Hello again. It’s good to be back.
How did you get on with the last study tool? I heard from a few people who seemed somewhat intimidated. Maybe I made it sound too much like you had to create a work of art. Perhaps an alternative approach would be to do something which involves more of your body than just your eyes and brain. I’ve now updated it to include the following ideas:
– Bake a loaf of bread, and share it with friends, as you discuss what it means that Jesus is the bread of life – pay attention to the feel of kneading, the smell of baking, the sound as you cut or tear the crust…
– Go for a walk and ponder what it means that Jesus is the way – how will you choose which way to go at any given turning? What are you feeling, hearing, smelling as you go?
– Fill a washing-up bowl with water and play in it with your children or a friend’s children. Water your plants. Splash water droplets into a sizzling pan. Think about how Jesus is the water of life each time you interact with water in your day.
I hope that gives you some more ideas of how to learn about God away from the printed word.
Have a go at something like that before you try this week’s tool.
Today’s tool
Today we’re going to be comparing and contrasting some Bible accounts. This is part of the skill of reading in context. The Bible’s writers, inspired by the Holy Spirit, chose the events they relayed and the order they relayed them in for a reason. Sometimes that reason is purely chronological, but even still, they rarely give every detail of a scene or event (for example, Jesus ate and drank more often than we are told in the Bible – we don’t have the account of every meal or drink of water he consumed, so the ones that are there are there deliberately.
Noticing the similarities and differences between accounts that are close together in our Bibles can help to really enrich our understanding.
The following example is adapted from John: Never Thirst Again, by David Cook (10 Publishing, 2014). Click to open it in another window or tab:
The final one David Cook pointed out was that in Nicodemus’ story we see that when Jesus came to his own people, they rejected him, but when he came to the outsiders, they welcomed him in – he stayed in Samaria for two days!
There may be more – let me know if you spot any. And any similarities – one is that water, spirit and truth are mentioned in both accounts. These similarities can sometimes be the clues we need to suggest that we look at where the stories vary.
We can learn a lot from each of these accounts individually, but when we put them side-by-side, the richness is just wonderful.
Have a go yourself
Your download this week is, as usual, a chance to have a go yourself. I recently wrote some daily Bible reading notes for Scripture Union on some chapters of 2 Kings (for their Daily Bread booklets – this edition will be out in June 2026!).
As I studied the different sections, I was struck by the breadth of type of miracle and type and number of recipients – rich and poor, male and female, Jew and gentile, individuals and groups, miracles requested and miracles offered… So many variables!
I find this kind of thing really exciting and interesting. It transforms a string of apparently random stories into something rich and wonderful. I hope you find it as inspiring and faith-building as I do!
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This post is part of a series of ideas for how to get started with studying the Bible either for yourself or as a small group leader. Follow this link to find the other posts in the series.
PS All these resources are absolutely free, but if you find them useful, consider making a small donation through my Ko-fi page. Thank you!
