The Bible is full of truth and wisdom. Regularly engaging with it allows us to discover the living God who offers us guidance, comfort, and hope. More importantly, when we regularly immerse ourselves in scripture, it supernaturally transforms us to be more like Jesus.

Transcript

INTRODUCTION

Last week, we kicked off a new series called Simple Rhythms where we connect with Jesus regularly through spiritual exercises.

This morning, we are looking at the significance of finding simply rhythms in scripture.

Scripture is the Bible, the Word of God, and we trust that it is sufficient to guide us in our faith and it’s evident it passages like 2 Timothy 3:16-17.

This is what it says this,

16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness,

17 so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

In 2 Timothy, Paul writes his final letter to his disciple, Timothy.

Paul is in the middle of a court trial, and it isn’t going well.

He writes in a way suggesting that the trial will end in a decision that will lead to his death as a punishment of his ministry.

Even in a dark time, Paul encourages Timothy to be faithful.

One way of doing that is to rely on Scripture.

Paul describes Scripture as God-breathed, useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training righteousness so that the servant of God may be equipped for every good work.

Here’s my summary of 2 Timothy 3:16-17.

Saturate yourself in scripture to shape your soul.

Saturate yourself in scripture to shape your soul.

In the Christian faith, we believe our soul is the core of who we are.

Our bodies come and go, but our soul is what continues to live on in eternity.

So, it’s important to shape our souls so we’re right with God and in light of 2 Timothy 3:16-17, it is Scripture that provides us with everything we need to do that.

The importance of scripture being god-breathed

Why is it important for scripture to teach, rebuke, correct, and train us in righteousness?

First off, we’re told that Scripture is God-breathed.

This basically means all Scripture comes from God, it originates from God.

If it helps, I like to think of the Creation story.

In Genesis 2, we’re told that God breathed the breath of life into man, which gave him life.

And because Scripture is God-breathed, it comes from God and it gives us life.

He uses scripture to teach us the essential truths about who He is and who we believe in.

It exposes and points out our wrong belief that lead us to do the wrong things.

It corrects us by restoring us back to who we were created to be.

And it trains us to live a life that reflects God’s desires for us so that we can experience all his promises. Saturating ourselves with Scripture shapes our souls so that we can experience life.

Saturating ourselves in scripture

When I think about saturating myself in something, the idea of being covered or filled with something comes to mind.

A few weeks ago, some of us were saturated with Minnesota Timberwolves.

Their impressive NBA season and playoff run resulted in me seeing them on all over my social media threads.

My social media world was filled with news, videos, and discussions.

A few months ago, we were saturated with Taylor Swift.

From her Eras Tours to her appearances at NFL games to her new album.

It felt like Taylor Swift was everywhere whether you welcomed it or not.

So how do we saturate ourselves with scripture?

Let’s discover some ideas that the early church utilized and consider how we can apply it in our own spirituality.

According to Aaron Damiani, the Apostle Paul wrote in 1 Timothy 4:13 to devote himself to the public reading of Scripture.

As early as AD 150, Scripture reading was included in the order of service.

This is how one church historian describes it.

“A reader takes up the Scripture, reading clearly, so that the people can hear, and efficiently, so as not to take too long. The people, many of whom are illiterate, probably listen closely and attempt to memorize passages of the Scriptures.

The ‘president’ of the community then gives a talk in which he applies the passages that have just been read to the lives of the believers…Scripture was woven into the songs, prayers, and liturgies…

they could expect to hear, pray, and even sing God’s Word…Singing leads to memorizing. Memorizing leads to more singing—as anyone who has had a song stuck in their head can testify. Wouldn’t you like Scripture stuck in your head?” (p. 81-82)

This looks and sounds like what we do for our services, but there are a few notable reasons why the public reading Scripture was such a vital part in the early church.

• First, it was a tradition adopted from their Jewish heritage and synagogue experience.

• Second, private copies of Scripture were rare and expensive.

• Third, literacy rates were very low during the early church. Some say less than 3% of people during and around Jesus’ time were able to read and write.

The public reading of Scripture was one of the few moments where a believer had access to Scripture so they carefully and attentively paid attention to it so they can saturate themselves with it.

The current reality of how we engage with scripture

Ironically, our literacy rates are much higher today and we have many ways to access the Bible for free, but studies have shown a growing disengagement with Scripture.

The American Bible Society conducts annual research called State of the Bible to determine how often Americans use the Bible.

They defined Bible use as individuals “who interact with Scripture at least 3-4 times a year (apart from services at church).”

They discovered that 38% of Americans are Bible users while the remaining 60% don’t engage with the Bible at all. Interestingly, the groups that are most disengaged with Scripture are Millennials and Asians, which are most of us.

There is hope though.

53% of American adults say they do wish they read the Bible more and studies have found that Gen Z and Gen Alpha are open and curious.

Reminding ourselves why it’s important to engage with scripture

Being open and curious is a start to finding rhythms with scripture.

We can always start by reminding us why scripture is important. Richard J. Foster, the author of “Stream of Living Water,” reminds us of this about Scripture.

“[Scripture] is the good news of redemption and reconciliation…The evangel message is rooted in the person of Christ, the Word of God living… Jesus himself announced this good news of the gospel in his cryptic call, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near’ (Matt. 4:17)… This evangel message has been faithfully preserved and presented to us in Scripture. The Bible is the Word of God written, just as Jesus is the Word of God living” (p. 219, 221).

I love his idea that Scripture is the Word of God living just as Jesus the Word of God living.

The Word of God written, the scriptures, the Bible is the good news that Jesus shared when he was on earth.

It is how we encounter and experience God in a written version.

Going back to 2 Timothy 3:16, it is God-breathed.

I think it’s easy for us discount it as lesser than, but we’re reminded that it is of God and by God.

The Bible isn’t God, but it provides us what we need so that we can encounter God.

In John 17:17, Jesus says this,

“Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth”

Sanctify means to make holy and the process of us becoming holy comes from engaging in God’s word because it is truth. And that’s why we need to engage and saturate ourselves in it.

APPLICATION

So this morning, I want to invite us to experience how we can engage and saturate ourselves in Scripture.

I want us to hear it, see it, and engage it.

We’re going to listen, read, and memorize Scripture this morning to remind us of it’s significance.

We’re going to engage with a verse in 2 Peter 1:19.

I want to invite you to hear what it says.

This is what it says,

19 We also have the prophetic message as something completely reliable, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.

Now, I want to invite you to read it with me.

Let’s read it together.

19 We also have the prophetic message as something completely reliable, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.

Now, I want you to engage with Scripture by memorizing it.

I’m going to play a video where the words in the verse will be blanked out and I want you to try and memorize it. I’ve put the verse in the bulletin so if you need help, peek in your bulletin.

Thanks for taking some time this morning to saturate yourself in scripture.

May we be reminded that scripture helps teach us God’s truth and aligns us to live out God’s desire.

May we find simple ways to use scripture to help us connect with Jesus daily whether it’s through hearing it, reading it, or engaging with it.

And let us be reminded that the scripture is the Word of God written that points us to Jesus who the Word of God living.

Let’s pray.