The life that bursts out of Scripture

When it comes to the men and women I enjoy listening to as talk about Scripture or teach from it, the thing that draws me in most to their words is the PASSION that I hear in their voices, that I see in their eyes, that I sense in the energy that radiates from their whole bodies as they speak and teach the Word of truth. A monotonous or indifferent presentation of God's Word is sinful. . . .or, at the very least, it reveals something of the stony heart of the one doing the presenting. The Bible has the overwhelming power of truth and Spirit working through its pages. I love to see and hear its life-giving fruits released as it's energetically taught. In the end, the power isn't in the messenger (no matter how eloquent or charming), it's in the MESSAGE. From R. C. Sproul in Knowing Scripture. . . The president of an institution phoned me and said, "We need someone young and exciting, someone with a dynamic method who will be able to make the Bible come alive." I had to force myself to swallow my words. I wanted to say, "You want me to make the Bible come alive? I didn't know that it had died. In fact, I never heard that it was ill. Who was the attending physician at the Bible's demise?" No, I can't make the Bible come alive for anyone. The Bible is already alive. It makes ME come alive. . .Biblical characters are full of life. . .there is rebuke, remorse, contrition, consolation, practical wisdom, philosophical reflection and, most of all, truth.