Jesus a journey of discovery.

Getting the Most Out of God’s Word For personal devotion or group discussion

A Guide for Reading and Listening to God’s Word

a journey of discovery

Magnolia Baptist Church

WELCOME ALONG I believe there is no greater journey one can engage in life than to know Jesus of Nazareth...the Christ...the Son of God.

CONTENTS 

WELCOME ALONG

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GETTING STARTED

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THE FOUR GOSPELS

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DAY ONE: The Birth of Jesus

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DAY TWO: Jesus’ Childhood

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DAY THREE: Growing Up Jesus

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DAY FOUR: Jesus in the Flesh

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DAY FIVE: Jesus in Galilee

Paul, a leader in the early foundations of Christianity, wrote “For me to live is Christ…” (Philippians 1:27). Nothing else was more important to Paul. “Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ.” (Philippians 3:8) I agree with Paul. There is nothing in my life more incredible than knowing Jesus. The words and ways of Jesus guide and enhance every facet of my life...at home with my wife and kids, at work, and in my community.

What about you? Have you settled the disturbing question Jesus asked of his first disciples, “But what about you, who do you say that I am?”

(Mark 8:29) FORM EXTRAORDINARY CONTENT ORDINARY Until we settle that question, we really can’t rightly value everything else in our lives.

This guide is a journey of discovery...of knowing Jesus. My hope in putting this together is to help guide you along this journey; to guide you into a personal discovery of Jesus in ways that perhaps, you haven't thought of before; to introduce you to a very real Jesus who had a family and friends, knew incredible affirmation and suffered painful rejection; who knew hunger and thirst; who lived and died and lives again!

Take courage and take the journey to discover Jesus: the Lamb of God who takes away sin, the son of Joseph and Mary, the Christ, the Messiah, the Lion of Judah, the Son of Man, the Son of God. In knowing Jesus more deeply, I hope also that you come to know yourself more clearly. That as you know Him more, you more and more become like Jesus and truly discover not just a person or a moment in history, but that you truly discover life in His name.

Blessings, Jeremy K. Bratcher Senior Pastor

MAGNOLIA BAPTIST CHURCH

Getting Started

“Oh how I love your law! It is my meditation all the day.” Psalm 119:97 Every journey has a beginning. Ours is no different. The exception is that this is a daily beginning. Just as I must move my left foot to keep pace with my right foot, I must always take another step along the journey of discovering Jesus in my life. Ten thousand “don'ts” will never make you one bit more like Jesus. It is Jesus who makes you like him. This journey of discovery is also a journey of transformation. As you come to know Jesus more, may you be made more like him.

When I come to God’s word, I never see it as inviting God to be with me. Rather, I see it as God’s invitation for me to be with Him. James, a pastor in the early churched observed, “Draw near to God and he will draw near to you.” (James 4:8) Here are a few things to remember as you set out on this journey: Time You must find the right time. And you must make it direct time. Be intentional with this time. Set a realistic time that you need to be in direct contact with God through His word. This should be your very best time.

When are you at your best? In the morning? Lunch break? In the afternoon or early evening? Perhaps at night? You determine that time…but determine it and don’t leave it.

Awareness Awareness is key. I hate reading, watching a movie or sitting through a meeting where my head is tired and I can’t focus. It’s no different with our God-engagements. 

First, be physically alert. Find a time when the cobwebs are out of your mind and you can think clearly.

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Second, be mentally and spiritually aware. Be focused, and know He’s there. Emotion doesn't really have all that much to do with it.

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And third, be morally pure. None of us are perfect, but know this, personal sin disrupts life. Many of us won’t pray or engage God if we are wrestling with sin, guilt and shame. If you need to do so, ask God to give you a pure desire as you engage Him.

Location Find a place where you can focus. Jesus said enter into your closet and pray (see Matthew 6:6). That simply means find a place of isolation where you can shut the door on the world and open the windows to heaven. If you use an iPad or Android device, don’t be distracted by other apps. If you sit near a computer, don’t surf the web until this set time concludes.

Preparedness The right tools are always needed. The best tool you can grab is a readable Bible. If you can’t understand its language you won’t read it. Find a translation that is most suitable for you.

Keep a copy of this guide available. You might like a Bible handbook or dictionary too. I like www.biblestudytools.com for free Bible study tools.

Structure Structure often sounds like a term of limitation. I see it as a term of support. Let me suggest the following structure: Get still and quiet. The Bible says in Psalm 46:10, “Be still, and know that I am God.” Focus your mind on Him. Calm down, relax, and recognize His presence. Take a deep breath and focus your thoughts on the Lord.

Pray. Before you read, ask God to help you understand what you are going to read.

Read. Read the entire passage you selected. Maybe even re-read it throughout your day.

Reflect. Take time to think through the passage. Write your thoughts in a journal or an online notepad like Evernote.

Apply. Ask yourself: “What do I sense God teaching me or asking of me from what I’ve read?” Write this down. Now do it!

Pray (again). This time thank God for His word and ask Him to help you live it out.

Go and Do or Go and Be. As we discover more of what God is sharing with us about life, go and do it or go and be it. Live life as God reveals it to you.

My Response Complete this section after you have finished all five days of engagement.

Three responses the Bible regularly points us to are instruction, confession and intercession. Each is explained below.

Instruction: God teaches us through His Spirit and His Word. 

What has God taught you through His Word this week?

Confession: Confession is admitting sin before God or stating truth before other people. 

What sin do you need to confess?

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What truth do you need to share?

Intercession: Praying for others needs, unbeliever’s salvation or righteousness in social injustice. 

Who is another believer in Jesus that you know needs prayer?

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How will you pray for them?

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Who in your life needs God’s salvation through Jesus?

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What local or global situation of injustice do you want to prayer for?

MAGNOLIA BAPTIST CHURCH

The Four Gospels As we look to the Bible for discovering Jesus, our primary focus will be on the four books of the New Testament called the Gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. The four New Testament Gospels are like the singers in a four-part choir. They each have their distinct parts to sing, yet the parts combine to make a beautiful composition. Each of the four Gospels gives testimony of Jesus from a slightly different perspective, but they all tell the same story. Thus, they are all in harmony with one another. There are also books that align the Gospel accounts chronologically which are called harmonies of the Gospels, and some Bibles have a reference section doing the same thing that is referred to as a harmony of the Gospels.

Matthew, Mark, and Luke are called the "synoptic" gospels, because they give a synopsis of similar events from the life of Jesus. John stands on its own, filling in gaps that the others leave out. Each one of these gospels was written for a different audience and emphasizes different things about Jesus. The Gospel of Matthew was written primarily for the Jews and emphasized how Jesus fulfilled the prophecies of a kingly Messiah. Mark was written primarily for Roman or Gentile Christians, so it includes few Old Testament prophecies, and explains many Jewish words and customs. Jesus is portrayed in Mark as the Divine Servant.

Luke was also written primarily for Gentile believers, as it also explains Jewish customs and uses Greek names.

Luke set out to write an orderly narrative of the life of Jesus, and presented Jesus as the Son of Man, emphasizing His full humanity. John’s Gospel emphasizes Jesus as the Son of God, and includes more of Jesus' revelations about Himself than any of the other gospels. It also gives a much more detailed picture of the events during Jesus' last days.

Some people have attempted to discredit the Bible by pointing out the inconsistencies in the Gospel narratives. They point out differences in the order in which the events are presented or minor details within those events. When the four accounts are placed side by side, we see that they do not all follow the same strict chronology. Much of the narrative in the Gospels is arranged in a topical order, where an event brings to mind a similar thought. This is the way most of us carry on conversations every day. The differences in minor details like the angels at Christ's tomb (Matthew 28:5; Mark 16:5; Luke 24:4; John 20:12) are also answered by allowing the text to speak. The differences are complimentary, not contradictory. New information is added, but it does not take away from the veracity of the old information.

Like the rest of Scripture, the four Gospels are a beautiful testimony of God’s revelation to man. Imagine a tax collector (Matthew), an untrained Jewish lad with a history as a quitter (Mark), a Roman doctor (Luke), and a Jewish fisherman (John) all writing harmonious testimony about the events in the life of Jesus. There is no way, without the intervention of God, that they could have written these amazingly accurate accounts (2 Timothy 3:16). The historical references, the prophetic references, and the personal details all work together to compose one very detailed, very accurate picture of Jesus—the Messiah, the King, the Servant and the Son of God.

Taken from http://www.gotquestions.org/harmony-Gospels.html

Each day we will be looking deep into the life of Jesus. The next few days will take you through the course of about 30 years in the earthly life of Jesus. We begin here today with a look at Jesus’ first breath on Earth.

ARE YOU TALKING TO ME?

Pray: Lord, as I take this journey of discovering you, much like you did for your earliest followers, open my mind that I might understand the Scriptures.

Read: Matthew 1:18-25; Luke 2:1-21; Philippians 2:5-11

DAY ONE: The Birth of Jesus “Late on a sleepy, star-spangled night, those angels peeled back the sky just like you would tear open a sparkling Christmas present.

Then, with light and joy pouring out of Heaven like water through a broken dam, they began to shout and sing the message that baby Jesus had been born.

The world had a Savior! The angels called it "Good News," and it was.”

As Jesus came into this world, what are some things that Jesus is experiencing for the first time?

Why do you suppose God allowed His Son to be born where and how He did?

What were some things that Jesus willingly gave up or left behind in order to be human?

Larry Libby, Christmas Stories for the Heart

What questions do you still have?

MAGNOLIA BAPTIST CHURCH

Reflect: God became human! I don’t know that I really understand that statement. I believe it. But ask yourself, is there anything more foreign than this? After all, Jesus is God. He became a baby...a baby...a defenseless, dependent, development-needed baby. And Jesus had to grow up. Ugh… Philippians 2:7 reads , “...but he made himself nothing…” Yet, Jesus never ceases to be God. Here in the manger, Jesus is fully God and a fully vulnerable baby. Why didn’t Jesus enter creation as a full grown man?

Why didn’t Jesus come into the world just as God? Why the God-man? To me, this is incredible in its awesome scope and quite honestly, hard to wrap my head around.

Even more perplexing is the reason Jesus left Heaven. Aren’t gods supposed to be receiving sacrifices not offering them? Yet, here is the one true God, making the greatest sacrifice ever. The Creator of all things enters creation (John 1:3-4). What a strange way to save the world. God could simply have ended sin...recreated the world fresh and new without sin. God is God and can do that. But He did it differently. Not in the way I would do it, nor in the way I can best understand it. God did what only God could do in such a way that only God deems it fit to do. God’s salvation through Jesus is a gift. This gift came to earth as a baby.

As you begin this journey of discovering Jesus, reflect on the birth of Jesus, what most stands out to you about the God’s salvation gift came?

What other gifts can you see that God has given you through Jesus? Make a list.

How might you share these gifts or the gift of Jesus with others?

Pray: Thank God for these gifts and specifically for the gift of Jesus.

Jesus will grow up in Bethlehem. During his childhood, the Bible records some astonishing details about Jesus’ childhood that are often missed because of the more famous Christmas passages about Jesus’ birth. Our reading picks up as early as eight days from Jesus’ birth and will cover about 2 years of Jesus’ life.

ARE YOU TALKING TO ME?

Pray: Lord, As I take this journey of discovery, give me courage to seek you everyday.

Read: Luke 2:21-38; Matthew 2:1-18

DAY TWO: Jesus’ Childhood

What most stands out to you about the encounters with Simeon and Anna at the temple?

"Jesus was a human being, a Jew in Galilee with a name and a family, a person who was in a way just like everyone else.

Yet in another way he was something different than anyone who had ever lived on earth before.

It took the church five centuries of active debate to agree on some epistemological balance between “just like everyone else” and “something different.”

What about the Bible’s account of the wise men seems different from what you might traditionally have thought?

Why does Herod feel so threatened by the birth of Jesus?

Philip Yancey, The Jesus I Never Knew

How do you see God affirming of and providing for Mary and Joseph through these encounters?

What questions do you still have?

MAGNOLIA BAPTIST CHURCH

Reflect: Put yourself in the parents’ sandals for a moment. Pick one...Mary or Joseph, doesn’t matter at this point. Simeon can die in peace because he has seen your son with his own eyes. The old woman is stirred with vigor once more. God had been silent for over 400 years. And the arrival of your son has stirred her heart to hear God once again and speak His truth. Wise men from the East bring amazing gifts...gifts you could never afford...to your home and worship your son. News travels to the current king over Jerusalem. He is so threatened by your son that he orders every male child two-years-old and younger to be killed. What is going through your parental mind?

Through all of this whirlwind, be reminded that God provided a manger for shelter, treasures for provision and a warning for survival. God provides gifts for Jesus’ life so that God would provide the gift of life through Jesus.

God is the great provider. Sometimes that provision comes well before you need it and others times in the middle of the journey. Regardless of where God provides, the simple truth is, God provides. It’s crazy to think about God’s provision...not always what we want, but always what we need; not always when we want, but always in His perfect time.

God wasn’t providing without an end either. God’s ultimate purpose was for Jesus to be the Savior of the World. In the historical moment of the text, Jesus is about two-years-old. God provides on purpose for purpose.

Where have you seen God provide in your life? Jot some of these things down.

How is God providing for you now?

Think about what God has provided for you. Based on the provision, what do you think God is preparing you for?

Pray: Thank God that He is the great provider.

Joseph was warned in a message to take his family to Egypt. Jesus was about two-years-old when his family left for Egypt. He will spend roughly ten years there. Not much is known about Jesus’ life in Egypt. When he returns from Egypt though, he is about twelve-years-old, a very important age in the life of a young Jewish boy.

ARE YOU TALKING TO ME?

Pray: Lord, as you grew and matured through your life, grow and mature my soul to follow after you.

Read: Matthew 2:19-23; Luke 2:39-52

DAY THREE: Growing Up Jesus

How does Luke say Jesus developed as a young man?

“I guarantee you Christ would be the toughest guy who ever played this game...If he were alive today I would picture a sixfoot-six, 260-pound defensive

Where did Jesus receive his education prior to the Passover in the temple?

Why is his education important?

tackle who would always make the big plays and would be hard to keep out of the backfield.”

Norm Evans, former Miami Dolphins offensive lineman,

What was the response from the religious leaders in the temple to the boy Jesus?

On God’s Squad

What questions do you still have?

MAGNOLIA BAPTIST CHURCH

Reflect: “After three days they found him in the temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions…”Luke 2:46 I wonder what kinds of things these teachers were talking about. Even more so, I wonder how a twelve-yearold boy is able to break into the conversation? What was Jesus asking? What were their responses?

Wouldn’t you like to see this caught on someone’s mobile phone and uploaded to YouTube? I’d love to witness this moment.

Luke’s gospel continues in the next verse, “And all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers.” Luke 2:47 Jesus amazed them. An interesting thought. I wonder if history has dulled our sense of Jesus-amazement?

Maybe we’ve heard the story too much. Maybe we’ve not witnessed the miracles or heard profundity of his teaching. Whatever it is, we do not stand amazed by Jesus. I am constantly taken back by people who claim to believe in Jesus, but do not marvel him. Somewhere we have lost awe. Somewhere other things that merely flash in the pan steal our amazement from Jesus.

What about you...does Jesus amaze you? Why or why not?

Read Luke 2:52. Jesus grew smarter, stronger, relationally with other and deeper with the Father. Where do you sense you need to grow, mature or develop most?

How might you seek God in this journey of discovery to help you grow or mature?

Pray: Ask for God’s favor over this life area where you are seeking to mature and develop.

Today we take a step out of the gospels and into a prophetic passage about Jesus. We will do this on occasion because the entire Bible centers on God’s salvation provided through Jesus.

ARE YOU TALKING TO ME?

In Isaiah, we get several incredible descriptions about the life of Jesus. This passage offers a description of the Savior that is unlike anything you might expect.

Pray: Lord, help me see Your truth today. Help me to know you more today.

Let our relationship together grow even more deeply than it was yesterday.

DAY FOUR: Jesus in the Flesh

Read: Isaiah 52:13-53:12

What are some of Jesus’ physical attributes according to this passage?

“When we learn to read the story of Jesus and see it as the story of the love of God, doing for us what we could not do for ourselves--that insight produces, again and again, a sense of astonished gratitude which is very near the heart of authentic Christian experience.”

How do you see Jesus’ Godhood in this passage?

N.T. Wright, Simply Jesus: A New Vision of Who He Was, What He Did and Why He Matters

What about his humanity?

Read Isaiah 53:2 again. How does this description of Jesus make you feel?

What questions do you still have?

MAGNOLIA BAPTIST CHURCH

Reflect: Analysts say Richard Nixon lost the presidency to John F. Kennedy because of a television. It wasn’t an ad campaign. It was Nixon’s appearance in light of Kennedy’s handsome face that analysts look back at the first televised presidential debate that cost Nixon the election.

It’s good to know we haven’t changed much. We still prefer the beautiful over the average...the average over the ugly. We have set our minds to accept beautiful things, tolerate average things and reject ugly things. We do our best to affirm things that are less than beautiful, but we go out of our way to laude that which fits our highest forms. It really is no wonder that we have so many depressed, unaccepted people in our world. We have set a standard that is so high, people literally die trying to be beautiful...acceptable.

Now read Isaiah 53:2 again.

There is “nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.” Is there any wonder why Jesus doesn’t make a good Savior? Why our world values Christ as a lesser god (lower case for cultural purposes only)? Doesn’t sound so special does He? Humanity has long been obsessed with appearance. Sadly though, because our eyes grip our souls and lead us to a conclusion like Isaiah 53:2, we miss the power of Isaiah 53:1, “And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?” Jesus is the “arm of the Lord”. In Christ, God reaches down to us, extending His invitation to us...Jesus.

How does Isaiah’s statement that “nothing in his appearance that we should desire him” relate to the way you view Jesus?

What most stood out to you from today’s reading?

How do you since God wants you to respond to Jesus today?

Pray: Thank God that Jesus reaches into the world (even your life) still today.

Taking a look at another Messianic passage from the Hebrew Scriptures, Psalm 69 paints a sad look at the life of Jesus as he grew up in Galilee.

ARE YOU TALKING TO ME?

Pray: Lord, as I take this journey of discovering you, much like you did for your earliest followers, open my mind that I might understand the Scriptures.

Read: Psalm 69:7-12; Matthew 13:55, Mark 6:3

DAY FIVE: Jesus in Galilee “He was not at all like the psychologist’s picture of the integrated, balanced, adjusted, happily married, employed, popular citizen.

You can’t really be very well ‘adjusted’ to your world if it says you ‘have a devil’ and ends by nailing you up naked to a stake of wood.”

Why do you suppose Jesus would feel like a stranger and an alien to His brothers (Psalm 69:8)?

Why do you think Matthew 13:55 and Mark 6:3 are important to how we see Jesus?

C.S. Lewis, The Four Loves

Think about your own life growing up? What were some of the hard things you faced? How does those things connect with the words of Psalm 69:712

What questions do you still have?

MAGNOLIA BAPTIST CHURCH

Reflect: Many scholars believe the words of Psalm 69:7-12 refer to Jesus’ life in his growing up years. Why would they think this? Psalm 69:9 seems to point directly to John 2:13-17. Read those passages together. DO you come to a similar conclusion?

Think about Jesus for a moment. Can you imagine walking around town with all of the scandal that surrounded his birth? “Isn’t that the carpenter’s son?” seems to be more a question of mockery than identity.

I grew up not knowing my birth father. When other kids found this out, I was quickly labeled, “Jeremy Bastard” instead of Jeremy Bratcher. I think Jesus heard similar rumblings.

Read Psalm 69:7-12 again. What strikes you most?

Here are some thoughts that strike me: 

Jesus was dishonored and wrongly accused (69:7)

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Jesus was treated as a stranger among his family and neighbors (69:8)

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Jesus was blamed for others wrongs (69:9-10)

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Jesus was a joke (byword) in his community (69:11)

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Jesus was the gossip of the town leadership (69:12)

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Jesus was mocked in the songs of drunks (69:12)

It wasn’t in a few hours of His life that Jesus suffered. He suffered his whole life. Isaiah 53:3, which you read yesterday says that Jesus is a “man of sorrows and familiar with suffering.” Psalm 69 isn’t given to make us think less of Jesus, but more of him. He suffered what never belonged to him. From first breath to final exhale, Jesus suffered our sin...for us...willingly for us...never in spite. Our salvation came at no small price. It wasn’t just on the cross...it was in leaving Heaven...it was living amongst the scoffers and sinners...it was in unjust suffering. Let that sink in. And as it does...thank God for the great love you and I receive through Jesus.

Read Hebrews 2:17-18. What do you think it means that Jesus was “made like his brothers in every way”?

How does Jesus’ suffering in life (not just on the cross) help you to follow Him more?

Pray: Spend a few moments today just thanking Jesus for going through what he did for you.

MAGNOLIA BAPTIST CHURCH SEEKS TO EMBODY A: Gospel-centered (I Cor. 15:1-4) Family-redeeming (Acts 16:25-34) City-focused (Jeremiah 29:7) Church Community (I Thess. 2:5-8) We value Gospel Proclamation believing that the 66 books of the Old & New Testament are our highest authority of God’s selfdisclosure and as it is faithfully explained, explored and expressed, the Holy Spirit will elicit a response.

We value Gospel Community believing that people were created to explore the Gospel together with honest, vulnerable dialogue about difficult things pursuing depth in friendships to facilitate growth.

We value Gospel Mission believing that the Gospel compels us to learn from, interact with, and generously give back to our culture in the way we live our lives.

MAGNOLIA BAPTIST CHURCH CONNECTING PEOPLE to JESUS 720 S. Magnolia Ave Anaheim, CA 92804 714.827.0553 ph www.magnoliabaptist.org