“…they invited him to their home and explained to him the way of God more adequately.” (Acts 18:26c, NIV)
So for the past few weeks, we have been exploring different methods of reading the Bible, either individually or in a group setting. We have been thinking about these things as a church because it is important for every disciple of Jesus to be fed on the words of God (Deut 8:3,1 Pet 2:2) so that we, by the Holy Spirit, can strive together in the one faith, encouraging one another as we see the day approaching (Phil 1:27-28, Heb 10:25).
So far we have looked at C.O.M.A, The Swedish Method and R.E.A.P (which I encourage you to check out on our website if you missed those blogs). I have presented a few different options because different contexts can require different methods and no one method is better than the other. Think about the different ways that have been presented as tools in the shed. Seldom does anyone get all the tools out to just work on one job, no there’s usually one tool for the job and that’s what these methods are, different tools for different contexts for you to use when you see fit.
For this week, I don’t so much want to present another method to you so much as I want to commend to you a great book that has been written on how important it is to get with other disciples of Jesus to read the bible, pray with one another and also encourage each other in Jesus (Rom 15:2,1 Thess 5:11). There is a reason why our Lord sent his disciples out two by two, because being in this world, being salt and light comes with its challenges. So there is great wisdom in getting together with another disciple, a brother or sister in the Lord and opening your bibles and encouraging each other in your walk.
Now the book that I commend to you, I found extremely encouraging and it changed the way that I thought about how to spend time with other Christians. David Helm’s title is called “one-to-one”, but I have found that taking his method and outline which is clearly presented in his book can be used in all sorts of settings. For husbands and wives, this is great. For parents and children, this really works. But where I really was surprised was in the area of evangelism. That’s right, David is convicted and with good reason that we should read the bible with those to whom we are sharing the gospel with. And we should do that because when we do that we take people to the source of our hope, to the source of our faith, and to the one who is the Word and who has the words of eternal life (Jn 1:1-3;14, Jn 6:68), so in a very real way, they have to wrestle with Jesus and not so much our “opinion”.
Again, be encouraged to get with others so that you can enjoy not just great conversation and fellowship, but really encourage each other as we live in this world as salt and light (Matt 5:13-16)
Michael
To purchase: One-to-One, by David Helm
Free One-to-One Preview: PDF link