The "Just One Letter" Project

Just One Letter - Week1
Reading Like Sherlock Holmes

I will assume this week is your first week actually reading the New Testament letter that Paul of Tarsus wrote to a small gathering of Jesus followers in the ancient Macedonian city of Philippi. And as I write, I am also assuming that you have not ever read this letter before or the Bible at all.

So starting out this week, keep in mind a few things.

• You are reading someone else's mail! ... so there will be things you do not immediately get because you don't have the background and context.

• Because you don't immediately have the context and background, it will take a few readings before some things become clear. So not "getting it" the first time puts you right in the "normal" category.   Don't let those first feelings of being a deer in the headlights" discourage you. It happens to the best of us. You will get it, trust me. 

• Read it like a detective. Looking for and and listening for clues about the situation or the issues that seem important. Often your detective work will start with questions that you cannot answer immediately (think Sherlock,  Foley's War, CSI New York or if you are old enough Columbo).

So now ... the first time reading it, try to read it through in 1-2 sittings. And as you do, don't try to be or feel like you have to be a bible scholar just yet. Just be a human; just a regular person.  

Just be a person reading someone else's mail!

This first time through, just listen to words, listen to what you get and what you don't get. What makes you guy, "huh??, what does that mean?" ... Take note of simple things like:

• Who - Who is mentioned? Who are they? What is their relationship?
• What? - What is being said about what subjects?
• When? - Is anything about time mentioned?
• Where? - Are there places mentioned? Do you know where they are?
• How? - Are instructions given to do something?

And use the back of the "The Just One Letter" version to record your questions ... these questions may or may not be answered later.  And take note of any things you feel - hope, anger, curiosity, longing, joy, frustration. And if there are any images or pictures that come to your mind, sketch those too.

Resist the temptation

If you have read this letter before (so I am talking to those of you who may be Christians and have read the Bible a little or a lot) ... resist the temptation to underline anything or highlight your favorite verses. Resist, resist resist! Just be a person reading someone else's mail. And pretend, you are reading it for the first time. And don't assume, you got this figured out because you have heard it preached, taught, discussed or dissecting (one of the worst things ever done to the Bible!)