Before you read Luke

Reading the Bible is a big deal. Be sure to prepare. Here’s something you can do before you start reading Luke:

Take a deep breath. Inhale. Exhale.

Tell yourself the following: “I am not alone. The Holy Spirit is with me, inspiring me as I read, as surely as the Spirit inspired the writer. Plus, a whole lot of people are reading with me. All Saints Lutheran Church. My Good Soil Group. Not to mention, the generations of Christians who came before me. I can do this, because I am not alone.”

Say a prayer if you’d like—actually, another prayer, because the breathing and self-coaching are already prayers.

That’s it. You’re ready.

If you don’t feel ready, that’s okay. You are. A simple, humble, brief preparation like the one above is all you need. The Spirit will give you the rest, and your Good Soil Group will help too.

In fact, over-preparing may crowd out the Spirit. Keep it simple. There’s nothing more you need to know or do. Just start reading.

“But what if I want to know more?” Excellent! As long as this is your honest-to-goodness curiosity and not a negative, critical voice telling you you’re not good enough, then give God a fist-bump. This is the Holy Spirit, giving you the gift of hunger.

(If it is a negative voice, tell it: “Thanks for stopping by, but I’m sorry I don’t have time for you right now.” And just keep on reading.)

If you want to know more, here are a couple of places to start.

For more about the Gospel of Luke, check out the Wikipedia entry.

For more about the Bible in general, check out a book called, Making Sense of Scripture: Big Questions About the Book of Faith by David J. Lose. (Or something shorter to start with is his article at Huffington Post, “Where Did The Bible Come From?”)

For more on the chapters we’ll read week by week, keep checking back here. Pastor Clark will share thoughts and, more than anything, encourage you and host a conversation.

Have another question? Ask it. Really: that’s a nifty feature of this little website. You can submit a question by clicking these links (or the one at the right, or the little ? at the top), and Pastor Clark will answer it here, for you and everyone to learn from.

Ask anything—about Luke, the Bible, faith, the Good Soil group process, prayer, church history, spirituality… Really anything. Don’t be afraid to ask. It’ll be totally fun. Plus, chances are, you’re not the only one with that same question.

Okay? Now, read. Blessed reading!