Week 1 - What is the Bible?
What is the Bible?
Sunday in Youth we began by asking, “How does reading the Bible make you feel?” For many of us, even though we want to read the Bible, too often we feel frustrated or confused by what it says.
In order to help our students become good readers of the Bible—and move from feeling frustrated to inspired by it—we spent our time discussing what the Bible is and what the Bible tells us, so that we can start to fill our interpretive toolbox with tools that help us to understand the Bible.
So, what is the Bible?
The Bible is made up of two testaments containing 66 books, which were inspired by God and recorded by people.
And, the Bible tells us the grand story of God and his relationship with his people throughout history.
Having this baseline provides us with an understanding that the Bible was written for a specific people in a specific time, that it is primarily about God and that it teaches us about who we are in relation to God. Therefore, to understand this book well we must engulf ourselves in the context of the original writers and their audiences so that we can understand what it meant to them and how that applies to us today.
Furthermore, the mere existence of the Bible is evidence that God wants us to know him greatly and that he is pleased to reveal himself to us (how amazing!).
Continuing the Conversation at Home
Remember that your kids want authentic conversations where they feel safe expressing their ideas. Tell your kids what your experience reading the Bible has been like—even what it was like for you at their age—and ask them how they feel when they read their Bibles. Try not to discourage them if they feel frustrated by it, but to encourage them to press on—and even offer to read with them and think through their questions with them. It’s okay if you have questions too. Share them with your kids and offer to search out answers with them.
Three times this Fall we are going to dedicate the entire teaching time to answering questions that students have. Students can drop their questions off in person in the “Questions Box” in the Rec Room, or they can email their questions to ask@redemptionbiblechurch.org. Ask your kids if they have any questions about God, the Bible, or life in general that they would like to talk about at Youth. Encourage them to email or drop off their questions in person. And, parents, feel free to email questions that you hear your kids asking as well.