How to Read the New Testament Well

A Summary of the recent Bible study course run by Dave Roderick

If you have been tuning in for our online Sunday services or read any of Dave’s weekly emails you will know that he recently ran a course on reading the New Testament, complete with zoom meetings.

Don’t worry if you missed out on a chance to get involved, we have stored all of Dave’s notes and recordings of the zoom meeting here so that you can catch up on all of the good stuff that was discussed.

Week One - Introduction, Gospels and Acts

Week Two - Letters

Week Three - Revelation

How to Not Lose Your Faith in Lockdown

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Gyms and basketball courts have been closed for months now, and as someone who enjoyed going to the gym and playing basketball at least a couple of times a week, it’s been a challenge thinking of creative ways to stay active during lockdown.

They say that faith is like a muscle. Sadly the positive and negative sides of the similarity are true: muscle memory means it’s possible for faith to become easier and stronger when put into practise often. But it’s also possible for faith to weaken over time if it’s neglected. So, how do you not lose your faith in lockdown?

During a recent Zoom Bible Study, we all admitted that we have days where our faith is really struggling, and sometimes we’re not even sure that we’re Christians or that there is a God! We asked everyone in the group to answer this question: What do you do to keep your faith when you are doubting? Here are some of the answers, I hope these encourage you!


1. Nature

Multiple people in the group agreed that for them, admiring nature is a real faith-booster for them. Whether it’s the colours of a sunset, staring up into the stars, thinking about the way the human body can heal itself, or the argument for intelligent design based on an impossibly fine-tuned planet which sustains life, there are plenty of spiritual and physical benefits for getting out there and enjoying God’s good creation.

 
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2. Worship

One aspect of spiritual-life which has been particularly affected by lockdown is sung-worship. Although we can still listen to music and even enjoy it on YouTube, there’s something profound about actively singing worship. For me personally, some of the moments in my life when I’ve felt closest to God are when I’ve been singing worship songs either in festivals with bands and lighting, or small settings with just a guitar. If this is at all true for you, then find ways to build worship into your daily rhythm through Spotify playlists or singing along in your car!

 

3. Prayer

Answered prayers are one of the most effective proofs for God’s existence, and can really help to sustain faith when things get tough. I keep a journal of answered prayers, or things that God has said to me. I’m pretty rubbish and keeping this journal, but even reading a small number of God’s promises, or remembering answers to prayer, will lift your spirit and remind you that God is for you and can communicate with you.

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4. The Bible

God’s book, The Bible, is the easiest and clearest way to hear his voice and get to know Him better. Reading even a single verse every day will help you to grow in faith. Maybe try reading a short Psalm each day. Or download the YouVersion Bible App and start a short reading plan over the summer. A friend of mine used to say he’d leave a Bible open in his house so that he’d remember to read it at least once a day, even if it was just a sentence. Pick the book back up, and get into it!

 

5. People

Who are you spending time with? They say that you should hang around people you want to be like. So if you’re struggling in your faith, it can be a good idea to try and make time for being with people who will encourage you in your relationship with God. Are you joining the Zoom call after church on a Sunday morning? Are you part of a small group or Bible study? Do you talk to Christian friends on a weekly basis?

Walk with the wise and become wise, for a companion of fools suffers harm.
— Proverbs 13:20
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6. Practice

Our final pointer takes us back to where we started. Faith is like a muscle, so you need to activate it in order to keep it strong. So put your faith into action in some of the following practical ways:

  • Go to church (or watch it from the comfort of your bed while it’s online!)

  • Care for others who need it most (give to charity, volunteer at a youth club, offer a listening ear to a friend)

  • Talk to your friends about Jesus and what difference He’s made in your life

  • Attend an online Alpha Course and explore the basics of faith (this is a great idea for experience Christians as well as people new to faith)

  • Join a group which meets during the week. You’ll be amazed at how many people struggle with faith and meeting during the week gives an opportunity for honest questions, chances to pray together and to read the Bible.


Well, I hope that something in this list will encourage you. Don’t forget that the one thing we all have in common as Christians is the reality of doubt. We’ve all been there, which means we can all help to encourage one another towards faith. We all share one another’s stories - both the difficulties and the wins.

May you grow during this uncertain time as you begin to activate your faith and enjoy the full life that God has for you.


DEVOtional - Day Five

There are loads of different ways of reading the Bible and engaging with God’s word. At Devo, we thought that during lockdown could be a great opportunity to try out a few of those methods and see if we can help you find one that suits you. To do this, have produced a 5-day Bible reading resource that will provide you with step by step techniques for reading the Bible in a range of ways.

DEVOtional - Day Four

There are loads of different ways of reading the Bible and engaging with God’s word. At Devo, we thought that during lockdown could be a great opportunity to try out a few of those methods and see if we can help you find one that suits you. To do this, have produced a 5-day Bible reading resource that will provide you with step by step techniques for reading the Bible in a range of ways.

DEVOtional - Day Three

There are loads of different ways of reading the Bible and engaging with God’s word. At Devo, we thought that during lockdown could be a great opportunity to try out a few of those methods and see if we can help you find one that suits you. To do this, have produced a 5-day Bible reading resource that will provide you with step by step techniques for reading the Bible in a range of ways.

DEVOtional - Day Two

There are loads of different ways of reading the Bible and engaging with God’s word. At Devo, we thought that during lockdown could be a great opportunity to try out a few of those methods and see if we can help you find one that suits you. To do this, have produced a 5-day Bible reading resource that will provide you with step by step techniques for reading the Bible in a range of ways.

DEVOtional - Day One

There are loads of different ways of reading the Bible and engaging with God’s word. At Devo, we thought that during lockdown could be a great opportunity to try out a few of those methods and see if we can help you find one that suits you. To do this, have produced a 5-day Bible reading resource that will provide you with step by step techniques for reading the Bible in a range of ways.

DEVOtional - Downloadable Bible Study Resource

There are loads of different ways of reading the Bible and engaging with God’s word. At Devo, we thought that during lockdown could be a great opportunity to try out a few of those methods and see if we can help you find one that suits you. To do this, have produced a 5-day Bible reading resource that will provide you with step by step techniques for reading the Bible in a range of ways.

Lockdown and Lament

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by Clair Hamilton

It has been fantastic to see the way that the church has adapted during this time - Sunday service videos, home groups and prayer groups meeting together on the internet, youth Zooms…. During crises, as a church we work harder, support people, donate money and food - we are brilliant!

However, despite all of this I have been struggling with a deep, pit of my stomach sadness. A sorrow that I try to squash as I push forward with teaching the girls, and studying with Westminster Theological College. The problem is that it won’t go away. I haven’t been sleeping that well. I am a social person, and although I go out for a run, it’s just not using up my energy and at night I often sit and watch the hours tick by. Maybe it’s just me…. but maybe not.

I listened to a talk on Psalm 42 and it struck a real chord with me. Psalm 42 is a psalm of lament and was originally joined as one psalm with Psalm 43 - it’s unknown when they became separated. I think that the psalms of lament in the Bible are an incredible gift from God. God knows that things are not always easy and through the psalms of lament we have a model of how we can express this to God. Jesus quotes a psalm of lament when on the cross saying ‘Why have you forsaken me?’ (Matthew 27:46, Psalm 22:1) If we know that Jesus used psalms of lament, we know that we can too.

Psalms of lament often contain 5 stages but as with any grief, we won’t necessarily work through these stages in a nice order. Often in the psalms, we find that the psalmist moves between the stages, going back and forth and repeating things. The 5 stages may look a bit like this, using Psalm 42 and 43 as an example.

1. An address to God

As the deer pants for streams of water,

so my soul pants for you, my God.”

2. A time of telling God what is wrong

My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.

When can I go and meet with God?

My tears have been my food day and night,

while people say to me all day long,

“Where is your God?”

3. A petition to God

“Vindicate me, my God,

and plead my cause

against an unfaithful nation.

Rescue me from those who are

deceitful and wicked.”

4. A Vow to praise God

“Then I will go to the altar of God,

to God, my joy and my delight.”

5. Worship

“ for I will yet praise him,

my Saviour and my God.”

We see in Psalm 42 the psalmist rocks back and forth between stages 2 and 4 drawing on past memories as he makes his vow to praise.

When we are full of sorrow, we need to allow ourselves time to do this. These words have been written by the Northumbria Community:

“Do not hurry as you walk with grief;

it does not help the journey.

Walk slowly, pausing often:

do not hurry as you walk with grief.

Be not disturbed by memories

that come unbidden.

Swiftly forgive; and let

Christ speak for you unspoken words.

Unfinished conversation

will be resolved in him.

Be not disturbed.

Be gentle with the one

who walks with grief.

If it is you, be gentle with yourself.

Swiftly forgive;

walk slowly, pausing often.

Take time, be gentle

as you walk with grief.”

I feel like there is a sense of grief at the moment. For those who have lost a loved one then this is obvious but also for those who have lost work or business, or those who feel deeply the loss of community. We must allow ourselves time to walk through this process. Using the psalms as a guide can really help us do this or writing our own psalms. Perhaps taking the 5 stages mentioned earlier and composing something that fits the situation that you are in. Here is mine:

Oh God, where are you in this mess

Where we see each other face to face,

but have many miles between us.

Where we sit and wait, helpless to defend ourselves

praying protection over loved ones while watching thousands die.

I long to join with my family,

to praise you, to eat and to hug.

We leave bags of food on a doorstep,

we must content ourselves with a wave from a window.

Heal us God and bring us peace.

Bring healing to our world

Bring wisdom to our leaders

Bring skill to our doctors and scientists.

We will stand together again.

We will start our services late

as minutes slip by in sharing this week’s news.

We will mourn and praise together.

You God are worthy of praise.

Psalm 42 spoke to me particularly as the psalmist is remembering back to one of the times that he has travelled to the temple to worship. This would have been one of the three times a year that the Israelites would have travelled to the temple. The journey is part of the celebration. They are united as a community going to worship God. Zoom and other social media are great, but I am not sure that I will ever get used to seeing other people worship whilst we are all on mute! I have a deep longing to join in sung worship with everyone.

For a couple of weeks, I have been looking for all the positives. All the good things that we are learning through this. All the positive lasting change that will come from this. There is absolutely a place for that, but right now I am letting myself grieve a little bit, expressing these feelings of loss to God. I am choosing to be disciplined in prayer and worship but giving myself space and time to lament. Matt is being gentle with me when I achieve little during the day, when he manages to paint a wall, weed the garden and still spend time working as a teacher!

So I encourage you, if this resonates with you, to give yourself some time and space to lament. Use the psalms if you can, but know that God is there with you in it. He will be gentle with you, drawing you out into a place of praise. Be real with him and let him meet you.