Setting the scene Introduction to Understanding the Bible A. WHY A BIBLE OVERVIEW? D.L. Moody once said that he had never met a useful Christian worker who did not have a good grasp of the Word of God. The Bible itself tells us that it is God-breathed and is therefore profitable for a wide range of practical purposes (2 Timothy 3:16-17). If we are to be effective servants, we must learn to handle it correctly (2 Timothy 2:15). Our aim in this first section is to explain how this Bible overview is put together and can hopefully help you in your Christian life and ministry. Remember that to some extent all ministry is the ministry of the Word of God – you can only minister what you know! The course is not exhaustive. The Learn2Lead team hope that once you have gone through it your appetite will be whetted for further more detailed study. Overall we shall be attempting to help you gain four things: 1 A n understanding of the Bible as a book with different types of literature. 2 A feeling for the flow of biblical history. 3 The big picture of God’s plan focusing on Jesus Christ. 4 The ability to draw practical lessons from the Bible for today. In doing this we must avoid the danger of reading about the Bible, but never reading the Bible for ourselves. Have you ever read through the whole Bible from beginning to end?
Why not begin today? Make it a commitment in doing this overview. You will need to plan for about 80 hours of reading time. 11
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