9 How can a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed according to Your word.
10 With my whole heart I have sought You; Oh, let me not wander from Your commandments!
11 Your word I have hidden in my heart, That I might not sin against You! (Psa 119:9-11 NKJ)

21 Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. 22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. (Jam 1:21-22 NKJ)

The Word of God is the bedrock of the Christian life. Everything must be built on it. It provides the intellectual basis for all of our beliefs, and it shapes our understanding of our whole lives and all of creation. The Word of God is described by Jesus as “Spirit” and “life”, which if a man eats he will have life. Knowing the Word of God is therefore very important and needs to play a vital role in the life of the believer. James says, in the quote above, that the Christian should receive the Word into his heart, for this Word will “save”, or restore, heal or rejuvenate, our souls. The continual consumption of the Word of God will shape us to be more and more like Christ. This is a force that needs to be continually active in our lives. And the Word of God is substantial and complex, and cannot be comprehended in a month or a year, but is the work of a lifetime. For this reason, daily Bible reading has long been recommended as a solid element of the healthy Christian life.

But we are all busy, and have many obligations from family, school, and work pulling for our time. It is hard to establish new habits, and it is also hard sometimes to understand the Word or to know how best to go about studying it. The church provides a service that can help, though- the midweek Bible study.

Our midweek study is always in a book of the Bible. Currently we are in Luke. This format allows a more in-depth study of the text of Scripture in an interactive environment where discussion can take place, questions can be asked and personal applications made. We endeavor to come away from a study with a solid understanding of what a book of the Bible is about- what the author of the book intends for us to understand from the book. The midweek study is one solid way to fulfill the Scriptures’ instruction to meditate on the Word, to receive the Word, to implant the Word into our hearts so that it will shape our lives.

Additionally, the midweek study provides a great opportunity to get to know your brothers and sisters in Christ more. We are called to be a community, a fellowship of like-minded believers, not merely a group of people who happen to go to the same place on Sundays. We’re called to encourage and exhort one another, to use our gifts for the good of one another, to comfort the hurting, to exhort the straying, to weep with those who weep and rejoice with those who rejoice. We hear each other’s prayer requests. We discuss the text together. We converse before and after the study. We build relationships with one another.

We would therefore encourage everyone to make use of the midweek Bible study whenever possible, for the growth of our bonds with one another and the conforming of our hearts and minds to the truth of the Word, to become always more Christlike in every way.