Sojourn Lead Pastor Daniel Montgomery: "How To Get The Most Out Of Your Old Testament Reading Guide"

Sojourn Lead Pastor Daniel Montgomery is set to take us on a year long journey through the Old Testament.  Each week at Sojourn Gathered he’ll preach on the key passages and stories, showing Christ to be the key to understanding this mysterious Book.  He’s also created a year-long reading guide for your daily study in the Old Testament.  And now, Pastor Daniel instructs us in how to get the most out of this handy tool:

So you’ve got your Old Testament Reading Guide, right?  We know … It’s a lot of boxes to check.

Get The Reading Guide As A PDF

Well, the first thing we want to do is encourage you. If you miss a day, don’t despair and definitely don’t quit. Just catch up the next day. It’s totally fine. You’re not going to hell and we’re not going to drop you a letter grade for doing your homework late. There’s freedom and flexibility in this program. If you know you’re going to be really busy one day, just read ahead. We won’t penalize anyone for finishing early either. Just remember, the big idea is the whole Old Testament in a year. Keep at it. Connect your desire for God’s word to the discipline to pursue it. Just because you don’t have to work for your salvation doesn’t mean you shouldn’t work towards understanding it more deeply (Philippians 2:12). So don’t give up.

Now, how should you read this book? We recommend the following:

1. Simply read it. Put aside any helper books and commentaries and just read the passage straight       through. The Bible is a book and we need to learn to read it like one. So read quickly, straight through the first time. Read the story. If something catches your thoughts, write a short note or question in the margin. That’s right: write in your Bible. It’s ok. Just breath deep and you’ll get through it. Trust us, nobody’s going to think your writings are Scripture; and nobody’s going to burn you at the stake for heresy. Write your questions down. Use a journal if you just can’t get the pen to the gold-rimmed page. Just remember, the first reading should be quick and notes brief.

2. Dig in. Read more slowly and when you get to the parts that raise questions, talk with God. The Bible is God speaking to us and we must respond to God’s word with our intellect. So ask questions, seek answers.

Three basic questions are:

What does this passage tell me about God?

What does this passage tell me about myself?

What does this passage tell me about my desperate need for Jesus?

This blog will offer lots of resources to help you work through questions. We’ll do our best to bring you some of the best resources available to work through the Old Testament. We’ll also continue our weekly devotional, which will hopefully encourage you with questions you can ask while you’re reading as well as ways you can approach each passage with prayer.

3. Meditate on it. Remember Psalm 1:1-2. Sink your teeth in and chew on God’s word throughout the day. Think of a cow. I’m no farmer, but I do know that cows chew a lot. They eat some grass, chew it up, swallow it, then barf it back up to chew it some more. It’s gross but that’s how cows get every last bit of nutrition out of plain old grass. Apply that to our approach to the Bible and it basically translates to us pondering it and mulling it over pretty much continuously and pulling out all the truth God has for us.

4. Pray it. Pray about the text. Pray with the text as your own words (this works especially easily with the Psalms, otherwise known as the prayer book of the Bible). Pray about your own heart responding to the Scriptures. Just pray.

5. Live it. God created us for community, so it makes sense that God wants us to have his Word present in our community. In Deuteronomy 6, God commands his people to bind up his laws and wear them on their foreheads. So we’ll be passing out straps on Sunday so you can tie your Bible to your head. OK, not really, but the basic idea is to live with the text, have it on your mind. Talk about it with a friend, your spouse, your kids. Weave the ancient Scriptures through your daily life.

We’re not prescribing these steps as iron-clad, must-do tasks every time you sit down to read. But we want this year in the Old Testament to have a significant impact on your life with God. The Bible is informational and transformational. We believe that taking an intentional, deliberate approach to your Bible reading this year – directing focused effort on moving God’s word from your head to your heart – will deepen your understanding of God’s word and his plan for redeeming sinful humanity and transforming your daily life. So don’t give up! We’re in it with you.