Category: Charts

Charts are especially helpful for those who are visually oriented. Feel free to use these charts in any way that may be helpful to you. Please always refer to the originator of each chart – whether person, book, etc.

The “Jesus Focus” in the Book of Joshua

 Reading The Bible Through The Jesus Lens in Joshua

“From Biblical Book to Biblical Hook”

Charts adapted from Dr. Michael Williams Book

Joshua Title

Joshua: Theme

Joshua 11:23

 “Victorious Rest”

 God uses Joshua to lead his people to victorious rest in the Promised Land

 “So Joshua took the whole land, according to all that the LORD had spoken to Moses. And Joshua gave it for an inheritance to Israel according to their tribal allotments. And the land had rest from war.” 
Christ-Focus in Joshua

Implications from Joshua

Hooks from Joshua

 Christ brings His people victory over the challenges of this life.

“I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”

 

 – John 16:33

 We may now serve God confidently in the power of the Spirit of the one who fulfills the law, without fear of the penalty of the law.

 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!

According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.”

 – 1 Peter 1:3-5

 What battles are you fighting today?

 Did Jesus have battles to fight?

 Where do you look for strength?

 How do you keep your focus on Jesus who is the only one who can bring about victory for you?

 What counts as victory?

 Is the rest you seek the same as that of those who don’t know God?

 How do you know when you have the rest that God intends for you?

The “Jesus Focus” in the Book of Deuteronomy

Reading The Bible Through The Jesus Lens in Deuteronomy

“From Biblical Book to Biblical Hook”

Charts adapted from Dr. Michael Williams Book

Deuteronomy Title

Deuteronomy: Theme

Deuteronomy 10:12-13

 “Instruction”

 God gives Moses instructions for the second generation of Israel regarding faithful living in the Promised land.

 “And now, Israel, what does the LORD your God require of you, but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to keep the commandments and statutes of the LORD, which I am commanding you today for your God?” 

Christ-Focus in Deuteronomy

Implications from Deuteronomy

Hooks from Deuteronomy

Christ perfectly fulfills the law, and so secures our relationship with God.

“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.”

 – Matthew 5:17

We may now serve God confidently in the power of the Spirit of the one who fulfills the law, without fear of the penalty of the law.

“Likewise, my brothers, you also have died to the law through the body of Christ, so that you may belong to another, to him who has been raised from the dead, in order that we may bear fruit for God. For while we were living in the flesh, our sinful passions, aroused by the law, were at work in our members to bear fruit for death. But now we are released from the law, having died to that which held us captive, so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit and not in the old way of written code.”

– Romans 7:4-6

What drives your relationship with God, fear or gratitude?

Do you want to know your Creator better, or are you just trying to avoid His anger?

Do you view God’s instructions as restrictive or freeing?

How does your view of God affect your answer to the the question?

Who would know best how a human being should live in order to experience life most fully?

Whose effort secures your relationship with God?

Where does the Spirit of Christ dwell?

The “Jesus Focus” in the Book of Numbers

Reading The Bible Through The Jesus Lens in Numbers

“From Biblical Book to Biblical Hook”

Charts adapted from Dr. Michael Williams Book

Numbers Title

Numbers: Theme

Numbers 14:18

 “Promised Rest”

 God chastens His disobedient people but reaffirms His intent to bring them into the Promised Land.

 “The LORD is slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, forgiving iniquity and transgression, but he will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, to the third and fourth generation.” 

Christ-Focus in Numbers

Implications from Numbers

Hooks from Numbers

Because Christ bore the penalty for our sin, we may enter into God’s promised rest.

“For we who have believed enter that rest, as he has said, ‘As I swore in my wrath, ‘They shall not enter my rest,’ although his works were finished from the foundation of the world.” – Hebrews 4:3

We must let God’s discipline guide us to the peace and rest he intends for us.

“And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons? ‘My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him. For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.’ It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. Besides this, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live? For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness. For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.” – Hebrews 12:5-11

In what ways have you already begun to know God’s rest?

How would you explain this rest to someone else?

Can others see in you a peace, security, and fulfillment in life that they don’t have?

Do you see these things in other believers?

What is keeping you from knowing God’s rest more fully?

What are the biggest challenges in your life that threaten to cause you to forget how great God is?

Where have you turned for rest and fulfillment in life instead of to God?

Are you satisfied with the results of doing that?

The “Jesus Focus” In the Book of Leviticus

Reading The Bible Through The Jesus Lens in Leviticus

“From Biblical Book to Biblical Hook”

Charts adapted from Dr. Michael Williams Book

Leviticus Title

Leviticus: Theme

Leviticus 20:26

 Life in God’s Presence

 “God instructs His people how to live in His presence”

 “You shall be holy to me, for I the LORD am holy and have separated you from the peoples, that you should be mine.”

Christ-Focus in Leviticus

Implications from Leviticus

Hooks from Leviticus

The holiness of Christ admits us into God’s holy presence.

“He has no need, like those high priests, to offer sacrifices daily, first for his own sins and then for those of the people, since he did this once for all when he offered up himself .” – Hebrews 7:27

We must grow in grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ as we live in God’s presence.

“Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness, waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set on fire and dissolved, and the heavenly bodies will melt as they burn!

But according to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells. Therefore, beloved, since you are waiting for these, be diligent to be found in him without spot or blemish, and at peace. And count the patience of our Lord as salvation, just as our beloved brother Paul also wrote to you according to the wisdom given him, as he does in all his letters when he speaks in them of these matters.

There are some things in them that are hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction, as they do the other Scriptures. You therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, take care that you are not carried away with the error of lawless people and lose your own stability.

But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.”

– 2 Peter 3:11-18

Are you cultivating a life of holiness?

 What practices in your life remind you of your special relationship with God and His special purposes for you?

 How are the purposes of the various sacrifices in Leviticus realized in your own experience?

 How are they realized in the life of your community of faith?

 What does such a life look like today?

 How would anyone recognize that you are set apart to God and His purposes for you?

 Do you recognize those things?

The “Jesus Focus” in The Book of Exodus

Reading The Bible Through The Jesus Lens in Exodus

“From Biblical Book to Biblical Hook”

Charts adapted from Dr. Michael Williams Book

Exodus Title

Exodus: Theme

Exodus 29:46

 “Deliverance into Presence”

 God delivers His people from slavery into His presence.

 “And they shall know that I am the LORD their God, who brought them out of the land of Egypt that I might dwell among them. I am the LORD their God.” 

Christ-Focus in Exodus

Implications from Exodus

Hooks from Exodus

In Christ, God delivers His people from slavery to sin into fellowship with Him.

“So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand. For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin.” – Romans 7:21-25

We can trust in God’s saving power to deliver us from sin’s grip and into His saving presence.

“Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life.” – Romans 5:9-10

Does the fact that you are a Christian feel like a burden (something to be delivered from) or deliverance?

 Are your eyes open to the wonders of the presence of God into which you have been brought, or are you still focused on the features of your life in captivity?

 What could you do to change your perspective? What could you do to help others to change their perspective?

 Do you feel like you’re in the grip of God, or of sin?

 On whose strength are you relying to free yourself from sin’s power?

 What can you do to make others aware of the freedom from their captivity to sin and its horrible effects that is available to them in Christ? Can they see evidence of that freedom in you?

 What can you do to make others aware of the rich life of fellowship with God himself that is available to them in Christ?

 Can they see evidence of that rich life of fellowship with God in you?

The “Jesus Focus” in the Book of Genesis

Reading The Bible Through The Jesus Lens in Genesis

“From Biblical Book to Biblical Hook”

Charts adapted from Dr. Michael Williams Book

Genesis Title

Genesis: Theme

Genesis 12:2-3

 “Separation from Blessing”

 God separates out one through whom He would bless all nations

 (2) And I will make you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. (3) I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” 

Christ-Focus in Genesis

Implications from Genesis

Hooks from Genesis

Christ is the one through whom God would bless the nations.

“And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”

– Acts 4:12

As Christ’s ambassadors, we are “separated out” with the task of blessing others with the good news of God’s salvation in Jesus Christ.

“All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation;

that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.

Therefore, we are ambassadors fof Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.”

– 2 Corinthians 5:18-20

In what ways has God equipped you to be a blessing to other people?

 What can you do to make yourself a clearer message of Jesus Christ to those around you?

 Do people avoid you, or do they find in you some evidence of Christ’s life, which has a character and quality they desire for themselves?

 Are you able to tell them about the source of this life in a clear way?

 Do your words and life communicate something good and attractive to unbelievers, or something no one would want?

 Are you aware how you come across to others?

 Can you identify areas in your life that hinder your service as Christ’s ambassador?

 Are you willing to tackle these areas with the strength God provides you?