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7 Ways to Mishandle a Bible Story

/ Peter Mead / 1 Comment

The Bible is full of stories.  And we preachers are full of ways to mishandle them.  God has richly blessed us with the stories in the Bible.  Each one reveals God’s heart and character. Each story is designed to point our hearts to Him and to stir our faith in His word and character. So, how can we go wrong?

Here are seven ways to mishandle a Bible story:

1. Skip – This is the assume-and-ignore approach.  We can easily assume that everyone knows the story and so we skip the chance to tell the story.  Instead, we put our homiletical energy into preaching about the theological ponderings triggered by the story.  Why do we assume that everyone knows the story?  Actually, why do we assume that what we have to say about it is of more value than what it actually says?  Even if people do know the story, tell it anyway, and let God’s word work in your listeners.

2. Flip – This is the heretical approach.  We can easily misdirect our listeners and end up preaching heresy inadvertently.  Take the story of Zaccheus in Luke 19:1-10 for an example.  It is easy to put all the initiative in Zaccheus’ commitment in verse 8.  Then his salvation is affirmed by Jesus in verse 9.  Voila, we are saved by our own commitment to Christ!  Except, we are not.  Jesus had already taken the initiative in verse 5.  Jesus had already rescued Zaccheus.  The exuberant generosity of verse 8 is a response to God’s grace, not a prerequisite for it.

3. Moralise – This is the fleshly approach.  Since everyone naturally tends toward the notion of earning something with God, we can always and easily jump to what Bryan Chapell calls the “Deadly Be’s” – be like, be good, be disciplined.  So with Zaccheus’ story?  In verse 7 the crowd grumbled.  Let’s not be like them, let’s not grumble.  That verse is in the passage for a reason, but that little life lesson is not the reason.  It is there to emphasize the wonder of what Jesus did for Zaccheus.  It is not there to nudge us towards better behaviour.

4. Lecture – This is the historical-and-cultural-lecture approach.  Use cultural and historical insights to bring the story to life, not to cut the story to death.  How did the tax system work at that time?  How might middle eastern hospitality respond to Jesus’ passing through the town?  Where were sycamore-fig trees in relation to Jericho?  Shine a light on the story and keep telling it, don’t end up giving a series of historical lectures trigged by the details in the story.

5. Over-reveal – This is the punchline-first approach.  So with Zaccheus, you might state the first point as, “Jesus came to save the lost, verses 1-4.”  Oops.  In the passage, verse 10 comes as a surprise.  The whole text has worked to point the reader to Zaccheus’ efforts to see Jesus.  Then in the end it turns out Jesus was the one doing the seeking and the saving.  Why give it away at the start?  Do what the text does.  Don’t “tell the punchline before the joke.”

6. Flatten – This is the lifeless-outline approach.  Again, with the Zaccheus story, your points could be mind-numbingly flat: Jesus seeks the lost, Jesus rescues the lost, and Jesus reassures the lost.  Honestly, I’m bored just writing that outline, even if it is fairly accurate.  While it is true that the story develops in movements, it does not mean that the sermon has to sound like a logical progression through completely parallel points. That outline could work, but it needs a serious injection of energy.

7. Lose – This is the too-many-stories-along-the-way approach.  The story of Zaccheus is a gripping little narrative if it is told well.  But if you use every trigger point to tell another story, you will lose it.  I once knew a tax collector . . . I had a short friend once . . . I have a fun tree-climbing story . . . I remember a grumbling crowd in 1987, etc.  Let other illustrative materials be fairly succinct so that the focus remains on the main narrative of the sermon.

How else might we mishandle a Bible story? Biblical narratives are a dream for us preachers – let’s learn to handle them well so that they can do their mighty work in our hearts and those who will hear us!

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Click on this image to see the YouTube playlist of videos on Bible handling:

Studying the Bible – Look!

/ Peter Mead / Leave a comment

I have completed a series of videos that detail the Look phase of the Bible study process. Using the triumphal entry passage in John 12, I look at the kind of details that we need to notice as we look at a Bible passage. The more closely we look at and observe the text, the easier it will be to accurately learn what the text means in the next phase of our study. So, what type of details are we noticing?

1. Who? – Who is being referred to in the passage? How are they being described? Who do the pronouns refer to? This is the first and, in some ways, the most important detail to notice. Why? Because the entire Bible is primarily a revelation of God and so noticing who is in the passage should get us thinking about God from the very beginning. (Click here for the video.)

2. When? – Are there any time references in the passage? Perhaps a time of day, or a point on the calendar. But it is not just about explicit time references, there is also the whole issue of tenses. Is something written with a tense that stands out – perhaps a reference to the past or the future. (Click here for the video.)

3. Where? – Does the passage refer to any locations? These could be geographic (i.e. Jerusalem), or circumstantial (sitting on a donkey), or they could be out of this world (God’s throne). Notice any details to places or locations in the passage. Do you need to check a map to note a specific location? (Click here for the video.)

4. What? – This is a catch-all question! What is repeated? What seems to be significant? What other details are you seeing in the passage? What key terms are being used? (Click here for the video.)

5. Which? – Which other passages are feeding into the passage you are looking at? These could be earlier Biblical content that is being quoted or alluded to in the passage you are studying. Or it could be earlier passages in the same book that are influencing our understanding of the passage we are studying. (Click here for the video.)

6. How? – How did the writer choose to write the passage? Is it a narrative, poetry, or discourse? At the Look stage, we don’t need to conclude why they did it, but we do need to notice how it was written. (Click here for the video.)

After the Look! stage of Bible study, we will then move on to Learn (what does the text mean?) Here is a one-video summary of the Learn phase for this passage. And then there is the Love/Live response (what should the text stir?) Here is a one-video summary of the Love/Live phase for this passage. I will release another series that uses a different passage but focuses on the Learn phase instead of the Look phase as I have this time. Then another focusing on Love/Live. Hopefully, that makes sense! Please subscribe to the YouTube channel so that you can see the new videos as they are released.

Say, “Father!”

/ Peter Mead / 2 Comments

When I was a child, we attended a small church in Bristol, England.  Outside was a low wall forming a small courtyard where people would gather after church.  Teenagers would laugh and chat while younger children would weave in and out, playing tag.  It was a happy bubble of fellowship and laughter.

One Sunday, a group of local teenagers was on the other side of the street.  One picked up a stone and threw it at the church, smashing a small window high above the door.  As the glass shattered, that safe bubble burst.  I immediately ran inside and went straight to my Dad.  As far as I could tell, he was the tallest and one of the strongest men on earth.  I felt fearful and threatened, so Dad was the one I wanted to be close to at that moment.

The idea of a loving and protective father is not just important for children.  It is also important for all Christians.  In one well-known Bible passage, Jesus uses four words that should influence our lives every day.

In Matthew 6, Jesus addresses the subjects of giving, praying, and fasting.  In all three cases, he urges his followers not to make a show of their religious practice but to do them in secret.  After all, God knows what happens in secret, and he is all that matters.  So with the subject of prayer, Jesus warns against being showy visually or in our vocabulary.  And then, he gives a model prayer in verses 9-13.

When you pray, say, “Our Father in heaven….”

Familiar words.  You can probably quote the prayer.  Maybe you have noticed how it starts with one address, asks two things regarding the Father, and then three things regarding the family.  Let’s ponder the “address” some more. “Our Father in heaven.”

Many things should be true of a father.  Let’s be simplistic.  On the one hand, a good father is supposed to be an authority figure with power and strength.  On the other hand, a good father is supposed to be loving, kind, and close.  That immense strength has to be under control for the good of those under his care.

A. Our Father on Earth – Sadly, we live in a world where so many Dads have done a poor job of impersonating our heavenly Father.  They have been missing, angry, drunk, and even abusive.  Many Dads resemble the devil more than they do God.  But even if we did have an honourable Dad or even a Christ-loving Dad, we probably all feel a lack in our hearts.  Whether that is a slight lack or a gaping wound, it only underlines how we were created for closeness with a father.  We long for a father who is powerful and strong so that we can feel safe and secure.  We long for a father who is loving and close so that we can feel held and happy.  Our father on earth may not have been what we needed, but what about our Father in heaven?

B. Our Father in Heaven – Jesus was on a mission.  It was not just a mission to rescue us from sin and bring us into a relationship with God.  It was also a mission to reveal God’s heart to us.  What is our Father in heaven like?

i. Authority & Power – When the stone bursts the safety bubble of life, we need a Father who is big and strong.  In Matthew 8:23-9:8, we read three stories that show us a glimpse of God’s authority and power.  Jesus rebuked the winds and the sea during a great storm, and they obeyed him.  Jesus commanded demons to leave the two demon-possessed men on the other side of the Sea of Galilee.  Jesus forgave and healed the paralytic.  Jesus demonstrated his divine authority over creation, the spiritual forces of evil, physical healing, and forgiveness.  At the end of this trio of stories, we read, “When the crowds saw it, they were afraid, and they glorified God, who had given such authority to men.” (To one man in particular! – see Matthew 9:8)

ii. Love & Closeness – When the bubble bursts and the glass rains down, we need a Father whose heart is towards us.  In Matthew 7:7-11, Jesus encouraged his followers to pray and ask because of God’s good heart.  Who gives a child a slice of slate to chew on when they ask for toast?  Who thinks a poisonous snake is a suitable alternative to a healthy protein and omega-3-laden fish for a hungry child?  We are fallen creatures in a fallen world, but we know how to give good gifts to our children.  So “how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!”

iii. Who is in Heaven – There is one moment in Matthew’s Gospel where heaven bursts onto the scene.  In Matthew 17:1-7, Jesus takes three disciples up on a mountain, and the curtains are pulled back.  Suddenly they see Jesus in his heavenly impressiveness, conversing with Moses and Elijah.  Peter panics and suggests a tent-building plan.  Then there is a bright cloud and a booming voice from heaven. “When the disciples heard this, they fell on their faces and were terrified.” Quite right.  It was terrifying.  But notice that Jesus was not on his face.  Why not?  Because he knew the voice and the heart of the one who spoke.  On that mountain, they got to experience God’s terrifying power and authority, but take note of what they heard!  “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.” (v. 5). Our Father in heaven is both terrifyingly powerful and wonderfully loving.  Jesus has made him known to us!  That is why it is crucial to be sure that he is not just The Father in Heaven, or even Jesus’ Father in Heaven, but Our Father in heaven.

C. And What About Us? – Whenever we think about prayer, we tend to start thinking in terms of a religious burden.  “We are a month into a New Year, and I should do better at praying.  I need to be more diligent, more purposeful, etc.”  Maybe there is another way to look at this. 

If God has all authority and power, then that means I can come to him as one who is frightened and weak.  If God is loving and close, then I can approach him as one who is childlike and weary.  I don’t need to impress him.  I can just come as I am, start with “Our Father in heaven…” and then pour out everything on my heart.  What a privilege!

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Please see the new series of videos for 2023 – Enjoying the Word . . . all about enjoying Bible reading and Bible study.

Bible Reading Basics – Part 1

/ Peter Mead / Leave a comment

When you first open the Bible, it is an overwhelming tome, to say the least.  Over time we can start to find our way around the Bible, just like we can learn to find our way around a big city – one landmark at a time.  In fact, the Bible gives us a great example of such landmarks right at the start of an important chapter.

Why do so many believers lose their love of Bible reading before Valentine’s Day?  Could it be that they are trying to read and study simultaneously?  Have you ever found yourself struggling through Leviticus and taking very little in while longing to be in Philippians (and knowing you won’t be there anytime soon)?  Perhaps it is time to make a helpful separation.

The Bible speaks of delighting in the words of God.  Other Christians sometimes seem to sound so delighted by the word of God.  So why do some of us never seem to reach those heights?  Perhaps a simple suggestion relating to concentration might prove helpful.

Bible Posture – 2 Points

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We live in an age marked by resistance to authority.  The idea of submission has fallen on hard times.  But don’t miss either the logic or the blessing of this concept:

The Logic – Submit yourselves to God (James 4:7).  This is logical.  God is God, and you are not.  And being a Christian involves a thorough acceptance of that reality.  Nobody else has ever achieved even a tiny fraction of success in their attempt to usurp God’s role in the universe.  It is so simple.  God is God.  And I am not.  It makes sense not to pretend otherwise.

The Blessing – The Christian faith is not simply about logic, however.  James 4:8 goes on to describe how we can draw near to God, and he will draw near to us!  What an amazing thing!  If we try to usurp his place, we create a conflict between ourselves and God.  He opposes the proud.  But if we will humble ourselves and submit to him, he gives grace to the humble (see 1 Peter 5:5-6).  The blessing of submission to God is closeness with God.  And since he is a good God, this is a good thing!

So the first posture point to ponder: Be under, not over, the Word!

It would be bizarrely arrogant to think that my finite mind and experience can evaluate and judge God’s Word.  Who am I to imagine that I can decide what to accept, what to dismiss, etc.?   

In Acts 17:11 we read about the Jews in Berea. They were commended for receiving Paul’s message with eagerness, and then checking that teaching against the Scriptures.  May that be our posture too . . . leaning forward, hearts open, head nodding, eager to hear from God’s Word!

Post point two: Receive God’s Word with eagerness!

Here is the latest video (and click here to subscribe to the YouTube channel) –

Whose Word?

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The Bible is unlike any other book on earth for this reason: it was inspired by God.  Other books may be written by inspiring people or by people inspired by their subject.  But the Bible is “God-breathed” – it comes from God.  God superintended the writing process so that the original authors wrote their thoughts, in their words, in their language, and God made sure that they wrote exactly what he wanted to be written.  That is why we call it God’s Word.  (2Tim.3:16)

So when the prophets wrote their books, they did not dream up their content.  Rather, they were carried along by the Holy Spirit – he was the wind in their sails!  Again, that means that what we have in our Bibles is not just humanly authored but also divinely inspired. (2Peter 1:20-21)

This all means that our goal in reading or studying the Bible is to understand what is there.  What did the Author and the author intend to communicate?  Our job is not to be creative, or fanciful, or original.  We do not get bonus points for making up a meaning nobody has seen before.  No matter how clever you are, what you can make it say is not as good as what God made it say!

Check out the latest video in the Enjoying the Word series:

Say It

/ Peter Mead / 3 Comments

CH Spurgeon’s conversion is one of the great conversion stories in church history. Feeling under heavy conviction and longing to find out how to be saved, he set off for church one January Sunday morning (172 years ago tomorrow, in fact). The weather was atrocious and he couldn’t make it to his intended destination, and instead slipped into a small chapel where about a dozen people were attending. Their preacher had also been thwarted by the weather, so eventually, a thin man stood up to preach. Some have said it was the wrong preacher, in the wrong church, in the wrong weather, with the wrong congregation. Whatever, God is still God!

Spurgeon himself said, “Now, it is well that preachers should be instructed, but this man was really stupid. He was obliged to stick to his text, for the simple reason that he had little else to say.”

Of course, the story continues. The text was from Isaiah. “Look unto Me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth.” And the message was on target for young and troubled Spurgeon, “there was a glimpse of hope for me in that text.” So the thin-looking preacher restated the text every way he could manage for about ten minutes, and then told the young guest at the back that he looked miserable and needed to look to Jesus to be saved. And Spurgeon was born again. Spurgeon often told the story and it is well worth reading.

But let’s just ponder that earlier point. “He was obliged to stick to his text, for the simple reason that he had little else to say.”

Three points to ponder:

1. Our job as a preacher is to say what the text says.

2. Our education does not give us something better to say than what the text says.

3. God once spoke through a donkey, so humbly say what the text says.

Looking back on that moment, Spurgeon quoted words you may have sung:

E’er since by faith I saw the stream
Thy flowing wounds supply,
Redeeming love has been my theme,
And shall be till I die.

To read a slightly fuller version of the story, click here. (And if you want to sing the song, I enjoyed this!)

Enjoying the Word – Introduction

/ Peter Mead / 1 Comment

New year and new project! Last year I enjoyed working through the book of Psalms on YouTube.  I hope those videos will be useful to more people this year as people choose to use them as companions in a journey through the Psalms.  And now we are into a new year and a new project: Enjoying the Word.

Enjoying the Word will be a growing collection of videos that will hopefully help people to enjoy reading and studying the Bible.  The first part of the sermon preparation process is the privilege of every believer – to spend time in God’s Word so that it gets into us and changes us.

The plan is to release short videos related to Bible reading and Bible study.  I will share a simple process to think through the Bible study journey.  I plan to release more mini-series called Pursuing God’s Heart Yourself. These short series use a single Bible book or section to illustrate important principles of biblical interpretation.  And I may work through a Bible book or two from start to finish to show the workings of healthy Bible study. 

I hope this will be helpful to you and to others you know.  Please do let me know if you have questions or ideas for videos.  And please share the resources with others too!  As videos are liked and shared, and as more people subscribe to the channel, so these videos will get in front of more people. (You can click here to subscribe to the YouTube channel.)

I am also planning to write companion posts on this blog to point to individual videos or mini-series of videos.  The subjects we will cover in the videos perfectly fit this blog, so why not?

The introductory video includes a quick look at a fantastic biblical truth!

Look Out! Preparing for ‘23!

/ Peter Mead / Leave a comment

Solomon wrote thousands of proverbs. So when he writes, “Above all else…” – that should get our attention. What is “above all else” from Solomon’s perspective? In Proverbs 4:23, he tells us: “guard your heart.”  That is huge. He recognized that the heart is the governor of all our activity, but strangely he did not simply say, “control your heart.”  If we could just control our innermost desires, then we would have no problem living holy lives (or even being successful in any other pursuit of our choosing). Perhaps at the core of our being, we are responsive to external stimuli and not simply responsible free agents who can consistently choose whatever is best. The wise advice in this section of Proverbs is profoundly important for us as we head into another year.

In Proverbs 4:20-27, Solomon urges the reader to pay attention to his wise words – looking at them and keeping them in our hearts (v. 20-21). He underlines the critical role of the heart and the need to guard it (v. 23). He urges the reader to protect themselves from careless speech or from letting their eyes get drawn aside so that they should step away from their path (v. 24-27). Above all else, in 2023, we need to guard our hearts. I believe a great place to begin is with a prayerful eye evaluation.

I have been pondering a scale to help me take stock of what is getting through my eyes and influencing my heart. It is a scale that runs from -2 to +3.

Distractedly Entertained – Level 0? Long ago, this might have involved some children playing a game in the town square or an animal behaving amusingly. It was a break from the norm. Nowadays, we have entire industries actively targeting you with entertaining distractions. Scrolling through Facebook or Instagram, watching random YouTube videos about cats, men throwing CDs into a CD player, the most bizarre incidents in professional sports, and this list is designed never to end. Then there are video games, an endless Twitter stream, etc. Distracted entertainment has become a staple part of our cultural diet in recent years.

I think we can make a case for calling it Eye Level 0 entertainment because there is implicit moral neutrality to some of what distracts us. But once we consider all factors, is there really moral neutrality? Could we be hurting ourselves by believing that we can stand still in a world that is relentlessly moving away from God? Perhaps we would do well to call this entertainment Eye Level -1. The Bible does warn us about time-wasting, which can involve things that are not wrong in themselves. The average weekly consumption of distracted entertainment in our culture is stunning. Perhaps we have become more entangled than we realize. Let’s confess that entanglement and prayerfully take steps away from Eye Level -1 and the regret of lost time as we head into this new year. 

So we have Distractedly Entertained – Eye Level -1.

Sinfully Entertained – Eye Level -2. Any of the above activities can easily slide into sinful entertainment – where we seek satisfaction for sinful desires through what we watch. The classic example is pornography, an industry that has made its content far easier to access than ever before. But even without the things that a good filter will stop on your device, we can also fall into “pornographying” non-pornographic content. Perhaps we think of it as a more sanctified type of lust that does not rely on overtly provocative material – on social media, TV shows, movies, etc. And then there is envious window shopping or jealously obsessing over what the rich and famous wear and drive. There are so many contemporary forms of idolatry. “Search me and try me, O Lord…” – prayerfully ask God to show you where your distracted entertainment has morphed into something even more harmful than time-wasting.

Let’s get back to the positive end of the scale:

Intentionally Entertained – Eye Level +1.  There are legitimate uses of entertainment media. We need to evaluate prayerfully so that we don’t get sucked in by what our world is pushing us to think. However, there is a place for finding a TV show refreshing, a favourite movie can be restful, a shared football game can be social, a good book can be helpfully engrossing, etc. Where Eye Levels -2 and -1 leave us guilty, ashamed, worn down, frustrated, and empty, Eye Level +1 entertainment can be good for us. 

Informed – Eye Level +2.  In the old days, this might be found by listening to a report from a friend who has been travelling, reading the newspaper over breakfast, or watching a helpful documentary on the television. The rarity of access to information placed a premium on this commodity, but today, the situation has changed. We are bombarded with information. A well-chosen news subscription, a select list of Twitter accounts to follow, some helpful YouTube subscriptions, or a select set of blogs, etc., can be beneficial. The key seems to be planning rather than scrolling, or else we end up back in Eye Level +1 intentional entertainment, or even more likely, in Eye Level -1 distracted entertainment, or worse.

We are bombarded with the enticement to fritter away hours in Eye Levels -2, -1, +1 and +2. As we get used to and dependent on technology and social media, we may even start to think that our mental health, knowledge and spirituality are to be found somewhere in Eye Levels -1, +1 and +2. Perhaps we even think that our ministry is helped and built up in Eye Levels +1 and, especially, +2. But let’s remember that there is another level.

Enriched – Eye Level +3.  There is something different about Eye Level +3. In the old days, time spent in the Book or good books was an obvious option in a world with a relatively limited range of alternatives. The significance of good reading was especially true for a serious-minded Christian, and even more so for a minister of the Word. Nowadays, this can be so easily lost. We live in a tidal wave of evil, distractions, entertainment, and information. But even if we avoid the worst of that flood, there is still a qualitative difference between being informed by a screen and being enriched by the page. Personally, I find that even reading the same author on a blog does less for my soul than spending time reading their book – is that just me?

We live in an age of hyper-distracted, entertained, and even a few well-informed, but largely unenriched people. It shows in our world today. Are we also living in a time of well-entertained and sometimes well-informed but largely unenriched believers? It shows in our churches and pulpits. So let’s do something radical. Let’s value that which enriches our souls and takes our relationship with God and others to someplace deeper than the norm.

As we head into 2023, let’s take stock of how God would want us to use our eyes this year. After all, they are an essential gateway by which we can guard our hearts.

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In 2023 I am planning to release short videos related to Bible study. God has given us a great treasure. How can we read and study it for maximum understanding, enrichment and life impact? Please subscribe to this playlist to see the videos as they are released. Please like, comment, and share any that might be helpful to others. Thank you!

Psalms Today Complete

/ Peter Mead / 3 Comments

During 2022, I decided to work my way through the Psalms. One video per Psalm. One point relating to interpreting the Psalm, and one point of relevance for today. I completed the playlist this week. I hope this can be useful to you. Please do let others know about this playlist if it might be helpful to them too.

I know some people used these videos as a companion to a personal reading of the Psalms this year, perhaps this can be useful in a similar way next year. Since the playlist is complete, it now allows that to happen at your pace instead of mine!