Saints intro sampler - Flipbook - Page 23
tempted to reduce people to their worst mistakes—to write off types of people.
You might read about disloyal disciples, power-hungry high priests, and confused
Pharisees only to grow cynical and suspicious of everyone who shared the same
title: disciple, high priest, or Pharisee. But I hope you dig deeper and see the bigger picture.
Beyond these disappointing characters is a God whose loyal love never fails,
who is always entrusting others with his power, and who always brings clarity to
our lives. Unrighteous “saints” are not a new problem, and we don’t need a new
solution. Furthermore, the point of this study is not to identify a character type
and then vilify them or generalize their failures in a way that implicates every
person like them. The point is to identify with their failures and see that all of us
are still offered a deep relationship with Jesus based on his grace.
In Saints, we’re going to explore
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John 3, 7, 19: Nicodemus, the Pharisee disoriented by Jesus’ testimony;
John 6, 12, 13, 18: Judas, the disciple who sold Jesus out;
John 11, 18; Acts 4: Caiaphas, the high priest unwilling to steward his
power generously;
John 18, 21: Peter, the disciple who denied being connected to Jesus; and
Acts 8; 1 Timothy 1: Paul, the Pharisee who persecuted Christians.
We’re going to do this by looking at each person through four different lenses:
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Do you ever feel dropped into a Bible story disoriented?
Part 1 will introduce you to the character you’re going to study and help
you study their story in its scriptural context. Getting your bearings before
you read will enable you to answer the question What am I about to read?
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PART 2: SEEING. Do you ever read on autopilot? I do too. Sometimes I fin-
PART 1: CONTEXT.
ish reading without a clue as to what just happened. A better way to read
the Bible is to practice thoughtful, close reading of Scripture to absorb the
message God is offering to us. That’s why part 2 includes close Scripture
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SA I N T S
