Encounter with God: October–December 2023

By Dan Christian, Julie Woods, Peter Morden and 4 more

Encounter with God is Scripture Union's daily Bible reading guide designed to lead you to a deeper understanding about what God is saying to you and to his world today. You'll find its thorough and energetic investigation of the whole Bible inspiring and stimulating. And you'll discover that its biblical exposition is complemented by pastoral warmth from a strong field of writers and contributors. As well as daily content, feature articles provide insights into Christian spirituality, tackle contemporary issues, and profile teachers who inspire.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Scripture Union
• Release date: Jul 20, 2023
• ISBN: 9781785069130

Dan Christian

Dan Christian is Director of Vocations/DDO in the Diocese of Sheffield. He has a doctorate in Old Testament theology from Wycliffe Hall and has spent ten years in parish ministry. Alongside his role at the Diocese, he teaches biblical Hebrew at St Hild’s College.

Book preview

Cover: Encounter With God October to December 2023 by Sally Nelson, Dan Christian, Julie Woods, Peter Morden, John Harris, Eric Gaudion, Whitney T Kuniholm and Tanya Ferdinandusz

Contents

Editorial: Broken Lanterns

The Writers

SU Article: Jesus on the Beach

Using this Guide

2 Kings 1–8; Psalms 112,113 Julie Woods

Ecclesiastes; Psalms 114,115 Dan Christian

Mark 5–10; Psalms 116–119:48 John Harris

Bible Unpacked: How to read the Epistles Peter Morden

Isaiah 22–39; Psalm 119:49–112 Whitney T Kuniholm

1, 2 and 3 John; Psalm 119:113–152 Eric Gaudion

Matthew 1 and 2 Eric Gaudion

Habbakuk; Psalm 119:153–176 Tanya Ferdinandusz

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About Scripture Union

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About Scripture Union

Scripture Union is a Christian charity, inviting children and young people to explore the difference Jesus can make to the challenges and adventures of life.

Through a wide range of activities and initiatives, we provide opportunities for young people to explore the Bible, respond to Jesus and grow in faith. Having been established in England over 150 years ago, Scripture Union is now a global movement active in over 120 countries.

We believe every child should have the chance to discover Jesus. And, with an estimated 95% of children in England and Wales not part of a church, we’re working harder than ever to take the good news of Jesus beyond the church in exciting and culturally relevant ways.

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Editorial

Broken Lanterns

The two great declarations: ‘God is light’ and ‘God is love’ offer hope and faith to souls in danger from storms of all kinds (Eric Gaudion, page 87).

A small village near me celebrates Christmas with a stunning display of coloured lights, cast-offs from a nearby larger town. From this tiny hamlet, the light now shines out across the vale.

Our world faces serious challenges in the twenty-first century, and the solutions daunt us. However, if we follow Jesus, we can always give the gift of light. Christ’s light dwells in our hearts, and others will see it from a long way off. We ourselves may be small, broken and insignificant, but the Light of the World is inextinguishable.

We will read John’s letters as we approach Christmas this year, and the words above, adapted from Eric Gaudion’s notes, are surely life to us. The apostle John lived to a good age. We have limited information, of course, but our image of the aged John is of a man shaped by faith and suffering; someone able deeply to love others; someone whose ‘self’ is taken over visibly by the love of Jesus.

This idea also surfaces in John Harris’ notes. He invites us to consider whether the disciples’ frequent inability to understand Jesus is recorded very deliberately by Mark, so that our attention as readers is never distracted from the Lord by these first followers. They are ‘broken lanterns’ for a perfect Light – and broken vessels reveal more fully what is within them than intact ones.

Size, status and success do not matter, but faithfulness does. At Scripture Union our hope is that these notes will encourage us to be available to him. May our prayer be for transparency, so that when he comes he, and not we, can shine.

Sally Nelson

Editor

Angela Grigson

Senior Content Manager

ON THE COVER: ‘If we are to read and faithfully respond to the Epistles, we must be engaging with a fellowship of believers’ (pages 59 to 62)

Image credit: iStock / vgajic

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The Writers

JULIE WOODS is a freelance Old Testament lecturer, who concentrates on the majority world. She also teaches one term a year for the Diocese of Guildford. Her two main research interests are the prophets and animals.

DAN CHRISTIAN is Director of Vocations/DDO in the Diocese of Sheffield. He has a doctorate in Old Testament theology from Wycliffe Hall and has spent ten years in parish ministry. Alongside his role at the Diocese, he teaches biblical Hebrew at St Hild’s College.

JOHN HARRIS is Senior Biblical Consultant for Bible Society Australia. In active retirement he continues his involvement in the translation of the Bible into indigenous Pacific languages. John is married to Judith and they have three children and six grandchildren.

PETER MORDEN has recently been appointed Principal of Bristol Baptist College, the oldest Baptist College in the world. He was formerly Senior Pastor of Cornerstone Baptist Church, Leeds. He is the author of a number of books, including The Message of Discipleship.

WHITNEY T KUNIHOLM is President Emeritus of Scripture Union USA, author of several books including Essential 100, Essential Jesus and The Essential Question, and a speaker at churches and Christian conferences.

ERIC GAUDION lives in Guernsey and is married to Diane. He has served as a pastor in the UK and as a missionary in the Seychelles and Zimbabwe. His latest book is Through the Storms; a manual for when life hurts.

TANYA FERDINANDUSZ and her husband Roshan have been married for over 25 years, and have two adult sons – Daniel and Joshua. Tanya is both a freelance writer and freelance editor, and she has been writing Bible reading notes, articles and devotionals for over 20 years. She is the author of Marriage Matters, a book for Christian couples.

SALLY NELSON is the Dean of Baptist Formation at St Hild College, Yorkshire, UK, where she also teaches Christian doctrine and pastoral care. She is a Baptist minister and has been the commissioning editor for Encounter with God since 2015.

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SU ARTICLE

JESUS ON THE BEACH

Scripture Union Missions continue to flourish, thanks to your support. Lottie Elson from Sutton on Sea had no connections with church as a child but found Jesus at the local annual SU beach mission. Now she volunteers on the team, sharing God’s love with the next generation.

‘Every summer I’d hear the songs and laughter of the children at the mission drifting up from the beach.’

Sutton on Sea’s beach mission is one of Scripture Union’s oldest, established over 130 years ago. Back then, this coastal Lincolnshire town was a hugely popular Victorian holiday destination, welcoming tens of thousands of visitors every year. Nowadays, the residents, almost half of whom are retired, number fewer than 5,000. But the beach mission continues to thrive, bringing visitors to the town each August.

Lottie Elson recalls growing up in a house two streets back from the seafront. ‘Every summer I’d hear the songs and laughter of the children at the mission drifting up from the beach. I loved it when the mission came because there wasn’t much other excitement for a child in Sutton on Sea! Many of the families visiting for the mission stayed at the caravan park that my grandad owned, so they were part of my life from an early age.’

A gradual coming to faith

Her family weren’t churchgoers, but Lottie’s mother started taking her to the beach mission when she was still a toddler. ‘The people were nice and she thought it would be safe and fun. We went every year and the people on the mission became like a second family. I really looked up to the volunteer team who ran it. When I was 6, I made myself a lanyard because they all wore them, and I was desperate to be one of them!

‘When I got a bit older, I started thinking more deeply about why the team were the way they were and came to the conclusion that it was because of Jesus: because of their faith in him.

‘Coming to faith myself was a gradual process. My faith mostly developed at the two weeks at beach mission each year. I didn’t go to church the rest of the year, partly because my family didn’t go anyway, and partly because I couldn’t find a church that I felt at home in. So, the beach mission was my spiritual home. The team really helped me develop my understanding of faith, and I would say that I had become a Christian by the time I was 15.’

‘I felt like I was falling – but God would catch me’

However, Lottie does recall one pivotal moment. ‘I really struggled in secondary school. One night I was in my bedroom, doing homework for subjects I hated, and I suddenly felt I had had enough. It felt like everything I was doing was for someone else, not for me, and I just couldn’t do it any more. I felt like I was falling into a deep, dark pit…

‘Then I looked up at a picture on my wall, of me and my beach mission group in 2005 when I was about 4 years old. I recalled the faith of the leaders and what they had taught me: that God won’t give you a challenge that you can’t get through, and that he’s always with you. In that moment I realised that I wasn’t alone. God was there. He was my safety net. He would always catch me and so I had no need to be afraid.’

Inspired to volunteer

Lottie says she was inspired by one of the beach mission team leaders who, like her, had no church background. ‘It gave me hope that I, too, could be on the team and inspire other children without church connections. So, when I turned 17, I volunteered. Unfortunately, the next summer we had to do the mission online because of COVID-19 and the national lockdown! But I had fun helping to edit the videos for it, and at least we were able to meet, even if it wasn’t in person.

‘Meanwhile, Sutton on Sea was eerily empty. When I went to the local shops, people I knew would ask me when the mission would be back. They honestly missed it. The mission team have an influence that extends beyond the beach because they genuinely care about the local people, not just those who come to the mission itself. The town is a low-income area and, because there’s not much else for them to do, the mission is something local families can enjoy, even if they’re not