The answer is three-fold. First, it really depends on the text I’m preaching. I can sometimes cover a lot of verses, depending on the depth of the verses. For instance, the sermon on the mount in Matthew 5-7 teachings are so deep that one cannot teach a lot of verses at one time unless they preach for hours, which the congregation will not tolerate, or unless they do not fully explain what the text means, which a good teacher will not tolerate.
An instance where I might teach a lot of verses all at once is in the Book of Acts. Much of Acts has great narrative passages about the Apostle Paul’s travels. There are lessons to learn, but the depth is nothing like the sermon on the mount. For example, Acts 14 has twenty-eight verses and it is only in the reading of the entire chapter that we can see that the chapter demonstrates the qualities of an effective servant of Jesus. On the other hand, the Beatitudes of Matthew 5 can easily be taught one verse at a time because every verse, and often every word, have so many implications and so much truth that to comprehend it, it must be carefully and slowly examined.
The second reason I teach so few verses at a time has to do with time. I have a set window of time to preach within. I don’t know if that’s a good thing or a bad thing, but I think it’s both. In my experience, I’ve observed that some people can listen for long periods of time while others cannot. I try to hit a happy medium to not disappoint the long-listeners or the short-listeners.
The third reason I teach so few verses is that I want to know God as well as is possible. The best way to know God is through His Word. It is through the lens of the Bible that life is interpreted and understood. I want to see as clearly as possible and I want you to be able to do the same.
I say all of that so that I can share with you an unpopular opinion that I hold. My unpopular opinion is that I think Bible study is far and away more important than Bible reading. Now, allow me to defend myself. I think that there is a place for Bible reading. I think that there is some limited value in, say, reading through the Bible in a year.
The value is that when you read the whole Bible, you get a good feel for the completeness of God’s plan, and that gives a great confidence. The Bible begins with tragedy and ends in triumph. If you haven’t read it straight through, you should. The other value is that you get a good idea of where things are located, and it’s nice to know where things are. Beyond those reasons though, I don’t see much worth in simply reading through the Bible.
Why do I think this way? Let me answer by asking you a question. What good does it do to know what something says but have no idea what it means? So why do I favor reading slowly and studying slowly and teaching and preaching slowly? Because I want to know what every verse means. I don’t want to miss anything or misunderstand anything. That doesn’t mean that I understand everything, but I’m determined that if I don’t understand it will not be for lack of trying.
Thanks for your continued love and support!
Wes LeFlore (918) 607-8489 or huskerwes1@gmail.com
