Wednesday, February 19, 2020
How can a young person stay pure? By obeying your word. I have tried hard to find you—don’t let me wander from your commands. I have hidden your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you. I praise you, O Lord; teach me your decrees. I have recited aloud all the regulations you have given us. I have rejoiced in your laws as much as in riches. I will study your commandments and reflect on your ways. I will delight in your decrees and not forget your word. Psalm 119:9-16[1]
My child, listen to what I say, and treasure my commands. Tune your ears to wisdom, and concentrate on understanding. Cry out for insight, and ask for understanding. Search for them as you would for silver; seek them like hidden treasures. Then you will understand what it means to fear the Lord, and you will gain knowledge of God. For the Lord grants wisdom! From his mouth come knowledge and understanding. He grants a treasure of common sense to the honest. He is a shield to those who walk with integrity. He guards the paths of the just and protects those who are faithful to him. Then you will understand what is right, just, and fair, and you will find the right way to go. For wisdom will enter your heart, and knowledge will fill you with joy. Wise choices will watch over you. Understanding will keep you safe. Proverbs 2:1-11[2]
I ran across a marketing ad for a
new kind of Bible study this morning as I checked my mail. It has an updated version of the Scriptures
broken up and rearranged chronologically, so as to put the order of the books
in an understandable manner. The name is
a trendy-sounding single word, Immerse,
connoting a better way to get God’s Word into God’s people. The marketing piece was well-designed, and
got my juices going a little bit. The
promotional focus hook was to get God’s people reading the Bible together,
which sounded really
good. There were all the
right buzz words, community, intentionality, discipleship, and
more. By the time I heard in my head
“community” it dawned on me why
it sounded so good – serious Christians had been doing this for two millennia;
it wasn’t a new thing – it was an old thing, dressed in modern clothes to
capture the way minds think in this century.
It’s Sunday School, Schul (Yiddish for Synagogue), church meeting, all
rolled in one. Sunday School is a term
as old as 1780 when Robert Raikes began the first children’s Sunday school; it soon
spread to America[3].
The Psalmist and the Proverb
writer (most likely David or Solomon) instructs his son to give close attention
to the Scripture and to let his life be guided by its wisdom. It has always mystified me as to why
otherwise intelligent Christians miss this important advice from the wisest of
the wise. I have known many believers
who would make a regular habit of coming to worship, but avoid the Bible Study
hour like there might be a plague.
If you examine what Sunday School,
or small group Bible Study offers you can see why it is offered with a new name
and format, but with the same essential components:
Discipleship
– class peer pressure of the best kind, a place of encouragement in the
Christian life.
Ministry
– looking out for one another in the ways that fellowship always suggests, care
in sickness, joy in blessings, and faithfulness in all things.
Community
– a group of believers investigating the wisdom of God’s Word, where you’re
covenanting together to live the best life of a disciple.
For
You Today
Go to VIDEO
[1] For
another post on Psalm 119:10 see Inheritance
of a Lamb’s Ear For Psalm 119:11 see
Scriptural
Sticky Notes
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