There’s a sweater at the back of my closet. It’s there because it’s nearly unwearable, but also because I can’t bear to throw it out. It’s a sweater I got for Christmas from my in-laws three years ago, and it has always been one of my favorites. I wore it to my first speaking engagement, to friend’s birthday parties, on lazy Sunday afternoons as we munched on our Sabbath cheese board, and on anniversary dates with Austin. It seems to have seen some of the best moments of my life since it arrived on the scene. 

But one day, I did something terrible. There was a pesky little thread hanging out the side. It kept catching the underside of my arm and was driving me up a wall, so in a moment of impatience, I yanked on it. In my mind, this was going to be a smooth, strong tug that would free me from the menacing little thing, but I was so wrong. I pulled and pulled and pulled until I realized the whole sweater was unraveling on my person. 

I learned two valuable lessons that day: 1) You should not lose patience with the clothing on your body or you will look ridiculous, and 2) well-made things have threads woven seamlessly throughout the garment. Pull on one thread, and you’ll find it attached somewhere else.

I was recently sitting under a gifted Bible teacher, and she reminded me about something I seem to have forgotten: the Bible is one great, big story. While I love studying each book of the Bible verse by verse (that’s the vision for these exegetical studies), identifying the original context of the story and the genre of each book, she reminded me that if the Bible were to have one overarching genre, it would be narrative. If we were to sum up the Bible as a whole, we would have to say the genre is a story, and that the original context is God himself.

Just like the best literary stories, this story has a setting, crisis, climax, and resolution. The setting comes at creation, the crisis is the fall, the climax is the resurrection, and the resolution is yet to come in the new creation. For shorthand, we’ll mark this story with four chapters: Creation, Fall, Redemption, and Restoration. 

Throughout this study, we’re going to be looking at twenty Hebrew and Greek words throughout the Old and New Testaments. We’re going to sit and savor them, study them in their context, and learn what they teach us about God. And then, we’re going to find their place in the overarching context of the story of redemption. We’re going to pull on that thread, as it were, and see where else these themes arise in the whole of the narrative. Each day, there will be a bit more independent work for you than usual, and a bit less daily commentary to make room for week-end summaries about where we are in the story. But don’t worry - you got this. 

Here’s what you have to look forward to in this 4-week study of the Metanarrative of Scripture:

Daily word studies: Each day will focus on one Greek or Hebrew vocabulary word. We will learn what each word means and complete a short word study as we work to understand the word in its original context (don't worry - on Day 1, you'll learn what a word study is and how to do it!)

Bird's-eye view: Have you ever wanted to zoom out and see the story of Scripture as a whole? That's exactly what we're doing in this study. We're tracing major movements in the redemption story from Genesis all the way to Revelation. 

Here's what you can expect:

• Five days per week of Scripture-based Bible study

• Reading assignments that put the text at the forefront of your study

• Theological commentary that invites you to interact with the passage

• Study tips that encourage you to do the hard work of study and guide you into a deeper, more robust understanding of the Word

• Daily questions for reflection to encourage you to think deeply about the Word and integrate its truth into your daily life

• Daily prayer points to guide your prayerful response to the text

Here's what you need to do first:

Before the study begins, I want to encourage you to grab a notebook and a pen so you're ready to jot a few things down. Each day, I’m going to encourage you to copy the Hebrew and Greek words onto your paper, and I really want to push you to keep from skipping this step! It doesn’t have to look perfect, but it will get your feet wet and make the languages feel more approachable when you see them in your own writing. 

This week, we are studying five Hebrew vocabulary words. You will need your Bible, a notebook, and a pen. 

This week, we are studying five Hebrew vocabulary words. You will need your Bible, a notebook, and a pen. 

This week, we are studying five Greek vocabulary words. You will need your Bible, a notebook, and a pen. 

This week, we are studying five Greek vocabulary words and one Hebrew vocabulary word. You will need your Bible, a notebook, and a pen.