Imagine being the French explorer who first explored the highest point in the state of Arkansas, now called Mt. Magazine near Paris, Arkansas, standing at 2,753ft. You would have a new perspective on the landscape you have been exploring. We can go higher for a better view. What would it be like to be the first person to reach the summit of Mt. Whitney in the Sierra Nevada, the highest point in the continental United States, finding the summit at 14,494ft? Wait, let's go even higher. Imagine it's 1953 and you are Edmund Hillary, the first confirmed mountain climber to reach the summit of Mt. Everest, standing over the world at 29,035ft! You would feel like you are on top of the world with a different perspective than anyone else. That is, until 1961…when Yuri Gagarin was the first man in space to orbit the earth at 187 miles...or 987,360ft. Now that is perspective! Jesus tells two men walking on a road that the Old Testament Scriptures give us the perspective that all the Scriptures point to Him. When we can get a high view of Scripture, we can see the big picture of the Bible and what it is all about.
Each week, as you take in the Bible, find some friends to talk it out. You can follow this simple guide to help. First, R.E.A.D. and P.R.A.Y. on your own. Then, meet with friends to share what you've learned.
R - Repeated words
E - Examine and mark
A - Ask what you learn about God
D - Do if there is anything to do
P - Praise
R - Repent
A - Ask
Y - Yield
Sunday's Message Text: Luke 24:13-27, 44-48
Bible Plan Reading - Week 2
START IT.
We're reading the Bible together in 2024. Specifically, we're taking a journey into how the story of the Bible unfolded in the Old Testament, starting with the beginning. How do we understand so many stories and lessons while trying to stick to the "sacred timeline"? The answer is the big picture. If we get the big picture, we get the story the Bible is trying to tell. From Sunday's message or The Big Picture Bible Reading Plan this week in the book of Job, what is impacting you the most? Was there a word, phrase, Bible verse, or theme that impacted you?
STUDY IT.
Have you ever needed a friend to sit with you? In the week prior’s readings (Job
Eliphaz basically says ‘good things happen to good people’ in Job 4:7-8. When
Bildad says that Job’s children got what they deserved. (Job 8:4) Have you ever
Zophar remarks that not only is Job guilty, but he probably deserves more
Job remarks that it would have been better for him not to have been born multiple
SHARE IT.
Does reading through the Bible (Old Testament) as the events unfolded excite you or something else?
How is Job's story shocking? Have you ever been around someone who lost as much as Job? How did they handle it?
Did this make you think of hard or confusing times you have been through?
How have you typically sought comfort for yourself or from others?
How does the hope found through Jesus help you in difficult times?
FINAL THOUGHT
The book of Job starts with Satan trying to discredit Job. Satan’s main argument is that
Job only serves God because of all the good things he receives from God. All of us
come to God with our own agendas in mind, however God allows Satan only enough
rope to hang himself. In this first part of Job, we see Job wrestling with his
circumstances and being honest with God about his pain and confusion. The end of
chapter 1 says “in all this Job did not sin or charge God with wrong.” As believers in
Christ, we have a far deeper and richer ability to see God’s love for us despite our
sufferings. Let us remember daily the sufferings of the truly innocent Christ on our
behalf in order that it would lead us to worship Him and find peace during pain.
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