Today we’re going to be asking the question ‘How do I hear from God?‘
God wants to speak to you personally. In the Bible, we see that God speaks to people in all kinds of ways.
Questions to talk about in your group
When you were listening to the song at the end of the video, did you feel like God was speaking to you?
Did anything from Russ’s talk surprise you?
Have you ever felt like God was trying to get your attention?
Then Philip ran up to the chariot and heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet. “Do you understand what you are reading?” Philip asked. Acts 8:30
Reading the Bible – a quick introduction
One big way that God speaks to us is through the Bible. So today, we’re going to go over some really useful ideas to help us understand the Bible better, so that you can connect with God when you read it.
If I showed you a history textbook, some song lyrics, a car manual, an email from your boss and a WhatsApp conversation with your friends, you would immediately understand that these are very different types of writing. They will be written using different kinds of words (or emojis!) depending on what kind of writing each one is.
The Bible is exactly the same. It contains lots of different types of writing. Because we see it as one book, it can be easy to forget it was written by different people at different times using different styles.
For example, some of the books of the Bible were written as poetry, such as the Psalms. These were written as beautiful, emotional descriptions of what God is like. Others are books written by prophets, like Isaiah or Jeremiah. God gave them specific words and visions to share with the people at that time.
A lot of books in the New Testament were actually written as letters to churches or individual people. For example, the book of Philippians starts with the words ‘Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus, To all God’s holy people in Christ Jesus at Philippi, together with the overseers and deacons.’ We can see straight away that this is a letter to the church at Philippi, sent from Paul and Timothy.
Why are we talking about the different types of writing in the Bible? Well, this matters because it affects how we read and understand the Bible. A lot of people read the Bible as a big book of instructions. And while it’s certainly true that there are some important instructions in the Bible, there’s actually so much more to it than that!
If we think back to the example from before, the car manual might be vital to making sure your car works properly, but what about some song lyrics about going for a long road trip in that car? Well, that would tell you something very different about the same car. It would be less about instructions to follow and more about painting a picture of what’s possible. In the same way, different books of the Bible tell us about God in different ways: through stories, songs, historical accounts, letters, prophecies and proverbs. They’re all useful and they’re all different.
So when we read the Bible, we can expect God to use its words to speak to us. We can expect a line to jump off the page at us, or a particular story to stay stuck in our heads long after we’ve finished reading. But it’s really helpful to understand the kind of writing that we’re dealing with. Is this a letter written for a particular group of people at a particular time, or a commandment that needs directly applying to my life?
Let’s have a go!
Pick one of the Bible passages below. Read it (or click on the link to listen to it being read aloud). Then try to answer the following questions:
1. What kind of writing is this? (Is it a factual historical account, a letter, or a song?)
2. Can you tell what it was written for?
3. What do you think the writer was trying to communicate? (Are they giving advice, telling the reader about something that happened, painting a picture about what God is like, etc?)
4. What does this passage tell you about God?
Psalm 23
Philippians 1:1-11
Exodus 20:1-17
Luke 8:22-25
What next?
This week, ask God to speak to you. Keep your eyes and your heart open, paying attention for when he might be speaking. It could be through the Bible or through a picture in your mind, or something else. Make a note of what God is saying to you. If you feel comfortable, share it with the group next time – it’s always really encouraging to hear how God speaks to us!
Going deeper
Read ‘The Bible in 100 Pages’ by Phil Moore
Read ‘Birthing the Miraculous’ by Heidi Baker
This New Life 