Read Slow Pt. 2 - Read

12/05/2024 58 min

Listen "Read Slow Pt. 2 - Read"

Episode Synopsis

The Bible teaches and history shows that human beings have an extraordinary, innate ability that animals don’t: a unique capacity to hear the voice of God because we are uniquely made in his image, designed to enjoy a conversational relationship with our creator. When it comes to hearing God, the Bible is the primary way in which he speaks. It is the very language of his heart. Learning to hear God’s voice begins with the Bible.
One of our problems with the Bible is that we’ve been told to read it but never taught how to pray it. We may study it like a textbook, but we don’t interact with it devotionally, relationally, and conversationally. And this is, of course, where reading slowly comes in. By approaching the text prayerfully using imagination and seeking conversation rather than information, it becomes exciting, surprising, challenging, and moving. The Bible comes to life.
This is precisely the approach Jesus himself teaches in today's Bible story. On the road to Emmaus, he explains "what was said in all the scriptures concerning himself." We read the Bible not just to study the truth about God in the past, but to encounter Jesus Christ who is the Truth, alive and well today.
It's so important to remember that the Word of God is first and foremost a person and only secondly a book. Our relationship is with the living Word of God in Jesus, through the written Word of God in the Bible, and not the other way around. This sermon is all about encouraging us to invite Jesus into our Bible reading to help us understand and apply what we are reading. We see this in Luke 24 where the disciples knew the scriptures but Jesus brought the scriptures to life for them.
Luke 24:17 NIV
27 And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.

Luke 24:32 NIV
32 They asked each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?”

John 1:1 NIV
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

As you read the word, listen for His words
How can we activate it this week?
As you read the Bible this week, make sure to invite Jesus in and pay attention to what He might say.