Power-Reading the Bible can fundamentally transform how we look at the Bible, how we handle it, what we get from it, and how we apply it to ourselves and to others. 

So, starting now, and week by week for quite some time to come, I'm going to be thinking out loud about how we read the Bible. No cost. No signup. I'm looking for a few good people who love the Bible and want to grow in it to walk with me on this path. I won’t opine about why people don’t read the Bible; nor will I throw rocks at anybody. I just want to think out loud for an extended period of time (for weeks, if not months—see the plan below) about what could be possible if we would choose to do it. I want this to be encouraging and, if possible, even energizing!

To help show the importance of this, I have renamed this blog-site to "Power-Reading the Bible";  and week by week I intend to follow a storyline-type of approach, where one post leads to the next—a true, ongoing, building-block approach to biblical text study. 

I'm inviting you to join me on this week-by-week journey.  Like I said, there is no cost, you don’t have to sign up for anything, you don't have to do anything except read the posts and share them with people you care about.  (If you want to, you can subscribe to this blog in the right column, but I'll still send out notices).  And if you have feedback or responses to anything along the way, you can send them to me.  

I truly believe this is a win-win-win type of proposal, especially for very busy people. 

Power-Reading:

So, what do I mean by "Power-Reading" the Bible? 

I don’t mean reading faster or with any kind of argumentative voice or arm-wrestling demeanor. I’m not saying, “you need to become a scholar,” or any such silly thing.

I do intend, however, to imply that we consciously decide to seriously look into what it means to read responsibly and contextually; and I do intend to suggest an energetic, disciplined, step-by-step approach to reading deeper and with more meaning.

(Now, by the way, I have a separate—and I think very powerful—video-based 5 day course on Power-Reading the Bible that you can find at the link. What I write in these blog posts will not be a repeat of that series.)

So now, If you walk with me on this path, I promise you, how you read the Bible can grow and even transform into something beautiful, stimulating, and even life-changing. I also promise that what I’m suggesting will challenge some readers more than others, and it will only appeal to those who are serious about getting MORE from their Bibles.

So here is my plan:

Part 1: I'll introduce "Power-Reading the Bible" as a path to responsible, contextual, and conversational Biblical text study.  This will take a number of weeks.

Part 2: I'll talk about creating three things to facilitate Power-Reading: a Mindset, an Expectation, and a Space.  It will take several weeks to roll this out.

Part 3: PROBE.  I'll talk about what this is, why it is important, and how it can help everyone everywhere with how they read the Bible and put it into practice.  

Part 4:  1Thessalonians.  Here I plan to study a specific NT text using all the principles I've laid out in this macro blog series. So, I'll turn to what is possibly Paul’s earliest letter: 1Thessalonians.  What I plan to do is to generate some conversations with Paul about faith, love, & hope.  I plan to follow this path:

1. Basics about the letter (including a new translation) —Intro 
2. Embracing Hope ----Intro 2
3. The Path: From Prayer to Power ----1:1-10
4. The Christ Message ----2:1-4
5. Dealing with Conflict ----2:5-16
6. Finding Direction ----2:17-20; 3:1-8
7. Praying with Elation ----3:9-13
8. Walking the Talk ----4:1-8
9. The Quiet Life ----4:9-12
10. Meeting the LORD ----4:13-18
11. Facing the Day ----5:1-11
12. Standing with Power ----5:12-28
13. Shared Existence
14. Unrelenting Faith

I don’t know how long I’ll spend on this part—likely more than 14 weeks. It won’t surprise me if this entire study takes all year. And it is likely that my plans will change along the way.  I won’t be worried about any of that. My concern is to model what could be when we read biblical texts.

 For those who decide to join me in this, I’ll be delighted. Again, you don’t have to sign up. There is no cost. Anyone is welcome to follow along.

Blessings,
Gary

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