BIG IDEA

Even when you have to “go through the motions,” reading the bible will still breathe life into your day.

MESSAGE NOTES:

WHAT: 

 One of our biggest enemies right now is apathy. We all are fighting our desire to just “go through the motions” of living. For most days in the pandemic, you probably haven’t been dealing with a daily, constant fear of getting sick. But what have you probably been dealing with? A strong lack of interest, enthusiasm, or even concern. Your daily constant has probably been numbness or dullness. Apathy has always been something we occasionally deal with, but in this last season, apathy has been turned up to 11.

If you don’t know what pursuing God means, it’s the effort you and I make to spend time in a relationship with God. You’ll sometimes hear it referred to as spiritual disciplines, spiritual practices, devotionals, or even abiding in God. But they all mean the same thing: your pursuit of God. We usually define it as 3 main streams: reading the bible, praying, and worshipping.

SO WHAT:

As you read, pray, and worship, God talks to you, you talk to God, and God leads you. Today I want to talk specifically about how God talks to us and leads us when we read the bible.

If you’ve never read the bible, or if you’ve ever wondered why Christians care so much about reading the bible, it’s because reading the bible is a main way God talks to us and God leads us. That’s why the bible is sometimes referred to as “God’s word.” Any time we read it, we’re getting to hear from God.

All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. 2 Timothy 3:16 NLT

So what you’re experiencing currently: unhappiness, apathy, fear, doubt, numbness, pain, isolation, disconnection. These are real emotions you feel but they are also seasonal emotions. Our apathy has just been prolonged by our shutdown.

And anytime you feel like you’re just going through the motions, it’s probably because you’re also going through the emotions of it. You don’t feel like participating because you’re just tired of being sad about it. You just want to check out because you don’t want to feel it anymore.

This is why the bible is the breath of fresh air that we need because it isn’t about making us feel better, it’s about resetting our course.

Even if you have to “go through the motions,” reading the bible will still breathe life into your day and reset your course.

Pursuing God when you don’t feel like it will eventually breaks the seasonal emotion of apathy. And going through the motions of reading is better than stopping the motions altogether until you feel like it again.

NOW WHAT:

Whether today it’s the best time or boring, pursuing God still changes your patterns for God’s.

So here’s how to push past the apathy and daily renew yourself by reading the bible:

1/ Do it anyway.

Go through the motions now and your emotions around it will change later. Don’t just stop the motions.

2/ Get a translation you understand.

If you’re getting nothing out of it ever, it might be time to change translations. My favorite translation to study the bible is the English Standard Version, or the ESV. But a great one that I use a lot to just read large amounts of the bible and I’ll use a lot with messages at YX is called the New Living Translation, or the NLT.

3/ Change up your methods.

If you want to know more about how to study the bible and all the methods you could use to get more out of reading the bible, sign up for our class we call Study Sessions. Over a few weeks, we’ll walk you though how to study the bible and get more out of what you read. You can sign up for our next class for that at yxyouth.com/study.

4/ Join a reading plan.

In fact, we’re going to start a quick 4-day reading plan together this week called “How to Start Reading the Bible.” Friend us on the Bible app and we’ll send you the invite. We’re going to start it tomorrow morning.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:

Q1: On a scale of 1-10, 10 being a lot… how apathetic do you feel in life right now?

Q2: In what ways do you sometimes just “go through the motions?”

Q3: Have you ever tried reading the bible on your own? How did it go?

Q4: Which of the 4 challenges would help you read the bible daily? 1/Do it anyway. 2/Get a translation you understand. 3/Change up your methods. 4/Join a reading plan.