The Meet Hope Podcast

Second Listen: How to Start Reading Your Bible

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This episode originally aired on Sep 11, 2023 but we think it's worth taking a second to have a second listen, today! We'll be back next week with a new episode!

Original Show Notes:

Have you ever said (or thought) "I want to read the Bible more but I just don't know where to start?" On this episode we talk with Pastor Heather Mandala about how to get started and how to shift our mindset away from feeling like it's something we "should do" to embracing it as one of the best ways to get to know who Jesus is so we can be more like him.  We explore various methods to connect with the Scripture and are reminded that this journey is not about perfection, it's about grace and growth. 

NOTES & RESOURCES:


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Speaker 1:

Hello Hope Podcast listeners. We live in a fast-paced world where new material and ideas are thrown at you 24-7. Some of you told us this and said I want to listen to everything, but it's hard to catch up. Well, we're here to help. We desire to be a place that is grateful for and respectful of your precious time, and so to serve you best, we will every so often be resharing past episodes that we call Second Listen, because we think they are worth taking a second to replay. Even if you are an every week listener, we think having a second listen to these episodes will make an impact on your weekend life, and if you have heard this one but are behind on new episodes, now is a great time to catch up on any others you have missed. Thank you, and here we go.

Speaker 2:

Welcome to the Meet Hope podcast, where we have conversations about faith and hope. Hope is one church made of people living out their faith through two expressions in person and online. We believe a hybrid faith experience can lead to a growing influence in our community and our world for the sake of others. Welcome to Hope.

Speaker 1:

Hi everyone, welcome to the Mean Hope Podcast. I'm Ashley Black and I'm excited to be here today with one of our pastors, pastor Heather Mandela, and we're going to be doing a new segment on the podcast. We're going to be calling Monday School. So every once in a while, we had some feedback that people would love to hear us talk about how to do things or learn about things connected to the church or faith or ministry or our faith lives, and so we're going to be kind of trying this out every once in a while with some episodes, and so you're our first one, of course, and so today we're gonna be talking about reading our Bible.

Speaker 1:

So, Heather, just so you know, this question came up from a handful of our listeners who I'd gotten together with and said, like well, what kind of topics would you like to have in Monday school? And this was a big one, and I would say that it's one that I hear often when I lead a small group. There's always like one or two people that say, like, well, I want to read my Bible more, but I don't know where to start, and that feels like a lot of pressure. And so I figured, of all of our people here on staff. You direct small groups and you point people in that direction a lot, and so I thought you'd be good to have a conversation with.

Speaker 3:

Well, thank you. No, I do love talking about this and I agree it's something that I hear regularly in my small groups and it's something we're super cognizant of when we're working with kids and families as well, because parents don't often don't feel equipped to teach the Bible. They're still trying to figure it out for themselves.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, no, that's a really great point, because when you're younger it's like, just feels like this thing you're supposed to like learn or memorize or whatever, and you don't understand what it means in like a relational way, exactly.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, and I think you know that's the question that we start with across the board is the why. So why do we read the Bible? Right? And we read the Bible because this is the most direct source of information that we have about who Jesus was. And if we are supposed to be disciples right, we're in the process of being conformed to the image of Christ. For the sake of others, then we need to know what image we're being conformed into, and one of the you know, one of the ways we learn about who Jesus is and what Jesus was like is through the Bible. And so so that's the why, the why is learning about who Jesus is.

Speaker 1:

No, that's really beautiful, because I feel like there's a lot of common misconceptions about why you should, and it's like the should Like.

Speaker 2:

I should read the Bible.

Speaker 1:

And it feels very like homework and it's like, well, why do you think you should? Are there any other common misconceptions that you hear about?

Speaker 3:

I think what I hear a lot is. I try, but I just can't understand it. It's just too confusing and I get that and I the first question I usually ask is well, do you know what translation you're trying to read? You know, that's one of my first questions and there are a lot of really confusing translations out there that I don't recommend, and they're not necessarily the most accurate translations either, and it's funny because you'll hear some churches that are like live and die King James, you know, and the thighs and the vowels, and it's not even the most accurate of the translations that are out there, but for some reason they've clung on to that desperately. Some reason they've clung on to that desperately. You know, personally I love the NLT, which is the New Living Translation, and I love the NIV, which is the New International.

Speaker 1:

Version and you just find those are the plainest English to read.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, they're the most accessible English wise. The message is great. I like to read the message in conjunction with one of those. I find for me the message is a really great way to think differently about a verse I might be stuck on, you know. So if there's something that's confusing or language I don't understand, I might look at that there.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, I found sometimes what I like about the message version is it adds a little bit more like color to the picture, yep, but but yeah, that's usually where I start to that, nlt NIV and I. I recently saw someone go by on I think it might've been Instagram someone I follow. They said you know, we have to remember that the Bible was not written in English. You know, and it's been through many languages and so being tied to even one English, translation is not fair to us in trying to understand who Jesus was, like you said.

Speaker 3:

Exactly no. And then the second question I will ask is well, what are you trying to read? And they're like well, I tried to start at the beginning. No, no wonder. Let me guess you hit like Deuteronomy or Leviticus and you were like peace out people, all the rules and all the lineage of everyone.

Speaker 3:

And there are some amazing stories in the old Testament, but everything in the old Testament points to Jesus, and if we're not reading the old Testament through the lens of Jesus, we're doing a disservice to the Old Testament, and so I will almost never suggest that people start in the Old Testament, start in the New Testament, start in what we call the Gospels, which are Matthew, mark, luke and John. Pick one of those. My favorite is John and Matthew. They're my two favorites. Is there a reason why they're your favorite? And Matthew, they're my two favorites. Is there a reason why they're your favorite?

Speaker 3:

So, john, was known as the disciple that Jesus loved, and this, this relationship, I feel like so clearly comes through in the gospel of John. John points to Jesus's love again and again, and again, and all of the stories he recounts, in the things he shares, in the exchanges between the disciples and Jesus, and so for me it's this beautiful look at the tender side of Jesus and the personal side of Jesus and Matthew. Matthew is what most of the show Godspell is based upon, and you know I started doing the show Godspell at 16 here at Hope and it has been a favorite of mine for my entire adult life, and, and so I um. You know there are so many scriptures that are completely linked to that show for me I can't even read them without singing a song or doing something special memory for you.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, connect with it. Yeah, exactly. So for me it's a personal thing with Matthew, it's, it's, they're all great. Um but that's just my own personal preference.

Speaker 1:

I mean, one thing I love about when you read each gospel is you you get to know like kind of the personality of each writer and I love learning about who they were and and who they were writing to.

Speaker 1:

so around this time last year, I think, I did a study on the book of luke and we just got together and we read through the book of luke and one of the first things we talked about was like who luke was and or who we believe luke was, and who he was writing to and why he was writing what he did or why he shared what he did, and then even things so fascinating as like they also believe like luke wrote luke and acts, I think, and but there's like but those books aren't right next to each other in the bible and so so like, well, why aren't they and and talking through? So that's like another piece of it is, we don't always, when you mentioned people think they should start at the beginning in Genesis, like when I learned that not the whole Bible is on a timeline like a direct timeline.

Speaker 1:

My mind was blown because, as a little kid, I just assume, like you read a book start to finish right.

Speaker 3:

And so when you kind of learn how it all points, to each other and pieces anyway, that's a little bit of a side tangent, but those things are important, it's one of the reasons why I also ask people who they're reading it with, because it's so important that we do this in community because we bring only one perspective to the table, and when we are reading with other Christians, we are hearing different perspectives, different life experiences.

Speaker 3:

The Bible is a living word. It is going to interact with our hearts and our minds and it can be confusing sometimes, and so we might read something that is confusing to us and we need someone else's perspective to help us understand it better. It was also written in a different culture and a different time, with different life experiences, or have a situation where we are indebted to one particular person the way that people were indebted in the past, and so having our debt forgiven rings differently for us than it does for someone else. So it's important for us to be reading in community and to do what we call looking at the whole canon of scripture. I know very big words, right, but basically it just means to understand where that particular scripture fits in the larger puzzle.

Speaker 3:

In the whole story.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, yeah, one of my favorite questions I heard somebody ask once was no matter where you are in scripture, whether you're in the Old Testament or the New Testament, specifically in the Old Testament, where it can feel like really old and confusing is they asked where is Jesus in this? Yeah, and so I love that you started off by talking about you know, that part of it is.

Speaker 1:

Our goal is to learn who the character of Jesus is, so that we can be more like him. And so, even if we can look at an Old Testament story and ask where is it pointing to? Like, how is this story pointing to Jesus? That I know, for me it's helped a lot. It is.

Speaker 3:

It's that old cheesy bracelet everybody wore. What would Jesus do? You can't answer that question for your own personal life until you know who he is, and this is the best place we can find who he is. And he is amazing and irresistible and grace filled and powerful, and there is a whole mystery waiting for us you know, and that's why it's worth pushing through what might seem challenging at first, and it's why it's worth doing it in community and growing closer to each other as we grow closer to him and figure out what it?

Speaker 3:

means to look like our savior.

Speaker 1:

No, I love that so much because I think, um often there can be this feeling like you just have, it's something you have to just like memorize, or you have to know it all, and it's like no one's testing you on knowing it all, it's just. It's if, just if you have this desire to, like you said, be more like Jesus, yeah.

Speaker 3:

And it tells us to write the scripture on our hearts. And you know it is important for us to have an understanding of what the scripture says, to know who he is. But I promise you it is not. God is not going to grade you on what translation you memorize. That's not what it's about. It is about understanding character and um, you know, just like you don't really know a movie star because you've watched their movies, right, you know you don't really know jesus just because you've come to church and hear us talk about him.

Speaker 3:

You know we have to dive in a little bit deeper to to really figure out who that person is, and so we have to dive in a little bit deeper and figure out who jesus is. But he doesn't want us to do it alone. Yeah, definitely it's always about being together in relationships.

Speaker 1:

So so far we have you know. You suggested start by reading the Gospels, get to know Jesus.

Speaker 3:

Yes, you suggested doing it with other people not doing it by yourself, yeah.

Speaker 1:

Small groups, yeah. And what about? Are there any other tools that you would suggest, like when someone so I love.

Speaker 3:

There's a lot of great devotionals out there. I mean, you can, you know, throw a stone and hit a thousand, um. But one of the things that I find really useful and easy, if you are of the generation that always has a phone on you, is the YouVersion app. It's great, and they've got a ton of plans that you can choose from that will give you scriptures and devotional readings that might help you have a little more insight into scripture. That might be more difficult, um, you can do that in groups, you can do that independently and it's always right on your phone. You can do it wherever you are, whenever you are, so you don't have to um to feel like, well, I've got to have the right lighting and sit down in my perfect chair and have my journal and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah you know, which which for some people is really helpful, and with some people it's just too overwhelming.

Speaker 3:

There's too many factors that I have to have lined up correctly for me to be able to sit with God. And it's like nope, it can literally just be your phone in your back pocket.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, yeah, that's great that you can. You know, kind of getting over that hump of of not believing that we can encounter God everywhere when you can encounter God everywhere.

Speaker 3:

Yes, and podcasts Imagine that you know. And if you're not sure of one, ask someone that you're in community with because they probably have a great recommendation.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, no that's really great and we'll, we'll, link all those things in our show notes. So people are looking for the YouVersion Bible app and other things like that. We can, we can share it with them no-transcript.

Speaker 3:

Remember or take away from this podcast. I feel like Nike, just do it. You know, like just, don't make it too big, take small chunks. You know, don't make it like I'm going to read the whole Bible in a year. If you've been doing this a long time and you've read scripture a long time and that's a goal, that is a fantastic goal to have. But if you're just starting, oh my goodness gracious, try one chapter in a week. You know, like just, and sometimes you read that chapter two or three times in that week because you don't get it all the first time and there are some like questions you have that you want to sit on, and that's okay. And if you're not sure, reach out to us. Anybody here on staff at Hope would love to help point you in a direction.

Speaker 1:

To start, yeah, no, I love that. I was thinking while you were talking about you said just do it, and I was thinking the phrase give it time, um, so it can be it's, it's not. It's in some small ways it's going to shape you quickly and in some big ways it's going to shape you over time, over time, in in ways that you don't expect to Um, and that can be really hard to give something time when we just want to like jump in and feel like we're getting it right and like it's like when you remove that, that I don't know expectation to meet this.

Speaker 3:

You know specific goal and I admittedly have an issue with plans. I love plans, I love having plans. Plans make me feel good, they make me feel secure. But the reality is, as much as I love plans, I love having plans. Plans make me feel good, they make me feel secure. But the reality is, as much as I love plans, I'm also okay with not following them. And that's kind of where you have to be with this, like it's great to say, hey, I'm going to commit to this, I'm going to have a plan.

Speaker 3:

But you know what, if your life is anything like my life, it is upside down, topsy turvy. Every day is different. You're never sure what's coming down the pike, and you've got to have as much grace as you have plans. So it is great to say, hey, I'm going to do this, but you've got to have grace for yourself. There may be a day or two or a week where you miss it completely, and that's okay. The point is relationship, and relationship just means you keep coming back. Eventually, you just keep coming back, you just keep coming back, you keep coming back, keep pressing in, keep giving it a try.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, no, that's really beautiful Just to even have that mindset of you. Know, this is just kind of about seeing what God has for you, and I really believe you know in any little way that we try to find God, that he meets us in those moments, and so, yeah, it's all about just trying to get to know who Jesus is, get to know him better and as you get to know him better, you are better equipped to answer the question.

Speaker 3:

How should I handle this situation? You know, if I'm trying to be like Jesus, how should I show that love right now, in this really hard place?

Speaker 1:

Cool. Well, this has been really great, thank you.

Speaker 1:

I know these conversations are pretty short and we could talk about this forever and I would encourage anybody that is like if you're connecting to this conversation, to reach out to you or somebody else, like you said, on staff and and talk more about their feelings about getting started reading their Bible and so yeah, that's. That's pretty much all the time we have for today, but I would encourage you to keep listening to the Meet Hope podcast. We have a new podcast every week and we'll be doing more episodes like this in the future, where we just try to give you some insight into some how-tos or some new learnings with your faith. But until next time, it was great to have you here and we'll see you then.

Speaker 2:

Thanks for being a part of the Hope community as we continue our conversations about faith and hope. If you don't already, please join us for worship on Sundays or on demand. You can learn more at meethopeorg or find us on socials at Meet Hope Church.