Most Christians read the New Testament and ignore the Old — and then wonder why the New feels shallow. This session hands you the tools to see Christ in types and shadows, hear the thousands of Old Testament echoes hidden in the epistles, and build a community where the Word becomes contagious rather than decorative.

• 1The Old Testament is not backstory — it is the swaddling clothes of the holy child Jesus. Unroll them and there you find your Savior.
• 2If your type or shadow doesn't fit a clear New Testament paradigm, you are not illuminating Scripture — you are inventing it. Two sticks in Ezekiel never meant two books, and a whole cult was born from that forced reading.
• 3The New Testament contains thousands of allusions it will never explain to you. It expects you to have walked the whole Bible. The Spirit does not spoon-feed — He rewards the diligent.
• 4When your Bible collects dust and your heart grows cold, do not try harder to read — memorize. Write a psalm on your whiteboard, mutter it through the day, and watch the wells unclog.
• 5The people you sit under and the friends you walk with are shaping how you read the Bible whether you realize it or not. Choose carefully who you allow to form your mind.

Practical ways to apply this message to your life.

• This week, take one Old Testament character — Joseph, Moses, David, whoever grips you — and sit with their story asking one question: where do I see Christ here? Write down every parallel you find. Then check the New Testament to see if the apostles confirm what you discovered. You are training your eyes to see what has always been there.
• Download Blue Letter Bible today. Pick one word from your morning reading — grace, covenant, fear, whatever arrested you — and trace it through the whole Bible using the concordance. Watch how one thread connects Genesis to Revelation. You will never read that word the same way again.
• If your Bible has been collecting dust for more than a week, stop trying to read and start memorizing. Pick Psalm 23 or Psalm 1 — something short enough to hold in your hands. Write it out. Say it aloud in the car. Repeat it before sleep. The act of compounding the Word in your heart will unclog wells you thought were dry.
• The next time you sit down with a friend, ask one simple question: 'What stood out to you from Scripture this week?' You do not need to preach a sermon. Just plant a seed. Let the Word become contagious between you. If your friendships never touch the Bible, ask yourself honestly — who is shaping you?
• Before you open a commentary or type a question into ChatGPT, sit with the text yourself. Read it three times. Ask it questions. Pray over it. Let the Holy Spirit have the first word. Commentaries are consultants, not oracles — and AI gets it wrong more often than you think.

• Thank God for His Word and the truths revealed in this message.
• Pray for understanding and wisdom to apply what you've learned.
• Ask the Holy Spirit to help you live out these truths in your daily life.
• Pray for others who heard this message, that they too would be transformed.