Bible Study Methods | Priscilla Shirer at the 2022 Kingdom Leaders Summit

This message is from the 2022 Kingdom Leaders Summit. In this talk by Priscilla Shirer, she explains how we can better engage with the Word of God to not only understand it better, but also communicate its truths to others more effectively.

[Applause]

Lord Jesus thank you so much for oh the

privilege to be together I don’t even

take for granted father just that simple

fact that we maybe before 2020 might

have taken for granted that we can be in

the same physical space I’m grateful

father and I’m also so grateful Lord

that we live in a place where we can

boldly and unapologetically Proclaim our

allegiance to your name and to your

kingdom and we’re not worried today that

somebody’s going to come arrest us for

our faith or that father we’re going to

be marginalized or persecuted in any

major significant way that jeopardizes

our physical health as some people in

other countries right this minute as

we’re sitting in this room they are

underground and cannot be bold as we can

so father you have not only given us

this opportunity but you have also

entrusted us with the privilege of

sharing your word

cause it to be far from us that we would

ever be ashamed that we would not ever

speak with Clarity and boldness the good

news of Jesus Christ we honor you father

in Jesus name amen amen as Shonda

mentioned to you we are talking about

teaching the Bible in order to develop

Kingdom women in particular and so for

just a few moments we’re going to

explore some of the study components and

tools and resources that are needed to

be able to develop impactful lessons

equipping God’s people that is a key

word for me equipping

that’s the goal because it’s different

than motivating

hear that clearly because it shifts the

way that you create and Contour messages

that you’re going to share with other

people again whether it’s over a table

with three women having coffee together

or five College

um women that you’re discipling or it’s

a Sunday school class or women that

you’ve been entrusted to serve at your

local church we are not motivating them

that’s not the primary goal if they are

motivated good for you I’m glad that

that’s a nice benefit of our time

together but really that is only an

offshoot of the primary intention which

is I’m trying to equip you I’m trying to

make sure that you can be steadfast and

unmoved

so that means that I’m trying to develop

you to spiritual maturity so that you

can be Unapologetic in your discipleship

of Jesus Christ I want you to come to

know him his power his character his

mind his attitude his counsel regarding

the circumstances of life

I think that one of the great tragedies

right now y’all is that people are using

the scriptures more like a self-help

book

that we’re going to it really to find

out more about ourselves feel better

about ourselves that’s not the primary

goal it’s to come to know him

who he is and what his mind and counsel

and character is in regards to our lives

and what he has allowed us to face in

our lives and so pointing out Jesus

for me the primary and

Compass charting directive of everything

that I’m going to write or everything

that I’m going to teach is to make sure

that I’m pointing out Jesus I’m going to

share with you as I mentioned some

practical tools but I want to tell you

something that happened probably about

it had to be about 17 years ago now I

was going through the Book of John in my

personal quiet time and much the way

that I’m going to share with you in just

a few moments and when I came to it took

me two years to get through the Book of

John in my personal quiet time with the

way that I’m going to tell you that I I

do my own personal devotional life with

the Lord but when I came across John

chapter 1 I believe it’s verses 35 and

36. those were my two verses that day

and let me tell you what happens in

these two verses John the Baptist is

standing with two of his disciples not

one of the twelve not two of The Twelve

but his disciples students of him he’s

standing with them and verse 35 says

that he sees Jesus he points at him and

he says Behold the Lamb of God that

takes away the sins of the world as

Jesus is walking by

the next verse says

and they left John to follow Jesus

okay I came across those two verses and

it revolutionized what I did not even

know then was the ministry that the Lord

was calling me to

I could so clearly hear the Holy Spirit

say to me Priscilla this will always be

the goal for you

to point out Jesus and say behold

the Lamb of God who takes away the sins

of the world

and then the measure of effectiveness of

ministry will be

not how many more people want more of me

but how many after hearing me speak drop

everything because they’re trying to get

closer to Jesus

so when people have asked me through the

years especially after those films that

I was in okay so you’re going to be an

actor now no

those were only because they filtered

through this Compass charting thing for

me which has been to point out Jesus all

those films did was point out Jesus so

I’m open to any opportunity that goes

through this filter

does it point out Jesus and does it

compel people not necessarily want more

me that’s not the goal the goal is to

point them so clearly to Jesus that they

hunger and thirst after him

so

everything for me in Ministry and for us

as Ministers of the Gospel of Jesus

Christ that’s such a refining filter

because it’ll start to remove excess

stuff out of everything you’re talking

about if this does not point out Jesus

then is it really what I need to be

spending time on spending energy on

spending extra words on in my writing or

the blog post that you’re publishing or

the article that you are composing does

this help me towards my primary goal

which is to point out Jesus I also want

to tell you one other thing in terms of

message preparation which is primarily

what I’m going to talk to you about

today but I want you to know that

message preparation for me is incredibly

difficult incredibly difficult it’s like

a thorn in my side

it’s one I love studying I enjoy seeing

the observations from the text but

compiling insight into a package that

communicates clearly to other people is

a whole different beast and I want you

to know that for me it is it is it’s one

of those things that if I don’t stay

prayed up about it the enemy will use it

to discourage me to question whether or

not this is actually what God has called

me to do do you have something like that

in your life it’s just something that

for you is the thing that keeps you up

at night Sweating Bullets you know you

can’t sleep you can’t function right

because you’re wondering whether or not

um this is going to pan out and

communicate clearly for me that’s

message preparation I can’t tell you how

many times I’ve been with my dad and

gone now Daddy

this is not supposed to be this hard is

it and his answer to that is there is

always something for every minister

that the Lord will leave that thorn in

your flesh

for the purpose of showing you that his

grace is sufficient for you wow

so I think that sometimes when we see

people from afar I do the same thing and

you see them in that hour they’re

speaking or in that 45 minutes that

they’re doing the thing that it looks

like it’s so easy so it’s supposed to

feel easy for us because we picture it

that way so I need you to know right up

front there’s nothing easy about it for

me it’s one of the most painstaking

parts of Ministry for me and it’s the

part that more than anything else keeps

me on my knees going oh Lord if you

don’t do it it’s not going to get done

and every time I finish I go whoa I know

that was Jesus right there

[Applause]

constant reminders for us that his grace

really is sufficient for us so I want

you to relax if this is a hard part for

you message preparation how many people

would say that this is something very

hard for you okay lots of hands relax in

that allow it to be the thing that

constantly makes you dependent on him

allow that to be the thing that reminds

you that in your weakness his strength

is made perfect

99 of what I teach

emerges from my personal devotional life

99 of it

bible study resources that I’ve written

platforms that I’ve had the privilege to

teach from 99 of that has stemmed from

it’s bubbled up from the personal

conviction and prayerful consideration

of a text where I was not trying to

craft a message I was just simply

seeking to deepen my own relationship

with God and then out of that sometimes

I’ll begin to see a message taking shape

like when something when I can’t shake

something it keeps messing with me and

then I share it with a girlfriend and

she’s going um

that means there’s something on it does

that make sense then I’ll sit with a

group of women and maybe I share it with

them or I write a little post about it

or something and I see people’s

responses to it I can tell sometimes

when something that has come from my

personal life my personal quiet time has

legs and it really deserves more time

and attention in terms of sharing it

with others but I cannot over emphasize

to you the importance of prioritizing

your own personal relationship with

Jesus Christ in the scriptures you have

got to have a well that you are drawing

from

because so much of what you’re going to

share with the people that the Lord is

entrusting to you some of that well you

know a large portion of that is going to

come from yes what you wrote down the

manuscript that you created or the

bullet points that you have in front of

you to share but even as you’re teaching

a lot of things are going to come to

your mind into your heart that you did

not plan for and you’ve got to have a

well to draw from for that and so even

as you are preparing for other people do

not begin to neglect your own personal

time with the Lord and while I try to

separate my devotional time from my

study in preparation time very often

these two merge with each other I can

tell you that my devotional time does

not always equal study time

but my study time cannot happen without

devotional time also happening

because any time I am in the scriptures

even as I’m preparing for other people

goodness gracious the holy spirit is

just saying now don’t forget you and me

need to talk about this as well

study time is always devotional because

we are not removed from the people that

the Lord has entrusted to us we have the

privilege of growing and being discipled

together here are the three words that

if you take notes I want you to write

down there probably three words you’ve

heard before but they really Encompass

the framework of my personal quiet time

and also study observation

interpretation

and application

observation interpretation

and application

anytime I am in a passage of scripture

again whether it is for me personally or

I’m preparing a message on a certain

portion of scripture the very first

thing I’m going to do is read a passage

and I’m going to observe it carefully

I’m going to meditate on this passage

I’m going to pour over this passage

I’m sitting on this for just a few

moments because when I say observe

meditate pour over the passage I am

trying to emphasize to you that I mean

this as the opposite of scanning the

passage

I mean sitting with this thing for just

a little while

you read it in one translation you read

it in another translation

you meditate on it outside of when your

eyes are actually on the page

meaning when you’re taking a walk you’re

walking the dog later in the evening

that thing is still rolling over in your

mind you write it down on a three by

five card and you post it where you’re

going to be washing dishes or where

you’re going to be folding clothes or on

the dashboard of your car so that

everywhere you go everything that you’re

doing this is for personal quiet time as

well as message preparation you are

meditating on it you’re personally

rolling over it you’re asking the Holy

Spirit to illuminate it to cause it to

come to life for you

when my children were young I remember

that there was an older wiser woman in

the faith that I was beginning to feel

very discouraged that I could not do

um quiet time in the way that just

seemed the right way to do it to me

um the the you know the Instagram worthy

way to do it where you got you know your

little white couch and your little white

saucer and it looks like a beautiful

picture and it’s lit perfectly and it

looks great on Instagram

we have unfortunately got this picture

in our mind that if quiet time

devotional experiences cannot look a

certain way then it’s not worth the

effort that if you only have seven

minutes or 10 minutes that you can find

in your day that it’s not worth it if

you don’t have an hour or two hours and

the enemy will want you to think exactly

that

that if it’s not picture perfect then

it’s not worth it and an older wiser

woman when my children were young she

said Priscilla this right here is the

time of life when you do what brother

Lawrence wrote years ago practice the

presence of God

if you don’t have that book you need one

of those

practice the presence of God brother

Lawrence was a monk at a monastery who

wrote this book and I remember thinking

when she told me about it you got to be

kidding me he’s a monk at a monastery

what’s he going to talk to me about the

busyness of life and what it means to

spend time with God he lives at a

monastery

but then I found out that brother

Lawrence was actually on kitchen duty at

the monastery his job was to make sure

all the other monks were fed he had to

sweep up after them clean the dishes now

that’s a reality I can get with that’s

that’s my real reality

it gave me an opportunity to see how

this man began to talk about what it

means to practice God’s presence

throughout the regular rhythms of your

day while you’re doing the dishes and

while you’re folding the clothes and

while you’re sweeping up the enemy would

want you to feel so guilty that you

can’t do it a certain way that you don’t

do anything at all

so if it means in a certain season of

Life while you’re taking care of Aging

parents or while it’s a particularly

demanding season of ministry or on your

corporate job some of you I know have

this dual life where you’re in Ministry

but you also still work in a corporate

environment or you have your own

entrepreneurial Endeavors which is to be

commended and so while you’re running on

those tracks life can get so busy

sometimes that if it doesn’t look a

certain way you might not do it and I

just want to encourage you this is the

season of life when you practice the

presence of God meaning you put that

scripture verse in fact that older wiser

woman encouraged me about doing one or

two verses a week

write it down she said on several three

by five cards put it where you change

dirty diapers put it where you’re going

to be washing dishes paste one on the

bathroom mirror so all week long you

keep running into this passage of

scripture everywhere you go by the end

of it it’s inscribed on your heart

there’s something for the Holy Spirit to

to work with because you’ve done what

the psalmist said hide your word in my

heart so that I might not sin against

you you can’t scan quickly over whole

big huge chunks of scripture and

actually be hidden in your heart

you’re supposed to take your time in the

text and again I’m talking on about two

tracks at the same time our personal

quiet time with the Lord but also in

message preparation to the extent that

you have time when you’re going to be

preparing to present to a group that are

gathered take your time to just in fact

don’t undervalue the beauty of just

meditating the power of just soaking in

a passage of scripture as you do that

observations will begin to Bubble Up

from the text one of the things that I

do that helps me with that is that I

will paraphrase in my quiet time and in

message preparation I will paraphrase

what it is that the verse says meaning I

literally write down most of my

scribblings are in store-bought 1.99

spiral notebooks that I got at the

grocery store while I’m school shopping

for the boys and I just write down what

it is that the passage says just

paraphrasing it this is not the time for

you to be brilliant or to work on your

alliteration or the Rhythm or the

Cadence of it you’re not trying to be

impressive you are literally just

writing down what the scripture actually

says so paraphrase the principles these

are observations and they often will

become the principles that I mine from

when I’m preparing to teach it also was

helpful because it gives you a sturdy

tract to run on to remember what the

book actually says

because I don’t go to the book to make

my point I go to it to find my point

listen to that again

you cannot take what you want to say to

a group of people to the text and then

find you a scripture verse that matches

what it is that you want to say if you

come to it with an agenda the reality is

you can superimpose your agenda over a

whole bunch of stuff in the scriptures

you can take stuff out of context left

and right to support whatever agenda you

got on your mind that day

the discipline of us as Ministers of the

Gospel of Jesus Christ is that we do not

go to the book to make our point we go

to it we find out the point it is making

and then that is what we have been

entrusted with to share with the people

who are in front of us so I’m asking

myself what does the passage say that

gives me yields me observations

then I’m going to ask myself this second

questions which will yield

interpretation and that is what does it

mean

what does it mean

now all of this that I’ve talked about

so far this is all happening before I’ve

opened up one commentary before I’ve

opened up any extra biblical information

yet I just want to sit with me in the

Holy Spirit for just a little while and

this patches of scripture and trust that

the holy spirit will do for me what he

promised he would first John chapter 2.

he said the Holy Spirit the anointing of

God has been given to you to teach you

all things John 16 13 to guide you into

all truth

we tend to think that there’s some

special hotline connection that some

people have with God that we don’t also

have with God

that that this person we admire and

rightfully so because we appreciate the

way they have Shepherd us in their

writing or their teaching or their

preaching and so we’ve we’ve looked at

them and we’ve celebrated how the Lord

has entrusted Revelation to them we tend

to think that we’re removed from them

and that they have some special hotline

thing going on with Jesus that we don’t

actually have access to

and we think that the way the Holy

Spirit operates with them is not somehow

that’s not our privilege but the moment

you believed in Jesus Christ you

received the Holy Spirit of Promise

his privilege is not only and job second

uh first Thessalonians chapter 2 13 says

is not only to sanctify you to mold us

so that we are recreated into the image

of Christ Jesus but it is also to guide

us into all truth to do what the old

preachers used to say to illumine the

scriptures

so that it comes to life so that it

leaps up off the page you’ve had that

happen to you before where you you have

been reading through a portion of

scripture and you’ve seen this verse a

million times before since you were a

little girl you read about David and

Goliath with the feeding of the five

thousand of the the Red Sea parting or

Jericho walls come tumbling you’ve seen

this a million times before but on this

day

it’s like the Holy Spirit takes out a

highlighter and he makes that thing leap

up off the page and it grips you in your

soul and it resonates with you do you

know what I’m talking about or you’re

sitting in church on a Sunday and the

pastor opens up the scriptures to begin

to teach and

man you feel like you’re the only person

sitting in the whole church you’re

trying to figure out did the church bug

my house how did they know

that this is just what we were arguing

about last night me or my spouse or me

and my teenager and it feels like you

are so well seen and known by the

scriptures this is the illumination of

the Holy Spirit

and we have to leave margin for that

pause for a moment just you in the

scriptures and say holy spirit speak to

me now of course we’re going to make

sure it’s founded in accurate theology

we’re going to get to that in just a

second but in the meanwhile give

yourself a moment with the Lord to say

Lord not only what does this passage say

I’ve paraphrased it I’ve written it down

I’ve been true to what it is that is

written there and now I’m going to

prayerfully ask myself as I maybe close

my Bible and put it aside and I just

look at these paraphrases that I just

wrote down for this one verse or these

two verses Lord what does this mean

is there a promise I’m supposed to heed

is there an attribute of your character

that I have downgraded that this is

reminding me to value

is there an instruction I’m supposed to

follow

is there a directive father that me

personally you were giving me in regards

to a decision I got to make tomorrow or

in regards to the way I’m navigating

this part of my my life in Ministry or

on my job or with my teenager or my my

young adults

um a kid that I have Lord is there

something specifically that you’re

instructing me to let go of or to hold

on to or to cleanse from my conscience

or my mind or my actions or my behavior

are there adjustments that it’s clear

here that the scripture is calling us to

make help me Lord to see that first for

myself and then if I’m studying for

others Lord how can I interpret what it

is that you’re saying here in a way that

will help them see the scriptures come

to life

now as you’re asking yourself that

question here’s where context does

matter

okay as I mentioned before you can pull

any verse out of anywhere and make that

sucker say anything you want it to say

we have to be so careful that not only

are we studying within context the

framework of the entirety of scriptures

but that we’re also communicating it

that way so many of you are pastoring

shepherding ministering with a group of

women and you get to take them from

point A to point B maybe you have a

Bible study group and you’re meeting

over the course of an entire semester so

you can walk with these women over the

course of several weeks together or

months together some of you have that

privilege others of us are in the kind

of ministry where you might only be with

women for three sessions in one day or

one session in one moment so you won’t

always get this opportunity but to the

extent that you’re able to teach through

an entire book of the Bible or in

certain segments of that book so that

you can show them the whole counsel of

God not just bits and pieces here and

there so to the best that you were able

to do that try to find Opportunities to

take them through a portion of scripture

or thematic direction that will help

them to see the whole counsel of God

more than anything else right now y’all

people need to know what the Bible

actually says

I mean for real

what does the bible actually say and

then accurately interpreting that and so

we have to be careful about handling the

scriptures in a way that really does

allow people to see the Beauty and the

power of what God was actually saying

when under the inspiration of the Holy

Spirit these authors wrote down this

text this just came to mind as I was

talking that I was when I was going to

high school

me and a friend had a high school

graduation party together me and Nicole

we grew up in church here together she’s

still one of my closest friends and mom

and dad lived in a house around the

corner we walked to church dad still

lives in the exact same house today that

we moved into when I was seven years old

same say it’s a little small house or

we’ve just been in the same house this

whole time and um we had a high school

graduation party for the two of us in

this little house so it’s small so we

had to all be out outside I can picture

us right now outside in the grass having

this graduation party and as people do

when they come to a high school

graduation party they bring gifts for

the graduates Nicole had a little table

I had a little table and most of them

were cards on those tables and I

remember not being upset at all about

the fact that there weren’t any boxes I

love that it was cards because that

meant that I could open up them cards

and shake them

okay

to see if anything was gonna fall out

because you know more than anything as a

as a college student what you need is

some money to help you get yourself

situated I remember one little gift bag

that was sitting there that I opened up

it was from a lady named Mrs Holt and I

opened up that gift bag and there was a

card and I opened it up

nothing fell out that I reached in the

little bag and I opened up a little book

that I still have to this day called the

promises of God

sweet little book and I just thought oh

this is so precious

[Laughter]

so I remember I went to college I took

the little book with me I had all my

stuff laundry baskets boxes all the

things and we moved up to the University

of Houston is where me and Nicole went

to school together and um I remember

that little book it was on the corner of

my desk for a while and then of course

as school got busy that first semester

their papers and computers and things

books everywhere and so it kind of got

shoved underneath piles of stuff and

then eventually it got moved into a

drawer and then you know at the end of

the school year you move out you’ve got

all these boxes now of stuff just thrown

in there together and so we went home

for the summer brought it back that next

that next year for the second year and

it got further and further shuffled

underneath stuff and I remember it was

in my third year I was in my junior year

at the University of Houston I was

digging through a drawer for something

there was that little book the promises

of God tucked in the back of of the

store I had not seen or thought about

that book in months and months and

months and months I didn’t know at that

point honestly if I had ever opened it

so I picked up this little book and I

just kind of looked at it endearingly

because Mrs Holt is a sweet friend of

our families and I was like oh this is

so sweet Mrs Holt gave this to me and I

opened it up to the first page and it

said to Priscilla from Mrs Holt we love

you so much

and then I flipped open the pages

and out from the pages fluttered a 200

check

all that treasure had been in the book

the whole time

foreign

and I thought about all of the times

that my roommates and I had been

scrounging from quarters and nickels and

extra dollars so we could get some

french fries or a soda before going to

class all this time we didn’t have

enough money to get what we needed for

this or that we were we were living So

Below the means that had been available

to us if we had just opened up the book

we just opened up the book yet that’s

worth standing up on it girl I know

I know

my God so I’m saying to you our

responsibility

is to open up the book

there’s treasure in there

and there are y’all there’s a whole

generation of young women coming up they

are living so below their spiritual

means it ain’t even funny just

scrounging for little scraps here and

there their self-worth their identity

wrapped up in things that are temporal

and wrapped up in things that are not

going to tell them who they really are

and what they’re really worth and if

they come to us and we’re just giving

them self-help information

and we’re just motivating them and

sending them on their way we have missed

the whole point of what we’ve been

commissioned to do

man the treasure they’re looking for is

in the book and they don’t even know

it is our responsibility to open up the

book and let them see the treasure that

has been made available to them

so we do that by sharing with them the

entire Council of God his character what

it is that he meant to say to them in

this love letter that he composed for

them it is a love letter so it’s about

getting to know the author the entire

story of redemption what he went through

to make sure that you could have

relationship with him the whole counsel

of the word of God so that they know his

character the reason why we need to know

his character which is why you can’t

pull a verse out here in a verse out

there the reason why we need to know his

character is because the only way you

can clearly detect when the holy

spirit’s speaking to you when God’s

voice is trying to guide you and help

you to navigate life the only way you’re

going to be able to differentiate

between the voice of God and the voice

of a stranger

is if you know his character

it’s the only way

there is an enemy

and the Bible says the enemy does not

come to us with a red jumpsuit and a

pitchfork on and say hey it’s me he’s

not that obvious he’s not that covert

the Bible says in second Corinthians 11

14 that he disguises himself like an

angel of Light

that means he’s trying to sound as close

to and look as close to God’s will for

your life as possible

so if you have not taken time for

yourself and also for those who have

been entrusted to you to help them to

know the character of God then the enemy

can play them for the fool

[Music]

this is why Theologian A.W tozier said

we must pray and ask the Lord not only

to help us to discern between right and

wrong

we got to ask the Lord to help us to

discern between right and almost right

because there is an enemy trying to lead

astray and the way he’s doing it is

because his his deception see the crazy

part about deception y’all is when

you’re being deceived you don’t know it

until after the fact and you look back

and go are you kidding me

there are whole seasons of my life I

look back on and go are you kidding me

because you can see it clearly in

hindsight but while you’re in it while

the wool is pulled over your eyes when

you’re about to take that next step the

people around you can see girl if you

take one more step you’re gonna fall

that’s not a good step right there don’t

take the step but when it’s you you

really think you’re making the best

choice for yourself you really think

that’s a good relationship or that’s a

good business deal to go into or that’s

a good path to walk down and other

people can see you’re being deceived but

you cannot

and this is the handiwork of the master

Illusionist the enemy that he disguises

himself like an angel of Light

so if we have not

strengthened and equipped women to know

the the full counsel and character of

God the enemy’s gonna play them for the

fool

so we have to tell them who God is

what his voice sounds like

because not only do you have an enemy

but fear always has something to say

your ego is always trying to get a word

in edgewise

we have to be able to discern between

all those voices and the voices of God

us teaching them the whole counsel of

God is going to help them to know his

character

so Anthony Jr he’s not here this week

he’s out of the country I think but

Anthony Jr not only has dad’s name but

he has dad’s stance he has dad’s build

he has dad’s mannerisms he heads dad’s

voice

at the house mom has uh has a picture

there it’s in one of those little dual

picture frames where it’s one picture

frame but it’s two openings circular on

one side is Dad at 18 years old he has

on a black sort of a tuxedo it’s the top

half of him and a a bow tie his head is

cocked to the side and he’s smiling for

his little graduation picture from high

school in the other frame is Anthony at

18 years old graduating from high school

black suit bow tie and his head is

cocked exactly to the side just like

Daddy’s

same little expression they look exactly

the same at different seasons in their

lives

seeing Anthony because they have so many

similarities I’ve seen Anthony

oftentimes use this to his Advantage for

example

dad had incredible still has incredible

mileage on American Airlines the hub for

American Airlines is here in Dallas so

we always fly American Dad racked up all

these miles with the tri all the

traveling that he was doing through all

the years so he has like executive

Platinum Status or something like that

because of his miles I I know for a fact

that Anthony has gone to the American

Airlines counter

he has shown them his license which says

Tony Evans it says Anthony Evans they’ve

looked up my dad’s profile and gone oh

welcome Dr Evans

they’ve upgraded him to First Class the

beginning of the line just just all the

things

because they’re so similar to each other

I remember growing up Anthony would

answer the phone it might be somebody

calling for Daddy but Anthony sounded

just like that so he’d say hello and

before he’d give the phone to Dad he’d

get all the juicy details of the entire

phone call

and then he’d say hang on let me get

Daddy for you

so I’ve seen my brother take advantage

of these similarities every now and then

but I’m gonna tell you one person or

several of us that he cannot fool

in the first five seconds of a phone

call

I know which of the two Anthony’s has

called me they don’t even have to say a

word I know from the way they’re

breathing or the time of the phone call

I know which Anthony is calling me and

that’s because I’ve spent my life

getting to know the two anthonies

the similarities between the voice of

God and the enemy that is trying

desperately to deceive unless you’ve

spent a lifetime getting to know the

voice and the character and the content

of what your God would communicate

unless you’ve spent your life getting to

know him then the enemy is going to play

you for the fool every single time

so our responsibility is to equip the

women that God has entrusted to us to

know who God is

the goal is not necessarily to get them

to know themselves better

that is a narcissistic way to approach

scripture

that I’m trying to see me in every

passage and see what more about me and

learn more about myself in the past

that’s not primarily what the book is

for

it’s for you to know him

and as you come to know him you see

yourself more clearly because you know

who you are in relation to him and what

he’s called you to do and what he’s

entrusted to you in the inheritance

that’s made available to you and how to

operate by the power of the spirit of

God the gifts of the Spirit the fruit of

the spirit it helps us to see ourselves

more clearly but that ain’t the primary

goal it is not a self-help book

okay we’re trying to know him so that we

can know his leading his counsel in our

lives and we’re trying to make decisions

what would glorify God what would help

me to be an instrument to be used by God

in this particular situation so I’m

going to tell you that when you get to

this portion of

um your message preparation when you’re

asking what does it mean this is where

you really need to make sure that you

are asking that question in light of the

context of the passage in which it is

situated who was the original author

who was the audience that he was talking

to what were they going through that

made him write this letter to them at

this particular point in their

relationship with Christ as new

Believers if you’re looking at something

in the New Testament what did this

author what did he intend to communicate

when pending this text

what were the circumstances that these

people were in

at this particular time

what was plaguing them that made it

necessary for him to feel the need to be

able to communicate this extra biblical

Insight in and around these passages

um like some books I’m getting ready to

show you that have been incredibly

helpful to me through the years they’re

going to help you to be able to put

substantial Flesh on the text that you

were sharing for example if I’m going to

talk to them about what we’ve just

discussed a few moments ago in John

chapter 10 where Jesus says in verse 27

my sheep hear my voice I know them and

they follow me he’s going to talk all

about the sheep and the shepherd and how

a stranger’s voice they will not follow

but when he calls to them his voice will

lead them out that looks and sounds like

freedom to me

[Music]

if I read that passage and then I get

some context around it because there are

some things in the scriptures as you all

know we can’t bring our modern version

of that to the text and then try to

create a message out of what happens

today in 2022 based on that scripture if

he’s going to talk about soil and wheat

and grapes and sheep we need to know

what a Vineyard looked like back then

not today

so if I find out that a middle eastern

Sheepfold in the first century was about

a waste High a stone a fence line that

would Encompass an enormous area and

that there could be 10 Shepherds that

would take their 100 a piece sheep that

they would go around in similar vicinity

throughout the day these ten Shepherds

keeping their 100 sheep in fairly close

proximity but then in the evening all 10

of these Shepherds would take their

sheep to one fold

so it wasn’t just one group of sheep in

the fold There Were Ten different sheets

so now she flocks so now there are one

thousand sheep in one fold but they

don’t all belong to the same Shepherd

and then if I find out that this

Sheepfold has one opening that does not

have a door

it’s just open

and that one of the the ten Shepherds

would stay behind he would become like

the porter for the night he would lay

his body across the opening of the

Sheepfold becoming the door

of the fold

the nine would go to the town for the

evening they would stay there but one

would stay behind so that he could be

the protector the guardian for all of

these flocks that are inside this fold

to make sure no Predator No Stranger

came to take advantage of the sheep that

were inside the fold

and then in the morning when a Shepherd

would come from the town the porter

would remove his body from the opening

of the Sheepfold and he’d start studying

this Shepherd before he ever got

anywhere close to the Sheep to make sure

that this Shepherd was a true Shepherd

of one of the flocks that was inside

and when he authenticated that this was

a true Shepherd then he would move his

body from the opening of the Sheepfold

he would let the shepherd pass into the

Sheepfold and that Shepherd would call

his sheep

[Music]

all one thousand would hear the call but

only 100 of it would of them would

recognize the call as having come from

their Shepherd

this sounds like the Apostle Paul saying

that the natural man is not able to

apprise the things of the spirit because

he doesn’t have a relationship with God

and with the Holy Spirit

Romans 1 says that God is always

speaking there’s General Revelation

available for everybody meaning you

can’t look at the stars and the

mountains and the horizons and the

oceans and not know there has got to be

a god somewhere

pulling this off

that kind of General Revelation is

available for everybody but only the

sheep that belong to him will hear and

recognize more personal Direction the

illumination of the scripture

so when I have that flesh

to put on the meat of what I’m sharing

it adds a weightiness and a gravity and

a clarity about what it was Jesus was

actually saying

when I know that

that someone that would dye Fabrics to

make clothing back in the Old Testament

days the Weavers the fabric Dyers when I

figure out that they would they could

dye those Fabrics those threads any

color but the only color that was

actually unable to be removed or changed

or shifted in any way once it was dyed

the only color

was Scarlet

[Music]

the other ones could you could add other

things to make another color make it

look a little different over time it

might fade it might wear off Scarlet

once it was dyed it was impossible to be

removed so when the prophet says in

Isaiah though your sins are like Scarlet

he can wash you white as snow

context

what is it that was happening in that

time period that would make what it is

that Jesus is saying here or the Apostle

is teaching here the prophet is sharing

add some weight to it you’ve got to be

able to take the time

to find that out for yourself

and also to find that out so that you

can be a worthy minister to those who

have been entrusted to you in any

particular space I’m going to tell you

before we jump from this some of the

most helpful books

I’m still I’m old enough I’m not not old

old but I’m old enough

that I still like books with paper pages

I gotta tell you

now I will tell you that I love Logos

Bible software I will tell you I have

logos you’ve got logos I will tell you

if you’re going to invest in something

to help you not only personally but with

teaching and Ministry I don’t know that

I have a more valuable tool than logos

on my computer and I’m telling you this

I’m not a a paid endorser of of them or

nothing like that I have no relationship

with them in that way this is me just

saying to you logos has been such a

blessing to me it’s a compilation of

thousands of resources that one click of

the button on one passage pulls all

those resources together for you in one

file so that you can see study

information you wouldn’t get unless you

had the hours and hours and hours and

hours to go to the library at Dallas

Theological Seminary and look through

dissertations from 1970 something or 60

something you don’t have enough time we

don’t to be able to pull up some of

these truths and riches that they have

compiled for you so if you do want to

invest in something

um Electro technological or software

package I highly recommend logos here’s

one of my favorite books

this one is called the manners and

customs of Bible times manners and

customs of Bible times Ralph Gower

g-o-w-e-r

I’m real and dear to this book because

y’all I came across this book from

homeschool to my kids

this was one of the books in their

curriculum when my kids were Elementary

age and it helped us to go through their

Bible lessons so bite size maybe two

pages or three pages for each portion of

scripture that they’re discussing but it

puts meat on the bones of that

particular passage of scripture

this is an incredible resource for you

to have on your your shelf

one more time manners and customs

of Bible times

the author is Gower

g-o-w-e-r Ralph Gower

okay another one is called I’m going to

spell this one for you it’s the cragle

pictorial guide and I’ll leave these up

here after we finish so that you can

look at them the cragle it’s KR

EG

El

the kregal pictorial guide to Bible

History

I just brought one of these you can see

they’re like little magazines there are

probably four or five of these in the

set of these that he has available and

each one of them has like a pull out

either timeline of that particular span

of scripture or it’s got a map that will

show you the the Palestine area that

you’re studying

um incredibly useful when I’ve been in

the process of writing certain Bible

study series I will just have this thing

laid out on the floor trying to figure

out who was the king in Judah when such

and such was the king in Israel and when

did the the kingdom divide and

Incredibly helpful and yet I’m sharing

with you the ones that are most succinct

and direct that give you the meat of the

information that you’re looking for so

again if you do get your hands on this

one keep in mind that there are probably

three or four maybe five of these that

he has and they’re all worth grabbing

hold of the craigle pictorial guide to

Bible History one more that I want to

show you Jonathan and I were just my

brother Jonathan and I were just in the

back before or this session started

talking about this book right here I

have read this book probably five times

and I will read it again it’s called The

Epic of Eden

the Epic of Eden epic the Epic of Eden

by Sandra Richter r-i-c-h

t-e-r and again I’ll leave these right

up here so that you can take a look at

them if you want to see them closer

Sandra Richter I ran into her when I was

at a Women’s Conference somewhere she

was one of the presenters there and she

is a seminary Professor or was at the

time so she’s a seminary Professor with

a whole lot of personality I drank in

everything this woman said she basically

just brought up the fact that most of

our theological awareness and insight

and information it looks like our

closets at home our clothing closets she

said you got all this stuff and don’t

know what to do with it

she’s like it’s in there though you got

especially if you grew up in church you

got it all there but it’s so much in

there that you keep wearing the same two

things over and over and over because

you’ve forgotten the stuff that’s in the

back it’s smashed together still got the

tags on it you’ve never used it and it’s

so unorganized that if we can just bring

organization to your closet

you will enjoy walking into your closet

again because you’ll be able to see

where everything’s at so she helps you

get your theological Closet in order

and it’s exceptional you will never read

the Bible the same again once you’ve

read the Epic of Eden so I mentioned it

to you and I don’t say it lightly I read

that I’ve read it at least five or six

times it’s got highlights and little

things sticking out of it little pieces

you know sticking out where they’re

major points that I’ve used it different

times when I’ve been writing or studying

I will read the whole thing again and

again and again it’s one of the richest

resources that I’ve ever laid my hands

on so those are just a few of the

resources that I wanted to tell you

about aside from Logos Bible software

that are going to be helpful to you when

you are trying to put meat on the bones

and and ask yourself that second

question which leads to interpretation

that question was what does it mean our

third question

that leads to application

is

what does it mean to me

that’s the question that leads the

application

in light of the author’s original

intention

how might the Holy Spirit be

personalizing this in order to give

Insight or personal direction or

guidance to my life or to someone’s life

right now

given the current events and culture

Family Life Church struggles Etc how

does what we just studied in this how

does it change us how is it meant to

inform us reshape us direct us move us

from this point forward

asking this question is what gets to

application and can I just tell you

aside from message preparation in your

personal uh time with the Lord

this is the question

okay

because you’ve already asked what does

it say you’ve asked what does it mean

you’ve asked the Holy Spirit to help you

see what it means

but then you’re always trying to get to

okay Lord

what does this mean for me

because God does not speak to be heard

he speaks to be obeyed

so you’re asking okay Lord now what do

you want what are you asking of me oh is

there a promise I’m supposed to heed

is there a directive that I’m supposed

to follow

is there a way that my attitude is

supposed to be shifted

am I supposed to relate to that person

differently now as a result of what I

just read

father there’s a battle that I’m facing

in my life you just told the children of

Israel be still and see the salvation of

the Lord father is there some way that

I’m supposed to react and respond right

now as a result of what I just read in

the passage

if you still speaking of personal time

with the Lord if you come across a

passage of scripture which you will

where you are reading about you know the

the Hittites that fought the jebusites

and the amorites about the Hittites and

those ites ate those ites and you’re

trying to figure out what does this have

to do with me has that ever happened to

you you don’t know what has to do you

and Leviticus like what

all right

the question on the floor still is

what does this show me about the

character of God though

what does this tell me about him

because remember the more you know him

the more clearly you’re going to be able

to hear him y’all y’all know who said

that to me um Henry blackaby

was at this conference or the church

development conference that Mom and Dad

hosted all those years he came one year

and he spoke and we were I was just

sitting at the end of the table I must

have been like 21 I don’t know I’m

sitting at the end of the table and him

and dad and they’re all down there at

the other end time I was on the kids

side you know he’d had to sit in the

kids section and I was on the kids

section but I’m kind of like

eavesdropping on whatever they’re saying

if you don’t know who Henry blackaby is

girl where have you been you need to

know who Henry blackaby is and you need

to run I was about to say to the

bookstore but go on Amazon and you’ve

got to get um Experiencing God

it’s a workbook it it’s transformative

life transformative

um Henry blackaby wrote that Pride 25

years ago now but I remember sneaking in

a little question I said Mr blackaby can

you tell me how you know when God is

speaking to you

and I remember thinking oh I’m gonna get

a whole Seminary class like I was ready

to write stuff down and all that and his

answer to me was

really it’s pretty simple the more you

know God the more clearly you can hear

God

that was it

he also shared with me he said Priscilla

sometimes I still get it wrong

the only time we know a hundred percent

that God has spoken to us is after the

fact when we look back and see if what

we did lined up with what it was that

God was saying giving the outworking of

what occurred so that was my way of

knowing that even Henry blackaby is

saying I’m still growing in this that we

never arrive we’re not like experts in

relating to God but the great thing

about our God is that his grace is

sufficient for us

and that our mistakes become the most

incredible teachers for the future of

how we relate to God and hear him in our

relational lives with him

and so we need to make sure thank you we

need to make sure that um we are

teaching people the whole counsel of God

and that we’re asking this question of

the text even in the hard parts of the

text what does it mean to me God how are

you trying to show yourself to me and

how am I supposed to respond in light of

this this is the application okay this

is what you’re trying to get to for

yourself personally but it is also what

you’re trying to get to

when you’re teaching as many times as I

am able I am going to get to application

okay when I look back at my notes of

what I’ve written down from these three

questions I will often find that there

is a theme that emerges

Redemption Grace

Focus

there’s something that emerges as the

primary point of what this Red Sea

experience or Jericho experience or this

particular King who did not honor God or

this young King Josiah at eight years

old who didn’t matter what his

grandfather and his father and all them

great uncles did Josiah at eight years

old honored God what is it about this

text that shimmers to the top of the

things that I’ve written down as the

primary point

if I start to use my personal quiet time

notes as something that I’m going to

then look at it for a message I am

looking through all these questions that

I’ve answered and I’m looking for the

primary theme that shimmers to the top

of what the the point is of that

particular passage and I’m going to

write that down at the top of my page

whatever that is focus Redemption Grace

faith I write that down at the top of

the page and then these three principles

really do provide the framework for the

points underneath the message

the paraphrase becomes the top point for

each of the three points or four points

that I have for a message

what does it mean or what does it say

that becomes the top point because the

the beginning of every point is what

does it say

that’s how I start every point that

points back to this major theme is I’m

taking them to the passage because I

want you to be able to know and see

after we finish and the conference is

over and you’ve gone home and all the

fun and the chill bumps have worn off

and you had a great time but now you’re

back in your regular life I need you to

be able to open up the book

and you can still see exactly what the

passage says that you heard in the

conference today or you heard in our

Bible study time today so every point

point one point two point three point

four or just two points whatever that

comes from what does the passage say

underneath each point I’m looking for

what does the passage mean

and so underneath each point now I’m

going to say what the passage means what

the interpretation is what the author

was saying here to the original audience

what are the meat on the bones for this

particular point that helped to bring

some umph to this particular point that

I’m making here in the passage

and then I’m going to get as quickly as

I possibly can what does it mean to you

application

if they are not needy enough points then

they they can’t make it in the message

everything you

you’ve studied all the insights that

you’ve gotten all of the little

illustrations that have come to your

mind y’all you’ve had it happen to you

before where it really could have been a

great message that somebody was sharing

but it was just too much

you don’t know what the point is no more

you don’t know

it’s lunch time you hungry it’s too much

one of the filters that helps me to weed

that out is if this point isn’t meaty

enough to hang on to all three of these

segments what does it say what does it

mean what does it mean to me observation

interpretation application if it’s not

meaty enough to give me all three of

those it’s not gonna make it

that helps me to filter through all of

the stuff that might be rolling around

in my mind and my heart that I would

like to say but most of the time I

learned this from Zig Ziglar when I was

20 years old audiences are going to

remember 10 of what you’ve said

10 percent so if I have an hour with

them if I have 45 minutes with them

every single one of these principles

needs to be not only meaty but they need

to point back to the main point

I can’t have so many extraneous points

that when someone’s asked what did she

speak about they can tell you some funny

joke I told they can tell you a little

story that I’ve mentioned but they don’t

know what the point was

they’ve got to know what was the

overarching theme that the speaker the

preacher the teacher intended to

communicate and they know exactly what

that was because every other point you

mentioned it just basically was an arrow

pointing back to that main point

after I have formulated those those uh

points based on that General framework

then most of the time I go back through

and that’s when I add illustrations

um sometimes as I’m preparing a message

oh the illustration just come to mind

because my kid just did the thing

yesterday and it’s fresh on my mind or

it just happened you know or I saw it on

the news and oh that’s a great example

um and so I filter in those those

illustrations but I do say illustrations

I say that word specifically y’all

because an illustration is different

than a story

an illustration is designed to be a

signpost that points you to a bigger

theme

a bigger picture it’s illness

illustrative of something

okay you you might have some great

stories but if it does not illustrate

your point do not tell it

we we don’t have enough time for that

you have to say you got to get 10 of

what you’re saying is what they’re going

to carry home for them you don’t have

time to waste with a whole bunch of cute

stories that actually don’t illustrate

what it is that God has asked you to

share with these people

um on this particular occasion so ask

yourself is this a great story or

actually does it undergird support and

accentuate the point that I’m trying to

make in this particular passage of

scripture a gentleman by the name of

Richard Allen farmer some of you may

know him he was in our church for a very

long time he pastors now in Atlanta I

actually think he’s about to retire now

he said something to me years ago that

I’ve kind of stayed on this track for 20

years now but he had a little black book

with him it was like a little um Journal

but it was only about this big

he kept it with him all the time

and he said Priscilla this is my

illustrations book

when something happens

somebody says something I see something

on the news or something happens in my

life someone says something and it

Shimmers with

illustration possibility

that you know how sometimes you can see

something or hear something and you

don’t know yet exactly

but you just feel something on that you

know what I’m talking about

a gentleman um Rodney Maiden we were

just in the Green Room earlier talking

his wife has Ms she struggled with it

for a long time and he was just talking

about a few minutes ago he was talking

about how his wife who hasn’t been able

to stand for quite some time now because

of the toll Ms is taking on her body

she has a new physical therapist and

massage therapist who is now working

with her and he was showing me video of

how Now using a walker she can stand up

and and Jonathan asked Pastor Maiden

what is it about what the massage

therapists the physical therapist is

doing

uh that’s helping her and he said well

what he’s caused us to see is that Ms is

telling her brain that her muscles can’t

do it

but her muscles can still do it it’s

just her her brain is telling her

muscles so they can’t do it so the

therapist is reminding their her muscles

of what they are capable of

now I don’t know yet what sermon that’s

going in all I’m saying

as he was talking about muscle memory

and that you just have to have somebody

come

on a remind your muscles of what they

are capable of doing

[Music]

illustration book

illustration book it might be a little

notes file that is on your phone I have

I have one now I still have a little

black book but now most of the time I’ve

just got a little file in my nose

section it says illustrations they are

numbered

so every now and then if I’m writing a

book or I’m writing a Bible study or I’m

in a message I might just go and flip

through my illustrations and I’m like ah

number three number 238 and I’ll put

that number in my teaching notes

so that later I can go back and put

Flesh on it and connect the dots well

with the illustration but I’ve got this

Treasure Trove of illustrations from

life

the very frustrating thing isn’t it when

you really need a good illustration but

you’re trying to think of it in the

moment

but if we are good stewards

that’s the way I see it y’all and I try

to I ask the Lord about this all the

time because I’m like Lord help me to be

a good Steward at 2 A.M when you waking

me up

you’re waking me up at 2 A.M but I know

this thing this principle this Insight

something that happened yesterday I’m

gonna forget it see we think we’re gonna

remember at 8 30 a.m when we wake up but

we’re not

we’re not so you have to have something

where even at 2 A.M real quick you can

jot down whatever three or four words

are going to help you remember that full

story in the morning or that thing that

happens while you’re in the grocery

store line and you run across something

that you’re like oh that Shimmers with

spiritual Insight keep you an ongoing

collection of stories that you don’t

know what you’re going to use them for

yet

but you know at some point the Lord

might give you opportunity to filter

that in that will be a Lifeline for you

be a Lifeline for you so that’s been one

of the things that has been very helpful

for me and then right before we go uh to

answer some questions that you might

have I want to tell you this and you all

know this but I’m going to say it again

in your personal quiet time

but also it’s like two it’s like two

tracks of a train that we’ve been

walking down for this last hour together

your personal quiet time but also your

teaching time I’m going to tell you to

never undervalue the component of Prayer

of course

let your message rest and soak for a

little while while you pray for it

while you just ask the Holy Spirit to do

what only he can do

some of the most beneficial time that I

spend

when I am preparing a message is when

I’m not actively preparing it

it’s when I do the thing as best I can

for that two hours that day or whatever

and then I put it aside and go take a

walk

go wash the dishes go run a couple of

errands and just as I’m going Lord what

else do you want to say to me about that

passage what else is in there that I’m

missing Lord what Revelation do you want

me to bring Lord what is it that you

want to say to me about my own life as

I’m just going about the regular rhythms

of life or just go to sleep

sometimes it’s while I’m asleep

it’s like the Lord just goes let me just

help this girl out real quick

Beth Moore said to me one day that

sometimes she puts her Open Bible on the

pillow next to her and goes to sleep and

she’s like well Lord look if you could

figure that out and tell me tonight

while I’m asleep I would really

appreciate that

but in all seriousness sometimes you can

be so engrossed in this the act of

trying to get it all right that

sometimes the most fruitful time I have

in message preparation is to be diligent

in my study yes but then to Let It Go

and just say Lord I entrust this to you

you already know the women that are

coming you know what it is they need to

hear you know what’s going on in their

personal life right now I don’t you do

so Lord what little insights or extras

or other verses from the scripture that

you want me to bring in here to support

what it is that you want to share with

them bring those things to mind Lord

that no matter how hard I study I’m not

going to remember that unless you

bring it to my mind and bring it to my

heart so do not undervalue the potency

of Prayer over your message

okay I hope that was helpful to you

a little bit

amen

I appreciate y’all y’all are kind

okay we have I think we have some more

time right Shonda we do we have some

time which is great

um and shonda’s walking around with a

microphone so if you have a question and

don’t mind speaking it into the

microphone that’ll be helpful then

everybody can hear it and I can do my

best to be able to answer it yes ma’am

Priscilla thank you so much for this

Insight it’s great my question is do you

memorize your messages you rarely go

back and forth to your your papers you

know even at conferences it’s like it’s

all in here so how do you do that

um there are many different ways

obviously to be able to do a message I

have friends that manuscript their whole

their whole message out I can tell you

the older I’ve gotten y’all the more

words I’ve written down on the page I

think there are several reasons for that

I think it’s because I’m a little bit

older

but also because I do think there is

a Precision in your words that you can

have when you’ve written them down

because it gives you an opportunity to

go

is that is that what I’m trying to

communicate right there and honestly in

our social media age where everybody can

take one little clip out

and take this clip to just say and mean

and look what she said and all that

Precision matters so I will say I’m I

write more down than I used to

um I used to just have several bullet

points or words that would remind me of

the illustration here or the point that

I was trying to make here but I do write

more down now

um I don’t really

rehearse a message in that sense that

I’m that I’m saying it specifically

but I’ve I’ve stood on it so long that

I’m just sort of aware of where I’m

headed here but I’ve got notes in front

of me in case I went off on a rabbit

trail and I need to kind of get back on

track

um so I don’t know how to answer that

question exactly

um

but I will also say one of the things

about the ministry that the Lord has

called me to is I’m very rarely in the

same place with the same women in the

same dynamic as many of you are you’re

in a church setting and you’re

discipling the same women what that

means is that if the Lord puts a message

or a theme of messages on my heart I can

speak those messages two or three or

four times throughout the year because

I’m in front of an entirely different

group if that’s still What the Lord Has

on my heart so by the time I’ve gotten

to the third time that I’ve spoken that

message there is a familiarity and an

ease obviously that I would have because

I’ve shared it a couple other times so

so that would be different for somebody

that is preparing for every Wednesday

night to speak to the same people and I

just think there needs to be no shame in

your game or anybody’s game about I

wrote this sucker down and I’m gonna

read this to y’all

thank you

because I you know I haven’t had the

time to prepare it and also absorb it so

much that I can just speak

extemporaneously from it so I hope that

helps a little bit okay

so thank you for your message you’re

welcome and uh observation

interpretation is there a possibility

that

all the women in this room could have a

different interpretation as they observe

and read that’s a great question

um

yes and no

um you know there’s a truth to scripture

that is not it’s black and white

but the way that relates to someone and

that might get more into the application

aspect of it but the way it hits you

might the words might come out

differently or the the bent that that

interpretation takes might be a little

different I’m trying to think of a um

a specific example right now one’s not

coming to my head but there are so many

different it’s like a diamond it’s like

the way I turn the diamond the way the

light hits it this way is going to be

different than if I turn the diamond

this way it’s not right or wrong it’s

just the way that I have turned it in

that particular occasion the scripture

is like that it’s the same way how you

can read one passage of scripture and

you could teach an entirely different

message that’s still accurate and teach

a whole different message that has a

different bent to it that leans to a

different theme from the exact same

passage so I do think that there can be

nuanced interpretations that are still

accurate but they’re coming from the

lens of they don’t bend truth so I want

to make sure I’m clear about that but

they’re coming from the lens and

perspective of the person who is who’s

mining the text for that particular

interpretation

I hope that’s helpful

hope that’s right Dad should have

answered that question

thank you so much for that

um how do you interpret the true

interpretation of the word to the

seasoned religious uh women of the

church

say what’s the question to the seasoned

how do I interpret

the religious the religious

um you know versus tradition

okay what Shonda interpret the question

what’s the question I think she’s saying

how do you get people who are setting

their ways

I tried to keep it clean

you just pray and

[Laughter]

how do you get them to see something

from a different perspective or in a

different way

the true what the scripture is actually

saying um

foreign

have an answer for that

that’s that’s a tough one isn’t it

because

a lot of church culture culture is

wrapped up in Tradition just kind of the

way we’ve always done it so this is the

way it’s always supposed to be done

and I don’t know that I have a response

for that really that is direct other

than to say that we keep praying and

entrusting people to the Lord and then

we keep saying what the scripture says

and keep teaching it and then let the

Lord cause that to drill down into

people’s heart and hopefully begin to

soften their heart and to bear fruit but

we can’t force change that never works

well

but just sort of cultivating an

environment where the old meets the new

slowly introducing whatever those new

traditional nuances are and then praying

for the softening of Hearts as we

continue to stay true to the teaching of

scripture oh I know that’s not a direct

I wish there was a formula for that

that’s a good one

y’all sound like you’re on Wheel of

Fortune good answer

okay we have one here and then one over

here as well

oh

you have an answer for her okay we’ll

get back to it just a second go ahead so

if you can recall before you started to

speak are there disciplines that you

would go back to or ways that you would

encourage your younger self before like

you know you have that um that calling

and and the words come you feel the holy

spirit so you know it’s there but if you

were to speak to your younger self

whether it be just as plans that you

would say like every day Priscilla take

an hour to study the Bible or or what

things would you say to prepare yourself

for what you believe God is saying is

coming oh that’s a great question thank

you for asking that

um one of the things that I got the

privilege to do that I didn’t know until

hindsight was going to be incredible uh

incredible for me was I got to serve and

Graham Lotz

she just had me with her I don’t know if

you know who Ann Graham Lotz is

Lord have mercy

such Authority and power coupled with

femininity

and I just saw her up close I don’t know

what put it on her heart to have me come

and Emcee a few little events that she

was doing but I would go and I would

serve her which meant I was in The Green

Room which meant when her and Jill

Briscoe and K Arthur whoever were in

there talking to see what Integrity

looked like when they were not in front

of people I was drinking and all that I

would tell a younger woman get around

some older women who are doing the thing

you feel called to do and serve them be

quiet and sit there and serve them and

observe what it is that God is doing in

their life I would say that I would also

say

particularly if you’re writing speaking

as well but if you would like to write

right

it’s mind-blowing listen if you want to

write

we think about writing we try to develop

the outline for the writing we want to

do we study and research the things we

might write about someday

but we’re not writing so every day I

would be saying hey what two or three

hundred words can you get on paper today

that are not um they’re not

grammatically accurate they don’t sound

good they don’t have that Rhythm yet

it’s just words on a page there are

things from my early 20s

um because I was doing a Bible study for

some women at Southern Methodist

University

and there were some things I wrote down

that I wanted to share with them and

those 300 random words became the fodder

for books in my 30s that I didn’t even

know I was going to write but I would

see this little piece come up that I

wrote at 23 some random day and go oh my

goodness that point is exactly the point

that I need to make all of these bits

and pieces become useful they’re

foundations for things you don’t even

know that God is going to do in your

life or through your life later on so if

writing is a thing for you don’t wait

until you’ve got it all together you got

a title for the book you got the cover

art like you’re focused on all this

other thing no just right file it away

write what you’re inspired about the

next way next day and file it away so

those bits and pieces matter the third

thing I would say is ask the Lord he’s

given you a gifting he’s given you a

passion he’s given you a desire for

Ministry you entrusted back to him and

say Lord I’m going to hone what it is

that you have asked me or laid on my

heart

um to do ministry with I’m going to hone

that but while I’m honing it I am going

to entrust the people that I’m going to

deliver it to to you meaning the

audience is your responsibility

I think that sometimes we have pictured

in our mind what Ministry looks like

and what the audience Dynamic is

supposed to look like that if it doesn’t

look like that we don’t think we’re in

Ministry yet

but Lord I’m in ministry right now who

are the people today in my sphere of

influence what’s the audience that you

have given to me right now that you want

me to begin to share with as I mentioned

my cousin was in college at Southern

Methodist University and couldn’t find a

Bible study this is this is 20 years ago

so she said will you come lead a Bible

study I did that for five years I had no

idea that I’d be in Ministry or anything

like that I just went up to Southern

Methodist University and a lot of Bible

study for eight to ten women for five

years

so much of that became the fodder for

stuff I had no idea was a part of what

God had for me in the future so

entrusting the audience and what that

Dynamic will look like to the Lord let

him deal with who’s going to be in front

of you and how they’re going to be in

front of you and if it’s going to be

three or thirty thousand that’s up to

the Lord whether they’re going to be

white or black or mixed Or Hispanic or

whatever that Dynamic is the Lord will

entrust the people to you that need your

voice that need to maybe hear something

they’ve heard before but they need your

voice for them to really get it you have

to trust the Lord with that audience so

that’s what I tell my younger self girl

relax trust the Lord with the way he’s

going to do it and then I would also

tell myself to start now like you’re not

waiting on something

God has called you to it there’s

something for you to be doing right now

and that’s going to be the fodder for

later it’s a great question

okay and you had something to share

about the question over here about the

traditionalist

yes ma’am I don’t I don’t know exactly

who who had said that over there okay

but what I was just gonna say was you

know those are Rick Warren uses the term

uh extra Grace required those are EGR

kind of people that’s an EGR kind of

person and most of the time I have found

out my older women they they just want

to be heard so if I will just reach out

to them outside of Bible study and say

it’s not necessarily a discussion on

they just want to be heard they just

want their voice to be heard so okay

tell it to me over coffee or I’ll tell

it to me while we’re baking bread I

don’t know how to do any of that stuff

so that’s something she can tell me she

can tell me what to do she wants to be

heard so you might try that’s incredible

thank you so much okay I think is our

time up Shonda we still have a little

time okay all right Priscilla thank you

so much quick question

um has there ever been a season in your

life where your husband has been

intimidated by your ministry and your

unique calling girl why you all up in my

business though

[Applause]

that’s an amazing question to Be an

Effective wife in that season

[Applause]

um we’re out of town yeah yeah I hear

you

um in the case of

our marriage I will say that the answer

to that question is no

but not intimidated but he could feel

forgotten

Jerry I I’m married just the right guy

for what what the lord we neither one of

us knew at the time we got married this

would be the trajectory of Our Lives we

thought our life was going a whole

different direction

and I married a very very strong man

he’s a man’s man

a and we’re also gifted very differently

um I think that can be hard too that can

I will say harder in the sense that if

you’re both doing the exact same thing

you’re both in Ministry or you’re both

speakers you both have the same gifting

that can add some extra challenges that

I’m aware of in my case my husband is a

businessman he’s not trying to be on

nobody’s stage teaching or anything like

that and the flip side of that is I’m

not very I’m a business person but I’m

not very business minded with detail and

organization and he is so there are

elements of our life that fit together

in that way that causes us from either

from either one of us feeling

intimidated by the other that being said

if I’m not very conscious and careful

um

if he doesn’t feel needed

which I think is a male thing period

needed desired by us if we’re so busy

and consumed with everybody else and

what we’re doing to minister to people

and we don’t tend to their needs and

desires and just continuing to express

to them that they’re our priority

that could be a big a big thing that

chips away at our husbands slowly until

one day they don’t even recognize it

until one day they wake up and they’re

angry and they feel forgotten and the

real the real reason is is because we

have paid way more attention to our

Ministries and our calling than we have

to them

so I’ve had I’ve been very mindful of

that you know the older we’ve gotten in

marriage I’m even more and more mindful

of that

it’s a great question

[Music]

[Applause]

time for one more okay one more you go

okay we have to do two more because her

hands up too okay we’re gonna do two

quick ones I’m gonna make a short I’m

gonna respond with short answers so my

question is I’d like to teach from the

book for the women and so what is too

long too long to teach yes from a book

from a book like right now we’re doing

hearts of fire there’s eight women and

we only meet once a month and it’s so

impactful and heart-wrenching this book

but these women are sharing their

stories from foreign countries of the

love they have for Christ and what they

go through so we’re still in the book

and it’s it’s been close to a year but

everybody’s still okay well that’s what

I was about to say if your women are

still okay and y’all are still going

through and people are still engaged and

enjoying it

okay keep going don’t rush absolutely

because that thought does come to my

mind oh no yeah I think it’s totally

okay to take your time take your time as

long as everybody’s still engaged and

you can tell they’re still all being

enriched from it

ride ride that out enjoy that okay last

one and then we’ll

let you go

all right thank you

um can you share about like your

confidence and so of course like you

were doing what you were doing just

because you were doing it but when we

learned about Priscilla Shire you

probably were way you know have been

doing this for years can you talk about

your confidence in transition to the

larger call of what God was calling you

to do and then maybe even also Under the

Umbrella of you know Dr Evans as your as

your dad in in your process mat and then

my second part maybe really short

um do you still do like old-fashioned

writing and then like your processing

translators I was in the um kind of

content creation class earlier but are

you still very much like handwriting and

then Translating that as you’re writing

your book or doing your writing process

okay I’ll answer that one first since

it’s a little more succinct

um I type type on my you know Microsoft

Word

um and get everything figured out that

way I’m very much writing my own books

though I don’t have a ghost ride or

anything like that so I’m I’m very

methodical about making sure the words

that I want to be there are there I’m

hands on through editing processes and

stuff like that I want to write my own

books so

um I am right I’m not handwriting dad’s

still hand writes by the way on yellow

legal pads you all know them yellow

legal pads they everywhere they all

laying around the house in the office

upstairs so he still literally is

handwriting that sort of thing

um the transition I’m honestly looking

back I can’t even tell you when it

happened or how it happened we were just

doing the next thing that was in front

of us to do whether it was the films I

could say the same things or doing Bible

study it was the next thing that got put

in front of us to do and we were like

Lord do you want us to do this this

seems like what other people do not me

and then through a series of

confirmations one of them being my dad

older wiser people in my life who we

would call and go does this seem to you

like it’s on the track of what would be

next for us does it seem outside of the

calling that God has for me and I would

have affirmation and Confirmation

likewise some people that we trusted in

different phases would tell me this is

not this doesn’t line up right here we

don’t have a good feeling about this and

I would just say okay I’m not doing this

unless the people in my life

that are the mentors in my life again

the main one being dad and mom

um if they didn’t feel a confirmation

about that for me then I wouldn’t go

that direction but

I did go through a

several seasons I’ve had where I was

terrified terrified

um and and had to pray about the spirit

of fear being on me because I could

recognize it that it was not just a

little emotion it was the spirit of fear

and um people very lovingly prayed for

me that the spirit of fear would get its

hands off me so I could keep moving

forward but it was crippling so I’ve had

to go through different translation

transitions I can look back on them now

and realize that those moments where the

spirit of fear was heavy on me it was

when a transition was happening

um but you can’t see it in the moment

you can’t see that’s what happened

you’re just afraid or you feel a little

nervous

um but then in hindsight I realized it’s

when those transitions were happening

where the Lord was either taking us in a

different direction or opening up

different doors of opportunity

but there was never strategy to this and

I do want to I’ll leave with this there

was never strategy y’all like you said

people can just look from afar and they

go oh I wonder what she did can’t tell

you how many emails or letters we get

that want a formula

there wasn’t a strategy I didn’t send

out flyers or or marketing materials

this was not really the plan that I had

for my life it would certainly wasn’t

what my husband thought we was going to

be doing

um he’s a very private guy very private

and kind of behind closed doors so

especially the whole movie thing oh my

goodness we had to pray about that

before ever agreeing to do it just from

that vantage point of him being a

private person that once you’re on a

movie screen oh my goodness it takes

away that that little veil of privacy

that we may have had a little bit of

still before then so we’ve had to pray

about all these things and ask the Lord

for clarity before moving forward and

then we just feel like each step of the

way he lit up a step and we just took

that step forward and then we just wait

there until the next one but it wasn’t a

plan or a strategy

um so I would have been fine

I would have still been teaching Bible

study if it was just the 10 women that

were in the room to begin with because

it wasn’t about I wasn’t building

something I wasn’t trying to create

something I was just doing the next

thing

um and so I think that’s why Jerry and I

have found such contentment

we’re not ambitious about it we’re not

trying to be Savvy and flashy and create

something and have a bigger following

and sell more books and it’s not about

that at all it’s just about what’s the

next thing the Lord has asked us to do

because one day y’all

we’re going to see Jesus

yeah

listen and we’re going to be accountable

he is not going to ask me how many

Instagram followers I have

[Applause]

he’s going to ask me was I faithful with

the time talent and treasure he gave me

so be faithful honor God with your

calling and leave the rest to him Lord

Jesus I thank you so much for these

moments we’ve spent together bless these

women bless their Ministries in Jesus

name amen

[Music]

[Applause]