The Bible as Novel?

Once a month there is a gathering of Evangelical Pastors in the Tri-State area (calling ourselves the Evangelical Christian Leaders Network). This is a great time of food, fellowship, and encouragement from other men in the trenches of ministry for the same area. Usually we have a few different guest presenters sharing their ministry or concept. Sometimes a counselor sharing needed skills for counseling, other times it's a Christian School sharing their vision for connection with local churches.

Today was a presentation by representatives from Zondervan Publishing about their new resource called The Story. Their advertisment says,  "The Story is an exciting all new church-wide experience that unites and equips participants, as they engage the Bible, reading like a novel as a seamless, compelling story." With the book you can get a plethora of information to use in small groups, Sunday School, children's ministry, and youth ministry. There are even sermons that you can use along with the book.

Let's make sure we understand this...this is a book that reads like a novel but is to help people engage the Bible. While this is definitely an interesting concept, what struck me most was the reason for this book...Bible illiteracy...that people actually aren't reading the Bible. Some find it too difficult, others boring. So this book is supposed to help those people be engaged in the Bible.

But things got difficult for me when local Pastors using The Story curriculum and book started describing their experience. For some it was an "awesome experience watching their church fall in love with The Story." Or "people that would never open their Bibles are now reading The Story." In fact, every Pastor pointed out that they loved the sermons that were based out of The Story curriculum.

I left there totally confused...We actually help Bible illiteracy by giving them a novel? Instead of teaching people how to study the Bible or what actually is in the Bible, we use a novel based "Bible" to make it easier for them to understand. It's like giving a teenager a picture book to read for English class. The way to help Bible illiteracy is to actually teach the Bible. Tell His Story...not preach a novel called The Story.

Please understand, i'm not saying there is anything wrong with creativity and helpful Bible aids. And honestly, I believe Zondervan probably has pure motives behind this book (it was originally tested by Max Lucado and Randy Frazee). In fact I actually love the flow of the topics of the book...it truly is a journey through the story of the Bible. This sounds great as a small group or Sunday School, but using this as a main source of the teaching ministry of the church...I believe lacks greatly. What do you do when you finish the 31 week study? Where do you turn then? Back to the Bible no one understands? Maybe the better option is too actually teach people the Bible. In fact, maybe that's why there's Bible illiteracy...because they aren't learning from the Bible in the first place. Instead we should teach them how to fall in love with the actual Book. Yes, appreciate the novel, but love the Book.

Hebrews Bible Study: Heb. 12 - Friday

Friday – Fire!

Focus passage: Hebrews 12:29

Read: 2 Thessalonians 1:6-9; 1 Corinthians 3; Malachi 3

My family and I came home the other day to find out that we had no heat…we had run out of oil. Twenty degrees outside, maybe fifty inside, and we had to wait twenty four hours to get the oil delivered. Thankfully, we had a working fireplace in our living room and a great deal of wood to burn in our garage. We decided to make it a family campout in the living room. So we started a fire, raised the temperature and bunked out in the living room.

Honestly, I slept horribly. I was so focused on keeping the family warm. I was amazed at how quickly the wood burned in the fire…every 45 minutes another piece had to be added. This of course doesn’t make for a restful night. At one point, I sat there by the fire and watched in amazement that the fire was burning through the wood so rapidly but wasn’t burning the fireplace insert…at that moment it hit me…it all comes down to the substance of the material.

It was a great reminder of the picture painted of Christ in Hebrews 12. God is a consuming fire. A fire that will consume the substance unrelated to Him. What will be burned away and what will remain for His glory?


1. What amazes you most about fire? How does this description paint a clearer picture of the Lord?
2. How does the fact that God is a consuming fire affect your worship?

3. It’s interesting to note the connection between consuming fire and judgment. How does this fit the context of Hebrews 12? Why end this section referencing judgment?

Hebrews Bible Study: Heb. 12 - Thursday

Thursday – Shaken Not Stirred!

Focus Passage: Hebrews 12:27-28

Read: Isaiah 24; Revelation 6:12-17; Revelation 16:17-19

Probably the most well known earthquake of the last decade was last year’s earthquake in the country of Haiti, the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. On January 12, 2010 a 7.0 catastrophic magnitude earthquake shook the country and the world. But it didn’t stop there, by the 24th, 52 aftershocks measured 4.5 or greater were recorded. An astounding 3 million people were affected…320,000 died.

One day it won’t just be a country, region, or Hemisphere, Scripture makes clear that the earth will be shaken…but Hebrews reveals that your life will also be shaken. In fact one day everything that can be shaken will be shaken (notice the text includes heaven itself). Why? So that only Christ and His kingdom will remain. So what in our lives will be shaken? What will remain?

1. The writer of Hebrews states that the things that will be shaken will be the things “that are made.” Why that description? What are some of things include in that description?


2. How should the fact that the Kingdom of Christ will not be shaken lead us to acceptable worship, with reverence and awe?

3. How do we offer to God worship, reverence and awe? In what ways could you improve your life of worship?

Hebrews Bible Study: Heb. 12 - Wednesday

Wednesday – The Heavenly Voice

Focus Passage: Hebrews 12:25-26

Read: Haggai 2:6-9; John 12:44-50

My high school shop teacher commanded and demanded respect. No student questioned or challenged his authority, at least not for long. One of the first things a freshman shop student would hear about was that he had a paddle that hung on the shop wall. It was made from 2” x 4” piece of wood with several one inch round holes drilled through it. As far as I know, he used it only once. He smashed it on a metal welding table, breaking it in two. Someone was acting up and he demanded to have their attention. No one refused to listen to Mr. Willie!

God commands a much greater amount of honor and authority. He warns us not to turn away from Him, His gospel, His gift, His son Jesus. How well do we listen and act upon that voice from heaven? We will not escape if we refuse.


1. What might cause a believer to refuse to listen to God?

2. Why do we find it easier to submit to and listen to a person of authority here on earth?

3. How are you doing in the area of hearing and obeying the voice of God?

A Pastor's Desire

I was sitting in my office today thinking and praying about what the Lord has been doing at FCF...and considering the exciting things that lie ahead. It's been amazing to see many people responding to the call to walk with deeper faith. It seems there is not a week that goes by without hearing someone say, "Dave, it's so good to not have to be living a religious life anymore...but to be freely serving Christ." Or statments like, "I am really enjoying how God is teaching and growing me right now." Of course, as a Pastor, these statements thrill my heart.

Honestly, FCF is a unique church. While we're contempory with creative elements...we aren't interested in entertainment. We're passionate about the truth of God's Word...and missional in our desire to have an impact in our community. We are not afraid to call people to a deeper walk of faith...yet not legalistic in our approach. We're not identified as young and hip...yet we're not old and dying (in fact our older people are as passionate and excited as our younger). Our church is filled with serious truth-seekers and people who have followed Christ for 50 years. Unique...yet beautiful.

As the Lead Pastor at FCF my heart is overwhelmed with gratitude toward Christ and great wonder as to why He would even use us at all. He is not only the reason we exist as a church, but also the reason we do what we do as a church. Why do we find it important to preach through books of the Bible? Why do we encourage people to be a part of a discovery group? Why do we get involved in community outreach projects and missions trips around the world? Why do we not get overwhelmed with activities that may be well meaning but are pointless to the cause of Christ? Because our desire for FCF is much deeper...

This morning, I couldn't help but to think about the Apostle Paul. Paul was a man who had seen Christ (Acts 9); taken to  heaven (2 Corinthians 12); and personally responsible for the spread of the gospel to the uttermost parts of the earth. No doubt, Paul had one of the deepest relationships with Christ of anyone. Yet Paul wasn't satisfied. In Philippians 3, Paul said that His desire was to "know Him." Did you catch that? In fact he said that everything else was merely dung. Here was a man who knew Christ most deeply...who walked with an unrivaled faith in Christ...yet His desire was to detach from the normalcy of life and attach himself to Christ.

With that statement we find the reason FCF exists. Whether new to the faith or a long-time Christ-follower my prayer is that you would have a holy dissatisfaction with your knowledge and faith in Christ and that you, like Paul, woud just want to know Him more.

Hebrews Bible Study: Hebrews 12:18-29 - Monday

Monday – High Standards

Focus passage: Hebrews 12:18-21

Read: Exodus 19; Romans 4:13-15; Romans 7:4-6

I once worked for a supervisor who a reputation for being hard, harsh, and abrasive. This man set high standards and expected subordinates to meet those standards. His reputation and firm methods created a lot of fear in those who worked for him. Many couldn’t or wouldn’t submit to his kind of authority and left the company. But those who persevered eventually understood why he did what he did.

When God gave the law to Moses it created fear in the Israelites because they knew God required perfect obedience. The consequences for disobedience were frequently severe. Many of the people struggled and didn’t see why God gave them a law they couldn’t fully obey. They didn’t understand that He was pointing the way toward intimate relationship with Him.


1. As Christians, we have not come to a Mount Sinai full of darkness and gloom, yet some are still afraid of God. Why?


2. What gets in the way of our fully accepting the fact that Jesus came to fulfill the law so that we don’t have to?

Hebrews Bible Study: Hebrews 12 - Thursday

Thursday – But I Don’t Want to Practice


Focus Passage: Hebrews 12:9-11

Read: Job 5:17; Job 23:8-12; Proverbs 12:1; Psalm 119: 65-68


I’ve heard it over and over, “But, dad, I don’t want to practice. I just like to play the game!” My son likes sports, but practice…not so much. Why? It’s probably because it can be difficult, with lots of repetition of drills to hone skills and correct and improve technique. In this way each individual, and therefore the whole team, gets better. Games are then more fun and they have a better chance of winning. It takes a coaches firm and continued discipline to make good team.

Like a coach or a father, God disciplines us for our good, our betterment. That good that he desires in us is holiness, to be more like Christ. Like practice, the Lord’s discipline may not be fun, it may be painful, but it will produce good fruit for those trained by it. Since we know this is true, should we not willingly submit to it?


1. In unpleasant times, can you see God moving you along on the journey towards holiness?


2. How can you develop a positive outlook toward God’s training and correction and willingly submit?