2 Ways to Read Your Bible

I preached a sermon last Sunday that bothered me.

It is not that I disagree with what I said or regret preaching the sermon. It just bothered me. It bothered me because I did not want to listen to what I had to say.

The sermon was about the proper way in which one should read their Bible. It would have been easy to stand up and say, "You should read your Bible everyday for at least 30 minutes - 15 from the New Testament and 15 from somewhere else in the New Testament."

What I did was look at two ways we tend to read our Bible. The sermon was titled, "A Mirror and a Magnifying Glass."

Sometimes we use the Bible as a mirror.

We look into it to examine ourselves. We read the story of God redeeming His people and ask questions like, "How should this change how I treat my neighbor?" and, "How can God's forgiveness of my sins influence the way I forgive others?"

Other times we use the Bible as a magnifying glass.

We look into it to examine others. We read the stories of Jesus rebuking the Pharisees and say things like, "I have run into some Pharisees in my day." and, "I sure am glad I am not like the people I know who are like that Pharisee who said that he sure was glad he wasn't like that tax collector."

This sermon bothered me because I am good at the magnifying glass method. When I was young, I was very good at judging the flaws of others. I could tell you all the sins of my classmates and knew how they compared to my good qualities.

As I grew in my relationship with The Creator, I realized how wrong my attitude was. I then started to judge all those who still judged as I once did.

Satan used my holy momentum to flip me over his head.

I still wrestle with this.

Even while preparing this sermon, I thought about the people from my past that I knew had turned scripture into a giant magnifying glass. In preparing for my sermon I was convicted by my own message.

I have found that this makes for the best sermons.

When speaking about preaching without notes, Andy Stanley once asked, "How do you expect your congregation to remember your message if you can't remember your message."

I think that the same holds true when the preacher hopes to convict his audience. How can I expect to convict people with my sermon if I am not convicted by the study I have put into the sermon.

So read your Bible. Let the story convict you. And whether you are a preacher or not, share with others how that great mirror of scripture has convicted you to have a better relationship with The Creator.