As I awoke early this morning, I was in a “get going” state of mind. Throughout the week I had been working on a sermon. I just needed to take some concentrated time to write it.
So from 6:00 – 9:00 I sat down.
In a desire to remain concentrated, I didn’t look at my emails, check the clock or stray into other areas of thought.
I loved it. The sermon starter came easily. And then the body of the sermon just followed, with a conclusion that will lead into our final song of the morning.
And just because I was having so much fun, here’s a thought from my sermon.
I have been an outdoor camper since I was a child and our parents whisked us across this country in a tent.
I have found that there are three types of campers. One just passes through – lightly touching down on the campsite overnight. Other campers come for a few days with activities and things to do in mind. And other campers come for the scenery.
Most of us who have camped for some time, have experienced all three approaches!
I think Bible reading is the same. The daily Bible reading schedules are a good way to get an overview of the country of the Bible. The activity times of examining themes and systematic outlines let us pull together a picture of God in bite size chunks. And, just camping on a short passage lets us spend time looking at the scenery of who God is in ways that we would otherwise miss.
Use all three approaches to Bible reading and you will be better for it!