York Alliance Church Message Podcast

We live in a story-shaped culture, and stories help us make sense of the big questions of life--Who are we? Why are we here? What's wrong with the world? How do we fix it? The Bible presents a unified story that leads us to Jesus; but it's also an alternative story that challenges the way we often see the world and challenges us to live in line with the true story of God's world.

Jesus didn't view what we call the Old Testament Scriptures as a historical narrative that had limited impact in either His day or in ours. Instead, He recognized the way the Hebrew Scriptures revealed Him as the Messiah and acted as a witness to Him. In the same way, we must read the entirety of the Bible through the lens of the gospel as we learn to see Jesus in every part of Scripture.

As we step into this practice series on the Scriptures, the first question facing us is what the Bible is and how we're supposed to read it. The Bible makes several profound statements about itself: That it is true, that it is written by humans, and that it is inspired. These truths help us to see that the right way to read is not literally but literarily. This posture allows us to read the Bible less as information and more in regards to spiritual formation.

Spiritual formation happens, intentionally or unintentionally, over a long period of time and through suffering. There's no earthly finish line in the spiritual journey; formation is an ongoing work. At the brink of the Promised Land, Israel shows that they are still being formed. As we are redeemed from slavery and led toward the Promised Land, the same is true for us.

How do we see the world around us, particularly when we're faced with an insurmountable challenge? When we fail to remember the character of God and the things He's done for us, we see things through the lens of our own insufficiency. However, when we understand the character of God and remember the great things that He's done for us, we are able to see things through the lens of His glory and ability.

The odd story of Numbers 12 is a reminder to us that formation doesn't always go as we would like. Learning to submit to one another out of reverence for Christ is one of the most powerful signs of the Spirit of God at work among His people.

We live in a world that always seems to be chasing after "more." However, "more" isn't always good or healthy for us. In fact, the disturbing reality is that the very plenty we see as the blessing of God may actually be His judgment. Learning to live simply and be content is a practice necessary for living within the blessing of God.

In the midst of the powerful Exodus story, God reveals His character in a profound way that reverberates throughout the Scriptures. God's declaration of His name is the most quoted passage in the Bible by the Bible, and the most important place that we can look for a working theology of who God is and what He's like.