A Book Like No Other
A Book Like No Other
Isaiah 55:1-2, 6-11 (HCSB) 1“Come, everyone who is thirsty, come to the waters; and you without money, come, buy, and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost! 2Why do you spend money on what is not food, and your wages on what does not satisfy? Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good, and you will enjoy the choicest of foods.” 6Seek the LORD while He may be found; call to Him while He is near. 7Let the wicked one abandon his way and the sinful one his thoughts; let him return to the LORD, so He may have compassion on him, and to our God, for He will freely forgive. 8“For My thoughts are not your thoughts, and your ways are not My ways.” This is the LORD’s declaration. 9“For as heaven is higher than earth, so My ways are higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts. 10For just as rain and snow fall from heaven and do not return there without saturating the earth and making it germinate and sprout, and providing seed to sow and food to eat, 11so My word that comes from My mouth will not return to Me empty, but it will accomplish what I please and will prosper in what I send it to do.”
1. The Bible is free to consume.
Hebrews 1:1-2 (NLT) Long ago God spoke many times and in many ways to our ancestors through the prophets. And now in these final days, he has spoken to us through his Son.
Luke 13:34 (NLT) “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones God’s messengers! How often I have wanted to gather your children together as a hen protects her chicks beneath her wings, but you wouldn’t let me.”
Prophets, missionaries, and martyrs paid with their lives to bring us the Bible.
2. The Bible is not just information. The Bible is an invitation.
John 5:39-40 (NLT) “You search the Scriptures because you think they give you eternal life. But the Scriptures point to me! Yet you refuse to come to me to receive this life.”
Luke 24:25-27 (NIV) He said to them, “How foolish you are, and how slow to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Did not the Messiah have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?” And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.
3. The Bible is miraculously consistent.
4. The Bible is painfully trustworthy.
5. The Bible changes the humble.
Growing Deeper Together - Small Group Discussion Questions
Use these points throughout the week as part of your quiet time, in your small group, or over coffee with a friend to help you apply what you learned in today’s message.
- Pastor Ben talked about how people sometimes view the Bible like a source of information: a textbook, a history, or a basic instruction before leaving earth. Have you ever thought of the Bible in those ways? What sorts of feelings do you have about textbooks, history books, or instruction manuals?
- The book of James reminds us that when we seek the Lord, “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” (4:6) When you are struggling to enjoy God’s Word how could you determine if there is pride getting in the way? How can you humble yourself when you open the Bible?
- Pastor Ben talked about what it cost for God to preserve the Bible. We have the Bible because men and women “took up their cross” to follow Christ. What is required for a person to lay their life down? How are those things reflected in areas of your life?
- What are the ways the Bible has helped introduce you to God personally? Who do you know that could help you learn to open the Word of God and encounter Christ?