Matt Smethurst—Before You Open Your Bible: Nine Heart Postures For Approach God’s Word

Matt Smethurst—Before You Open Your Bible: Nine Heart Postures For Approach God’s Word

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On today’s Equipping You in Grace show, Dave Jenkins and Matt Smethurst discuss how Christians should approach the Word of God to stoke worship and fuel their mission, what Word-centered friendship looks like, along with his book, Before You Open Your Bible: Nine Heart Postures For Approach God’s Word (10ofThose, 2019).

What you’ll hear in this episode

In what way prayerless Christianity is powerless Christianity.
What John Piper means by the I-O-U-S method and how it prepares Christians to hear the preached Word of God.
Some practical steps to approach the Word of God desperately.
How Christians can grow in their theological knowledge with a view to stoke their worship, deepen their love of God, and fuel their mission to make disciples of the Lord Jesus.
Why entrusting one’s life to the Lord is the way of enjoying Him and the secret to joy in the Lord.
What to do to overcome the feeling when your Bible reading feels more like a duty than delight.
How Christians can practically approach the Bible with anticipation.
What Word-centered friendship looks like.
Why Christians need to read Scripture in community with other Christians.
What it means to be Christocentric in our reading and teaching of Scripture.
Why approaching the Bible well is an act of worship.

About the Guest

Matt Smethurst is managing editor of The Gospel Coalition. He and his wife, Maghan, have three children and live in Louisville, Kentucky. They belong to Third Avenue Baptist Church, where Matt serves as an elder.

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Thanks for listening to this episode of Equipping You in Grace!

Dave Jenkins( Executive Director )

Dave Jenkins is happily married to his wife, Sarah. He is a writer, editor, and speaker living in beautiful Southern Oregon. Dave is a lover of Christ, His people, the Church, and sound theology. He serves as the Executive Director of Servants of Grace Ministries, the Executive Editor of Theology for Life Magazine, the Host and Producer of Equipping You in Grace Podcast, and is a contributor to and producer of Contending for the Word. He is the author of The Word Explored: The Problem of Biblical Illiteracy and What To Do About It (House to House, 2021), The Word Matters: Defending Biblical Authority Against the Spirit of the Age (G3 Press, 2022), and Contentment: The Journey of a Lifetime (Theology for Life, 2024). You can find him on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Youtube, or read his newsletter. Dave loves to spend time with his wife, going to movies, eating at a nice restaurant, or going out for a round of golf with a good friend. He is also a voracious reader, in particular of Reformed theology, and the Puritans. You will often find him when he’s not busy with ministry reading a pile of the latest books from a wide variety of Christian publishers. Dave received his M.A.R. and M.Div through Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary.