Week 4 Women Word Jen Wilkin of the

Week 4 Women Word Jen Wilkin of the

Week 4 The Case for Literacy For Bible whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the scriptures we might have hope.

Week 4 What is Bible Literacy? Bible literacy occurs when a person has access to a Bible in a language she understands and is steadily moving toward knowledge and understanding of the text. .

Week 4 Bible literacy Do you believe that the character & will of God are proclaimed in scripture? Is it safe to say that any serious attempt to become equipped for the work of discipleship must include a desire to build Bible literacy?

Week Desire to build Bible Literacy but left untrained, we may develop habits of engaging the text that at best do nothing to increase literacy and at worst actually work against it. 4 Before we can develop good habits, we must take an honest inventory of the unhelpful ones we may already practice!

When it comes to studying the Bible, unhelpful habits abound. “Spending Time in the Word” Week 4 What should take place during our time in the word can remain a vague notion, the specific habits it represents varying widely from person to person.

Week 4 The potential danger of this vagueness is that we may assume that our version of spending time in the word is moving us toward Bible literacy simply because we have been obedient to practice it. Not all contact with Scripture builds Bible literacy. Learning what the Bible says and subsequently working to interpret and apply it requires quite a different practice than many of those we commonly associate with spending time in the Word. We cannot afford to assume that

Week 4 Are we Growing in Bible Literacy? Existing habits may not be bad in the sense that they accomplish nothing to help us learn Gods Word. They may simply be limiting our sense of understanding. If Bible literacy is to be our goal, we need an honest evaluation of what we are currently doing to achieve it. Other habits probabl y need to be put aside complete

Week 4 Common Unhelpful habits Treats the Bible as if it exists to make us feel better. Problem: Makes the Bible about me. Guarantees that huge sections of our Bibles will remain unread. Well rounded approach to Bible study challenges us to navigate all areas of the Bible, even those that make us uncomfortable or that are difficult

Week 4 Common Unhelpful h. P arb its oblem: Gives Lacking a preference or any guidance about what to read. Read whatever Scripture we happen to turn no thought to cultural, historical, or textual context, authorship, or original intent of the passage in question. It does nothing to help us g a i n u n d e. Wre st nd la l ri onug nded of the a tp ep xrto a bc eh y otno d Bible our im ek e s i n t o s tmue dd yi atta c o na te t. cx co unt how any given passage fits into the bigger picture of what the Bible has to say, honoring context, authorship, style, and more.

Week 4 Common Unhelpful habits Problem: is not magical and it does not serve our whims, nor is its primary function to answer our questions. Give the bible a vigorous shake and open it. Placing my finger blindly on a verse. ed d n ou r to l l h e W oac udy r p st ap at e h l t Bib es z i is gn e o l c re Bib ore e m th ays d with w l a rne on e i s c i n co dec n the e th ha t er ons k i s a i m s. e dec v sel m e th

Week 4 Common Unhelpful habits Problem: Does not build ownership of scripture. We gain fragmented knowledge of many books of the bible. But mastery of none. AKA the topical Bible study Well rounded approach to Bible study addresses a topic as it arises in scripture rather than attaching scripture to a topic.

Week 4 Common Unhelpful habits Telephone Game Approach Read books about the bible instead of the bible itself. Reading resources about the Problem: we are called to love the Lord our God with all of our mind, not some other a u t h o r ’s m i n d. ded n u ro to l l h We c roa p p udy t a s at e l h t b Bi zes i n the g t o rec s abou e a a k r o a o b le ot n bib t men e l e. p t p u t u s ti subs

Week 4 Common Unhelpful habits Jack Sprat Picky eating pick and choose what you want to read or easily identify with. Problem: All Scripture is God breathed and profitable, we need a balanced diet to grow in maturity. Well rounded approach to Bible study challenges us to learn the full counsel of Gods word. Helps us to build a collective understanding of how the Bible

Why Week 4 Bible Literacy Matters Protects us from falling into error. Because we do not know our Bibles, we crumble at the most basic challenges to our worldview. Rather than acting as salt and light, we become bland contributions to the environments we inhabit and shape, indistinguishable from those who have never been changed by the gospel.