Sermon Notes

Most of us believe the Bible matters. Few of us live like we need it. In week three of Made Here, Brad Kirby names being equipped in God's Word for what it is: not an optional extra for unusually serious Christians, but essential for every disciple. Then he steps back and lets Laura Helms, Mackenzie Ten Napel, Andre Samson, and four friends from Bible study take it from there. One turned in a blank quiz on day one. One read the Bible for the first time at 24.

Key Takeaways

The Word is not an extra. Brad said being equipped isn't just the third B, it's necessary for every single disciple.
Ask a better question. Not "do I read my Bible enough," but "am I letting the Word of Christ dwell in me richly?"
You're already a theologian. Mackenzie said we all carry beliefs about who God is, so the only question is where yours came from.
Nobody needs a guru at the table. Grant said his job isn't to be the wisest man in the room, it's to point people back to God's Word.
There is no graduation. Lori read Hebrews 4:12, that the Word is living and active, which means something new every time you open it.
Discussion Questions

Is your relationship with the Bible right now closer to a habit, an obligation, or a hunger?
Brad asked whether you're letting the Word of Christ dwell in you richly, so what would actually change in your week if that were true?
Mackenzie described having all the right church answers without knowing why they were right, and where does that describe you?
Where has shame or feeling behind kept you from opening your Bible or joining a group?
Who has poured into your faith the way Grant and George described, and who are you doing that for right now?
If God's Word is living and active, what would it look like this month to let Scripture read you instead of just reading it?

This Week's Challenge

Pick one person to invite to men's or women's Bible study this fall, and ask them before next Sunday.

Transcript

Hold Up Your Bible

Good morning, CityBridge. Here's what I want you to do this morning, real quick. If you've got a copy of your Bible, a paper copy, even if it's on your phone, would you do me a favor and just hold it up?

That's awesome. Nothing against digital, but I love that there are so many paper copies of this in here. I just wanted to see it.

That's what we're talking about this morning. We're talking about God's Word. And here's the thing. We've said it so many times in this series. Familiarity breeds contempt, and I think that's true with God's Word too. We live in a country where we can have 2,379 different translations of the Bible on our phone. We can pull it up any moment we want. If we're not careful, that familiarity degrades what we hold in our hands. It is the Word of God.

The Sky in Raggedy, Louisiana

I grew up in a little place called Raggedy, Louisiana, literally the middle of nowhere in south Louisiana, outside of Lake Charles. There's nothing out there but pine trees and rice fields.

One of the things I love about growing up in the middle of nowhere is that the sky feels brighter in the country. I know the science isn't quite right on that. It's not that the sky is brighter, it's that there's less noise and less light pollution. I remember going out on our back 30 and laying down in the grass in the middle of the night, looking up, and it felt like you could see every single star in the universe.

It seemed glorious. It made me feel small. You look at it and think, man can't do this. The only other thing that makes me feel that way is God's Word.

Not an Optional Extra

We're in the third week of Made Here, reminding ourselves what the mission is and what we're making here. Not converts. Not spectators. Not attenders. We're making disciples here.

We've already talked about the first two ingredients, believe in Christ and belong to His church. This week is the third one. Be equipped in His Word.

Here's a conviction I think we believe, but I'm not sure we always live like we believe it. Being equipped in the Word is not just the third B. It is not an optional extra in the life of a disciple. It is an integral, necessary, essential part of the life of every single disciple. We treat it like something we'll get to if we have extra time. No. The Word of God is necessary.

Abide in My Word

In John 8:31, Jesus said something incredibly simple and incredibly strong. If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples.

I love that word abide. It means we remain in it. We stay in it. We camp out and live in His Word. The Word isn't something God's people occasionally hear from Him from time to time. It's for disciples who are going to remain in it.

It's not just for pastors and leaders and theologians. It's not just for those unusually weird, serious Christians. It's part of what it means to follow Jesus. If we're going to believe in Christ, we need to know the Christ we believe in. If we're going to belong to His church, we need to know the kind of people He's forming us to be. All of those Bs function together.

Equipped for Every Good Work

That's what Paul was talking about in 2 Timothy 3:16. All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness. Then he tells us why. So that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.

That's what the Word does. It teaches when we don't know. It corrects when we're wrong. It trains when we're weak. It anchors when we're confused. It strengthens when we're weary. It equips us for every good work God puts in front of us.

This isn't information so we can pass a Bible trivia quiz. We should want to know God, hear His voice, and understand His ways.

We Live by the Word

Jesus takes it even further in Matthew 4. Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.

I love that language. It's not just that we abide in it. We live by it. Jesus likens the Word of God to food. It's nourishment. It's necessary for life. I don't know a single person who walks in here and says, you know what, last Sunday, I think I'm good for the week.

Our bodies need regular nourishment, and so does our mind. So does our spirit. Following Jesus, forgiving people, resisting temptation, holding on to hope when life throws you curveballs, all of that takes strength and courage and faith. God gave us His Word to feed us, to form us, to strengthen us, to equip us.

A Better Question

I want to set up a very different morning. We're going to invite some friends up here to unpack this a little bit.

I think the question needs to change. Sometimes it's not just, do I read my Bible enough? The question we need to examine is this. Am I allowing the Word of Christ to dwell in me richly? Am I letting the Word of Christ live, abide, remain, camp out in me?

As you hear these testimonies, ask yourself some questions. Is the voice of Jesus becoming more familiar to me? Is the truth of God's Word shaping how I think? Is it correcting me, encouraging me, strengthening me, preparing me for the life He's calling me to live? Jesus isn't just looking for people who once believed something about Him.

All the Right Church Answers

Laura Helms introduced her friend Mackenzie Ten Napel so the church could hear a real story about a real person transformed by God's living Word.

I came to know the Lord in 2020, which we can all agree was a pretty wild year. Besides fighting for my life to find some toilet paper, the Lord used quarantine to isolate me in His presence, and the way I was living completely changed.

I was doing the best I could to engage with His church online. But 2020 was the year anyone and everyone could become a theologian, or better said, an internet pastor. Anytime somebody referenced His Word, I just automatically assumed what they were saying was true.

When the churches opened back up that August, I was completely overwhelmed. There was so much depth to God's Word, and I hadn't even scratched the surface.

A Blank Piece of Paper

By 2021 I had graduated college and was pretty plugged into church, but I was still really biblically illiterate. I had all of the right church answers and no clue why they were right or what they even meant. I had no idea how to define my faith.

A friend recommended I look into the CityBridge Institute residency. I applied and got in, and it was such a saving grace. I wasn't just equipped in the Word, I was challenged to memorize it, to learn doctrine, and to go share it with others.

If you're thinking, you're on church staff, there's no way you knew nothing, let me show you my cards. Day one of the Institute we took a quiz over the Old Testament. I basically turned in a blank piece of paper. Everything I knew came from the Prince of Egypt.

Filled to the Brim

I can really struggle with shame, and honestly that affects how I approach God and how close I want to be to Him. I know that's not unfamiliar to some friends in this room.

I love the Gospel of John. I marvel at how John invites us to see not just what Jesus does, but how He sees people and how He responds to them. In John 2 we see His first miracle at a wedding. I could say He turned water into wine and call it a day, some kind of simple party trick.

But those weren't just any jars. They were used for Jewish purification rituals commanded by God, pointing to His cleansing and forgiveness, and the servants filled them to the brim. So when I start to believe the lie that I've somehow out-sinned God's love for me, I'm reminded that the forgiveness I've been given has been filled to the brim.

Everyone Is a Theologian

Everyone is actually a theologian, whether you know that or not. We all have beliefs and thoughts and feelings about who God is, who we are in light of that, and how we should live. Those beliefs shape the way we see the world and the way we interact with His Word.

Being equipped in God's Word helped me shift from reading Scripture and asking what does this say, to asking what does this reveal about God. Then it challenged me to ask whether what I believe actually lines up with His Word.

Theology isn't just information we store in our heads. It changed the way I walk. It changed the way I love. It changed the way I pray, how I suffer, how I interact with His church, and ultimately how I love God.

Gathered Around a Table

Andre Samson brought up four friends from men's and women's Bible study.

Grant MacQuilkan has been married to Carol for 41 years, has four children and nine grandchildren, and has been at CityBridge since the doors opened. God's Word is life to him. It's fuel to his soul, and it reminds a forgetful man whose he is.

George Thomas and his wife Katie have been at CityBridge two years. He turned to Psalm 119:9–11, about hiding God's Word in your heart. Lori Lynch, married to Wesley for 20 years and part of this body for 14, pointed to 2 Timothy 3:16. Those are God's words to us. Mona Hernandez, married to James for 36 years, called Bible study her source of life and the thing that gives her kingdom eyes.

Transformed by the Renewing of Your Mind

Mona anchored her answer in Romans 12:2. Do not be conformed to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.

God has used Bible study to captivate my heart and change me inside out. I was 24 years old before I read the Bible for the very first time, and I remember my heart being opened to His love. It was like a giant treasure box I could not put down. The more I know Him, the more I love Him, and the more I can trust Him.

George had moved to the United States that summer. He didn't have a job yet, was living with his in-laws, and was feeling really low and alone when he joined the Real Men Bible Study in the fall of 2024.

Right away it reminded me of my role as a husband. I had been focused on my own loneliness. Ephesians 5:25–28 turned my priorities completely around.

One Chapter a Day

Come springtime I attended the Proverbs Bible study, and we had a cadence where we would read one chapter a day and share our thoughts on a text thread. I made a commitment to myself that I was going to keep it up the entire time and never stop.

Whatever I was learning was playing into my marriage, my work, my relationships. When the study ended, I made a commitment to keep doing it. Matthew, then Mark, then Luke. A year later I was finishing Revelation, one chapter a day, still sending to that same text thread.

I'll borrow the same verse Mona shared. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. My mind was renewed each day. I learned more about Him, and in turn learned more about myself.

Why Not Just Read It Alone

Andre asked the panel why anyone needs a group at all. Lori started with how we're made.

We are created for relationship. That first relationship is vertical, with God our Father, and then it's horizontal, with other believers. His desire is that no part of our life is lived in isolation, and that includes studying our Bibles.

Isaiah 55:11 tells us God's Word never returns void, so any time we spend in Scripture is going to be profitable.

When we gather, I get to share what the Lord taught me that week, and other people share what He's teaching them. Sometimes it's not the same thing, and that multiplies our faith. We also get to know and love each other. A new mama walks in exhausted after dropping her kindergartner off. I've been there. I can love her because I've done it.

Running With Men Who Run Faster

Grant went next, and he started with the women.

The women of this church are rocking it. What the Lord is doing through His Word in women's Bible study is spectacular. The men have done great, but there's still so much room to grow.

One of the things that has been transformative in my life is running with men who are running faster than me. I need to be around guys where I think, man, that dude is running well, I need to up my game.

Now you might be thinking that means we need a guru at every table. That's not what I'm talking about. Kyle Friary and his newly married group established a table, and I joined them along with a couple of other gray heads. It encouraged the snot out of me. As an older guy, I need to know my job isn't done.

The Secret Sauce

People often ask us, what's the secret sauce? I'll tell you what it is. It's a group of people gathered around a table with God's Word in the middle. That's it. Because God uses His Word to speak to us and guide us and lead us, along with His Holy Spirit.

Andre remembered trying to read the Bible by himself when he first became a Christian and being thoroughly confused. At his first Bible study, someone said they'd be studying the book of Romans.

I said, oh no, I only brought the Bible, I don't have whatever that book is. They showed me it was in the book. I asked how many books are in the book. I was looking for secret compartments. Showing up was a gift, because that's where I found older men who took the time to bring me along.

Is There a Point You Don't Need It

Andre asked Grant whether there's a point where you know enough to stop coming.

Proverbs 13:20 says those who hang with the wise grow wise. A lot of us gray heads think we have to be wise in order to encourage others around God's Word. You don't have to be.

A few weeks ago I texted this young man and said, hey, let's go to lunch. He said, what's the agenda? I said, it's serious. Then I let him in on the secret. All I wanted to tell him was that God loves you, I love you, and it's worth following Jesus. If that's all I've got for these younger men, that's enough. I'm going to push them back to God's Word. I don't have to be the source of wisdom.

A Lamp to My Feet

Psalm 119:105 talks about God's Word being a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. Without God's Word, and without me being encouraged to get into God's Word, my path isn't going to be lit in front of me.

I deal with so many of us during the week who suffer because of the potholes, because of the cliffs they walk over, because of the walls they walk into. We need God's Word to light our path so we don't have to pay the price of a train wreck.

I'm so grateful for the men who got around me and cast a vision that if I don't go to that well in the morning, my day won't be what it could be. I have an identity that is immovable by my circumstances. My question is, who's reminding you of that?

There Is No Arrival

Lori answered the same question from Hebrews 4:12.

The Word of God is living and active. If we just stop right there, living and active means it's new. We're learning something new every time we open the Word of God. There is no end to our growing. God is always revealing something, always sharpening us, always transforming our heart. There is no arrival. There is no destination, date, or time. As long as we have breath, we get to read our Bible and be sharpened by His Word.

One of my favorite passages is Psalm 1:1–3. Blessed is the person whose delight is in the law of the Lord. He will be like a tree planted by streams of water. I'm such a visual person. I see those roots going deeper and deeper.

Speaking the Truth in Love

Andre pointed the panel back to Ephesians 4, where our equipping ministry gets its goal, to equip the saints for the work of ministry.

Ephesians 4:15–16 says that speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into Him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.

That's exactly what these folks just did. They weren't sharing their thoughts and their opinions. They were sharing God's Word. One of the reasons we love jumping into Bible study together is that it isn't just about what I can get out of it. It's about how I can be part of this body building itself up in love.

If You're On the Fence

George put himself in that person's shoes first.

Something I always struggled with was thinking I didn't have anything of value to share. What's been invaluable in my walk is how many men have poured into my life, sharing their insights, their encouragements, and sometimes their kind criticisms. If they believed exactly what I believed, I would have missed out on every kernel of truth they poured into my life. Paul told Timothy to let no one despise you for your youth.

Mona answered next.

If you have that longing, that want, that's actually God drawing you to Himself. He wants to invite you to know Him, so say yes. If you've never done a Bible study, or never even opened your Bible, there's a place for you. We're all learning. God is so big we can never know Him completely. It's like a deep ocean.

Sweet Cathy

In September of 2021, sweet Cathy walked into Bible study and shared how nervous she was, because she had never read the Bible. God handpicked all the ladies in her group to love her and guide her, and we got to watch how He captivated her heart and drew her to know personally how much Jesus loved her.

By October, we got to see Cathy say yes to Jesus, surrender to Him, and be baptized. God was at work this whole time.

In February of 2022, Cathy went home to be with the Lord, and she met her Savior face to face. The One she read about and experienced and tasted of here, she got to see face to face. It was just beautiful.

Let God's Word Read You

Lori closed with an invitation. I want to invite you. We would love to study God's Word with you. We would love to walk alongside you as we study Scripture this year. So please come.

Grant had one more thing.

Every time God's Word engages me, it's just like Lori quoted in Hebrews 4. It's living and active. I've got to let God's Word read me, and it is awesome. I love how Brad says sometimes, man, we need this. No, no, no. I need this. This is a guy who's studied Scripture, and every time he reads it, it changes him and he needs it. So avail yourself of the opportunity to grow your appetite in God's Word, and you will not believe how it transforms your day to day life. Let's go.

The Fall Equipping Menu

Brad came back to close with what's available.

We don't want to just tell you the Bible is something you should want. It's something you definitely need. So we wanted to leave you with some specifics on how we do that here at CityBridge.

Worship night is coming up on the 28th. You might think, bro, I thought we were talking about the Word of God. Yes. We're going to sing the Word of God together.

Baseline has already kicked off. Men's and women's Bible study is in Judges, Ruth, and Esther this fall. We've got the Wednesday night Revelation study, Nest at Nine and Nest 2.0 for new moms, Ask Me Anything on the third Tuesday of every month, and Colson Fellows.

One Verse a Month

Ask Me Anything is an unbelievably easy, low pressure opportunity to get real answers. There's no good, bad, smart, or dumb question. If you have a question about your faith, about the Bible, about something you're doubting, bring it. Bring a friend, a child, a neighbor.

Our equipping team and family ministry also want us as a church body to take God's Word seriously, not just to read and study it together but to meditate on it and memorize it together. There would be something incredibly powerful if over the next year all of us were memorizing the same Scripture.

So pick up a memory verse magnet on your way out, one per family. One passage a month for the next twelve months. This first one is Romans 3:23–24.

Prayed Out Into the Mission Field

Thank You for Your Word, God. You are a master at revealing Yourself. Whether it's burning bushes, talking donkeys, prophets, dreams, visions, pillars, clouds, or creation, I'm thankful for Your written, specific revelation in Your Word.

God, I pray that we would not neglect it. Remind us every day that we need it, and I pray that need would grow into want.

I pray over this year, because it's our vision, that You would let CityBridge become a church that is truly equipped for Your work, equipped in the Word, ready to do the mission You've called us to take. Protect us, grow us, guide us, make us more like You. We pray this in Jesus' name.

Be Equipped in His Word