Can you understand the Bible without a degree?

Big Ideas - We’ve all heard people say the Bible means things that are obviously false. - It’s easy to react by thinking that either no interpretation of scripture is trustworthy, or that the only way to know what it means is to go to seminary. - There are lots of good applications of any given passage of Scripture. There are also some bad and unhelpful ones. - The Bible is for YOU. You can read it and come away with something helpful. And it’s not as hard as you might think. - You just need to remember 2 things: ask the Spirit for help, and use guardrails. - Here is a great guardrail that will go a long way to keep your interpretation on the right track. Just ask these questions:1. Does this interpretation help me love God or love my neighbor more? 2. Does it help me connect more with the world around me, making it better?- Try singing the second verse of O Holy Night when you read, and make sure your thoughts on what the verse means agree with these lines:Truly he taught us to love one another His law is love and his gospel is peace Chains shall he break, for the slave is our brother And in his name all oppression shall ceaseQuestions - Have you struggled to feel like you can know what interpretations of scripture are trustworthy and which are not? - Have you ever asked the Spirit for help applying scripture and gotten help? - Do you think that every verse in scripture is there to reinforce the truths that God is love, and God is with us? - Do you feel any more motivation or freedom to read scripture for yourself with this method? - Put it into practice! Try it out and talk about it with others.