|
Zoey’s has the best pizza in town! And it happens to be right next to the Bright Lights office. Whenever I want to explain where our office is to anyone in the area, I just say, “It’s right next to Zoey’s Pizza,” because everyone knows where that is!
The owner of Zoey’s is a man named Denny, whom I would see occasionally in the parking lot or on the sidewalk. We would greet each other and talk briefly but only on an acquaintance basis.
One day when we were both outside, we began discussing our mutual building needs. Then he asked me an interesting question: “In your bookstore, do you have a book on how to read the Bible?” (At our office we also have a small Christian bookstore called Noah’s Archive Christian Books.)
“Yes, I’m sure we do,” I replied. “You should stop in sometime.”
Denny said he would, but several weeks went by, and he never came in.
Then one day I saw him in the back parking lot and thought, This is my chance.
“Hey, Denny, how ya doin’?” I said. “Remember a couple weeks ago you were looking for a book on how to read the Bible?”
“Yeah, do you have one?” he responded with some enthusiasm in his voice.
“Yes, it’s called the Bible!” I said.
He laughed.
Then I asked, “How would you like to meet for coffee for a couple of weeks and we can read a little together, and I’ll get you started?”
Later, he told me that he was nervous and wanted to say no. But what came out of his mouth was: “Sure, I can do that.”
We met at Noah’s Archive a day or two later. I asked how much of the Bible he knew. He said he knew nothing.
That first morning we read John 1:1-14. We simply read the passage, and I explained anything I thought he wouldn’t understand. For example, who is the Word in verse 1? Who is John in verse 6? What does it mean to become a son of God in verse 12? What does it mean that the Word became flesh in verse 14? I didn’t preach to him. I let the book of John do the teaching.
Denny was fascinated. He came every week. He started reading Genesis on his own with the goal of reading through the whole Bible cover to cover. After about six months I asked what he thought about it all. He was enjoying all he was learning, but he said he didn’t want to commit to being a Christian. “If I become a Christian, I don’t want to be a hypocritical one, I want to be a real one,” he said.
A few more months went by, and we continued to read together each week. Then one morning he said to me, “I need to get saved!” So we talked through the gospel again and he prayed for forgiveness and eternal life. Praise the Lord!
It wasn’t long before Denny had finished reading the whole Bible. We’re still reading together, and he has become a great friend of our family. (See our picture below).
God’s Word is powerful. It changes lives. When you read the Bible with someone, the Bible does the preaching. The Bible leads people to salvation. In fact, I believe that home Bible studies are the most effective form of evangelism.
And though all of the Bible is important and powerful, I personally like to start in the Gospel of John. It introduces people quickly to the person of Christ—His identity, and His work. Also, it requires bringing some Old Testament passages into the study in order to explain some of the content in John, and this helps the new reader see how the whole Bible is woven together. By reading the Bible together the new reader begins to see that it truly is the Word of God.
I interviewed Denny during a sermon I gave last year. If you would like to hear his version of this story, you can watch it here.
I encourage you to pray that the Lord would bring someone into your path whom you could read the gospel of John with. And when the opportunity arises, be bold and ask them!
|
