Encountering Jesus through scripture | Opinion ...

imagine if I had been to ask you to take out a piece of paper and draw a picture of Oreo, my pet from when i was a child. i cannot inform you the rest about him. For all you understand, he generally is a dog or a cat or a hermit crab or a penguin. even if it’s only a mental picture, take a second and try. 

What if I simply say it louder? “DRAW an image OF OREO! are attempting more durable!” Did that help you in any respect? 

saying it louder doesn’t assist because you nevertheless know nothing about Oreo. (by the way, he was a small Jack Russell terrier â€" half dog, half devil.) more desirable with the aid of some distance could be for me to exhibit you an image of Oreo so that you could have the ultimate opportunity of drawing an correct photo of him. 

That’s an exquisite ridiculous instance, however that’s how a lot of contemporary preaching is. Preachers frequently call individuals to be Christlike and to have faith in Christ, but unfortunately their sermons are sparse with any description of Jesus â€" who he is or what he did.

subsequently, a way to see Jesus is to stumble upon him in the pages of Holy Scripture, and sitting beneath the preached word is uniquely ideal to that project. I believe that the preaching of God’s notice is a kind of verbal portrait-painting, and the goal is to color the Lord Jesus as he looks within the phrases of the Bible.

I agree with the Apostle Paul makes that same case in 1 Corinthians 1:21, that “it completely happy God through the folly of what we preach to store people that believe,” which is to assert that preaching has the vigour to carry the message of salvation. And he describes the effect of trustworthy preaching in 1 Corinthians four:6 the place he writes, “For God, who observed, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ has shone in our hearts to supply the mild of the knowledge of the glory of God within the face of Jesus Christ.’

truly, the whole Bible is preaching one unified sermon â€" it’s portray one unified photoâ€"and the sermon of the Bible is a crystal-clear picture of who Jesus is and who we are in mild of him (to combine the metaphors). 

Seeing Jesus isn't a magical journey that can also be finished through transcendental meditation, nor is it an ungoverned construction of your personal creativeness. These strategies result in a Jesus-portrait of our own invention. in its place, we deserve to stumble upon the biblical Jesus and spot him as he’s published in the pages of the Bible. That’s the simplest Jesus who can shop. What do you feel of if you think of Jesus? surely there can be no extra tremendous question.

It’s my hope that the Holy Spirit would enlighten the eyes of your coronary heart (Ephesians 1:18) and demonstrate to you the glory of God within the face of Jesus Christ, in order that you may worship him, love him, and live for him. 

Garrett Walden is a pastor at Grace Heritage Church in Auburn, and he is a sixth grade teacher at Auburn Classical Academy. he is an Auburn institution alum residing in Opelika with his wife and three kids.