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Lenses

Lenses

Word From Wiese

August 19, 2026

Have you ever put on a pair of silly sunglasses and suddenly discovered that the world looks aLenses Word From Wiese August 19 2026 Christ Our Shepherd Lutheran Church Peachtree City Georgia little different?

That’s why our church staff had some fun wearing ridiculous sunglasses. The point wasn’t fashion—although it did up our pizzazz factor. It was a reminder that all of us see the world through lenses.

Some of those lenses are obvious. Others are almost invisible to us. Our family, culture, experiences, politics, traditions, fears, and assumptions about how the world should work all shape the way we see life. We don’t always choose our lenses, and we don’t always recognize them.

The same is true when we read the Bible. We can ask, “What does the Bible say?” But there is another important question: “Through what lens am I reading what the Bible says?”

That question is at the heart of our new four-week sermon series, Better Ways to Read the Bible: Transforming a Weapon of Harm into a Tool of Healing, based on Zach Lambert’s book so named. Beginning this Sunday, we will explore some of the harmful lenses through which Scripture has sometimes been interpreted, and how they’ve hurt God’s people instead of helped. Likewise, we’ll consider better, more Jesus-centered ways of reading God’s Word.

Here is the lens I hope we will put on throughout this series: Jesus.

We believe that Scripture ultimately points us toward the crucified and risen Christ. And that Jesus is God the Father’s choice of best revealing Godself to the world. Martin Luther described Scripture as the manger in which we find the living Christ. The Bible is not ultimately given to us as ammunition for winning arguments or defending our preferred way of life. It is given to lead us toward the God revealed most fully in Jesus, leading toward grace, mercy, forgiveness, love and new life.

History gives us some sobering examples of what happens when we read Scripture through a lens of self-interest. There have been times when people actually removed portions of the Bible because those passages challenged systems they wanted to preserve. While we may not take scissors to our Bibles (as some have done), we can cherry-pick Scripture. We can highlight the passages that support our worldview and conveniently ignore the ones that challenge our comfort, privilege or assumptions.

This Sunday, I’ll share an amazing story behind the editing of one of our favorite Christmas songs when it was judged too Christ-like. We’ll also dive into the first major test for the young Christian movement when key Jesus-followers must examine the lenses they’ve been wearing so long.

Reports share that many Americans have stopped reading the Bible altogether.

For many reasons, but one is that they’ve been hurt by the way Scripture has been used against them.  The good news is that we know there is a better way. And we want to get the word out!  Indeed, these days, we need to ready ourselves to speak intelligently about the hope and healing Scripture truly has to offer. Amen?

I’m excited to start this four-week journey with you. Yes, what we’ll cover is central to our relevancy and helpfulness in the years to come. We need to equip ourselves with questions like, “Yes, this practice might be found in Scripture, but is it Christ-like?”

More good news:  in addition to these Wednesday WFW teasers, there are four ways you can go deeper into this Better Ways Series:

  1. Order for yourself online the book so you can read it. Zach Lambert’s Better Ways to Read the Bible.
  2. Attend Wednesday’s Bible Project Study at 1:45 PM in Conference Room when I’m going to serve as the guest convener. We’ll unpack the sermon from the Sunday before and take a deeper dive into the “dangerous lens of the week.”
  3. Attend the Open Door Class, Sundays at 10:45 AM in Room 212. Again, the group welcomes all to join them in discussing the weekly sermon and interpretative lens.
  4. Join me for a quick 30-minute “Unpacking the Sermon.” Each Sunday, from 12:10-12:40 in the Conference Room, I’d love to hear your ideas and opinions in relation to the sermon. Join me!

Questions for Reflection

  1. What lenses (family, culture, politics, tradition, fear or personal experience) might influence the way I read Scripture?
  2. When Scripture challenges something I believe or prefer, do I allow Jesus to reshape my understanding, or do I look for a way to make the challenging passage disappear?

In Christ’s hope,

Pastor Fritz

Let us pray:

Holy Spirit, open our eyes as we read your word. Help us recognize the lenses we bring with us, and give us the humility to see Scripture through Jesus’ grace, love and mercy. Use us to help others see the Bible not as a weapon that harms but a tool that heals. Shape our hearts so that we become more like you. Amen.