aINSIGHTFUL SCRIPTURE TEACHING

A Hallmark of Blue Ocean Church

Insightful Scripture teaching is a hallmark of worship at Blue Ocean. Our pastors teach for about 20-25 minutes of each service, with messages based in Scripture. They are lifelong readers of the Bible (in fact, Emily read through the entire Bible as an eight year old!). They have a deep love for Scripture and know its power to inspire and help connect us to God, others, ourselves, and the wide world.

A Jesus-Centered Reading of Scripture

Scripture can be read and interpreted in many different ways. In fact, this is why it has had such a lasting influence across many different cultures. We think it’s important to be as transparent as possible about what informs our reading of the Bible. Chief among these influences is our experience of God, mediated by a Jesus-shaped vision of God. Jesus came in the tradition of the Hebrew prophets, who were voices of reform within the unfolding experience of God among the Jewish people. This reform movement was particularly concerned with justice and freedom from oppression, including from ways that oppression works in the religion. Thus, Jesus was known for sometimes provocative and unsettling interpretations of Scripture—ones that challenged political and religious authorities, yet which tended to welcome oppressed and marginalized people.

Reading the Bible through the Love-Lens

In particular, Jesus, and the movement he started, emphasized an important rule of interpretation: the rule of love. The most common refrain of Jesus and those who promoted his vision of God was “Love your neighbor as yourself—this is the Law and the Prophets.” The “Law and the Prophets,” another term for Scripture, includes statements like, “love does no harm to the neighbor.” Jesus knew it was possible to read Scripture without love, as the Pharisees did in his time. However, understanding Scripture through the love-lens brings the fruit of the Spirit: “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.” As one New Testament writer put it, “Where the Spirit is, there is freedom.”

Fourfold Method of Bible Interpretation (Pardes)

Emily teaches a method of reading and interpreting the Bible that is borrowed from our Jewish friends. It’s called Pardes, which means “orchard” or “garden.” 

Pardes assumes four layers to Scripture interpretation. The four layers are as follows, with a few sample questions that can help with study: 

First Layer: Plain/Literal Meaning

Second Layer: Allegorical Meaning

Third Layer: Moral Meaning

Fourth Layer: Mystical Meaning

To learn more about how Blue Ocean approaches the Bible, you can read Emily’s three-part series on her blog.