Biblical literacy is a high value at Grace Fellowship. We want all attenders to be able to dive into the Word on their own and be able to draw richness from the text, without needing anyone to tell them what they should conclude from the text. It's the proverbial teaching someone how to fish - we believe that those who know how to fish will eat better than those who don't.
In 2011, we had a church-wide reading plan to read the entire Bible together on the same schedule. Last year, we had a plan to read through the entire New Testament together, but in a order that roughly followed the timeline of the Book of Acts. In both cases, I have heard people mention how much they got out of the plans - having a goal to read, reading large sections at a time showing the big picture, and being encouraging by reading along with others.
For 2013, we're trying a different kind of plan. Rather than having a goal of reading a certain amount in a year's time, we are selecting readings that correspond to the weekly message. The week following a sermon, there is a set of passages to read that relate to that sermon.
Each week, we will publish in Grace Notes and in the weekly bulletin, plus on our Facebook page, the passages to read. For a given week, there will be five passages to read, one per day. Some will be long, intended to be read at a high level, and some will be short, intended to be read with more attention to detail. We recommend that you journal what you are learning from Scripture, what prayers are evoked by the passage, and even steps you intend to take to incorporate the Word into you life. The sixth day is for reviewing the previous five passages and synthesizing them together. There is nothing scheduled for the seventh day, in order to give you a day to catch up or to allow for one day a week that you just can't get to it.
The benefits of this approach are that it helps simplify our lives by not having so many different things to study in a given week, by repeating a lesson to help reinforce it, by actively digging into a passage that you heard someone else talk about, and by going deeper into the Word.
The downside of this approach is that I can't write out an entire year's worth of passages in advance. I just don't know all that I'll be teaching that far away, or where I want to put the emphasis in a given week. So, this means that we can't hand out schedules at the first of the year like we have the previous two years.
Next year, we'll probably do something else. But for this year, read with us and dig deeper into God's Word. Let me know how we can make it easier for you, and I'd love to hear your feedback on what you do and don't like about this approach. Pay attention to Grace Notes, the bulletin, or Facebook to keep up with us. I also plan to start posting on the church Facebook page some reflection related to the passage of the day.
Showing posts with label plan. Show all posts
Showing posts with label plan. Show all posts
Tuesday, January 22, 2013
Tuesday, August 7, 2012
Does My Effort Matter?
God is sovereign. Completely. Everything is under His control, nothing happens unless He at least allows to happen, if not directly makes it happen. He has guaranteed the final score before the first pitch. The Bible says that it's not just that God knows what's going to happen, but that He's the one who will make it happen.
So, does my effort matter? I can't thwart God's plan. I can't change the outcome (can I?). I certainly can't alter God's eternal plan. The Bible seems to care a lot about whether or not I do certain things, but does it really matter, since I can't alter the final score that's been fixed from before the world began?
Among theologians, these questions are part of a much larger debate which (sadly) can cause division among brothers in Christ. But in real life for normal people, it really comes down to the very practical question: Does my effort matter? And if it does, how so? And if not, then why bother?
Does my effort matter? You probably anticipated this answer: yes and no.
In one sense, no, your effort doesn't matter. Sorry, but God's plan is not so fragile as to teeter on whether or not you do something. He's completely, totally, effectively, conclusively sovereign, and He will execute His eternal plan no matter what you do. His confidence for the outcome of His plan is not merely based on the fact that He knows how it all turns out - His confidence comes from the fact that He is God, and because He is God, there is no other possible outcome than His plan.
But in another sense, yes, your effort does matter. Consider:
Part of our problem with this question is that we have a very Western mindset, which is focused on results. Actions are meaningful only if they produce the desired results. We look at God's sovereignty and how He will get His results no matter what we do, and we conclude our actions don't matter. However, our Western way is not the only way to discover what's meaningful. Meaning is also found in being. By being a certain kind of people (who do certain things because of who we are), we have meaning in God's economy. In other words, God has value for us not only in what we accomplish, but in who we are. Being completely willing participants in His plan is valuable, no matter how it may affect the outcome.
So, does my effort matter? I can't thwart God's plan. I can't change the outcome (can I?). I certainly can't alter God's eternal plan. The Bible seems to care a lot about whether or not I do certain things, but does it really matter, since I can't alter the final score that's been fixed from before the world began?
Among theologians, these questions are part of a much larger debate which (sadly) can cause division among brothers in Christ. But in real life for normal people, it really comes down to the very practical question: Does my effort matter? And if it does, how so? And if not, then why bother?
Does my effort matter? You probably anticipated this answer: yes and no.
In one sense, no, your effort doesn't matter. Sorry, but God's plan is not so fragile as to teeter on whether or not you do something. He's completely, totally, effectively, conclusively sovereign, and He will execute His eternal plan no matter what you do. His confidence for the outcome of His plan is not merely based on the fact that He knows how it all turns out - His confidence comes from the fact that He is God, and because He is God, there is no other possible outcome than His plan.
But in another sense, yes, your effort does matter. Consider:
- We can participate in God's plan: Technically, everyone is always participating in God's plan, either for it or against, either wittingly or unwittingly, because no one is exempt from God's comprehensive plan. But we have the opportunity to be willing participants working for God's purpose rather than against it. That's a privilege! When the end comes, we will have either been active participants in what God accomplished, or non-participants, or even antagonists. Personally, I really like the first of those three options.
- We can be the kind of person God is making us to be. By participating actively in God's purpose, we are being what God wants. To be a believer in Jesus Christ, but inactive in God's plan, is to be a living contradiction. Even though I can't change the final score, I can either live consistently with His plan or live inconsistently with His plan. What kind of people does God want us to be - those who live in concert with His purpose and plan or those who clash with them?
- We can glorify God. By living a life that reflects what God is doing in the world, we bring Him glory. God is glorified by whatever reflects His character. Applying ourselves to His purpose reflects His character, and therefore glorifies Him. Don't tell me that doesn't matter.
- We can be how God executes His plan. Yes, God is completely sovereign and will accomplish His purpose, but God accomplishes a lot of His purpose through people. His sovereign plan that existed before the world began includes those through whom He will accomplish His plan. Our actions matter because our actions are part of what God sovereignly uses to execute His plan.
Part of our problem with this question is that we have a very Western mindset, which is focused on results. Actions are meaningful only if they produce the desired results. We look at God's sovereignty and how He will get His results no matter what we do, and we conclude our actions don't matter. However, our Western way is not the only way to discover what's meaningful. Meaning is also found in being. By being a certain kind of people (who do certain things because of who we are), we have meaning in God's economy. In other words, God has value for us not only in what we accomplish, but in who we are. Being completely willing participants in His plan is valuable, no matter how it may affect the outcome.
Monday, December 26, 2011
Our Reading Plan for 2012
Last year, we set a challenge to read the entire Bible straight through as a church. I started off the first part of the year doing a decent job of reminding you, but then I fell out of the habit of keeping the idea before you and encouraging you. That's not setting the best example of persistence, and that was just in reminding you to read, which is far easier than keeping up with the actual reading!
The advantage of the plan for 2011 was that we were reading the entire Bible, and doing so in a more chronological fashion. Reading large sections of Scripture allows us to see themes and the big picture, but it is harder to keep current with a larger reading plan. If you fall behind, it can feel overwhelming to get back into it. That's when many stop following the plan, even though it's easy enough to just start back up on schedule and not worry about the parts that were missed. Missing some is better than missing all.
We have a new plan for 2012 with a different strategy. We want to use a variety of strategies over the years - sometimes the whole Bible, sometimes just certain parts; sometimes sequential, sometimes chronological, sometimes thematic.
Our plan for 2012 is to read the New Testament together. But we're going to read it together in a unique order - instead of reading it sequentially, we're going to read it somewhat chronologically. Reading sequentially would put all four Gospels up front, so I'm putting one Gospel per quarter. We start with Luke, because I want to then use Acts as the timeline (Acts is Luke's sequel to his Gospel). As we reach a given location in Acts, such as Galatia, we will set Acts on "pause" and then read the epistle related to that location, then resume where we left off in Acts. (Even though each epistle was written later in time than when Paul was at that city in Acts, this plan will keep things together geographically.) After we're done with Acts, we'll then read the remaining books of the New Testament.
The organization may be a little complicated, but following the plan won't be - just follow the schedule we are providing. The readings are not long, and are grouped by week, not by day. That gives you plenty of flexibility to get your readings in with consistency.
You can get a printed copy of the plan from the table in the sanctuary or from the church office. You can get an electronic copy by clicking here (http://doiop.com/GF2012Plan). Also, if you go to our website, wait for the reading plan graphic to cycle through, just click on that picture and you'll get the plan that way.
Since the readings will be much shorter this year, I want to challenge you to a very important reading technique - read each section at least twice (I recommend three times). That will increase your comprehension and retention. Statistics suggest that retention almost doubles when the material is repeated, and can approach 90% if the material is covered three times.
Read with us! And I'll try to do a better job of reminding you.
The advantage of the plan for 2011 was that we were reading the entire Bible, and doing so in a more chronological fashion. Reading large sections of Scripture allows us to see themes and the big picture, but it is harder to keep current with a larger reading plan. If you fall behind, it can feel overwhelming to get back into it. That's when many stop following the plan, even though it's easy enough to just start back up on schedule and not worry about the parts that were missed. Missing some is better than missing all.
We have a new plan for 2012 with a different strategy. We want to use a variety of strategies over the years - sometimes the whole Bible, sometimes just certain parts; sometimes sequential, sometimes chronological, sometimes thematic.
Our plan for 2012 is to read the New Testament together. But we're going to read it together in a unique order - instead of reading it sequentially, we're going to read it somewhat chronologically. Reading sequentially would put all four Gospels up front, so I'm putting one Gospel per quarter. We start with Luke, because I want to then use Acts as the timeline (Acts is Luke's sequel to his Gospel). As we reach a given location in Acts, such as Galatia, we will set Acts on "pause" and then read the epistle related to that location, then resume where we left off in Acts. (Even though each epistle was written later in time than when Paul was at that city in Acts, this plan will keep things together geographically.) After we're done with Acts, we'll then read the remaining books of the New Testament.
The organization may be a little complicated, but following the plan won't be - just follow the schedule we are providing. The readings are not long, and are grouped by week, not by day. That gives you plenty of flexibility to get your readings in with consistency.
You can get a printed copy of the plan from the table in the sanctuary or from the church office. You can get an electronic copy by clicking here (http://doiop.com/GF2012Plan). Also, if you go to our website, wait for the reading plan graphic to cycle through, just click on that picture and you'll get the plan that way.
Since the readings will be much shorter this year, I want to challenge you to a very important reading technique - read each section at least twice (I recommend three times). That will increase your comprehension and retention. Statistics suggest that retention almost doubles when the material is repeated, and can approach 90% if the material is covered three times.
Read with us! And I'll try to do a better job of reminding you.
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