What I Learned from “Margin Notes”
Three years ago, as a way to have some type of class on Wednesday nights during covid, I borrowed an idea from Steve Higginbotham. For about 20-25 minutes, I shared some random notes from the margin of my Bible and an explanation of each one. Several said they appreciated these videos, which was a great encouragement.
So, when we started having our regular classes again, I decided to continue “Margin Notes” as a series. However, instead of random notes (one from here and one from there), I decided to work through books of the Bible. For three years now, we have released a video every two weeks (with only a couple of very short breaks) and have worked through Genesis-Ruth in the Old Testament, 1-3 John and Philemon in the New Testament, and the first 25 Psalms.
A few days ago, the final “text” episode of the series was published. (There will be one more video that just shows all the slides from the final books: Judges and Ruth). It has been a joy to do these, and it has challenged me. I thought I’d share with you a few things I have learned–or been reminded of–from studying for these videos.
God’s Word is filled with “nuggets.” We each know this is true, but when you study deeply and systematically, it is remarkable how many “little” things come to the surface and make a text just come alive.
Commentaries will surprise you. For each book, I read (word-for-word) two commentaries, and then would use other sources as needed to help me. I use commentaries all the time, but rarely do I read them cover-to-cover as I was doing for these studies. Doing so helped me remember that they are helpful, but they will also surprise with how much they miss, overlook, or do not find important that really is!
People who do videos regularly are working hard. Look, the video quality for “Margin Notes” was not exactly high. It was all done on a regular laptop and using free programs. Still, it took a long time to make the slides, set up, record, and upload each video. In reality, that is the main reason I am stopping. The study is a big percentage of the work and time…but when you are doing video, that is also a significant amount of time!
Christians are supremely encouraging. I think I can say that literally every time a new video came out, I got at least one note or message thanking me for doing these studies. Even if it was a quick text or Facebook comment, it meant so much because it let me know that these videos were appreciated.
I have so much to learn! I started in Genesis because, well, it’s at the beginning and because I know that book…right? Nope. All “Margin Notes” did was remind me to study Genesis again…and again…and again. What a joy to know that there will always be more to learn as we grow in our faith.
So, with that, a project is done. If you have never watched “Margin Notes” or would like to see all the back episodes, we built a playlist on YouTube at Central. Here is the link to that playlist, with all 72 videos in the series.
AUTHOR: Adam Faughn