overarching Story which is very useful and informative.

This is a book for all parents, regardless of how old your children are. Although Enns discusses a teaching program for children as young as elementary age, I can easily see that parents can pick up in the first stage and go from there. There is nothing missed by starting to teach a high schooler more in depth about Jesus. The program can either be compressed or modified as older children have questions.

I can also see value in this approach for church-based classes, even for adults. Beginning with Jesus, and his centrality to God's story, and then branching out into biblical narrative, and then into biblical theology, a teacher could present a congregation with a very rich understanding of the Bible.

I highly recommend this book for any believer.

This is set of 4 bookmarks I'm handing out on Sunday as part of my sermon. Follow the link to find out more about the sermon, How to Find and Live God's Will.

To use the bookmark, download it and print it on cardstock. Then, use a paper trimmer to cut the sheet into 4 separate bookmarks.

How do you read the bible?

Ron Martoia, in his new book, The Bible as Improv, points out (accurately) that all bible reading is interpretation. To understand is to interpret. Otherwise, we bog down in details about what is timeless and what is cultural. In other words, what can we ignore and what are we obligated to do.

Here's an example: In 1 Timothy 2:8-15 Paul says both that women are to be silent in worship (women are not permitted to teach and/or assume authority over a man) and that women are not to have elaborate hairstyles and wear "gold or pearls or expensive clothes." In conservative churches, we uphold the former teaching as essential and required but not the latter teaching. I personally know of no church that bars their women from doing their hair however they'd like and wearing gold or pearl jewelry. I also personally know several churches that prevent their women from teaching men.

How do we hold these things together? How do we look at one passage, and in that passage find things that are universal and timeless on one hand, but on the other hand, find things that are cultural and time-bound? This way of reading seems very arbitrary and open to abuse of interpretation by the one reading.

Martoia proposes a different way--that of seeing the bible as a classic. He argues that, while the bible may be or is much more than a classic, it is at least a classic in that it forms and shapes our worldview according to the spiritual categories represented in it. We ought to read it as we read other classics of literature (Shakespeare, Homer, etc.) by reading entire books in one sitting, or by reading larger sequential chunks. Reading the bible verse-by-verse, in a piecemeal way, is not how it was intended to be read.

Martoia, building off the work of N.T. Wright, proposes that we see the bible as a script. This script is made of up of five acts of which we are missing the fifth (because the work of the church is the fifth act). The first four acts are 1) creation; 2) the fall; 3) the life and ministry of Israel; and 4) the life and ministry of Jesus. The fifth act, from which we take our cue, is missing. But we have clues about how it will end (Romans 8; 1 Corinthians 15) and how we are to "fill in the gaps" (the New Testament). It is up to us, as "actors," to understand the first four acts so we can live out the fifth act and complete the script.

Since we don't have the script in front of us, we cooperate with the Spirit to improv our way forward, much like jazz musicians improv during their play. We improv based on the themes and tones we pick up from the other four acts. As we read the bible in large chunks (and read books sequentially and straight through), we begin to understand the themes and tones and how they play out through the script-ure. We read the bible for this larger story, God's story, and discover the importance of the smaller details in this larger context.

Martoia offers some ways churches and groups might approach bible reading as an improvisation of the first four acts of a five-act script:

• Read a large portion of scripture (say, 9 chapters) and discuss both the themes that arise from this section and how those themes connect to previous themes from earlier readings. Which act of the script are you in and how does this act connect with earlier and later acts?
• Articulate answers to questions about plot, story-lines, characters, and the actions of key characters.
• Teachers should act as master story connectors who understand the sweep of the biblical story, facilitate conversation around that story, and help people connect their stories to God's story and imagine the future of their stories.

This is a really good book about bible reading and interpretation. Martoia popularizes the work of N.T. Wright, Walter Brueggemann, and James Fowler to discuss how to read the bible for spiritual growth and for faithfulness to God's story. It is very readable and even contains a study guide for groups to work through as they read it. Highly recommended.

Sometimes, we struggle with reading God's word. But to get the most from it, we must first see it as something valuable, humbly seek God through it, and obey him through action learned from our reading.

At the end of this lesson, I present 4 simple steps by which we can begin growing spiritually as we read God's word.

Sermon: How to Grow Spiritually with God's Word

Sometimes, we struggle with reading God's word. But to get the most from it, we must first see it as something valuable, humbly seek God through it, and obey him through action learned from our reading.

At the end of the lesson, I present 4 simple steps by which we can begin growing spiritually as we read God's word.

Improper bible reading gives up on the bible too easily, focuses too much on acquiring knowledge, and promotes pride. Proper bible reading, on the other hand, transforms you: it leads to worship, good works, and stronger faith. Be transformed by reading the bible, making a plan to minister, and taking action.

Below is a short outline of my sermon for Sunday. I tackle the difference between improper and proper bible reading and what that means for our transformation. Any feedback? Is anything unclear? What would you like me to expand?

True bible reading is transformative and teaches us how to do God's will.

Introduction.

• Compare a bible to a novel in number of pages, size, time to read, etc. Why do we read one [the novel] over the other [bible]?

Transition: Reading the bible, when we get to it, is challenging. These challenges can lead to several ways we improperly read it.

Improper bible reading will not transform you.

• Improper bible reading gives up too easily [challenge of sticking to a bible reading plan].
• IBR focuses too much on acquiring knowledge [all answers, no action].
  
• IBR promotes pride [looking down on others because you know more or attend more].

Transition: We learn about transformative, proper bible study in Neh. 8:1-10.

Proper bible reading transforms you.

• leads to worship (6).
  
• leads to good works (10).
  
• leads to stronger faith (10) [also include Romans 12:1-2].
  

Transition: So if we know what happens when we read the bible reading properly, how do get there? How can the bible transform us?

The Best Bible Reading Plan Ever.

• Read (not study) the bible [explicate the difference].
  
• Meditate and make a plan ["world's best bible reading plan"].
  
• Take action [do something].
  

Application step: Read the bible, make a plan, and take action.

Nehemiah 8:1-10 (Introduction)
Good bible reading goes beyond merely acquiring information. To read the bible properly, we need to do so transformatively, seeking application that leads us to action.

In Nehemiah 8:1-10, Ezra the priest called the Israelites together for worship. This worship was quite unlike anything we'd expect today. Rather than singing praise songs for an hour or listening to a 30 minute sermon, the Israelites heard Ezra read from the law for hours at a time. And they "listened attentively to the Book of the Law" (8:3).

The immediate result of listening to the law being read was worship (8:6). The people understood from the law that God was holy and they needed to be his servants. But they became self-absorbed with their worship. Perhaps they began to feel that they had accomplished a lot simply by worshiping God. Perhaps they dwelt too long on their sins.

Nehemiah noticed that the people did not properly understand the purpose of the bible study they were involved with. He reminded them that bible reading and study was not to result in prolonged introspection and weeping. Proper bible reading is to be transformative--it needs to result in action.

This is why Nehemiah commanded the people to stop mourning and weeping (8:9). They were not wrong to feel this way. But these feelings were not the goal of the bible study--action was. So he told them to stop mourning and weeping (8:9).

Instead, they were to feed themselves...and others. They were to "send [food] to those who have nothing prepared" (8:10). This is what all good, proper, transformative bible study does--it provokes us to action.

The Dangers of Bible Study
There are some dangers in bible study, however. The first danger is to simply stop reading. Bible study and reading can be difficult. We do well to read the bible, but because the bible is a large book that contains many different genres, we can become unsure how or what to read. The temptation is to stop. We need to overcome this temptation by pressing on, reading, learning, and doing.

The second danger of bible study is to focus on knowledge for its own sake. When we read the bible, we become excited about what we're learning. But we go wrong when our excitement flows over into merely acquiring knowledge. Our spiritual growth isn't about how much we know, but about how much we are being changed--by God, through his word.

The third danger of bible study is to become prideful because of the knowledge we are gaining. This is different from the second danger because that danger focused only on knowledge acquisition. This danger is worse, because it causes us to look down on others who don't know as much as we do. We should never compare ourselves to others based on bible knowledge or how many bible studies we attend.

The Purpose of Bible Study
In contrast to these, proper bible study leads us to worship God. As we learn about the bible, we learn about God--who he is, what he's done, and what he's going to do. We learn about his plan of salvation. We learn about Jesus, and how we are to live like him. This leads us to worship, to be in awe of God.

Proper bible study should also lead us to good works. Just as Nehemiah encouraged the Israelites to ministry, we need to learn from our bible reading to be involved in ministry. This is merely an extension of Jesus' ministry, so as we learn about him, we learn what we need to do--serve and love others in his name.

Finally, proper bible study strengthens our faith in God. The motivation given to the Israelites for overcoming themselves and serving others is to allow the joy they have in God to be their strength. Bible reading should promote strong and growing faith in God. And as your faith increases, your joy does as well!

As Paul reminds in Romans 12:1-2, God desires for us to serve him. He transforms us as we allow him to. As we read the bible and seek to apply it, God teaches us how to serve him better. Proper bible study leads us to worship God, to good works, and to stronger faith in him.