Discover “The Christ Key”, by Chad Bird
If you’ve been wanting a fresh way to understand the New Testament, try looking at it through an Old Testament lens. That’s just what Chad Bird does in this enlightening book. I recently finished reading The Christ Key: Unlocking the Centrality of Christ in the Old Testament and found it fascinating. He’s delivered several new keys to me for understanding Scripture by thinking like an OT Israelite.
Recognize how creation and recreation, exodus and return, tabernacle and temple, repeat throughout the Bible and reveal Jesus in every book. Bird calls it “walking backward into the future”–examining what has happened in order to understand what is or is yet to happen. In The Christ Key, he explains the meanings behind old Hebrew and Aramaic words along the way. This helps us clarify why certain analogies and parables came across more powerfully in the past than they do to our twenty-first-century sensibilities.
After you’ve ordered the book, I encourage you to accompany your reading with this series of discussions between Stephanie Pavlantos and Lauren Crews. They take The Christ Key one chapter at a time. Their comments will trigger even more insights for you as you discover a new way to read and better understand the Bible.
Sometimes it’s difficult to find the sessions in order when you go to Stephanie’s YouTube channel, so she’s graciously provided the links for us here. Read the first chapter, then listen to the discussion. Then read chapter two and listen again. Enjoy!
Chapter 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6K_oLtPR_aI&t=268s
Chapter 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IklAzzH-efo&t=334s
Chapter 3: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-0rA-O5eSpk
Chapter 4: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2zHMFJx76WI
Chapter 5: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1gDJubLHZJI&t=90s
Chapter 6: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kOHrT6aMasg
Chapter 7: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uYw_CxbnXZc&t=58s
Chapter 8: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1NlixoQA1-I&t=129s
Stephanie Pavlantos is passionate about getting people into God’s Word. She has taught Bible studies for twenty years and has spoken at ladies’ retreats. She released her first Bible study, The Few, the Humble, the Church, in 2008. In 2020, Mt. Zion Ridge Press published her second Bible study, Jewels of Hebrews. Her third book, Room at the Table: Encouraging Stories from Special Needs Families, was released on November 1, 2022.
She hosts Grafted: Jewish Roots of Christianity and Living Waters: Falling Deeper in Love with God’s Word on Messianic LAMB Network TV. Stephanie is ordained with Messenger Fellowship in Nashville, TN, and works for Besorah Institute.
Married for thirty years, she and Mike have three children, Matthew, Alexandria, Michael, and two German shepherds, Sophie, and Mia. Mike and Stephanie have a small homestead where they grow fruits and vegetables and raise sheep, chickens, and ducks.
Lauren Crews is a multi-award-winning author, which includes the Christian Market Book of the Year for Strength of a Woman: Why You Are Proverbs 31. As a freelance writer and certified coach, she enjoys working with new authors desiring to up their social media game. Lauren lives in Florida with her husband and two brown dogs who have their humans well-trained. You can find her on her website at: https://www.laurencrews.com.
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Terry is a writer and speaker who loves gathering clues about God from His Word and creation. She wants to help God’s people grow in wonder, appreciation and understanding of Him. She loves finding fresh ways to approach Scripture so we all expand our ability to both apply and share what we’ve learned.