A Path

The hardest part of teaching, for me at least, is not building the iceberg.  I like figuring things out enough that I'm constantly building icebergs in different areas of life.  "I learn something new every day."  No, the hardest part of teaching is deciding which tip of the iceberg to share this time.  I find myself constrained by time, so I can't share all the cool stuff I've learned about God.  So, I choose.

Each weekend I preach is a choice.  Every Bible study I lead is a choice.  Every class I teach: choice.  I choose what topic to bring up in this blog post.  I even choose where to take a face to face conversation.  Life is filled with choices and God want's to be a part of them all.  So, I pray.  I ask for wisdom.  Then I choose.

The more I read Scripture, building my own iceberg, the more I began to see an outline for teaching Scripture.  Some of it came from God's Word.  Some of it came from discussions with people.  I found that different parts of Scripture made sense at different stages in their lives.  People preparing for marriage, for example, were much more interested in passages talking about marriage than those who were not interested in getting married.  So, I began developing different Bible studies for different stages in a person's life.  Some of the studies made sense for a sub-group of people.  Married people have certain Scriptures that apply, but single people have others that apply to them.  Men have passages just for them and women have some just for them.  There are many good Bible study books out there that helped us with these topics, so we drew upon the wisdom of other parts of Christ's Body.

Scriptures that applied to everyone, though, began to develop into an outline as well.  Stages or steps began to emerge that everyone seems to pass through.  There is a point when we don't see God or faith in God is passed down from our parents.  There is another point when we see God for ourselves.  There is another point when we decide to be a follower of God.  As a follower of God, there are many points of growth and change in that relationship with God.  Often times these changes build upon one another.  All of these stages or steps, and the Bible studies that go with them, are woven together into a path.

You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand. (Psalms 16:11 NIV)

Over the next several weeks, I will be sharing the "tip of the iceberg" to the path.  If you live close enough to Life Bridge Christian Church, I would like to invite you to participate on Sundays (9:00 or 11:00am) to get an overview of each week.  Small groups will be meeting on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday evenings each week do dive deeper, building more of the iceberg, on the concepts introduced on Sunday.  I encourage you to participate in all three ways (Worship Service, Small Group, and Blog/Devotion) to begin building your iceberg and and walking the path.

How about you?  Are you ready to build your iceberg?  Are you ready to walk the path?  I hope to see you there!