This week we begin our At the Movies: with the Family message series with Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day. And to prepare for the message I thought about what such a day look like for me. Well, for 7 or 8 years now my biggest nightmare (and I have literally had nightmares about this) is showing up at Faith on a Sunday morning when I am supposed to preach and having no message prepared. Well, welcome to "Pastor Chris and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day.” You are going to have to help me write the message today… so let’s talk about it.

Pastor Chris Sommer’s Not-Quite-Yet-Patented 12 Steps to Better Understanding a Biblical Text

1. **Pray.

2. **Read the text.

3. **What does the text seem to say about God/Jesus?

4. Read this text in other versions of the Bible (e.g. NASB, NLT, The Message).

5. Look at the context. (Use a Chronological Bible if available.)
a. Forest - Where does this text fall in the larger Christian narrative? (e.g. What century?)
b. Trees - What happens immediately before and after this text? 

6. Look at the notes surrounding the text in a Study Bible.

7. To better understand the intent of what was being communicated to the original hearers, identify the “form” of the text. Is it a letter? Poem/Psalm? Historical narrative? Parable? Prophecy?

8. Are there any words, phrases, or themes repeated multiple times, potentially for emphasis?

9. Are there any places mentioned? If so, find the place on a map to understand where it is and what it is near. Is that location mentioned anywhere else in the Bible?

10. Are there any good quotes about this text/topic from respected theologians? (e.g. Augustine, Martin Luther, C.S. Lewis, Timothy Keller, John Brunette, etc.)

11. Are there any songs/hymns with this text that can help you remember it? (c.f. wordtoworship.com, hymnary.org)

12. What is it that sticks out to you about the text? What might you think or do differently after understanding this text better?

**Required steps. All others are optional.