UPDATE: Look at the Book is now live.

Some of you may recall from my legacy post that I feel an excited sense of calling for this next chapter of my life to take people with me into the kitchen. That is, the place where sermon-food is prepared. Presentation is one thing; preparation is another.

One of the differences between presentation (preaching) and preparation is that presentation is well-ordered, and preparation is messy. Banquet tables are clean. Kitchens are cluttered. My kitchen gets so messy that sometimes I can hardly find the ingredients. You’ll see what I mean.

But this is real. This is how I do it.

Without circling things, and underlining, and drawing lines, and making notes, and doodling in the margins, and making connections, and marking repetitions, I would be utterly adrift in a biblical text. My mind is a muddle until I make the muddle visible on paper, and then begin to sort it out with the pencil.

So if you ever feel muddle-headed about Bible passages, you might be encouraged to join me in the process of sorting things out.

Let’s take 2 Timothy 3:14–17 in this preview, and look at the Book.