The Gospel, Solas, E100, A Gospel, Old Testament, New Testament, The Gospel
Matt McDermott
This devotional guide is a study of the whole of scripture. It will guide you through 7 different themes, topics, and areas of the Bible that include, What Is The Gospel, What Are The 5 Core Fundamental Truths About Christianity, What are some of the Essential passages in the Scripture I Should Know, The Gospel of John, The Book of Micah, The Letters of 1 Corinthians, and The Gospel.
Introduction
We hear it all the time in church. Go to any training or leadership conference, join any Bible study, the two things you hear from people about how to grow in their faith are very simple:
Read your Bible Pray
That’s it. And it isn’t rocket science to conclude these answers and practices. We all know that we should be reading our Bibles and we all recognize that we stink at praying. But why don’t we? Why don’t we prioritize these two crucial and fundamental practices in our lives?
We don’t know how. We complicate things.
We aren’t practical. We aren’t efficient.
Before I get into those 4 things about why? I want to briefly discuss what I mean by “reading the Bible” and “Prayer” because I want to be clear in what I’m trying to get across.
Reading The Bible
Blessed are those whose way is blameless, who walk in the law of the LORD! Blessed are those who keep his testimonies, who seek him with their whole heart,
How can a young man keep his way pure? By guarding it according to your word. With my whole heart I seek you; let me not wander from your commandments! I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you. Blessed are you, O LORD; teach me your statutes! Psalm 119:1-2, 9-12
When I talk about “Reading the Bible” I do not mean simply reading through a few verses or maybe a chapter. I mean what the Psalmist wrote in Psalm 119.
In the 176 verses in Psalm 119, the word delight, love, and joy are used 30 times to describe the writer’s relationship with God because of the Scriptures! He digests them. He soaks them all up. He remembers them. He thinks about them. Applies them to his life.
When I talk about “Reading the Bible” my heart goes towards Psalm 119, a daily delight in God through studying Scripture.
This is a slow and steady process, one that takes time, commitment, accountability, help, and applying what the Scriptures say to our lives.
We’ll get to the “how” a bit later.
Prayer
When I talk about prayer, I don’t mean those shortly little prayers you pray to God, maybe before meal, or before bed, or those little prayers you prayed before a test in high school or college.
Are those prayers? Yes.
Are they adequate? No.
If you’re married, imagine if you only talked to your spouse for 30 seconds a few times a day … I don’t see how that is a healthy relationship. Imagine if you only talked to your spouse when you were in trouble … what kind of relationship are you developing?
Marriage is a great view of our relationship with God, and scripture backs that up. Throughout the New Testament, Paul talks about this idea of “Union with Christ” when he uses words and phrases like “In Him,” or “He is in us and we are in Him”.
He is talking about Christ and us being together with him like a husband and wife are one flesh, in each other.
So, should we not also view our relationship with Jesus in the same way?
Spoiler alert: You were made for something greater than marriage.
Another Spoiler: Marriage does not complete you, define you, or ultimately satisfy you.
In the book of Ecclesiastes, Solomon is dropping some knowledge and wisdom on us and he calls everything “under the sun” meaningless. God gives him this task of exploring out EVERY possible way of finding satisfaction and life (on a greater degree than we could ever know) and his result is “everything in meaningless”.
He had 700 Wives and 300 Concubines.
Marriage and Sex, although good gifts given by God to rejoice in and delight in, did not satisfy the “eternity” that has been placed on our Souls (see Ecclesiastes 3:11).
But a relationship with Jesus? It does satisfy because He is eternal. His love never fails. His love never ends. Death couldn’t stop him. He lives forever. He can and does satisfy the longings of our hearts.
So, a relationship with Jesus has to include prayer like a relationship with your spouse has to include communication. A healthy marriage can be seen through good and clear communication. A healthy relationship with Christ can be seen through prayer.
Why don’t we Read the Bible and Pray?
Here are I think the four reasons why we don’t read our Bibles and Pray:
One - We don’t know how to.
We do the things we know how to do and we avoid the things that we don’t know how to do. It is that simple.
Two - We complicate things.
When we do read the Scriptures, we get frustrated because we can make it into something other than what it should be. We may read too much or too little (both are complicated). We don’t have a plan.
Three - We aren’t practical.
Maybe it isn’t the smartest to do devos late at night, while we’re laying down in bed with the lights off and resting on our pillow after we just drank a warm glass of milk, had a huge turkey dinner, took a melatonin pill after we ran six miles that day and played with the kids all afternoon.
Four - We aren’t efficient.
No guides. No scheduled time. No journal. No partner.
Tips on These Disciplines
I am going to go step by step through these four things that we do wrong to help us get better acclimated with Reading the Bible and Praying.
Know How to Read and Prayer
In the youth ministry, our small groups that study through books of the Bible, verse by verse, passage by passage, study in the same way. It is a five step process:
1. Pray. Pray before you read. Ask God to speak to us as we read His word.
2. Read the Text. Simply enough. We read through the text with a pen and journal. Typically, we read a chapter. I like to start with a chapter and then get smaller (see step 3). Go from a big thing to something that stood out to me. The journal will helps us through the next three steps.
3. Make note of things that stood out to you. I will typically underline passages, make stars, write arrows connecting passages. Whatever it is that is grabbing my attention, a word or phrase, a collection of verses, I underline it and then I write them in my journal. Sometimes, I will write down entire verse in my journal of what stood out to me. In my office, I currently have a list of the things that stood out to me.
4. Ask Questions. This can range from general information to deeper theological questions you may have about the text. Ask a question. Then, ask someone who may know. Talking about the text, maybe about your question or something you may have found exciting or frustrating, is a great way to discover more from the passage.
5. See where you can apply it to your life. Scripture is for our benefit. It tells us about Jesus, his people, and his work, and grace. Throughout scripture, you will find passages where you can apply what is happening to your life. Think about these things and actually do them. Maybe you need to confess sin, or stop sinning, or start serving in some way. Take the text and apply it to your life. Practically. Be specific. If you’re reading with someone, share with how you are going to apply it to your life.
How This Devotional Works
This devotional is both a guide through chunks of scripture and specific teachings on scripture. From time to time, you may also see reflections and meditations to read, prayers to pray, and other helpful insights.
Typically, most devotions are daily, one chapter a day, readings. Simply read the chapter, with a pen and a journal, and go through the five steps listed above.
Pray
Read
Make Note (Did anything stick out to you? A word, phrase, or verse?
Ask Questions (What questions about the passage or theme do you have?)
Apply (How can you apply this to your life?)
If you have questions, know that I am going along through this with you! So call and ask or shoot me an email.
If you fall back, don’t feel the need to “catch up.” If today is Tuesday and you haven’t read since last Thursday, just read Tuesdays devotional. This isn’t homework. No one is grading you. This is a guide to help you in your relationship with Jesus and grow as a disciple.
The progression of this devotional is as follows
The Gospel, The Solas, E100, Gospel of Luke, Old Testament: Micah, New Testament: 1 Corinthians, The Gospel
September 14 - 20
9/14/14
Who is God?
Romans 11:33-36
9/15/14
Who is God?
Psalm 19:1-3
2 Corinthians 4:4-6
9/16/14
Who is God?
Ephesians 1:3-14
9/17/14
Who is God
Isaiah 43:6-7, 48:9-11
9/18/14
Who is Jesus?
Colossians 1:15-21
9/19/14
Who is Jesus?
John 1:1-17
9/20/14
Who is Jesus?
John 10
September 21-27
9/21/14
Who am I?
Genesis 1
9/22/14
Who am I?
Genesis 2?
9/23/14
What’s my problem?
Genesis 3
9/24/14
What’s my problem?
Mark 7:14-23
9/25/14
What’s my problem?
Romans 1:1-23
9/26/14
What’s my problem?
Romans 3:9-20
9/27/14
Is there a solution?
Ephesians 2:1-10
Sept 28 – Oct 4
9/28/14
Jesus
John 4
9/29/14
Jesus
Joh 14
9/30/14
Jesus
Romans 10:9-15
10/1/14
What Jesus did
Penal Substitution
Exodus 12
10/2/14
What Jesus Did
Penal Substitution
Leviticus 16
10/3/14
What Jesus Did
Penal Substitution
1 Peter 2:21-25, 3:18
10/4/14
What Jesus Did
Penal Substitution
Romans 1:16-18, 3:21-26, 5:8-10
October 5 - 11
10/5/14
Grace
Ephesians 2:1-10
10/6/14
Grace
Luke 15:11-32
10/7/14
Grace
Matthew 20:1-16
10/8/14
Grace
Romans 5:12-21
10/9/14
Grace
Galatians 2
10/10/14
Faith
Genesis 15
10/11/14
Faith
Luke 18:9-14
October 12 - 18
10/12/14
Faith
Luke 23:39-43
10/13/14
Faith
Mark 5:21-43
10/14/14
Faith
2 Corinthians 5
10/15/14
So… now what?
Romans 11
10/16/14
So… now what?
Romans 12
10/17/14
So… now what?
Jeremiah 29:4-9
10/18/14
So…now what?
Matthew 28:16-19
October 19 - 25
10/19/14
E100
Creation
Genesis 2
10/20/14
Fall
Genesis 3
10/21/14
The Flood
Genesis 6:5-7:24
10/22/14
God’s Covenant with Noah
Genesis 8:1-9:17
10/23/14
The Call of Abraham
Genesis 12
10/24/14
God’s Covenant with Abram
Genesis 15
10/25/14
Isaac’s Birth and Sacrific
Genesis 22
October 26 – Nov 1
10/26/14
Joseph Sold Into Slavery
Genesis 37
10/27/14
Genesis 50
10/28/14
Moses
Exodus 1:1-2:25
10/29/14
The Burning Bush
Exodus 3:1-4:-17
10/30/14
Exodus 6:1-13
10/31/14
Passover
Exodus 12
11/1/14
Crossing the Red Sea
Exodus 13:17-14:31
November 2-8
11/2/14
10 Commandments
Exodus 19-20:21
11/3/14
Joshua succeeds Moses
Joshua 1:1-1:18
11/4/14
Crossing the Jordan
Joshua 3:1-4:24
11/5/14
The Fall of Jericho
Joshua 6
11/6/14
Israel’s Diobedience
Judges 2:6-3:6
11/7/14
Ruth
All of Ruth
11/8/14
Samuel and God
1 Samuel 3
November 9-15
11/9/14
King Saul
1 Samuel 8
11/10/14
King Saul
1 Samuel 9
11/11/14
Saul rejected by God
1 Samuel 15
11/12/14
David chosen
1 Samuel 16
11/13/14
David and Goliath
1 Samiel 17
11/14/14
King David
2 Samuel 5
11/15/14
David and Bathsheba
2 Samuel 11:1-12:25
November 16 - 22
11/16/14
King Solomon
1 Kings 2
11/17/14
King Solomon’s Wisdom
1 Kings 3
11/18/14
King Solomon’s Wealth
1 Kings 4
11/19/14
The Fall of Jerusalem
2 Kings 25:1-25
11/20/14
The Suffering Servant
Isaiah 51-53
11/21/14
Jonah 1-2
11/22/14
Jonah 3-4
November 23 - 29
11/23/14
John 1:1-18
11/24/14
Jesus’ connection to Israel
Matthew 1
11/25/14
Jesus’ Connection to Israel = Egypt
Matthew 2
11/26/14
Jesus’ connection to Israel = Returns thru water
Matthew 3
11/27/14
Jesus’ Connection to Israel = Wilderness Temptation
Matthew 4
11/28/14
Sermon on the Mount
Matthew 5
11/29/14
Sermon on the Mount
Matthew 6
Nov 30 – Dec 6
11/30/14
Sermon on the Mount
Matthew 7
12/1/14
Kingdom of Heaven
Matthew 13
12/2/14
The Lost
Luke 15
12/3/14
Feeding the 5000
Luke 9:1-36
12/4/14
Healing the bling Man
John 9:1-41
12/5/14
Mark 2
12/6/14
Jesus is…
Equal to God
John 5:18-29
December 7 - 13
12/7/14
Jesus is …
Bread of Life
John 6:22-59
12/8/14
Jesus is ..
Light of the World
John 8:12-29
12/9
Jesus is …
The Good Shepherd
John 10:1-18
12/10/14
Jesus is …
One with the Father
John 10:22-42
12/11/14
Jesus is …
Resurrection and Life
John 11:1-44
12/12/14
Jesus is …
Servant
John 13:1-20
12/13/14
Jesus is …
The Way/Truth/Life
John 14:1-14
December 14 - 20
12/14/14
Jesus is …
The Vine
John 15:1-17
12/15/14
Arrest and Trial
John 18
12/16/14
The Crucifixion
John 19
12/17/14
The Resurrection
John 20
12/18/14
Jesus is Alive
John 21
12/19/14
The Ascension
Acts 1:1-11
12/20/14
Jesus promises the Holy Spirit
John 14:15-31
December 21-27
12/21/14
Holy Spirit’s Work
John 16:4-15
12/22/14
The Giving of the Holy Spirit
Acts 2
12/23/14
Life in the Spirit
Romans 8:1-11
12/24/14
Gifts of the Spirit
1 Corinthians 12
12/25/14
Gifts of the Spirit
1 Corinthians 14:1-25
12/26/14
Walking by the Spirit
Galatians 5:16-26
12/27/14
Life with the Spirit
Ephesians 4:17-32
December 28 – Jan 3
12/28/14
A life pleasing to God