1 00:00:00,270 --> 00:00:02,880 I had a pen blow up on me yesterday. 2 00:00:02,890 --> 00:00:06,460 My fountain pen exploded. This is going to be at the 3 00:00:06,470 --> 00:00:08,480 beginning of this gonna be like the cut in. 4 00:00:08,570 --> 00:00:12,220 Hey, friend, welcome to another episode of the Sunday Sit Down. 5 00:00:12,230 --> 00:00:14,940 We are happy that you are here. And whether you're listening or 6 00:00:14,950 --> 00:00:17,960 watching, whether you're in your car driving, hey, if you're in 7 00:00:17,970 --> 00:00:20,970 your car driving and you are watching, probably don't do 8 00:00:20,980 --> 00:00:23,070 that. That is not the way to listen to 9 00:00:23,080 --> 00:00:26,020 the podcast. But we know that many of you are 10 00:00:26,030 --> 00:00:28,560 listening all throughout the week and we think that's 11 00:00:28,570 --> 00:00:31,220 fantastic. We are having a conversation 12 00:00:31,290 --> 00:00:34,130 today about how to read the Bible. 13 00:00:34,200 --> 00:00:36,210 That's that's our topic of conversation. 14 00:00:36,280 --> 00:00:39,510 And we think that this passage is a good launching point for 15 00:00:39,520 --> 00:00:44,570 that kind of conversation. Just how we got ourselves to a 16 00:00:44,580 --> 00:00:47,260 place where we were preaching on Sunday. 17 00:00:47,270 --> 00:00:51,380 And I say we because like it was a collective effort. 18 00:00:51,390 --> 00:00:54,440 It was like a collective. Heavy lift struggle it was. 19 00:00:54,450 --> 00:00:55,830 And then a collective effort. Yeah, yeah. 20 00:00:55,840 --> 00:00:58,120 Yeah. So, you know, I think that's 21 00:00:58,130 --> 00:00:59,270 great. If you miss the sermon on 22 00:00:59,280 --> 00:01:03,010 Sunday, let me just like super briefly say I started by saying 23 00:01:03,020 --> 00:01:08,110 that for those of you who don't know, Justin and Allison member 24 00:01:08,120 --> 00:01:11,540 in the congregation and I, the three of Us Weekly, we sit down 25 00:01:11,550 --> 00:01:17,420 and we read the passage usually, hopefully it's been like before 26 00:01:17,430 --> 00:01:19,750 we've done any commentary study. We'll get into that. 27 00:01:19,760 --> 00:01:24,440 Any reading? Like we just go in mostly blind. 28 00:01:24,510 --> 00:01:27,480 Dog do do some inductive studying basically, yeah, it's 29 00:01:27,490 --> 00:01:31,960 it's Allison has an expert. I I would call her an expert and 30 00:01:31,970 --> 00:01:34,140 inductive Bible study. She wouldn't say that, but I 31 00:01:34,150 --> 00:01:40,760 will say it for her that like she's so keyed in with that way 32 00:01:40,770 --> 00:01:44,480 of, of studying Scripture that we we do not like in like the 33 00:01:44,490 --> 00:01:47,280 most like legalistic sense. We're not doing like a 34 00:01:47,290 --> 00:01:50,820 legalistic inductive study in that moment, but we are spending 35 00:01:50,830 --> 00:01:54,350 time trying to sort it out before jumping to yeah. 36 00:01:54,360 --> 00:01:56,110 Commentaries, yeah. And it's great. 37 00:01:56,120 --> 00:01:59,490 Like as a preacher, I've done a number of different. 38 00:01:59,500 --> 00:02:02,830 So I've been involved in team ministries where we've done 39 00:02:02,840 --> 00:02:05,710 preaching prep meetings and like preaching debrief meetings. 40 00:02:05,720 --> 00:02:08,580 I've been involved in solo ministry where you're just, 41 00:02:08,590 --> 00:02:11,160 you're on your own and you kind of got to rally some people 42 00:02:11,170 --> 00:02:14,830 around if you want any kind of team approach to things. 43 00:02:14,840 --> 00:02:20,870 And I would like I, I cannot explain or express how 44 00:02:20,880 --> 00:02:25,610 beneficial the team approach is to teaching, to preaching when 45 00:02:25,620 --> 00:02:29,500 you think about the long run of, you know, of preachers over, you 46 00:02:29,510 --> 00:02:32,390 know, hopefully many, many, many years of wrestling out texts. 47 00:02:32,400 --> 00:02:34,900 So I think it's gonna be a good conversation. 48 00:02:35,430 --> 00:02:38,800 And hopefully it helps you have a conversation if you are 49 00:02:38,810 --> 00:02:41,300 wrestling out, like how to read Scripture, how to read the 50 00:02:41,310 --> 00:02:44,180 Bible, what can that look like? What ought to it look like? 51 00:02:44,190 --> 00:02:46,780 And maybe some of the questions that come up, you know, what do 52 00:02:46,790 --> 00:02:49,450 I do when I don't understand? So yeah, we're going to jump in. 53 00:02:49,460 --> 00:02:52,900 You've got a couple of questions and we'll kind of run off the 54 00:02:52,910 --> 00:02:55,510 text for it. Yeah, see how we go. 55 00:02:55,580 --> 00:03:00,320 So, so Jesus starts, you know, the crowds increase. 56 00:03:00,330 --> 00:03:02,360 Jesus said this is a wicked generation. 57 00:03:02,370 --> 00:03:07,860 Great start, by the way, like, you know, you just like one of 58 00:03:07,870 --> 00:03:10,870 the, one of the greatest things is when you start your passage 59 00:03:10,880 --> 00:03:14,840 for the morning that you're a wicked generation, like, and 60 00:03:14,850 --> 00:03:17,590 that in and of itself like, like, like we got to talk about 61 00:03:17,600 --> 00:03:18,910 that. We got to unpack some of those 62 00:03:18,920 --> 00:03:20,350 things, right? Like what is what does he mean 63 00:03:20,360 --> 00:03:23,140 by that? Or like, anyway, anyway, so and 64 00:03:23,150 --> 00:03:25,310 then he gives like these two examples, you, you spend a 65 00:03:25,320 --> 00:03:27,950 longer time unpacking Jonah and then a little less time 66 00:03:27,960 --> 00:03:31,290 unpacking the, you know, this Solomon and this queen from the 67 00:03:31,300 --> 00:03:34,030 South, queen, the queen of Sheba, who, who approached 68 00:03:34,040 --> 00:03:38,110 Solomon for wisdom. And even within those two 69 00:03:38,120 --> 00:03:41,230 stories, we're reading this Bible, we're reading this, this 70 00:03:41,240 --> 00:03:45,040 passage from the Bible, from the Gospel of Luke, all of a sudden 71 00:03:45,050 --> 00:03:48,250 we're being inundated with stuff that we gotta know if we're 72 00:03:48,260 --> 00:03:49,600 going to properly understand this, right. 73 00:03:49,610 --> 00:03:51,690 So I don't know if that's maybe a starting point of like, you 74 00:03:51,700 --> 00:03:54,600 know, like sometimes we gotta start cross referencing. 75 00:03:54,650 --> 00:03:55,440 Yeah. You know. 76 00:03:56,080 --> 00:03:58,980 Yeah, I think it's helpful. So when we're reading, when 77 00:03:58,990 --> 00:04:01,330 you're reading the Bible, I think the number one thing I 78 00:04:01,340 --> 00:04:09,310 wish people would always do is read the Bible. 79 00:04:10,900 --> 00:04:15,430 How do I say this like allow scripture, allow different 80 00:04:15,440 --> 00:04:19,269 scriptures to interpret and help you unpack and understand other 81 00:04:19,279 --> 00:04:22,850 scriptures. So that's exactly, I think as 82 00:04:22,860 --> 00:04:27,480 soon as we read this passage, for example, you know, I think 83 00:04:27,530 --> 00:04:31,420 each of us very quickly, you know, you're recognizing for, 84 00:04:31,470 --> 00:04:35,240 for us as, as as followers of Jesus, as Christians, as 85 00:04:35,250 --> 00:04:39,000 preachers, as pastors in, in various seasons of life, they 86 00:04:39,010 --> 00:04:42,630 are the three of us. And we we recognize these 87 00:04:42,640 --> 00:04:44,940 stories. And I think each of us sat up 88 00:04:44,950 --> 00:04:49,520 and go, OK, Jonah, we know this makes much more sense, at least 89 00:04:49,530 --> 00:04:52,520 initially. OK, Queen of the South, what's 90 00:04:52,530 --> 00:04:54,760 going on there? Different language. 91 00:04:54,830 --> 00:04:58,400 And so immediately what I love about the way in which we 92 00:04:58,410 --> 00:05:03,050 approach things is we're not going to necessarily like Google 93 00:05:03,060 --> 00:05:09,530 something or just like default to searching for it online or in 94 00:05:09,540 --> 00:05:12,930 commentaries. But I think pretty quickly we 95 00:05:12,940 --> 00:05:17,730 realized our we've got to figure out who the players are here and 96 00:05:17,740 --> 00:05:19,450 so that we can understand what's going on. 97 00:05:19,460 --> 00:05:21,370 Queen of the South, what's going on there? 98 00:05:21,380 --> 00:05:25,630 You've got Solomon. So, OK, kings, like first kings, 99 00:05:26,220 --> 00:05:31,240 but I think you pulled up the story in our discussion about 100 00:05:31,250 --> 00:05:32,440 the Queen of Sheba. I was like I. 101 00:05:32,450 --> 00:05:34,810 Think it's the Queen of Sheba. And I was like, I can't believe 102 00:05:34,820 --> 00:05:37,000 I remembered that. Like it's, it's a little bit 103 00:05:37,010 --> 00:05:38,340 obscure, right? Yeah. 104 00:05:38,350 --> 00:05:42,940 And meanwhile, I so my wife, who is, she's a Bible scholar in her 105 00:05:42,950 --> 00:05:45,600 own right. She I said, I said I couldn't 106 00:05:45,610 --> 00:05:47,000 even remember. She's like you, you didn't 107 00:05:47,010 --> 00:05:50,100 remember that. And I was like, yeah, OK, OK, 108 00:05:50,110 --> 00:05:52,910 you can say that. Now, no, no. 109 00:05:53,010 --> 00:05:56,120 So I think it's helpful, like I think it's helpful just if we're 110 00:05:56,130 --> 00:05:59,660 talking about really practical ways of reading the Bible and if 111 00:05:59,670 --> 00:06:04,190 you're looking to study the Bible, I think one of the best 112 00:06:04,200 --> 00:06:07,480 things you can do, and you can do this for free or you can do 113 00:06:07,490 --> 00:06:12,030 this by spending a bit of money, and that is to get a Bible with 114 00:06:12,040 --> 00:06:15,770 good cross referencing. Because like, so my Bible has a 115 00:06:15,780 --> 00:06:18,350 little bit of cross referencing at the bottom. 116 00:06:18,360 --> 00:06:22,600 It's it has some, you know, some notes about manuscripts where 117 00:06:22,610 --> 00:06:24,090 words might be different. Yeah. 118 00:06:24,160 --> 00:06:25,870 And that's a completely different subject. 119 00:06:25,880 --> 00:06:33,150 But it has along the side some cross references, usually to the 120 00:06:33,160 --> 00:06:35,650 other Gospels when we're in the Gospels. 121 00:06:37,080 --> 00:06:40,740 Parallel passages, etcetera. Yeah, but for example, in in my 122 00:06:40,750 --> 00:06:44,810 Bible here, when I get to Solomon and the Queen from the 123 00:06:44,820 --> 00:06:49,050 South, I look over and I've got a little note that says 1131 124 00:06:49,060 --> 00:06:52,830 First Kings 10 One Second Chronicles 9/1. 125 00:06:52,840 --> 00:06:55,550 So just gives it right to you. So gives it to me and then 126 00:06:55,560 --> 00:06:59,620 immediately I'm able to flip back and look and read some of 127 00:06:59,630 --> 00:07:02,650 those stories. So I think the, the, now there 128 00:07:02,660 --> 00:07:05,790 are different types of reading scripture. 129 00:07:05,800 --> 00:07:10,870 So you can do something closer to like electio, uh, where 130 00:07:10,880 --> 00:07:15,810 you're, you're reading smaller chunks in a more prayerful 131 00:07:15,820 --> 00:07:20,600 slowdown way where you're just trying to be quiet and allow God 132 00:07:20,610 --> 00:07:22,810 to speak to you. And, you know, you're focusing 133 00:07:22,820 --> 00:07:25,510 on a few verses and you're reading it slowly. 134 00:07:25,640 --> 00:07:30,690 You're not reading in that sense for understanding as much or, or 135 00:07:30,700 --> 00:07:34,670 knowledge as much as you're reading for inspiration. 136 00:07:34,680 --> 00:07:36,810 Like, you know, that, that it's, it's a prayer. 137 00:07:36,820 --> 00:07:39,620 It's I, I think it's, it's a, it's a way of reading scripture 138 00:07:39,630 --> 00:07:42,220 in a prayerful way that allows God to speak to you. 139 00:07:42,270 --> 00:07:45,720 Meditative and kind of devotionally focused. 140 00:07:45,730 --> 00:07:48,160 Yeah, Yeah. And yeah, there's a part of 141 00:07:48,220 --> 00:07:51,750 reading scripture that that is so important and beautiful to do 142 00:07:51,760 --> 00:07:54,120 in that way. I think when we're reading and 143 00:07:54,130 --> 00:07:58,340 what we're talking about is like, how do you understand just 144 00:07:58,350 --> 00:08:01,100 the what the book is saying? What is like? 145 00:08:01,110 --> 00:08:04,730 What's going? On how does that impact what's 146 00:08:04,740 --> 00:08:06,700 happening in the greater story of Luke? 147 00:08:06,710 --> 00:08:09,790 How does that potentially back to my life like, yeah, the the 148 00:08:09,800 --> 00:08:13,350 questions of of the more existential questions of 149 00:08:13,360 --> 00:08:14,240 Scripture. Right. 150 00:08:14,250 --> 00:08:17,880 So, yeah, so that's that's one. I think this the way we're 151 00:08:17,890 --> 00:08:21,850 reading the second way is, yeah, is, is to figure out what's 152 00:08:21,860 --> 00:08:23,330 going on. And the language that I really 153 00:08:23,340 --> 00:08:26,210 like in this case is Timothy Keller. 154 00:08:26,220 --> 00:08:31,880 The way he's described this in the past is before you can 155 00:08:31,890 --> 00:08:35,120 really, I'm going to butcher any quotes so you know, like this is 156 00:08:35,130 --> 00:08:36,900 like the grand version, whatever. 157 00:08:36,909 --> 00:08:42,429 But you know, he, he says before you can understand what's going 158 00:08:42,440 --> 00:08:49,150 on in a way that you can apply a principle or a thing to your 159 00:08:49,160 --> 00:08:53,230 life, you need to notice. He just says, notice the thing. 160 00:08:53,480 --> 00:08:56,950 So he's like, first, what do we notice when you're reading? 161 00:08:57,280 --> 00:09:00,990 And I think that's part of our conversation is always what 162 00:09:01,000 --> 00:09:02,550 we're noticing as we're reading it. 163 00:09:02,560 --> 00:09:04,550 And it could be a passage that we're reading for the first time 164 00:09:04,560 --> 00:09:06,450 in a long, long time. It could be something that we've 165 00:09:06,460 --> 00:09:09,030 read, You know, we had the Lord's Prayer where you're 166 00:09:09,040 --> 00:09:12,470 working really hard to not just flip into what you've maybe 167 00:09:12,480 --> 00:09:14,170 memorized said over and over again. 168 00:09:14,300 --> 00:09:18,510 Yeah, you've read this line thousands of times potentially. 169 00:09:19,460 --> 00:09:21,720 I think a good place to start when you're reading scripture is 170 00:09:21,730 --> 00:09:25,690 just by writing down what you're noticing and then taking what 171 00:09:25,700 --> 00:09:29,250 you're noticing and going, OK, what do I know? 172 00:09:29,260 --> 00:09:31,670 So I I think we and I can say this. 173 00:09:31,680 --> 00:09:35,530 We recognized instantly, Joan. I, like we've said, but less so, 174 00:09:35,540 --> 00:09:37,730 Queen of the South. Do we know that this is the 175 00:09:37,740 --> 00:09:39,210 Queen of Sheba? Is this the queen of Sheba 176 00:09:39,250 --> 00:09:42,890 visited Solomon, who is seeking for wisdom and found, you know, 177 00:09:42,900 --> 00:09:44,950 what she was looking for. She's given, this is the part of 178 00:09:44,960 --> 00:09:45,900 the story that we didn't get into. 179 00:09:45,910 --> 00:09:49,580 Like she's given so much wealth and riches because she comes and 180 00:09:49,590 --> 00:09:54,410 then like, you know, a kind of declare Solomon's wisdom and 181 00:09:54,420 --> 00:09:57,070 then also declares, you know, blessed as the Lord, praise be 182 00:09:57,080 --> 00:09:59,550 to the Lord, to to the Lord your God. 183 00:10:00,100 --> 00:10:05,750 And then she was Solomon gives her like a insane amount of of 184 00:10:05,840 --> 00:10:09,820 riches and she goes on her way and you're like, OK, well, 185 00:10:10,040 --> 00:10:12,890 interesting. That's a weird story. 186 00:10:13,440 --> 00:10:15,340 But what do we what can we take away from it? 187 00:10:15,350 --> 00:10:17,530 And what is Jesus trying to say through it here? 188 00:10:17,540 --> 00:10:20,410 You need to you need to notice it, You need to write it down. 189 00:10:20,420 --> 00:10:22,550 You need to make note of it. And then you need to start 190 00:10:22,560 --> 00:10:24,670 figuring out, OK, do I know all of these players? 191 00:10:24,680 --> 00:10:26,910 Do I know all the names? Am I familiar with the stories? 192 00:10:26,920 --> 00:10:31,130 Maybe I'll go back and read it. So it's not expensive way, but 193 00:10:31,140 --> 00:10:34,310 you can spend money on a Bible that does this, which has some 194 00:10:34,320 --> 00:10:37,220 cross referencing built into it. The second thing that I would 195 00:10:37,230 --> 00:10:39,520 say really practically is just go to Bible Gateway. 196 00:10:39,530 --> 00:10:42,240 Yeah, Bible Gateway and new version if you're on a tablet 197 00:10:42,250 --> 00:10:43,810 or. Phone so I'm on you version 198 00:10:43,820 --> 00:10:47,840 right now and it actually does exist in the NIV here does not. 199 00:10:47,850 --> 00:10:50,820 Have cross references. Maybe maybe there's an option to 200 00:10:50,830 --> 00:10:53,050 toggle that on that I'm not seeing. 201 00:10:53,130 --> 00:10:58,480 But but yes, Bible Gateway for sure has all the cross 202 00:10:58,490 --> 00:11:00,820 references. I brought my iPad. 203 00:11:00,870 --> 00:11:04,310 And it's dead. Yeah, I I downloaded a drawing 204 00:11:04,320 --> 00:11:07,370 app on it like it's like a paint by number drawing app. 205 00:11:07,380 --> 00:11:09,650 And did your child one of your children use it? 206 00:11:09,720 --> 00:11:13,230 Yeah, I'm not gonna say which ones, but it's dead. 207 00:11:13,240 --> 00:11:16,570 I brought this because I have some quotes on it from my sermon 208 00:11:16,580 --> 00:11:18,450 and. No, you don't. 209 00:11:18,460 --> 00:11:23,480 No, I don't unless you remember. OK, so Bible Gateway and that 210 00:11:23,490 --> 00:11:27,760 does have absolutely certain that that has all the cross 211 00:11:27,770 --> 00:11:30,680 referencing that you could want or be looking for. 212 00:11:30,750 --> 00:11:32,740 Yeah. So there's a paid, you know, 213 00:11:32,750 --> 00:11:35,330 paid way of carrying around a Bible with some cross 214 00:11:35,690 --> 00:11:39,180 referencing. There's a free version online, 215 00:11:39,190 --> 00:11:42,430 on a phone, wherever. But I think, yeah, the first 216 00:11:42,440 --> 00:11:46,230 step in the type of this type of reading is notice. 217 00:11:46,310 --> 00:11:49,660 Like read, notice the things you're noticing, then try to 218 00:11:49,670 --> 00:11:52,360 notice the things that you're not noticing initially. 219 00:11:52,470 --> 00:11:55,580 That's why it's great to do it in a group because guaranteed 220 00:11:55,590 --> 00:11:58,980 every single time we sit down, we're noticing different things 221 00:11:59,200 --> 00:12:03,290 and then start to unpack, OK, figure out the, of the things 222 00:12:03,300 --> 00:12:07,190 that I've noticed, is there any more work that I need to do? 223 00:12:07,200 --> 00:12:10,530 Are there any more passages that need to go read and do that? 224 00:12:10,540 --> 00:12:12,650 And I would say do this with a pen and paper. 225 00:12:12,660 --> 00:12:17,350 Like we're constantly as we're going, writing stuff down and 226 00:12:17,440 --> 00:12:21,710 making notes right in Bibles on manuscripts that we've printed 227 00:12:21,720 --> 00:12:25,680 out. Yeah, and, and you know, the, 228 00:12:25,690 --> 00:12:28,620 the beauty of doing it, and This is why I give you can do this 229 00:12:28,840 --> 00:12:33,460 with multiple people. Like you're gonna get multiple 230 00:12:33,660 --> 00:12:35,840 perspectives. And and by that, I, I want to be 231 00:12:35,850 --> 00:12:39,340 clear in that I'm saying like, I think you can derive, you know, 232 00:12:39,390 --> 00:12:42,420 a particular meaning, but we're all tackling it in different 233 00:12:42,430 --> 00:12:44,260 ways, right. So, like your brain works 234 00:12:44,270 --> 00:12:46,540 differently than my brain. Yeah, we're two guys. 235 00:12:46,630 --> 00:12:49,880 And then for someone like Allison, even even more so as a 236 00:12:49,890 --> 00:12:53,580 woman, she's seeing things that we're missing. 237 00:12:53,690 --> 00:12:55,470 Yeah, because we're boneheaded sometimes. 238 00:12:55,540 --> 00:12:57,570 And it's great. Like, yeah, that's exactly, 239 00:12:57,630 --> 00:12:59,930 that's exactly right. And yeah, we need to see what 240 00:12:59,940 --> 00:13:03,280 other people see and other people need to see what you see. 241 00:13:03,290 --> 00:13:04,470 Yeah. The beauty of doing it in 242 00:13:04,480 --> 00:13:06,990 community, I think anybody who's been to community Bible study 243 00:13:07,000 --> 00:13:11,730 that we've done here or elsewhere knows that benefit 244 00:13:11,740 --> 00:13:14,720 first hand, right? Because we can say it. 245 00:13:14,730 --> 00:13:17,310 There's a knowledge piece, there's an understanding piece, 246 00:13:18,870 --> 00:13:23,140 and yeah, it. So yeah, notice, notice and 247 00:13:23,230 --> 00:13:24,960 write down. Get in front of. 248 00:13:24,970 --> 00:13:28,800 You so I want to touch on particularly this example of of 249 00:13:28,810 --> 00:13:32,420 the Queen of the South, the queen of Sheba that that Jesus 250 00:13:32,490 --> 00:13:38,620 alludes to and the you know what what Jesus is seems to be 251 00:13:38,630 --> 00:13:40,620 getting out here. He says for she came from the 252 00:13:40,630 --> 00:13:43,160 ends of the earth to listen to Solomon's wisdom. 253 00:13:43,430 --> 00:13:47,580 And now something greater than Solomon is here and, and there 254 00:13:47,590 --> 00:13:51,680 seems to be embedded in this passage this sort of like 255 00:13:52,790 --> 00:13:57,500 layered conversation around, around they're seeking signs. 256 00:13:57,870 --> 00:14:02,140 And, and Jesus is, is saying this woman, she traveled 257 00:14:02,150 --> 00:14:07,130 hundreds of miles to seek wisdom and you're, and, and this stuff 258 00:14:07,140 --> 00:14:11,320 is right in front of you and you're still asking for signs. 259 00:14:12,730 --> 00:14:15,720 And so there's a, I mean, there's something almost comical 260 00:14:15,790 --> 00:14:20,660 there, like, yeah, but, but I think for us, there's, there's 261 00:14:20,670 --> 00:14:24,780 something about the seeking of wisdom that I think I want to 262 00:14:24,790 --> 00:14:28,400 tap into in, you know, in our reading of Scripture, not just 263 00:14:28,410 --> 00:14:31,360 in this passage, but for all, everything, every time we read. 264 00:14:31,650 --> 00:14:35,760 So let's talk about that. Yeah, I think that's good. 265 00:14:35,770 --> 00:14:44,310 So there's a way of I OK, I preached this admittedly from 266 00:14:44,800 --> 00:14:51,170 more of what I would call like the negative side of like, 267 00:14:51,220 --> 00:14:52,810 you're right. Like this is this is right in 268 00:14:52,820 --> 00:14:57,090 front of you and you're missing the you're missing it right like 269 00:14:57,100 --> 00:14:59,890 and and that is a harsh, like Jesus does level that harsh 270 00:14:59,900 --> 00:15:01,650 criticism. It's about to get harsher this. 271 00:15:01,660 --> 00:15:03,190 Week. And it is going to get harsher 272 00:15:03,200 --> 00:15:04,860 this week. Yeah, yeah, He's gonna eat with 273 00:15:04,870 --> 00:15:07,970 some Pharisees and challenge them even more. 274 00:15:08,940 --> 00:15:14,550 But you know, I, I, I think there's a, there's a reading, 275 00:15:14,820 --> 00:15:17,390 there's a write reading of that where you, we need to see it. 276 00:15:17,400 --> 00:15:19,730 We need to see Jesus critiquing these people. 277 00:15:19,840 --> 00:15:22,230 He says something greater than Solomon is here, something 278 00:15:22,240 --> 00:15:23,990 greater than Jonah is here, and you're missing it. 279 00:15:24,000 --> 00:15:27,460 It's right in front of you. You don't understand, you don't 280 00:15:27,470 --> 00:15:31,430 see it. So we need to we need to read 281 00:15:31,440 --> 00:15:33,780 that and understand that and hear that and see it and and 282 00:15:33,790 --> 00:15:35,460 wonder about our own lives. Like what? 283 00:15:35,470 --> 00:15:40,200 And this is this is where I took us yesterday, which was, you 284 00:15:40,210 --> 00:15:43,220 know, are there ways that God is acting in my life where maybe 285 00:15:43,230 --> 00:15:46,200 I'm asking, I'm asking God like, give me the big sign. 286 00:15:46,210 --> 00:15:52,120 We want this spectacular, but we we fail to see the everyday ways 287 00:15:52,130 --> 00:15:53,740 that God is at work in our lives. 288 00:15:53,750 --> 00:15:56,000 And I think that is something that we need to wrestle with. 289 00:15:56,010 --> 00:15:58,760 And I think we need to wrestle with it for so many reasons. 290 00:15:58,770 --> 00:16:01,680 Like we stink at slowing down and we stink at being quiet. 291 00:16:01,690 --> 00:16:05,260 And our life is loud and noisy and the world is noisy. 292 00:16:05,270 --> 00:16:11,430 And, you know, I flipped my phone to black and white a while 293 00:16:11,440 --> 00:16:13,680 ago and you know, we've talked about some of this stuff. 294 00:16:14,420 --> 00:16:19,090 Um, I'm like shocked Whenever I flip it back to colour now, it's 295 00:16:19,100 --> 00:16:22,410 like, well, like it just like it's oppressive, almost like it 296 00:16:22,420 --> 00:16:25,640 hits me and I'm like, Oh my goodness, this is so 297 00:16:25,700 --> 00:16:28,610 aggressively colourful. And then I flip it back to black 298 00:16:28,620 --> 00:16:30,270 and white. I'm like, OK, this is good. 299 00:16:30,340 --> 00:16:33,910 Like all of life is like, we want these massive sort of big 300 00:16:33,920 --> 00:16:35,200 hit you in the face kind of things. 301 00:16:35,210 --> 00:16:39,990 And I think we fail to see the way in which God is probably at 302 00:16:40,000 --> 00:16:44,690 work in mundane, everyday ways. There's a book that I really 303 00:16:44,700 --> 00:16:46,430 love. It's called Liturgy of the 304 00:16:46,440 --> 00:16:49,370 Ordinary, and it's like making toast. 305 00:16:49,800 --> 00:16:54,350 How can you turn making breakfast into a liturgy that 306 00:16:54,360 --> 00:16:57,830 welcomes and invites and sees and senses God's presence? 307 00:16:57,880 --> 00:16:59,840 So like brother Lawrence kind of vibes. 308 00:17:00,140 --> 00:17:03,560 Yes, absolutely, absolutely. Doing this is like doing dishes. 309 00:17:03,570 --> 00:17:08,940 Yeah, absolutely. And so, you know, I think we do, 310 00:17:08,950 --> 00:17:12,420 we do need to hear that critique that Jesus levels to the crowds. 311 00:17:13,030 --> 00:17:17,920 What I didn't say on Sunday, which I want to say today, is 312 00:17:17,930 --> 00:17:21,420 that we can, there's a possibility, I think, for people 313 00:17:21,430 --> 00:17:27,530 to hear this in an unhealthful, negative way, which is to say 314 00:17:27,540 --> 00:17:30,870 you do the study, you do the work, you read the book, you are 315 00:17:30,880 --> 00:17:34,590 curious and excited and you actually sit down and you do it 316 00:17:34,600 --> 00:17:37,280 and you're underlining stuff and you get to the end and you're 317 00:17:37,290 --> 00:17:40,890 like, I still don't understand. Am I part of this wicked 318 00:17:40,900 --> 00:17:45,090 generation? Yeah, like unequivocally. 319 00:17:45,100 --> 00:17:49,700 I mean, maybe, but but for that reason, no. 320 00:17:49,870 --> 00:17:52,260 Yes and no, right. Yes, yeah. 321 00:17:52,270 --> 00:17:55,670 For that reason, no. So here's The thing is, you 322 00:17:55,680 --> 00:17:59,340 know, we, we emphasize and I think our like our 323 00:17:59,350 --> 00:18:02,320 denominational heritage and I say our like for court, right as 324 00:18:02,330 --> 00:18:06,960 a church in the Reformed tradition, as Presbyterians, we 325 00:18:07,030 --> 00:18:13,940 have the tendency and it's not a good one to idolize intellectual 326 00:18:13,950 --> 00:18:15,400 pursuit. Yes. 327 00:18:15,580 --> 00:18:21,730 So, you know, since, since the Reformation, there has been a, a 328 00:18:21,740 --> 00:18:25,200 very strong shift. It's why preaching, like 329 00:18:25,210 --> 00:18:28,270 teaching is a large part of our worship together. 330 00:18:28,280 --> 00:18:33,620 And it's why, you know, you you can sit down in some Reformed 331 00:18:33,630 --> 00:18:42,580 churches and you know the the preaching will be 4550 sixty 332 00:18:42,590 --> 00:18:46,720 minutes long. And I won't be 60 minutes long. 333 00:18:46,730 --> 00:18:49,320 I shouldn't promise that I won't be 60 minutes long, but I 334 00:18:49,330 --> 00:18:53,290 promise I won't be 60 minutes long on a Sunday like that is. 335 00:18:53,300 --> 00:18:58,200 You haven't gotten close, so. Far No, 35 is kind of my, you 336 00:18:58,210 --> 00:19:03,700 know, in between that 28 to 35 is kind of like, yeah, but we 337 00:19:03,710 --> 00:19:06,120 can, we can. So this is this is the piece. 338 00:19:06,130 --> 00:19:11,600 We can we can idolize this intellectual pursuit of 339 00:19:11,610 --> 00:19:18,230 knowledge, what we think of as wisdom or even understanding and 340 00:19:18,800 --> 00:19:25,150 what we can end U doing is in fact also what Jesus is saying, 341 00:19:25,620 --> 00:19:28,290 missing the experience that's unfolding in front of us, 342 00:19:28,300 --> 00:19:33,670 missing the presence of God that is imminent that is here in our 343 00:19:33,680 --> 00:19:38,410 lives because we're so locked in on just if I could just know 344 00:19:38,460 --> 00:19:45,400 this answer or know this thing, then I could live differently. 345 00:19:45,470 --> 00:19:50,900 O what I want to say to people is what we see in this, I think 346 00:19:50,910 --> 00:19:56,560 is some of the brilliance of Jesus here is when he talks 347 00:19:56,570 --> 00:20:01,980 about the Queen of the South, so the Queen of the South, what he 348 00:20:01,990 --> 00:20:05,410 highlights. Is that she came from the ends 349 00:20:05,420 --> 00:20:08,600 of the earth to listen to Solomon's wisdom. 350 00:20:09,600 --> 00:20:13,170 What what he highlights isn't she finally understood? 351 00:20:13,240 --> 00:20:15,270 Hmm. Yeah, Jesus doesn't say she got 352 00:20:15,280 --> 00:20:20,400 it, just doesn't say she, she attained the knowledge, the 353 00:20:20,410 --> 00:20:23,860 wisdom. Um, what he highlights is that 354 00:20:23,870 --> 00:20:28,020 she sought out Solomon because she was curious. 355 00:20:28,350 --> 00:20:30,240 And that's the first king story, right? 356 00:20:30,250 --> 00:20:33,830 Like it's the, the rumors of Solomon, I think is the 357 00:20:33,840 --> 00:20:38,400 language, rumors of the wisdom of this dude has just blown up 358 00:20:38,410 --> 00:20:44,560 across the, the known world and she chooses to go and find out 359 00:20:44,570 --> 00:20:47,540 for herself. Doesn't take anybody's word on 360 00:20:47,550 --> 00:20:49,760 it, doesn't just blindly accept or believe. 361 00:20:49,810 --> 00:20:53,140 Doesn't, you know, ignore It doesn't just dismiss it doesn't 362 00:20:53,150 --> 00:20:55,810 say, well, that that has nothing to do with me or my life. 363 00:20:55,820 --> 00:21:00,530 Here she travels quote from the ends of the Earth, which is a 364 00:21:00,540 --> 00:21:03,740 very specific term in the New Testament. 365 00:21:04,810 --> 00:21:07,190 Doesn't basically mean far far away. 366 00:21:07,760 --> 00:21:12,400 Like, well, like all in, like. So when Jesus in Acts, it's it's 367 00:21:12,410 --> 00:21:14,050 a Luke, it's Luke's language, right. 368 00:21:14,060 --> 00:21:16,970 In Acts, when Jesus sends the disciples out, what does he say? 369 00:21:16,980 --> 00:21:20,550 He says you'll be my, you'll be my witnesses in GD and Samaria 370 00:21:20,620 --> 00:21:22,710 and to the ends of the earth. Yeah. 371 00:21:22,750 --> 00:21:29,020 And so, yeah, it's far off, but it really is, it really is 372 00:21:29,080 --> 00:21:34,550 speaking to like the absolute furthest place that they can 373 00:21:34,700 --> 00:21:37,380 conceive at that time. Which in this case may have 374 00:21:37,390 --> 00:21:40,040 been, there's some theories that it may have been like, like 375 00:21:40,090 --> 00:21:41,560 Ethiopia or something like that. Yeah. 376 00:21:41,570 --> 00:21:46,080 So like hundreds of miles away. Right, definitely a very, very, 377 00:21:46,090 --> 00:21:52,280 very long yeah trip. So Jesus highlights her pursuit 378 00:21:52,750 --> 00:21:59,390 and I think for us, the flip is you won't understand everything. 379 00:21:59,440 --> 00:22:04,850 And I hope that what, what I did on Sunday was, um, you know, a 380 00:22:04,860 --> 00:22:07,950 little bit of like insider trading or insider baseball, 381 00:22:08,120 --> 00:22:10,570 Like we don't understand all the things all the time. 382 00:22:10,620 --> 00:22:12,510 Yeah. And when I get up to preach, 383 00:22:12,520 --> 00:22:16,200 it's not because I'm this like fount of wisdom, right? 384 00:22:16,210 --> 00:22:18,850 Like, it's not like I, and This is why I think it's important to 385 00:22:18,860 --> 00:22:20,430 share some of these details. It's not like, you know, when 386 00:22:20,440 --> 00:22:23,250 you hop up to preach, it's not because, you know, we're sitting 387 00:22:23,260 --> 00:22:26,070 here going, well, Justin's the expert on this part of the 388 00:22:26,080 --> 00:22:27,410 Bible. So that's what you're going to 389 00:22:27,420 --> 00:22:29,870 speak about. Like we, each of us commit 390 00:22:29,880 --> 00:22:35,300 ourselves to deep study and wrestling the text out and, you 391 00:22:35,310 --> 00:22:42,780 know, basically fighting the, the, the implication out for our 392 00:22:42,790 --> 00:22:46,540 own lives and for the life of our church. 393 00:22:46,710 --> 00:22:49,280 And that's a process. It takes time for sure. 394 00:22:49,290 --> 00:22:53,150 And I think what we want for our, for you to hear listener, 395 00:22:53,840 --> 00:22:58,440 is that, um, no amount of knowledge or wisdom is going to 396 00:22:58,450 --> 00:23:00,760 get you into heaven. Yes. 397 00:23:00,770 --> 00:23:02,660 Right. Like, yeah, you know, it's, it's 398 00:23:02,670 --> 00:23:09,100 not about knowing more, but what Jesus does say is, is pursue. 399 00:23:09,190 --> 00:23:13,400 And if I could just flip us back a few weeks. 400 00:23:13,630 --> 00:23:15,000 It's just going to go there, yeah. 401 00:23:15,050 --> 00:23:16,520 Yeah. So maybe pull that up, right, 402 00:23:16,530 --> 00:23:20,920 Because what? So he says ask, seek and knock. 403 00:23:21,000 --> 00:23:22,620 Hmm. And what we talked about on 404 00:23:22,630 --> 00:23:27,340 Sunday, on that Sunday was that the better language there, given 405 00:23:27,350 --> 00:23:31,300 the Greek translation is keep on asking. 406 00:23:33,010 --> 00:23:36,290 And Alt actually says that apparently is that was that 407 00:23:36,300 --> 00:23:37,560 someone? I feel like someone told me that 408 00:23:37,570 --> 00:23:41,990 and I was like, oh that's cool. I have the NLT here I. 409 00:23:43,560 --> 00:23:47,720 You have it here, but it's yes, keep on seeking and you will 410 00:23:47,730 --> 00:23:49,180 find. Keep on knocking. 411 00:23:49,980 --> 00:23:51,160 Yeah, Yeah. That's good. 412 00:23:51,210 --> 00:23:55,160 Yeah, like so like that's it. And and that's the that is the 413 00:23:55,170 --> 00:23:58,340 translation. That is literally what what is 414 00:23:58,350 --> 00:24:01,680 written in the Gospel of Luke. Is that it? 415 00:24:01,690 --> 00:24:05,460 It is, yeah. Keep on keep. 416 00:24:05,470 --> 00:24:08,500 It is. It is a present action that is 417 00:24:08,510 --> 00:24:13,120 meant to continue into, you know, essentially Infinity 418 00:24:13,830 --> 00:24:17,560 present present action that continues to be present actions 419 00:24:17,620 --> 00:24:19,300 in the future, if that makes sense. 420 00:24:19,310 --> 00:24:25,210 Yeah, and there's something about the ongoing pursuit not of 421 00:24:25,220 --> 00:24:26,910 knowledge. Knowledge is good. 422 00:24:26,920 --> 00:24:29,600 Knowledge can be helpful. It can, you know, understanding 423 00:24:29,610 --> 00:24:32,950 things can be great. But there is something different 424 00:24:32,960 --> 00:24:38,420 about the pursuit of wisdom that that I think that Jesus is 425 00:24:38,430 --> 00:24:43,300 touching on here, that he's like, the pursuit of wisdom is 426 00:24:43,310 --> 00:24:47,020 gonna be transformative. It's it's gonna, it's going to, 427 00:24:47,990 --> 00:24:51,330 it's gonna make a difference in your life and the lives of the 428 00:24:51,340 --> 00:24:55,650 people around you because it's not just vain, you know, head 429 00:24:55,660 --> 00:24:57,070 filling, right. Hmm. 430 00:24:57,240 --> 00:24:59,130 There's some, there's something about that too that I was 431 00:24:59,140 --> 00:25:00,010 thinking about. Yeah. 432 00:25:00,060 --> 00:25:04,190 Yeah, yeah, it yeah. I mean, I think we all each of 433 00:25:04,200 --> 00:25:07,110 us know this. You can, you can know something. 434 00:25:08,200 --> 00:25:12,310 Um, you can know something because you've memorized the 435 00:25:12,320 --> 00:25:15,250 thing and you can know something because you've experienced the 436 00:25:15,260 --> 00:25:16,840 thing. Yeah. 437 00:25:16,910 --> 00:25:19,620 And that that's different, right? 438 00:25:19,630 --> 00:25:22,680 And in English, I think knowledge in that sense maybe 439 00:25:22,690 --> 00:25:24,680 fails. And and I, you know, we, we use 440 00:25:24,690 --> 00:25:28,320 wisdom in, in that maybe, maybe that's in some sense the 441 00:25:28,330 --> 00:25:31,160 difference then when people use the word wisdom. 442 00:25:31,920 --> 00:25:37,780 But yeah, I think what Jesus is saying is keep on pursuing, keep 443 00:25:37,790 --> 00:25:42,540 on asking, keep on seeking, keep on knocking, lean in, keep 444 00:25:42,550 --> 00:25:45,540 wondering. And those are the things that 445 00:25:45,550 --> 00:25:48,840 Jesus is gonna honor. He's not, you know, He's not 446 00:25:48,850 --> 00:25:53,420 looking for a perfect test score or for you to finally get it 447 00:25:53,470 --> 00:25:56,030 right. You will there will be moments 448 00:25:56,040 --> 00:26:01,330 where you go, oh, OK, like, and those are exciting, but even 449 00:26:01,340 --> 00:26:04,190 those aren't like ultimately the moments, right? 450 00:26:04,200 --> 00:26:07,630 I think what, what Jesus wants is somebody whose heart is bent 451 00:26:07,640 --> 00:26:14,650 toward the pursuit of more, uh, like a, like a deeper, A deeper 452 00:26:14,660 --> 00:26:17,290 relationship with, with God. And I think that's OK. 453 00:26:17,300 --> 00:26:25,680 Last thing that I want to say is, uh, Christians can idolize 454 00:26:25,890 --> 00:26:30,140 the Bible. OK, tell me more. 455 00:26:30,450 --> 00:26:33,400 And I want to be very careful here because that, like that's 456 00:26:33,410 --> 00:26:35,300 maybe we should start start with that. 457 00:26:36,710 --> 00:26:42,680 Um, there's this, there's this old, there's this old Sunday 458 00:26:42,690 --> 00:26:46,580 school song, Jesus loves me. This I know, Classic for the 459 00:26:46,910 --> 00:26:50,830 Bible tells me so. That's the last time I'm going 460 00:26:50,840 --> 00:26:51,840 to sing on this spot. No. 461 00:26:53,300 --> 00:26:58,580 And so there is a phase within your Christian spirituality 462 00:26:58,590 --> 00:27:00,640 learning formation, right? So within your Christian 463 00:27:00,650 --> 00:27:06,220 formation where you need to just simply believe and know and 464 00:27:06,230 --> 00:27:09,080 trust because the Bible tells you so. 465 00:27:11,330 --> 00:27:17,770 But if you never graduate beyond because the Bible says so, you 466 00:27:17,780 --> 00:27:23,330 will eventually run up against something in your life that that 467 00:27:23,340 --> 00:27:27,270 level of faith will not be able to manage. 468 00:27:28,280 --> 00:27:30,450 Jesus loves me. This I know, for the Bible tells 469 00:27:30,460 --> 00:27:35,130 me so absolutely categorically 100% true. 470 00:27:36,040 --> 00:27:38,790 Jesus loves me. You can know it because the 471 00:27:38,800 --> 00:27:42,770 Bible tells you. But that's a that's an early 472 00:27:42,780 --> 00:27:46,270 infancy stage of faith and of. Why School Song? 473 00:27:46,440 --> 00:27:48,170 Which is why, which is why we teach it to kids. 474 00:27:48,180 --> 00:27:49,430 Absolutely. And how do we teach kids? 475 00:27:49,440 --> 00:27:51,330 We teach kids by memorization. We just need you. 476 00:27:51,380 --> 00:27:52,690 We need you to memorize these things. 477 00:27:52,700 --> 00:27:54,230 We need you to know these things we need to do like 478 00:27:54,240 --> 00:27:59,050 multiplication tables, right? And you learn by memorizing and 479 00:27:59,060 --> 00:28:00,750 by repeating over and over again. 480 00:28:00,760 --> 00:28:05,150 But eventually you are going to run up against something in your 481 00:28:05,160 --> 00:28:09,050 life where that answer does not cut it. 482 00:28:09,260 --> 00:28:10,880 Why? Like why is my, you know, and 483 00:28:10,890 --> 00:28:13,600 I'm going to use me and my, but I don't mean like for me here, 484 00:28:13,610 --> 00:28:15,380 but for, you know, for many people, right? 485 00:28:15,390 --> 00:28:21,180 Like why, why, why did I have to bury somebody far too early? 486 00:28:21,770 --> 00:28:24,850 Right? God forbid, maybe your parent 487 00:28:24,860 --> 00:28:27,110 who's buried a child, you're like, why does this feel so 488 00:28:27,120 --> 00:28:30,800 backwards? And, and why is my, you know, 489 00:28:30,810 --> 00:28:34,150 why is my marriage not the way I wanted it to be? 490 00:28:34,240 --> 00:28:36,310 Uh, why is my career not the way I wanted me? 491 00:28:36,320 --> 00:28:39,510 Why is my life different? Like I thought if you did the 492 00:28:39,520 --> 00:28:43,830 right things and lived the right kind of life and worked hard, 493 00:28:43,840 --> 00:28:46,030 then you know certain things would have like why? 494 00:28:46,040 --> 00:28:48,290 Why is it not the way I expected and. 495 00:28:48,360 --> 00:28:51,510 And someone's answer to that question if it's well, the Bible 496 00:28:51,520 --> 00:28:53,360 says. Well. 497 00:28:53,530 --> 00:28:54,970 Might not be very helpful. Might not. 498 00:28:54,980 --> 00:28:58,640 Be very helpful. So one of one of the least 499 00:28:58,650 --> 00:29:02,180 helpful, one of the least helpful Bible verses in the 500 00:29:02,190 --> 00:29:08,120 midst of seasons of suffering, right, is what does the Bible 501 00:29:08,130 --> 00:29:11,260 say? Well, God works all things for 502 00:29:11,270 --> 00:29:15,490 good boy for those who love him. Now we're getting into. 503 00:29:15,500 --> 00:29:19,860 It and and I go, yeah, is that a true statement about God and his 504 00:29:19,870 --> 00:29:21,640 character? Yes, absolutely. 505 00:29:21,650 --> 00:29:24,840 Is it a helpful statement for somebody in the midst of their 506 00:29:24,850 --> 00:29:27,580 suffering? Probably not. 507 00:29:27,910 --> 00:29:30,720 Probably not. There are better verses to lean 508 00:29:30,730 --> 00:29:35,890 on. So I think that the all, all of 509 00:29:35,900 --> 00:29:39,990 that to say, because that's a whole other, you know, we spend 510 00:29:40,000 --> 00:29:42,060 a whole other podcast on talking about this kind of stuff. 511 00:29:42,070 --> 00:29:47,860 Is is the Bible the the beauty and the gift of the Bible? 512 00:29:47,870 --> 00:29:50,260 And I say the Bible, but what I mean is like the scriptures 513 00:29:50,270 --> 00:29:52,700 contained within it, many different books written by many 514 00:29:52,710 --> 00:29:55,930 different authors and many different genres over many 515 00:29:55,940 --> 00:29:59,610 different years. The beauty of it is that it 516 00:29:59,620 --> 00:30:04,170 reveals God. And if it like if your study of 517 00:30:04,180 --> 00:30:07,870 it is to master this, you missed the point. 518 00:30:07,880 --> 00:30:09,420 Yeah, but then that's what Jesus would say. 519 00:30:09,430 --> 00:30:12,380 Like you've missed it because it's not about becoming a master 520 00:30:12,390 --> 00:30:17,360 in this book, understanding this thing, what it does is it it 521 00:30:17,370 --> 00:30:20,360 reveals God's heart to you for you. 522 00:30:20,550 --> 00:30:25,620 It like you're meant to find Jesus in these pages and then in 523 00:30:25,790 --> 00:30:31,490 pursuing relationship with God through prayer, this is meant to 524 00:30:31,720 --> 00:30:35,130 actually reveal more of God to you. 525 00:30:35,220 --> 00:30:40,370 And so it is like, this is this is a beautiful thing. 526 00:30:40,560 --> 00:30:43,210 This is like, this is a gift to humanity. 527 00:30:43,280 --> 00:30:45,990 Yeah. But it's not the thing in in and 528 00:30:46,000 --> 00:30:48,840 of itself. And so This is why, you know, 529 00:30:48,850 --> 00:30:52,590 Christians say, hey, Jesus, the living word of God, like this is 530 00:30:52,600 --> 00:30:55,490 meant to give you access to God in his heart and who he is and 531 00:30:55,580 --> 00:30:57,270 who you are called to being created to be. 532 00:30:57,280 --> 00:30:59,970 And you're going to see people who wrestle out spirituality and 533 00:30:59,980 --> 00:31:02,210 like all of it, good ways, bad ways. 534 00:31:02,220 --> 00:31:04,060 You're like, whoa, wow. I can't believe you messed up 535 00:31:04,070 --> 00:31:05,100 that much. And you're still here. 536 00:31:05,110 --> 00:31:06,030 You're in the book. Wow. 537 00:31:06,070 --> 00:31:07,690 Like, what does it say about me? Great. 538 00:31:07,700 --> 00:31:09,920 There's a chance. Yes, absolutely. 539 00:31:09,970 --> 00:31:15,370 Like this gives you access to God, but don't mistake this for 540 00:31:15,380 --> 00:31:16,230 God. That's what I. 541 00:31:16,240 --> 00:31:18,930 Mean yes, no, I, I, I'm with you 100%. 542 00:31:18,940 --> 00:31:23,190 And and I think I think it might be reductive to say that the 543 00:31:23,200 --> 00:31:27,270 Bible is I'm like a means to the end of knowing God. 544 00:31:27,280 --> 00:31:31,170 But but in in some ways there is there is some truth in that that 545 00:31:31,260 --> 00:31:37,280 the the the Bible is is the is the way that we can learn to 546 00:31:37,290 --> 00:31:40,750 encounter and know God that it would be better. 547 00:31:40,760 --> 00:31:43,510 You know, we talk about the Sunday school kind of Kitty 548 00:31:43,520 --> 00:31:47,820 version infancy version of of knowing Jesus loves us is from 549 00:31:47,830 --> 00:31:53,260 the Bible. But the mature faith version of 550 00:31:53,270 --> 00:31:57,050 that would be I know Jesus loves me because I've like I I've 551 00:31:57,060 --> 00:32:01,320 encountered an experienced it and it has informed my my very 552 00:32:01,330 --> 00:32:03,880 being, right? Yeah, that's a very different 553 00:32:03,890 --> 00:32:07,080 faith, right? Neither are wrong. 554 00:32:07,150 --> 00:32:08,800 They're different seasons of life, right? 555 00:32:08,810 --> 00:32:16,260 But yeah, So what if we read all the things or we, we spend all 556 00:32:16,270 --> 00:32:18,120 the time asking all the questions, reading the 557 00:32:18,130 --> 00:32:20,180 scriptures. We we cross reference all the 558 00:32:20,190 --> 00:32:24,480 things and we still don't get it. 559 00:32:24,970 --> 00:32:29,340 Welcome to Christianity. Yeah, and I think it's worth 560 00:32:29,350 --> 00:32:32,010 saying like, cause I, I'm, I'm asking a leading question 561 00:32:32,020 --> 00:32:36,120 because I know we wanna go. Yeah, but like there are so many 562 00:32:36,130 --> 00:32:39,990 passages that we are, we, we often are scratching our heads 563 00:32:40,000 --> 00:32:42,560 trying to kind of figure, OK, what's what's, what's the author 564 00:32:42,570 --> 00:32:44,780 after here? And then we go to the 565 00:32:44,790 --> 00:32:47,500 commentaries, which we're going to get you in a second. 566 00:32:47,690 --> 00:32:51,310 And the commentaries are, are in, you know, they say, well, 567 00:32:51,320 --> 00:32:54,400 this, you know, this scholar from, you know, the Patristics 568 00:32:54,470 --> 00:32:57,190 thought this and so, and so thought this and they think 569 00:32:57,200 --> 00:32:58,770 this. And I, I think this is the most 570 00:32:58,780 --> 00:33:01,490 likely outcome here, but we're not quite sure This, this, this 571 00:33:01,500 --> 00:33:04,340 language is perplexing. Like there's all of these 572 00:33:04,380 --> 00:33:08,610 complexities of the, you know, translating of the, of the 573 00:33:08,620 --> 00:33:11,860 Hebrew into the Greek into the English or the Hebrew into the 574 00:33:11,870 --> 00:33:14,390 English or the Greek into the English or the Aramaic. 575 00:33:14,400 --> 00:33:18,730 And like, there are so many ways in which this is complicated. 576 00:33:18,800 --> 00:33:20,940 There are, we have, we're translating not just language, 577 00:33:20,950 --> 00:33:25,440 but culture and time. And like, there are going to be 578 00:33:25,450 --> 00:33:32,300 some things that are confusing. And so to until the day that 579 00:33:32,310 --> 00:33:35,580 Jesus returns, there are some things that we're still going to 580 00:33:35,590 --> 00:33:38,300 be scratching our heads over. So just wanted to name that. 581 00:33:38,390 --> 00:33:41,020 Yeah, I think that's helpful. Paul's got this great line right 582 00:33:41,030 --> 00:33:43,040 now. I see in part, yes, but then I 583 00:33:43,050 --> 00:33:45,460 will see fully. Now I know in part, but then I 584 00:33:45,470 --> 00:33:47,400 will know fully, just as I am fully known. 585 00:33:47,410 --> 00:33:51,420 And it's like this beautiful invitation to wonder and 586 00:33:51,430 --> 00:33:56,700 curiosity and also unresolved life. 587 00:33:56,770 --> 00:33:59,140 And I was gonna leave that sentence unresolved, but like, 588 00:33:59,250 --> 00:34:03,700 you know, it, it really is it. It's just constant, constant 589 00:34:03,710 --> 00:34:06,020 pursuit. And, you know, there are a few 590 00:34:06,030 --> 00:34:07,890 Christians. I say a few. 591 00:34:08,250 --> 00:34:09,870 You know, percentage wise, I don't actually know. 592 00:34:09,880 --> 00:34:14,400 But there are certain flavors of denominations that wanna push 593 00:34:14,409 --> 00:34:21,570 more toward perfection. But we're, you know, we're, 594 00:34:21,580 --> 00:34:24,210 we're not one of them, at least denominationally, right. 595 00:34:24,219 --> 00:34:27,610 Like, yeah, I think that's the piece that you know for sure 596 00:34:27,620 --> 00:34:30,130 you're gonna find different interpretations on that as well. 597 00:34:30,139 --> 00:34:35,270 But yeah, so I would say a couple of things because 1 598 00:34:35,280 --> 00:34:41,760 again, I, I think if you are so locked in at understanding the 599 00:34:41,770 --> 00:34:45,449 thing that you can't understand, you know, maybe that's helpful 600 00:34:45,460 --> 00:34:47,150 for a season and it's fun and exciting. 601 00:34:47,159 --> 00:34:49,630 I think at at times that can also maybe mean that you're 602 00:34:49,639 --> 00:34:53,870 elevating the pursuit of intellect over like the pursuit 603 00:34:53,880 --> 00:34:58,030 of relationship. So you know, I think listen to 604 00:34:58,040 --> 00:34:59,730 that. The other thing that I would say 605 00:34:59,740 --> 00:35:06,150 is, you know, as we began, don't read scripture in isolation. 606 00:35:06,920 --> 00:35:11,050 If if you can read the entirety of the New Testament and think, 607 00:35:11,100 --> 00:35:15,010 OK, I can just keep reading this by myself on my own. 608 00:35:15,300 --> 00:35:18,890 I think you've missed like a major part of of what's going 609 00:35:18,900 --> 00:35:22,870 on, which is Jesus is forming a community and that community 610 00:35:22,880 --> 00:35:27,310 forms communities. And so this thing that we've 611 00:35:27,320 --> 00:35:30,310 called Christianity for thousands of years now has 612 00:35:30,320 --> 00:35:34,480 always meant to be lived out in relationship with other people. 613 00:35:34,530 --> 00:35:36,320 Yeah. And so your relationship with 614 00:35:36,330 --> 00:35:41,140 Jesus is going to be harmed if you're not finding it also 615 00:35:41,430 --> 00:35:45,120 developed in relationship with other human beings, some of whom 616 00:35:45,130 --> 00:35:47,480 you love and like and enjoy being around and some of whom 617 00:35:47,490 --> 00:35:51,520 you love because you have to. And it's like, you annoy me, but 618 00:35:51,650 --> 00:35:53,560 we're here together to figure this out. 619 00:35:53,570 --> 00:35:54,880 Not you, Justin. You don't know. 620 00:35:54,890 --> 00:35:58,990 But like, you know, I'm saying like it's OK, like I, I think 621 00:35:59,000 --> 00:36:01,790 real shoulder to shoulder don't always get along. 622 00:36:01,800 --> 00:36:05,910 That kind of community is where we're meant to study Scripture 623 00:36:05,980 --> 00:36:08,220 best and. So that's kind of first step, 624 00:36:08,230 --> 00:36:11,530 right? Like if we are struggling to 625 00:36:11,580 --> 00:36:15,610 understand either like the the knowledge or wisdom or how to 626 00:36:15,620 --> 00:36:18,770 the living out of Scripture, like that's probably a great, a 627 00:36:18,780 --> 00:36:20,870 great starting point. Like get, get involved in a, in 628 00:36:20,880 --> 00:36:24,830 a, in a small group of people who you can read with and and 629 00:36:24,840 --> 00:36:27,230 try to discern with. Maybe it's community Bible study 630 00:36:27,240 --> 00:36:31,450 maybe whatever that looks like yeah and like you're gonna get a 631 00:36:31,460 --> 00:36:34,220 diversity of of perspectives and illegal. 632 00:36:34,230 --> 00:36:38,260 Here's maybe what's going on here and next level, you know, 633 00:36:38,270 --> 00:36:41,900 beyond the fact that we have, you know, people across our 634 00:36:41,910 --> 00:36:46,490 church or across our city or whoever that we could 635 00:36:46,500 --> 00:36:50,720 potentially learn from. We have voices across time and 636 00:36:50,730 --> 00:36:56,180 space of, of people who have been wrestling this stuff out as 637 00:36:56,190 --> 00:37:00,800 scholars who are way smarter than you or I, who have been 638 00:37:00,810 --> 00:37:03,470 doing this a long, long time. Yeah. 639 00:37:03,570 --> 00:37:07,760 Both modern and ancient, Right. You know, so like one of the one 640 00:37:07,770 --> 00:37:11,620 of my favorite things to do when I'm reading a reading a passage 641 00:37:11,630 --> 00:37:13,830 and you can find most of these things online for free. 642 00:37:13,840 --> 00:37:16,980 Doesn't, you don't have to have like a whole stack of 643 00:37:16,990 --> 00:37:20,930 commentaries again, we'll get there in a second, But like 644 00:37:20,980 --> 00:37:23,210 finding even just what, what are the early, what did the early 645 00:37:23,220 --> 00:37:24,890 church fathers say about some of this stuff? 646 00:37:24,960 --> 00:37:26,670 You know, how did they, how did they understand this? 647 00:37:26,680 --> 00:37:30,150 Cause they were closer to the time of Jesus, right? 648 00:37:30,260 --> 00:37:34,810 They may have some insight that we that a we don't, or even 649 00:37:34,880 --> 00:37:39,250 modern scholars don't. Yeah, yeah, yeah. 650 00:37:39,300 --> 00:37:43,640 So this may be helpful to talk through like our our preaching 651 00:37:43,650 --> 00:37:48,440 prep process, right, which might just be helpful in terms of 652 00:37:48,450 --> 00:37:50,280 laying out a framework for people. 653 00:37:51,050 --> 00:37:56,200 So I think what we try to do here is really allow as best we 654 00:37:56,210 --> 00:37:58,920 can the text to speak for itself. 655 00:37:59,010 --> 00:38:05,110 So what that means is, um, I'm starting here, right? 656 00:38:05,160 --> 00:38:10,230 So typically when I'm like on weeks when I'm preaching usually 657 00:38:10,360 --> 00:38:15,480 and and I'm a week of preacher. I've tried my entire life to be 658 00:38:15,490 --> 00:38:18,630 like Ohtani have. I have three-week like sermons 659 00:38:18,640 --> 00:38:21,810 written for three, the three night like it's. 660 00:38:21,820 --> 00:38:23,490 Hard. God bless that person who can do 661 00:38:23,500 --> 00:38:24,080 that. It's. 662 00:38:24,090 --> 00:38:27,110 Yeah, I what I've found of myself is like, I need to live 663 00:38:27,120 --> 00:38:32,810 it in the same week. And I finally found like some, 664 00:38:32,820 --> 00:38:37,710 some mentors and coaches who do the same thing. 665 00:38:37,800 --> 00:38:40,920 And that's been so freeing because I've constantly like 666 00:38:40,930 --> 00:38:44,040 some of my, some of my mentors and ministry coaches over the 667 00:38:44,050 --> 00:38:47,290 years have have always been these like, yeah, we're a couple 668 00:38:47,300 --> 00:38:49,750 weeks ahead, we're a series ahead or we're like full 669 00:38:49,760 --> 00:38:51,390 outlines are done for an entire series. 670 00:38:51,400 --> 00:38:54,170 Like, and I'm like, well, I can't outline this whole series. 671 00:38:54,180 --> 00:38:56,670 I can break up the passages for the whole thing. 672 00:38:56,680 --> 00:38:59,900 And you know, but like we're, we're going through Luke here. 673 00:38:59,910 --> 00:39:02,920 Like it's not the same as a four week service sermon series, but 674 00:39:04,540 --> 00:39:07,840 it's been so freeing to find the like tribe of people who are 675 00:39:07,850 --> 00:39:10,650 like, no, we're living it out the week of. 676 00:39:10,660 --> 00:39:17,650 So week of for me, it's, it's I'm, I'm praying and I'm 677 00:39:17,660 --> 00:39:22,810 thinking and I'm getting quiet and I'm reading and that can 678 00:39:22,820 --> 00:39:25,770 look different for everybody, but sometimes I'll walk, 679 00:39:25,780 --> 00:39:29,190 sometimes I'll pace, sometimes I'll run sometimes, but you 680 00:39:29,200 --> 00:39:31,950 know, I'm, I'm reading and I'm thinking and I'm praying 681 00:39:32,020 --> 00:39:37,110 throughout the week for sure. But it starts there and then we 682 00:39:37,120 --> 00:39:41,890 read, we sit down now on Mondays and we read the text together on 683 00:39:41,900 --> 00:39:45,270 Mondays. And kind of the, the unspoken 684 00:39:45,280 --> 00:39:48,550 spoken commitment is like, we've not done a ton of research, 685 00:39:48,560 --> 00:39:50,300 we've not done a ton of reading and commentaries. 686 00:39:50,310 --> 00:39:52,710 We've not gone off and done our own because we really want to 687 00:39:52,720 --> 00:39:54,990 read this and allow it to stand and speak for itself. 688 00:39:55,060 --> 00:39:57,120 Yeah. So we're reading, we're 689 00:39:57,130 --> 00:39:59,650 studying, we're writing, we're noticing, we're making marks, 690 00:39:59,660 --> 00:40:03,680 we're going flipping through scriptures like we've discussed. 691 00:40:03,960 --> 00:40:07,370 So we start there and allow it to confuse us, allow it to 692 00:40:07,380 --> 00:40:09,710 encourage us and challenge us and excite us and start to 693 00:40:09,720 --> 00:40:12,370 wonder and think, oh, my goodness, like this is how this 694 00:40:12,380 --> 00:40:16,520 could shape us as a community. And from that point. 695 00:40:17,530 --> 00:40:21,480 Usually I think for those of us who like, you know, for, for the 696 00:40:21,490 --> 00:40:25,220 preacher, like I always walk away from that, from that time 697 00:40:25,230 --> 00:40:30,830 going like if I, if I was sick from now until Sunday, I could 698 00:40:30,840 --> 00:40:34,710 get U and just teach through the passage. 699 00:40:34,760 --> 00:40:37,570 I could do it. I've not ever done that, but I 700 00:40:37,580 --> 00:40:39,960 could do it. Like that's how beneficial and 701 00:40:39,970 --> 00:40:42,950 helpful it is. So, you know, you, you, I walk 702 00:40:42,960 --> 00:40:46,950 away always so encouraged by that, that time together. 703 00:40:47,080 --> 00:40:51,350 And then from there, it's in the personal, my own individual 704 00:40:51,360 --> 00:40:55,350 study where I'm rereading it, I'm making notes, I've got a 705 00:40:55,360 --> 00:40:59,870 list of questions and then I'm into commentaries. 706 00:40:59,980 --> 00:41:03,590 And so then I will read all the commentaries that we have. 707 00:41:03,700 --> 00:41:08,000 And so we have collection of I think 5 or 6 commentaries that 708 00:41:08,010 --> 00:41:10,080 we're working through with the Luke. 709 00:41:10,090 --> 00:41:13,600 Curated, I would say. Yeah, I definitely chose those. 710 00:41:13,610 --> 00:41:17,360 Yeah, there. It's not all, it's not 711 00:41:17,370 --> 00:41:18,870 exhaustive. Yeah, yeah. 712 00:41:18,880 --> 00:41:21,830 Yeah, because I find that sometimes like I'll go through 713 00:41:21,840 --> 00:41:24,780 so like I, you get this Bible software called Logos, which, 714 00:41:24,790 --> 00:41:27,420 you know, you can get different tiers and packages. 715 00:41:27,430 --> 00:41:31,330 And I will, I have, I have learned that there are maybe two 716 00:41:31,340 --> 00:41:34,940 or three that I will also read in addition to the the physical 717 00:41:34,950 --> 00:41:37,490 copies that you have. Because I'm like, man, some of 718 00:41:37,500 --> 00:41:42,540 these are just either two in the weeds or they're not from a, a 719 00:41:42,550 --> 00:41:46,920 focus that really makes sense for our context, you know, and 720 00:41:46,930 --> 00:41:49,730 so like, I think curated and, and if you ever have questions 721 00:41:49,740 --> 00:41:52,030 about, you know, like, Hey, would this be a good commentary? 722 00:41:52,100 --> 00:41:53,330 We could help you with that, right? 723 00:41:53,340 --> 00:41:57,410 Like, because there are not all commentaries are made equal. 724 00:41:57,700 --> 00:42:00,490 And, and it's not that, you know, I, I am, you know, making 725 00:42:00,500 --> 00:42:03,310 like a snap judgment on well, I don't like that person or that 726 00:42:03,320 --> 00:42:07,290 name, but it it's more so about like, Hey, is this a trusted 727 00:42:08,150 --> 00:42:13,760 source who has been, you know, doing this for, for, you know, 728 00:42:13,830 --> 00:42:15,680 over the long haul? Yeah. 729 00:42:15,750 --> 00:42:16,460 Yeah. Like there. 730 00:42:16,470 --> 00:42:18,040 That's that's a challenge I find as well. 731 00:42:18,050 --> 00:42:19,160 But yeah. Yeah. 732 00:42:19,310 --> 00:42:23,880 So, yeah, so like I'll read through, get through 733 00:42:23,890 --> 00:42:28,650 commentaries and again, I'm taking notes and studying and it 734 00:42:28,660 --> 00:42:36,150 I'm always pleasantly amazed that, you know, many of the 735 00:42:36,160 --> 00:42:38,750 questions that we come to are the questions that people have 736 00:42:38,760 --> 00:42:42,420 been asking for generations. And they're the questions that 737 00:42:42,520 --> 00:42:46,230 the writers have wrestled with. So I will go from there. 738 00:42:46,240 --> 00:42:51,730 I'll read through all the commentaries and then, you know, 739 00:42:51,740 --> 00:42:56,700 between those, those notes and the notes that we have from our 740 00:42:56,710 --> 00:42:59,800 discussion, that's when I'll start to build like an outline 741 00:42:59,810 --> 00:43:01,740 for a sermon. And OK, what are my, what are my 742 00:43:01,750 --> 00:43:03,620 points? And what's the one thing I want 743 00:43:03,630 --> 00:43:05,800 people to hear and take away from and how do I want it to 744 00:43:05,810 --> 00:43:07,640 shape their Monday? So that's more about the 745 00:43:07,650 --> 00:43:12,670 preaching side of things. At some point after I've, you 746 00:43:12,680 --> 00:43:17,870 know, done a good chunk of my writing, I'll also go back and, 747 00:43:19,160 --> 00:43:21,240 you know, if we're more topical for the day. 748 00:43:21,250 --> 00:43:23,300 So, you know, we've talked through the Lord's Prayer. 749 00:43:23,310 --> 00:43:26,960 I have some just really good books on prayer that I've read 750 00:43:27,630 --> 00:43:31,580 and so I'll go back and and kind of skim through some of those 751 00:43:31,590 --> 00:43:36,530 books and resources as well. So usually, usually I'm, you 752 00:43:36,540 --> 00:43:40,700 know, probably 80 or 90% of the way through my sermon and then 753 00:43:40,710 --> 00:43:43,690 I'll go and I'll read through some of those books as well. 754 00:43:43,700 --> 00:43:47,720 Those would be like less academic, yeah. 755 00:43:47,730 --> 00:43:50,300 Yeah, and some sometimes historical, like on prayer. 756 00:43:50,310 --> 00:43:56,330 I I went back through, well, a few books, but a book by Pete 757 00:43:56,340 --> 00:44:00,090 Gregg on prayer and a book by Philip Yancey on prayer. 758 00:44:00,940 --> 00:44:03,940 Stuff that, like everyone could and should read. 759 00:44:03,950 --> 00:44:05,230 Yeah, absolutely. Yeah. 760 00:44:05,300 --> 00:44:07,870 And and that's, you know, sometimes I, I will think of 761 00:44:07,880 --> 00:44:11,150 like I, I know, I know this person, this author has a great 762 00:44:11,160 --> 00:44:14,610 quote and I know it's in line with this point that we're kind 763 00:44:14,620 --> 00:44:17,190 of working through. Let me go and find that, remind 764 00:44:17,200 --> 00:44:19,190 myself of it and that kind of stuff. 765 00:44:19,200 --> 00:44:21,150 So that's where it all starts to come together. 766 00:44:21,160 --> 00:44:26,350 But I think if I could trace like for people, let let me just 767 00:44:26,410 --> 00:44:34,760 outline a thread here is there's there's a benefit to just you 768 00:44:34,770 --> 00:44:37,860 and and the book in front of you, right you in the passage, 769 00:44:37,870 --> 00:44:42,120 you and Jesus, like pray, go into it praying God would you by 770 00:44:42,130 --> 00:44:45,990 the power of your Holy Spirit. Allow me to see what you want me 771 00:44:46,000 --> 00:44:47,590 to see. Yeah, right. 772 00:44:47,600 --> 00:44:51,350 Go in prayerfully like this is alive, like we've talked about 773 00:44:51,360 --> 00:44:59,020 the the Bible as being this, this living, active word because 774 00:44:59,030 --> 00:45:03,350 of the Holy Spirit and what God's presence will do in you as 775 00:45:03,360 --> 00:45:07,890 you read it. So go in expectant, read it and 776 00:45:07,950 --> 00:45:10,880 and prayerfully read it and reread it and ask questions and 777 00:45:10,890 --> 00:45:14,320 wonder and write notes. So you just you and the text in 778 00:45:14,330 --> 00:45:16,680 Jesus, right like that. That's great. 779 00:45:16,950 --> 00:45:19,360 And then get yourself a community of people who you can 780 00:45:19,370 --> 00:45:23,400 ask and wonder with and wrestle stuff out with and know that 781 00:45:23,410 --> 00:45:26,330 there's a wealth of resources that their commentaries and 782 00:45:26,340 --> 00:45:29,380 books on things that you're now wondering because you've read. 783 00:45:29,390 --> 00:45:32,190 But what I would say is don't do that backwards. 784 00:45:33,020 --> 00:45:35,960 Don't just read the Christian authors because everybody's 785 00:45:35,970 --> 00:45:40,080 reading the Christian authors. Don't start with, well, what 786 00:45:40,090 --> 00:45:44,950 does this be like? You know what, what does Martin 787 00:45:44,960 --> 00:45:48,590 Luther say about infant baptism? I mean, that's a great thing to 788 00:45:48,600 --> 00:45:51,750 go and, and read and wonder, but don't start there. 789 00:45:51,800 --> 00:45:54,970 Like don't go, hey, you know what does? 790 00:45:55,320 --> 00:46:01,030 So and so say, pick your person about Luke 11 one to 10 or 11. 791 00:46:01,120 --> 00:46:04,790 Like don't, don't start there. Start with it in front of you 792 00:46:04,880 --> 00:46:08,370 and work your way toward your own questions because that's how 793 00:46:08,380 --> 00:46:13,550 it's going to shape your life in real time as you're living your 794 00:46:13,560 --> 00:46:15,720 life. And you're going to find your 795 00:46:15,730 --> 00:46:18,120 own voice in it. And you're going to learn that 796 00:46:18,130 --> 00:46:19,580 you ask your own questions in it. 797 00:46:19,590 --> 00:46:22,920 And you're going to learn that God's that God reveals these 798 00:46:22,930 --> 00:46:25,780 things to you. And you go, wow. 799 00:46:27,250 --> 00:46:30,500 But so much like all of those stages are important because 800 00:46:30,510 --> 00:46:34,640 here's OK, here's the opposite. So don't start by asking what 801 00:46:34,650 --> 00:46:38,690 other people are saying, but also check what you're saying 802 00:46:40,160 --> 00:46:45,090 against what Like if what you, you know, if if you've read a 803 00:46:45,100 --> 00:46:51,800 passage, you're like, I now know the divinely given truth about 804 00:46:51,810 --> 00:46:56,150 this verse and it is different than 2000 years of church 805 00:46:56,160 --> 00:47:01,430 history. I am just saying, yeah, at least 806 00:47:01,800 --> 00:47:04,370 double check that with a few other people, right? 807 00:47:04,380 --> 00:47:07,410 Because that's you. We in isolation, it can go silly 808 00:47:07,420 --> 00:47:10,120 and sideways, right? In our own biases can come in 809 00:47:10,130 --> 00:47:13,450 and you know what we want instead of what we're actually 810 00:47:13,460 --> 00:47:16,270 reading all of those things. So that's a lot. 811 00:47:16,280 --> 00:47:18,590 But like there's a, there's a reason for all of. 812 00:47:18,600 --> 00:47:21,310 This is a reason for all that. And there's a reason why if you, 813 00:47:21,320 --> 00:47:26,670 if you look at the, the, the beginning of like a Bible 814 00:47:26,680 --> 00:47:31,700 translation, it will list the sometimes dozens or hundreds of 815 00:47:31,710 --> 00:47:35,420 scholars who helped contribute to that because like this stuff 816 00:47:35,430 --> 00:47:41,460 is complicated. And, and I would be very wary of 817 00:47:41,790 --> 00:47:45,360 one person, or at least for like, So for instance, let's 818 00:47:45,370 --> 00:47:47,840 like, let's say Eugene Peterson's The Message, which is 819 00:47:47,930 --> 00:47:53,060 more of a paraphrase than a translation, literally, but like 820 00:47:54,110 --> 00:47:56,940 wonderful resource, great resource. 821 00:47:58,220 --> 00:48:02,670 And yet also not something that I would, I would say is 822 00:48:02,680 --> 00:48:07,290 something that we should use as our sole reading of the 823 00:48:07,300 --> 00:48:10,870 Scriptures, right. And he did that mostly himself. 824 00:48:10,960 --> 00:48:14,620 There's a reason why, like sometimes hundreds of scholars 825 00:48:14,630 --> 00:48:17,190 have worked on these passages because they're wrestling it out 826 00:48:17,200 --> 00:48:18,570 together. Yeah, yeah. 827 00:48:18,580 --> 00:48:20,420 And it's why we begin in community, right? 828 00:48:20,430 --> 00:48:23,840 For us who are preaching, we begin in community and it ends 829 00:48:23,850 --> 00:48:26,960 in community. Like that's the book ends of, of 830 00:48:26,970 --> 00:48:30,890 preaching, right? So that's a lot in terms of how 831 00:48:30,900 --> 00:48:33,540 to read the, the Bible. I think the most important thing 832 00:48:33,550 --> 00:48:35,700 is just read it. Yeah, just do it. 833 00:48:35,800 --> 00:48:38,480 And and the most important translation of the best 834 00:48:38,490 --> 00:48:40,640 translation for you is the one that you're going to read. 835 00:48:41,070 --> 00:48:44,520 So don't get worked up about like, well, is at the end NIV or 836 00:48:44,530 --> 00:48:50,860 NLT or ESV or, you know, New King James, whatever the version 837 00:48:50,870 --> 00:48:52,540 like read the one you're gonna read. 838 00:48:52,590 --> 00:48:54,760 If you want opinions we've got em but. 839 00:48:54,770 --> 00:48:57,490 Definitely have opinions, however, read the one that 840 00:48:57,500 --> 00:49:00,760 you're gonna read and read the one that you enjoy reading. 841 00:49:00,770 --> 00:49:03,280 Like, you know, there are certain versions that are much 842 00:49:03,290 --> 00:49:07,860 more readable than others. And so like, find one that you 843 00:49:07,870 --> 00:49:10,900 enjoy and are going to spend time with and then write it up, 844 00:49:10,910 --> 00:49:16,480 mark it like put notes in the margins, underline stuff, like 845 00:49:16,550 --> 00:49:20,590 use it until it falls apart and then find something else. 846 00:49:20,600 --> 00:49:22,880 Yeah. So I think that's that's the 847 00:49:22,890 --> 00:49:25,520 best way to study the Bible is just to actually do it. 848 00:49:25,990 --> 00:49:28,560 But hopefully that gives some framework, I think, for how we 849 00:49:28,570 --> 00:49:32,180 kind of come through our own prep and how it might shape 850 00:49:32,900 --> 00:49:36,290 people's reading. Hmm, we hope that you have a 851 00:49:36,300 --> 00:49:39,290 great week and we'll see you in the next episode.