Just because you’ve looked at your Bible — even memorized it — doesn’t mean you’ve seen what’s there, much less understood its meaning and significance for your life. Most of us are far too quick to run to commentaries or other aids to understand the meaning of the text in front of us, but such Bible study produces a shallow, second-hand payoff.

To understand God’s word with power, we need to see it for ourselves, patiently investing time to dig deep and ask questions of the text.

Look at the Book is John Piper’s latest effort to help teach people to read the Bible for themselves. It’s an ongoing series of 8–12 minute videos in which the camera is on the text, not the teacher.

As part of this initiative, Desiring God is putting on regional events focused on certain passages of Scripture. This is Part 1 in a series on 1 Peter called “Hoping, Singing, and Loving in the Refiner’s Fire.” More parts will be released in the coming weeks.