Christians love putting well-known Bible verses on stuff: Shirts, coffee mugs, plaques, and bumper stickers. We love quoting bumper-sticker-verses in our everyday conversations. We become so familiar with these half-lines of Scripture that we assume we know what the authors were trying to say to their audience when they originally wrote them. We might quote these verses in a way that fits the original context and meaning – but we also might not. Either way, we are quite happy to quote them as often as we can:
- “Do not judge”
- “They will soar on wings like eagles…”
- “Love is patient, love is kind…”
- “God so loved the world…”
- “Where two or three gather in my name… ”
- “‘For I know the plans I have for you declares’ the Lord…”
We quote them often, and yet, have we ever taken the time to study where these bumper-sticker-verses come from? Do we know if they are a part of the Old Testament or New Testament? Have we investigated the passages that these verses belong to and determined what the author’s main point is in its context?
The Bible is God’s very word to us, and because of that we want to understand and use the Bible well. So with that goal in mind, the Bumper Stickers sermon series is designed to help us understand these popular verses in their context so that we can understand and quote them well. Even if that means we may never be able to look at those shirts, coffee mugs, plaques, or bumper stickers in the same way again.