I’m not surprised to hear that Bible sales have surged in recent weeks as people are looking for answers and, more importantly, hope.
“In this life-altering and unprecedented pandemic, people are looking for hope and restoration,” Brian Chung, co-founder and business director of Alabaster Company, told Fox News.
“Even amidst suffering and financial hardship we’ve continued to see people engage with Alabaster by utilizing our free resources and purchasing Bibles as encouraging gifts for loved ones,” he added. “We believe people are buying Bibles because there’s a longing to connect with God, find meaning, and experience peace.”
LifeWay Christian Resources also reported an increase in sales of 62 percent last week alone when compared to the previous year.
“We believe this is no accident, as people often go to the Bible as a source of hope in times of crisis and uncertainty,” Ben Mandrell, LifeWay CEO, told Fox News. “People draw hope from Scripture because in it they see a God who is with us during our suffering.”
This situation opens the door for committed Christians to share their faith and reasons why they have hope and joy while many other people remain fearful and panic-stricken. More importantly, it’s an opportunity to help disciple people who have never read the Bible before or who have only dabbled in devotionals.
The big problem people experience when they make a commitment to read the Bible is that they often start in Genesis and vow to read it from cover to cover. That’s an admirable goal, but it is also extremely confusing to people who get bogged down in Leviticus and generally lose all interest by the time they get to Deuteronomy.
It is also nearly impossible for people to fully grasp Bible knowledge without aid of the Holy Spirit, and people don’t get access to that gift until they put their faith in Christ. So how do we move people from exploration of faith to the point they are willing to make a life-saving commitment?
Here’s my recommendation for starting a successful Bible study:
- Read the four Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John) to understand who Jesus is, his character and mission.
- Read one book of Proverbs every day for a month. It is fast reading and full of golden nuggets of truth.
- Read Genesis to understand the result of humankind’s fall into sin.
- Sprinkle in one or two Psalms every day to understand the character of God and the natural struggles others have had with their faith.
- Read the book of James for it is the “proverbs of the New Testament” written by Jesus’ brother and also provides easy-to-understand nuggets of truth.
- Read Romans for Paul’s impassioned, logical appeal to putting faith in Jesus.
- Finish the other books of the New Testament to understand how the early church was formed and to grasp basic instructional teachings of Christianity.
By now, people should have a solid understanding of the new covenant that Jesus came to earth to preach in order to restore us to a right relationship with God. They’ll also have plenty of information to make an informed decision to accept the gift of forgiveness and restoration Jesus offers to everyone.
Then, with the Holy Spirit’s help, encourage them to study through the remainder of the Old Testament to fill in the gaps of historical Bible knowledge. That way, they can put the entire Bible into perspective and see how Jesus came to fulfill everything promised in Old Testament.
For the best disciple-making resources for helping people to learn Biblical principles and apply them to their lives every day, visit Plethos Global.
