Connecting to God
Through His Word
2026 Madison Summer Series
Lesson Overview
01
God Desires a Personal Relationship
02
Why God Gave Us the Bible & Its Uniqueness
03
Personal Ownership of Spiritual Growth
04
The Power of the Word in Daily Life
05
Practical Application: Overcoming Hurdles
SECTION 1
God Desires a
Personal Relationship
God is not a Distant Deity
Evidence from Creation
- Genesis 1:27
- Romans 1:20
God Physically Entered Human History
- John 1:14
- Matthew 1:23
God Desires Fellowship
Matt. 11:28
Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.
John 14:23
“If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.”
God Reaches Out to Us
God consistently takes the first step to reach out to flawed individuals.
Loves Us
Despite our Failures
While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Romans 5:8
Searches
for the Lost
Like a shepherd hunting for one lost sheep out of a hundred.
Luke 15:4
Welcomes
the Unaware
Welcomes those who weren't even looking for Him. - 'Here am I, here am I.'
Isaiah 65:1-2
How God Describes His Bond with Us
Scripture uses deeply personal human roles.
The Father
A loving parent providing protection, care, and a sense of belonging.
1 John 3:1
The Shepherd
An active guardian who rescues the lost and leads them to safety.
John 10:11
The Bridegroom
A symbol of deep, committed, and covenantal love for His people.
Eph. 5:31-32
The Open Invitation
Philippians 4:6, Psalm 62:8
Romans 5:5
Discussion Question
If God actively knocks at the door (Rev. 3:20) and promises that if we draw near, He will draw near to us (James 4:8)—how do we practically listen to His side of the conversation?
Answer: Through His Written Word
God leaves the door open for mutual communication.
SECTION 2
Why God Gave Us the Bible
& What Makes It Unique
The Core Purposes of Scripture
Reveal His Character
A historical and spiritual record of God’s nature.
Exodus 34:6-7, Psalm 100:5
Guide Us to Salvation
Explicitly designed to point to Jesus Christ and our need for Him. John 3:16
Instruct & Equip Us
A practical handbook for righteous daily living.
2 Tim. 3:16-17
Provide Comfort & Hope
An anchor of peace through life's tragedies.
Jer. 29:11-13, Heb. 6:19
The Absolute Uniqueness of the Bible
Dimension | The Holy Bible | Comparative Texts |
Distribution | 5–7 Billion copies (best-selling book of all time) | Quran (Islam): ~800M copies Bhagavad Gita (Hinduism): 200–500M copies Book of Mormon: ~200M copies |
Manuscript Evidence | 5,800+ Greek/Latin NT manuscripts (from 2nd century AD) 20,000+ OT manuscripts (from 300 BC) | Most ancient texts rely on fewer than a dozen surviving copies |
Authorship & Timeline | 66 books, ~40 authors, 1,500 years, 3 languages | Typically a single author over a very short period |
Internal Consistency | Perfect thematic agreement on God's love and salvation through Christ | Human-authored collections naturally diverge and contradict over time |
Way to Salvation | Pure Grace (Eph. 2:8-9). God does the work; man receives it. Only text with a historically resurrected Leader (Matt. 28:6) | Works-based systems where human effort determines final standing |
Historical & Transformational Power
The Bible is firmly rooted in verifiable history and geography, but its greatest proof is that it produces tangible results—changing lives, breaking addictions, and restoring families.
Verified
Rooted in real history & geography
Preserved
More manuscript evidence than any ancient text
Transforming
Lives, families, and nations changed
SECTION 3
Personal Ownership of
Spiritual Growth
Own Your Spiritual Growth
The Outsourcing Trap
At Mount Sinai, the Israelites said to Moses:
"You speak to God for us, and we will listen."
Many modern believers do the same—substituting a personal relationship with the Word for an outsourced one via ministers, podcasters, and authors.
The Berean Example
The Bereans were commended because they didn't just take Paul's word for it.
…they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so. - Acts 17:11
Note: They only had the Old Testament, yet it perfectly verified the New!
The Mandate to Meditate
"Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling." — Philippians 2:12
To Joshua
Meditate on the law day and night for success and prosperity.
Joshua 1:8
To Future Kings
Every king was to hand-write their own copy of the law and read it all the days of their life.
Deut. 17:18
To Everyone
True blessing and stability come from delighting and meditating on God's law day and night.
Psalm 1:1-2
SECTION 4
The Power of the Word
in Daily Life
The Power of the Word in Daily Life
Cuts to the Heart
Living, active, sharper than a two-edged sword, judging our secret intentions.
Hebrews 4:12
Our Daily Food
Man does not live by bread alone, but by every word from God.
Deut. 8:3 / Matt. 4:4
Provides Direction
A lamp to our feet and a light to our path. Gives understanding to the simple.
Psalm 119:105, 130
Offers Stability
Hearing and doing the Word makes you a wise man who built on a rock storms cannot collapse.
Matthew 7:24
SECTION 5
Practical Application:
Overcoming the Hurdles
Overcoming the Volume Threat
Car Owner's Manual
~100K words
iPhone User Guide
~300K words
The Holy Bible
Harry Potter Series
~1.08M words
If we can digest manuals and fiction of that scale, we can handle the Word of God.
The Bible can feel overwhelming, but let's put that in perspective:
725-800K words
If someone observed an average day in your life, how would they see you spend your time?
Could you spare 12 minutes a day?
Navigating Bible Translations
All English Bibles are translations from Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek
Word-for-Word / Literal
Thought-for-Thought
Paraphrase
Literal / Word-for-Word
Best for serious theological study. Preserves ancient historical idioms and structural nuances.
Paraphrases
Good for casual reading or audio listening. Use with caution – since they are often translated by a single individual, they are prone to added personal interpretations, lost ancient contexts, and subtle doctrinal bias.
A Personal Recommendation
Literal for serious study, often looking at multiple versions or interlinear.
Thought for thought or paraphrase version for more casual reading/listening but beware of inaccurate liberties that some versions take!
A good resource: How We Got the Bible by Neil R. Lightfoot.
https://community.logos.com/discussion/182774/list-of-english-bible-translations-with-equivalence-grade-reading-levels
Action Steps for the Week
1
Start Small & Do It Now
A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. Pick a chapter and start.
2
Make Your Device a Servant
Download a Bible app (YouVersion, Blue Letter Bible, Olive Tree, etc.) and use it.
3
Consider Print
Physical Bibles create spatial memory, get you off screens, and signal what you are doing.
4
Don't Neglect the Old Testament
It's 75% of your Bible! It reveals God's nature (Rom. 15:4) and why we need a Savior (Gal. 3:24).
5
Study, Don't Just Read
Read repeatedly. Check cross-references, look up root words, and interpret in context.
Bottom Line
God wants to know you—and He has given you His Word so you can know Him.
The Bible is powerful, trustworthy, and life-giving.
Engaging it daily is the pathway to spiritual growth, wisdom, and a deeper relationship with the God who loves you.
Draw Near to God,
and He Will Draw Near to You
James 4:8
Go home this week and open His Word.
Navigating Translations | Bible Version Comparison of John 3:16-18
Interlinear Greek | NASB95 | ESV | NIV | NLT | Message |
16 So for loved God the world, that Son, His only begotten He gave that whoever believes in Him not shall perish but have life eternal. 17 Did not for send God the Son into the world to judge the world, but that might be saved the world through Him. 18 He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe already, has been judged because he has not believed in the name of he only begotten Son of God. | 16 For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. 18 He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. | 16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. | 16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God's one and only Son. | 16 For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. 17 God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him. 18 “There is no judgment against anyone who believes in him. But anyone who does not believe in him has already been judged for not believing in God's one and only Son. | 16 This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life. 17 God didn't go to all the trouble of sending his Son merely to point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it was. He came to help, to put the world right again. 18 Anyone who trusts in him is acquitted; anyone who refuses to trust him has long since been under the death sentence without knowing it. And why? Because of that person's failure to believe in the one-of-a-kind Son of God when introduced to him. |