Bible Study: Passing It On
Of all the things we can hope to pass on to our children the one thing that I am compelled to leave for the next generation is the desire to participate in life changing Bible study. Teaching children to have an effective Bible study time is wonderfully rewarding. There are so many benefits found in giving a child the Word of God as a firm foundation.(more...)
Why Bible Study is Important in My Life
While on my Christian journey, I am learning to be a student of His word. Through prayer and bible study, the Almighty has enriched my life’s experience by giving me the precious privilege of spending time in His word. Because it is impossible to enumerate all of the reasons why bible study is important to my life, I have listed a sample:(more...)
Bible Study Saved My Life
Bible Study not only saved my life but led me to a new a new way of living as well! After growing in an abusive home and thirty one years of drug and alcohol abuse I had reached a point, at the age of 43, at which I thought I would most likely die before ever knowing any kind of peace. With a counselor’s help I was able to stay off drugs and alcohol for a year.(more...)
Bible Study - The Key to Theology
Theology means "the study of God." But if we consider the Greek roots, theou logos at its simplest means "the word about God" or "the message about God." Theology is trying to know God.(more...)
Why and How Bible Study is Important in My Life
Bible study is a not an option for anyone who claims to follow Christ. This is one fundamental reason why I have made the decision to invest in relevant tools to help me better understand God through His Word. My Logos 3 Bible software package is one of those few tools that have become indispensable to my regular Bible study over the past few years along with my good old Bible dictionary and concordance.(more...)
Bible Study - Right at the Heart of True Ministry
Full time ministry is many things; and it is much different than what most of us expected. One might describe his ministry with words like ‘administrative’, ‘technical’, ‘professional’, ‘managerial’ or even ‘official’. Most of the ministers that I know were thinking in different terms when they began. When I first applied to work as a missionary, for example, I was not thinking of culture and language acquisition, language proficiency exams, cross-cultural communication techniques, church planting models and workshops, partnership development, and the like.(more...)
Bible Study Essays
Logos Bible Software has been very helpful for me in several ways. In my Christian English class, I have to write an essay every week about a specific Biblical topic or passage. I am assigned a few Bible verses to study to get me started with the Bible study. Logos helps me to find other similar verses, and to understand the meaning of the verses I find during my Bible study.(more...)
Bible Study
What are the most important words ever written? What is the most meaningful book on the planet? What is the only book that tells us what God has been doing on planet Earth for thousands of years? It's the Bible!(more...)
The Transforming Power of Personal Bible Study
As a pastor it is both my great responsibility and tremendous privilege to preach and teach God’s Word on a regular basis to the people of the congregation I am called to shepherd. I can think of no other calling or ministry I would rather do, and often find it hard to believe that God allows me to devote my time and energy to proclaiming His Word.(more...)
How Can I Enable People to Want to do Bible Study?
The benefits of Bible study are well known, the above are just two examples of the promises in the Bible of the benefits of getting Gods word inside of us. I think though it is well known that attendance at mid-week Bible studies are very low and sales of Bible study materials (Commentaries, Concordances etc) are also low. What sorts of reasons are there why people don’t appreciate Bible study?(more...)
Five Day a Week Bible Study
This year my Bible study has focused on the New Testament, using the “work week” plan. The work week plan focuses on the New Testament and is used each work day (five days a week). By reading just five chapters a week you can read the entire New Testament in one year.(more...)
Bible Study - My Spiritual Barometer
As a Christian of some 30 plus years, my spiritual condition has varied from time to time. Since my conversion, I've always been assured of "no condemnation" being in Christ Jesus according to Romans 8:1 and in being "more than conquerors" through Him (vs. 37). But there have been times where I have struggled with temptation and obedience to God's commands more than others.(more...)
Bible Study & the New Believer
Bible study is an integral component for growth in faithfulness and understanding for the recent believer. All who believe recall the fervor they had for reading and sharing the scriptures at that moment they first believed. However, maintaining that fervor requires ongoing individual & corporate Bible study.(more...)
Bible Study Revealed: Life With the True God
It was Bible Study that brought me the knowledge of salvation. Prior to that, my life had been bouncing back and forth from one religious teacher to another. These religious groups did not live what they taught and their seemed to be nothing but disorder for almost three years. It was after a year of Bible Study that my heart became convicted and the Saviour I thought I received mentally was accepted into my heart.(more...)
The Rich Rewards of Bible Study
1 Corinthians 2:16 states, "For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he should instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ." (ASV) The great value of Bible study is in the fact that it opens up to us the very mind and heart of God. The study of the scriptures is not just the study of a book but the study of God's revealed Word. Bible study allows us to know the purpose and plan of God.(more...)
Bible Study from a Semitic Perspective
Most of the users of the Logos software editions will have been trained in looking at Holy Scripture from a Western perspective with a heavy emphasis of Koine Greek and some Hebrew. Occasionally, a user may delve into the Biblical Aramaic when studying Daniel and Ezra. However, there is a wealth of knowledge that can be gleaned in New Testament studies by also looking at the texts that were written in Aramaic (Syriac).(more...)
Bible Study Group
In March 2004, we received a phone call from a couple in our church who told us that they were starting a Bible Study group and we were one of the couples God placed on their hearts to invite to join. This was really an answer to prayer because I had been praying for someone with whom to study the Bible.(more...)
Bible Study, It's Essential
Bible Study, for the Christian is an essential part of our life. If we are to mature then we have to study. God's word tells us to "study to show ourselves approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed". Bible study should not be a burden on us, but should be a hunger to us.(more...)
A Portrait of Progress in Bible Study
I am in the middle of a Bible study on the Sermon on the Mount, perhaps one of the most studied passages in the Bible. As I look back on some of the established interpretations I see a vast difference between on what the Sermon means to different people -- it is Law, it is Grace, it is ethics for the Church, it is only for Jesus' day, and the positions go on and on.(more...)
Give Thanks for God's Blessings in Bible Study
National Bible Week gave me an opportunity to give thanks to God for the many blessings that come through Bible study, some of which we don’t often consider blessings.(more...)
Bible Study - Letting Scripture Speak Naturally
After 20 years of various ministry. After preaching and teaching hundreds (maybe thousands) of times. I finally discovered what Bible study was really all about.(more...)
Bible Study: More than an Experience
Today, many people are looking farther than a theoretical knowledge of God; they are seeking some sort of experience. Tragically this leads to confusion upon truly knowing God. In a generation of “I need to feel it”, we have substituted programs, music, ideas for Bible study.(more...)
The Richness of Bible Study
The importance of Bible study cannot be stressed enough. We are given a relationship with the Almighty, but intimate communion with him through his Word provides the necessary opportunity for his Holy Spirit to inform and mold our hearts. The richness of our faith will not be delved into apart from Bible study. (more...)
What Should Happen When More Members Engage in More In-Depth Bible Study
I attend a very large church in the Midwest where our senior pastor spends a significant amount of time each week in sermon preparation. The result of his Bible study efforts, in combination with his skilled ability to preach, attracts a very large number of attendees to our church. But I have wondered, what would happen if most of the people attending our church would take on the challenge to further their own on-going and in-depth Bible study to an extent approaching even half the effort our pastor himself does?(more...)
Bible Study is Looking for "Home" Work
God's Word is living and active, and that is evidence most by the way that I now do my Bible Studying. My Bibles are stored in electronic media and come alive when I open my Logos Bible Software. In minute portions of time that I cannot begin to comprehend, my chosen Bible opens to the passage or topic that I require. My favorite version is the ESV. The language it uses is simple and easy to understand, but it reveals all the meaning that God put there.(more...)
Bible Study the Libronix Way
This is an amazing time we live in and one of the most amazing things about it is how the computer has made Bible study easy and efficient. Using Libronix Digital Library System you can do a Bible study based on a selected Bible passage, a selected word, or a selected topic.(more...)
Surprised by Lack of Bible Study
In Australia, those door-knocking groups who exist on the fringes of Christianity are pretty rare. It isn’t too often that a pair of ‘missionaries’ wants to come in and share with you.(more...)
The Purpose of Bible Study
Go into a local Christian bookstore, and ask about Bible study, and they will point you to a few shelves of books that cost five to ten bucks. They might ask you about whether you are interested in a topical approach, a exegetical study, a systematic approach which will lay open all the Bible, or perhaps a simple devotional, which gives you a trite thought of the day.(more...)
Bible Study and Its Relevance in My Life
When I first think of "Bible study", I usually have a sudden pang of guilt. I am reminded once again of something that I often don't do nearly enough of. I don't think I am alone as an American Christian. What I seek to do here is look at some of the obstacles that get in the way of in depth Bible study, as well as look at why Bible study is so important.(more...)
Why Bible Study is So Important to Me
I was the teacher; she was the student, but, as I read her paper, our roles were reversed. Elise wrote, “I found myself, reading the Bible, not out of guilt, but because reading the words brought me joy, peace, and healing.” The statement hit me with such an impact that I put it into my PDA, but the questions remained. Why do I read the Bible? Why do I study the Bible?(more...)
Bible Study - A Way to Walk With the Lord
When I was early in my Christian walk I would only read the bible occasionally, and very spotty at best, it could hardly be referred to as a Bible study. I saw the Bible as a great book, massive and intimidating. In addition it was difficult for me to read, and many times I came away without really understanding what I had just read.(more...)
How Bible Study Has Changed My Life
It hasn’t been too awfully long since I got serious about bible study. I’ve been through the trials of life more times than I’d like to admit. I started to teach the adult Sunday school class a few years ago, and found that all I really had to offer these students was mostly what I heard another teacher or two tell me. (more...)
"Business Solutions" for Personal Bible Study
“Taking care of business” is a phrase we hear quite often in our contemporary society. There is corporate business, large and medium size business, small business and home business. With all of the emphasis on business in our culture, “business solutions” are sought after on every level.(more...)
Real Bible Study Changes Lives
All that is called "Bible study" is not real Bible study. I learned this the hard way. As a young teenager, God drew me to study His word. However, the church I attended at the time did not offer any real Bible study, only very general discussions. So I turned to the radio and signed up for a Bible study course from one of the radio preachers. This began years of false teaching and legalism that held me captive for over thirty years.(more...)
Bible Study is the Key to Life
What comes to mind when you hear the two words Bible study? Does the one word Life flow concurrently with them? If not I believe it should. Why? Well I say this because one day during the time of my own personal Bible study I came across a verse that explained to me the words that I was reading were the very source of my life.(more...)
The Baby Doctor and Bible Study
Recently I met with a patron of our ministry. She is a Pediatrician and a well grounded person whom I have known for over 30 years. She is generous and encouraging. She is also brilliant. Her father and mother – Irish and Italian, raised four girls right next door to me. (more...)
The Role of Maps in Bible Study
The role of maps in Bible study cannot be overemphasized. Knowing something about the places mentioned in the Bible can help one follow and appreciate the Biblical story. Wrong assumptions and conclusions about events, which took place in certain locations will be removed or minimized. The distance between locations, which are not easily discerned in studying the text is enhanced by the map.(more...)
Bible Study: It's Never Too Soon to...
One Saturday morning, Nate and his father, Michael, were sitting at the kitchen table sorting out Nate’s pocket money. In front of him were five plastic pots: #1 was for his tithe; #2 was for investments; #3 was for savings for presents for others; #4 was for savings for things for Nate; and #5 was for Nate’s spending money.(more...)
Bible Study is Life - The Rest is Just Details
As each year passes, Bible Study becomes a major roll and influence in a believer's life. Every year new challenges wait. What is the motivation to persevere? One would think its “how” you study that keeps a person going. Another would say it’s “who” you study with. Even another would simply say, “It’s what I’ve grown up doing”. (more...)
Sola Scriptura and Bible Study
Why Sola Scriptura? Why Bible Study? These two valuable questions definitively address my own pursuit for truth; a pursuit which I liken to a steel track under the train which is speeding me on to my destination in life.(more...)
Bible Study - The Foundation of Worship
Throughout known history, humans have expressed veneration to gods. Many religions provide the story of their God or gods as oral tradition. The Bible – a written record – enables Christians to know the God we worship experientially. Like a map to a precious treasure, Bible study aids me in finding and getting to know God.(more...)
Conviction, Commitment, Command & Companion Bible Study
In Pastor R. Kent Hughes “Preaching the Word” commentary on Hebrews, he laments that the pollsters inform us that modern church members “cannot name the books of the Bible or locate the Ten Commandments or the Beatitudes, much less tell us what they are. This also brings us to the indisputable axiom; we cannot be profoundly influenced (or encouraged) by that which we do not know.(more...)
Bible Study Over the Years
Bible study over the years has become easier and easier, and yet harder and harder. When I was younger, I was eager to learn the Bible, and my Bible study was basically in preparation for teaching young children Bible stories of the great heroes of the faith: David and Goliath, Daniel in the Lions Den, Moses in the Reeds.(more...)
Personal Bible Study - The Path to Intimacy
When I was as child, my Mother taught me to have a daily devotional time with the Lord; but she also encouraged me to seek God through personal Bible study – a more in-depth and longer period of time with God in His word. My personal and group Bible study activities have proven to be the building blocks that shaped the foundation of my spiritual life –intimacy with Jesus Christ – and the driving passion in my ministry.(more...)
The Importance of Words in Bible Study
One of the things that is important in Bible study but can be overlooked is the study of individual words. This task can be made easier if one learns the Greek and Hebrew languages but obviously not everyone can do that. When I am preaching or leading a Bible study I will read through the passage in English in three or more translations and pick out which words I think need a closer look.(more...)
Sound Bible Study Practices Bear Fruit
I am a deacon in the Catholic Church. I generally preach once a month and then every six weeks I write a “reflections” article on the readings of mass that weekend. The Liturgy of the Word at mass consists of a reading from the Old Testament, a Psalm Reading, a reading from the New Testament letters or epistles, and a reading from one of the Gospels.(more...)
Bible Study and Post-Modern Thought
America in 2006 is moving rapidly to post-modernism. This means not only that all objective standards are called into question, but even the possibility of intimate relationship, since all humans are viewed as totally subjective in their view of self and others (if what they are saying can truly be understood by anyone at all under this rubric). By this standard, even Bible study becomes a totally individual pursuit, though Scripture is clear that no interpretation is private.(more...)
A Case for Bible Study
I began bible study after coming to know Christ as my personal savior about 30 years ago. Back then, when I used to consider bible study I would conjure up images of assorted thick, heavy, dusty books dating from antiquity. These were the sources and resources needed to learn the secrets of the saints, so I thought.(more...)
Bible Study: The Spice of Life
I get excited when I think of studying the Bible! I start every morning with God. Before Logos, I had to drag out Bibles and commentaries and dedicate a table in our spare room just for all my study books. It was frustrating and time consuming.(more...)
Meeting God in Bible Study
The story of David and Goliath always serves to remind me of David’s inability to function in the armor of Saul. It is not just that David thought that he could do better without Saul’s armor, wearing it simply wasn’t an option. Unfortunately many of us have allowed the experiences of others in Bible study to dictate how we must study the Bible for ourselves.(more...)
Goals of Bible Study
As a pastor, it was sometimes hard to convince people of the importance of Bible study. “Of course Bible study is important to you. You’re the pastor.” The reasoning frequently runs along one of two lines of defense: (a) You’ve got to do Bible study because it’s your job, or (b) You’ve got to do Bible study to prepare your sermons and lessons for us. (more...)
The Joys of Bible Study
In Nehemiah 8:12 it says that a celebration of joy was begun “because they now understood the words that had been made known to them.” (more...)
Why Bible Study?
Most people in the United States and throughout the world do not see the need for personal Bible study. They may read another “holy” book which has a different god than the Triune God as its protagonist or perhaps they do not see their need for God.(more...)
The Delight of Bible Study
One of the great blessings of modern technology is in relation to Bible study!(more...)
Bible Study and the Power of God
I find it providential that God has given me a renewed sense of the power of His word during national Bible week. I teach High School theology classes at an international school in Asia, and the fall semester 9th grade curriculum presents a simple introduction to Bible study.(more...)
Bible Study - The Highlight of Each Week
I write as a person, who for the past twenty years has had a God given passion for the smaller ‘home group’ style Bible study.(more...)
Why Bible Study is Important
Bible Study is very important in that it helps a non-Christian understand the need to become a Christian; it helps the Christian as it feeds him daily and finally it is very important to me as it enables me to learn how to please God and come to know Him better.(more...)
When Bible Study Means Something
It was not until I became very serious about Bible study the Bible opened up like the Red Sea did for the wayward Israelites. For me the ‘sea’ parted when I enrolled in Dallas Theological Seminary.(more...)
Thinking of Bible Study
When I consider the Bible study I think of Jesus words as referred by Matthew 22:29 But Jesus answered them, “You are wrong, because you know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God…” It seems Jesus understood the importance of knowing the Scripture. He associates the knowledge of the scripture with the power of God. Moreover, He told to the Sadducees their lack of knowledge of the Scripture make them misunderstood or misjudged the real issue.(more...)
How to Study the Bible
As one seeks to understand how to study the Bible, one needs to learn to study in context. Instead of reading Scripture in isolation from its context, one should read a book as a book before attempting to interpret any single verse or verses. Also, one should reexamine his or her church traditions as one seeks to unravel the intent of the author of any particular book.(more...)
Bible Study - National Impact... Personal Importance
A popular talk show host tells us that the United States is at war – a culture war. Many of his observations and comments ring true, especially his understanding that personal morality is essential for an orderly society. (more...)
The Joy of Bible Study (2006)
I grew up in a tradition where Bible reading was not particularly encouraged and where Bible study just was not a part of every day life. Bible study was to be done by trained professionals and everyone else should just sit and listen, and learn what they told us.(more...)
The Companionship of Bible Study
There is nothing like doing Bible study, as Bible study is not merely study of the Bible. It reveals Almighty God himself to the student, and so is not so much about words, or form or content, but about what, or rather who is between the lines.(more...)
A Vacation Lesson About Bible Study
A vacation experience my family recently shared brought home to me once again the importance of careful, attentive Bible study.(more...)
Being Steady Through Bible Study
By definition, a steady person is someone who is secure and constant. The question is how is this possible with our hectic lifestyle? The answer is simply, Bible Study.(more...)
Some Thoughts About Various Approaches to Bible Study
The following are observations on some ways in which Bible study can be done, but not from the methodological viewpoint. Instead, these thoughts concern the ways in which we may approach the activity of studying the Bible, that is, the reasons we may have for doing Bible study, and the manner in which we may do it.(more...)
The Joy of Bible Study
The Bible is just another old book; so why spend any more time in Bible Study than in enjoying a good mystery novel? Thankfully, I have never had to answer this question for myself. Salvation brought with it a thirst for the Bible that has never been slaked. There is no scientific explanation for this. I can't explain it; I just know I have to be immersed in Bible Study every day. (more...)
Engaging in Real "Bible" Study
I am a college professor. Last summer I went to the office basically every day because I needed to have some writing done. Our campus gets a lot of Christian camps for most of the summer. One in particular caught my attention.(more...)
Bible Study is Life Changing
My lifestyle revolved around drugs and my drug associates. Totally ignorant of the Bible, of God! Taught as a child never to discuss politics or religion I didn’t. I lived in the country in New Zealand. We were in drought, no rain for 12 weeks; strong hot winds dried the land. (more...)
The Rigors and Joys of Bible Study
There is, perhaps, nothing I do in life that is as rigorous both mentally and emotionally as Bible study. It requires focused attention to the Scriptures—-to the individual words, phrases, paragraphs, chapters, and books. As I study I find my mind challenged to understand each writer’s intent and meaning, and then to put down what I have discovered in a way which is understandable and applicable to the lives of those I teach each Sunday. (more...)
A Better Field for Bible Study
What I experienced when choosing, working and keeping a field of labor with whom to share a Bible study. The outline is simple: the experience, discouraging, changing the approach, fruitful and rewarding. (more...)
Bible Study - Your Life and Your Church
A close reading of the Scriptures demonstrates a command for the Church to be of “one mind” or “one accord”. Yet, history displays an amazing amount of disagreement within the Christian community concerning the various doctrines and teachings of the Church. (more...)
Incarnational Bible Study
My personal love of Bible study led to a personal dilemma as I became aware that what I was reading was not always the same as what I was living. The measuring stick of God’s Word clearly indicated a shortage on my part.(more...)
Bible Study Has Shaped My Life
Transformation is a desired quality in my life. There are hopes and aspirations that I have as a person. We all do have those, yet find carrying out those is sometimes difficult. Even more difficult is the reality that we do not know of needs in our personal lives where transformation needs to take place.(more...)
How I Teach Bible Study
How do I teach Bible study? I have found that many who think they know a lot about the Bible really do not know how to study it; they know "catechism" answers or Sunday School answers: "I don't know but the answer must be Jesus, grace, or heaven" - but they don't know how to wrestle with the text. They want someone to give them the answer. (more...)
The Need for Bible Study in Addition to Bible Reading
Even though good and godly people can disagree about what the Bible teaches, why are there so many different interpretations of God’s Truth? The Word of God is read by presumably millions of people a day and yet, while reading the same Book these same people reach different conclusions about foundational facts of the Christian faith. (more...)
Why Bible Study is Necessary
Bible study involves mortal men interpreting the holy word of the Sovereign God of the entire universe. Because the Bible communicates the will of the holy Lord, difficulty comes to the student in interpreting parts that convict or show sin. Great benefit comes to the student of the Word of God when he comes sincerely, eagerly, and expectantly.(more...)
Bible Study: Knowing the Disciples' Playbook
I have spent twenty-five years of my life coaching the game of basketball. Some of my teams have been very good and some have not. One of the most important characteristics of an outstanding team is that they are all on what coaches like to call, “the same page.”(more...)
Obscure Opportunities
Many years ago, a popular song proclaimed, “Sad Songs Say So Much.” In my personal Bible study, I discovered this to be true in the Scriptures as well. The Old Testament book of Lamentations is literally a book of sad songs. Historically, these were written in the horrible aftermath of Jerusalem’s destruction by the Babylonians in 586 B.C. The five poetic chapters graphically depict the feelings of “the weeping prophet”—Jeremiah—as he walks through the rubble of what used to be.(more...)
Bible Study: Daunting but a Blessing
In most areas of life, the most difficult part of any task, especially one that is worthwhile, is getting started. Bible Study, arguably one of the most important things we can do as a regular routine, has always been difficult for me. (more...)
Bible Study - An Important Component of Being a Christian
Bible study can be fun! When we go to God’s Word to learn, we ought to experience joy because we are engaged in discovering what God has revealed about Himself for us emulate; learning how to both understand what He is saying to us and also how to apply this new-found truth in practical ways.(more...)
A Logos Empowered Bible Study
The Bible is not a book to be honored, but rather a book to be consumed. I come to a bible study with a figurative knife and fork ready to dig in and be filled with revelation and truth that bring me to a closer understanding of my Lord and Savior.(more...)
How Many Ways Do You Say Love?
Bible study is, without question, the most important activity of my life. It is important for many reasons not the least of which is that it directs my daily life.(more...)
Reading Communities: A Creative Method for Bible Study Groups
One very creative approach for a bible study group is to use reading communities. Reading communities are based on the concept of language communities. Recent research has shown that language receives its meaning from its use which happens within a community.(more...)
How I Use Logos for Seminary and Personal Bible Study
As a new Christian a few years ago, I struggled with all the normal questions related to the Bible and Jesus. I quickly relized that it was only through regular Bible study that I would get adequate and reliable answers to my questions.(more...)
How God Speaks Through Bible Study
The Psalmist posed the question, “How can a young man keep his way pure?” to which he offered the immediate reply, “By keeping it according to Thy word.” (Ps 119:9) That word we have in what is commonly called the Bible.(more...)
Bible Study and Translation
What could be more exciting than helping to make God's Word available in the heart language of the people of the Pacific? But what a responsibility. It must speak to the hearts of the people but it must reliably pass on the truth.(more...)
Bible Study Improvements
We hear so much about how terrible technology is and how destructive it can be for so many people. Here is a case where the modern, even cutting edge technology is useful for the building of the kingdom of God and the nurture and empowering of one of God's redeemed, Scripture hungry children.(more...)
A Completed Life Requires Bible Study
The Bible is necessary to have a completed life. The only way to experience this central truth is to become a proponent of Bible study. How do I know? From my life’s experience.(more...)
Bible Study: Gratitude for Scholars
To scroll through the thousands of books available from logos.com or to survey any good library shelf after shelf of books devoted to Bible study might well daunt even those who are most devoted to Bible study. The amount of commentary, discussion, background information that is available can give some people the uneasy sensation that it is impossible for one person in one lifetime to gain a full understanding of all that seems to be involved in Bible study. (more...)
Bible Study: The Importance, Passion and Power
Personal Bible study has been one of the driving passions in my life since I became a born-again believer over twenty-two years ago. The Lord drew me to Himself through a coworker who also shared this passion and preached the gospel to me for five years until one day the Spirit grabbed my heart and I listened.(more...)
Bible Study - A Feast for the Famished Soul
Spurgeon once noted: "The first thing the child of God has to do morning by morning is to obtain food for his own soul!" How true. We often forget that one of the greatest disciplines for the Christian is also one of the most vital in the development of the faith.(more...)
Why Bible Study is Vital to the Christian Life
Without the Bible, the entire Christian message is lost. Without Bible study, the Christian life is wasted. The Bible reveals God's Person (Father, Son, and Spirit) and His attributes (Love, Just, Mercy, Grace, Truth, etc). It reveals Him as Creator of the universe and all life. It describes His relationship with mankind throughout history, and explains His plans and purposes for our lives.(more...)
Bible Study: Do You Understand What You are Reading?
Before I began to think deeply and engage in bible study, I would read reflectively on occasion, usually when troubled, and typically only one or two passages that I "knew", generally Psalm 23 or Psalm 100. Typically I heard the Bible read in church, and from time to time would hear it quoted in a speech, an essay, or a college classroom (usually out of context). I realize now that I really didn’t know the Bible, and frequently, relying on others quotes and misquotes, I didn’t understand what the Bible was saying.(more...)
Bible Study on the Go
Thanks to Logos Bible Software, I can cover great distances and ever-changing study environments without ever compromising the message of God’s Word. So whether I'm sitting in my church office, the local library, the coffee shop, or my own dining room table, I’m just a mouse click away from over 1700 resources to facilitate Bible Study.(more...)
Bible Study: Moving Past the Quick Start Mode
In many respects when we attend Sunday worship service, we are getting the “quick start instructions” of our Christian walk. The sermon addresses a particular biblical principle and how to apply that principle in our lives. I am not minimizing the importance of corporate worship in the body of Christ. However the fine details of what it means to be a disciple of Jesus Christ and how God intends for us to serve Him can only be learned through in depth personal Bible study and prayer.(more...)
My Personal Bible Study
Acts 17:11 reminds me that I am supposed to be in the Scriptures every day, but laziness, what else could it be, always stood between me and personal Bible Study. Last year I came up with a plan that would ensure I spend time every day in a personal Bible Study. (more...)
Bible Study: Searching for the Heart of God
In order to understand the heart of God, our creator, we must understand the word of God, the Bible. It is crucial that Bible study is a part of our daily life.(more...)
What I Learned About Bible Study
I used to wonder why I never seemed to get much of anything significant out of my Bible study time. When I finally started giving my daily life to Christ (instead of just living the life of a casual Christian), I began to discover some reasons why my studies were lacking.(more...)
A Passion for Bible Study
Being a pastor can be quite frustrating at times. Numerous people need your ear and counsel, programs need to be developed and implemented, meetings need to be prepared and led, to say nothing of a seemingly unending stream of organisational and managerial tasks that get taken care of on the side. Then comes the shocker—I’ve only got an hour left to prepare for Bible study!?(more...)
Bible Study as an Encounter with God
I have had the privilege of earning the PhD from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Therefore, I tend to approach texts as things to be analyzed and dissected. I want to squeeze every ounce of nectar from each inspired word when I do Bible study.(more...)
Greek Bible Study for non-Greek People
I’d love to have the time and ability to learn another language, but that will have to wait for now. But that’s no reason not to be able to use Greek in a Bible study. (more...)
Bible Study Leading Towards Full Life Commitment to God
The scene of my first Bible study is still engraved in my heart. In the beginning, five mature Christians sat around a small table with a novice (i.e. me). My back had been sweated through. Then the leader invited us to turn to the Book of Ephesians. Once I heard that, my sweating could finally stop because this was the book that I had read in my last night's devotion.(more...)
Bible Study - Learning the Word for Yourself
I have had the pleasure of teaching an adult Sunday School class at our church for the past four years. Each class has been a Bible study on one of the books of the Bible. I use a number of materials in the preparation of my class lessons and one of the key tools I use each week is my Logos software.(more...)
Turn from Fear to Peace Through Bible Study
Hope is the fuel that fires the engines of salvation, without it we can return to our lost selves almost as easy as sliding down a playground slide. Hope is given to us through the words of the Lord and Bible Study is how He unlocks those words for us. (more...)
Knowing My God Through Bible Study
The Spiritual Discipline of Bible study moves us beyond "knowing about God" to "knowing God". So what does it mean to "know" God?(more...)
Holy Land Bible Study
Sometimes God gives us gifts. He has given me one the fall of 2006, when I spent the semester studying at Jerusalem University College on Mount Zion, Jerusalem.(more...)
Doing an On-line Bible Study
I am the pastor of a Baptist church, and this is about one of the ways we have expanded our Bible Study offerings. In our church we have a number of Bible Studies that meet in people's homes each week, but there are those who cannot participate in them because of work schedules, distance, or other reasons. (more...)
Bible Study at Antrim Village Times Two
Logos Bible Software has made it easy to prepare for a weekly Bible study held at Antrim Village, New Hampshire.(more...)
Bible Study as an Apologetic for God
Though I have been a Christian since I was very young, believing that “He is” based on Creation (Romans 1) and the conviction of the Holy Spirit (John 16:8), it has been Bible study that has strengthened and confirmed my faith over and over. (more...)
Love Jesus, HATE bible study
That’s me, well kind of. I am the A.D.D kid, barely made it out of high school, reading comprehension is very very low, and reading, of just about any kind, bores me and puts me to sleep. Give me a complex book such as the bible and no one who ever showed me how to truly read it, let alone do a bible study, well, lets just say I wasn’t loving bible study. (more...)
Inductive Bible Study
People approach the bible in many ways and end up with many different interpretations. Not all of these ways of Bible study are equal as can be seen through some of the wild and spurious interpretations people come up with. If someone is looking to find something in the bible, they can almost certainly find it there as they subjectively read into the bible their own ideas.(more...)
Bible study helps relationships
Why is Bible study important to relationships? Saint Augustine, an early church father and one of the greatest early church fathers, wrote each of us is born with a God sized vacuum within our soul. Each person upon the face of this earth cries out to fill this vacuum within his or her life. Many people turn to drugs, alcohol, or sex as a relief yet these things do not satisfy. Still others look and even dabble in religion.(more...)
My Bible Study with Logos
To celebrate my recent fortieth birthday, Janice, my wife wanted to get something that was significant, perhaps even financially extravagant, that was for me and not the family (directly) and would last for years top come … hence Logos. She recognised that Bible Study was important to me, and that after a good session I would ‘buzz’ with excitement.(more...)
The Romance of Bible in Bible Study
I have had a love affair with Bible study for some forty years since I was a lad of 13 years. My first bible study book was R. A. Torrey's, What the Bible Teaches. I soon graduated in Bible study to the New Scofield Reference Bible, and later Dakes Annotated Bible and the Companion Bible.(more...)
Devotions from Deuteronomy? Suggestions for Bible Study
Deuteronomy is typically not the first book we go to when we begin our Bible study each ‎morning. Our Bible study tends to lean toward the New Testament. If we go to the Old ‎Testament at all these days, we read a Psalm. But to neglect Deuteronomy is to neglect the book ‎which has a huge influence on the Salvation narrative of Scripture.‎(more...)
Bible Study – The Key to Getting to Know the One You Love
When I hear a couple who have know each other for a matter of weeks declare an undying love for one another and a desire for marriage, I inwardly cringe. You see, my concern-o-meter gets tipped into the red zone simply because a first blush of intense romantic feeling does not necessarily guarantee a long and enduring relationship. It is far too easy to be caught up in the moment and have no basis for building a lasting and maturing relationship.(more...)
Bible Study for a Lifetime
Several questions come to my mind when I am asked, “How do I study the Bible?” The first question that comes to mind is “What Bible Version do I use for a Bible Study? This is harder than it seems at first glance. With multiplicity of versions in English it is hard to choose which one to use for a bible study.(more...)
Bible Study
My favorite way of studying the bible is not a popular one but one that would be good to do at least once. How is that way? Read it from front to back. You can read 4 chapters a day and finish this bible study in 10 months.(more...)
Torah and Bible Study: How is it Different Today?
The Talmud, in Tractate Shabbat (30b), relates a story about King David’s Bible study: it was so devoted that "the Angel of Death stood before him but could not prevail against him, because learning did not cease from him mouth." Bible study combines our two highest pleasures: intellectual achievement and devotion to God.(more...)
Want to Know God's Plan for You... Find it in Prayer and Bible Study
Why is it that so many Christians go to church every week, listen to a sermon from their pastor (who has been in prayer and studying the Word), praise God, maybe pay their tithes and then go home and never pickup their bible again until the next week? (more...)
Suggestions for Leading a Group Bible Study
Bible study which involves small groups of people can be extremely beneficial to everyone involved. This kind of Bible study allows each participant to express different points of view and perspectives which he or she might bring to the study of the text. But group Bible study can, if people are not careful, dissolve into a mere discussion of opinions rather than a genuine Bible study.(more...)
Confirmation – The End of Bible Study or Just the Beginning?
Keeping one’s roots firmly anchored in God’s Word means that one will never think the days of growing as a Christian are over. Bible study is well worth the time and effort. Use it, don’t loose it.(more...)
My Reasons For Bible Study
The Bible is God’s letter to His children. Even if there were no other advantage to Bible study, just reading a letter from someone who really loves me is reason enough for me to read and study the Bible. But there is much more to it.(more...)
Bible Study: The Heart of Man Searching for the Heart of God
Bible study causes problems. Many people approach the study of the Bible as the teacher. They look through the pages trying to find the errors the pupil has made to correct them and hand it back with a grade. Whatever doesn't fit into the preconceived notions of 'reality' and 'rationality' leads to a reduction of the grade and the final grade given by the teacher rates the level of reliability. The problem with humans being the teachers, who sit in judgment over the Bible, is that we are not ready and willing to learn and we close the door on the possibility of a reality which is larger than ourselves. (more...)
Modern Churches Miss the Mark with Bible Study
In most churches today there seems to be an inadvertent lack of focus on Bible study. We emphasize Sunday School attendance, worship attendance, having an effective prayer life, salvation and evangelism. However, a lack of emphasis exists when it comes to studying and applying Scripture.(more...)
Why Inductive Bible Study?
Bible Study can be done in various ways. One of the ways is Inductive Bible Study which removes the middle person and gets you right to the source: the Bible, the Word of God, which is dependable, the same yesterday, today, and forever.(more...)
Bible Study For Our Times
The twenty-first century stands witness to advances in Bible study that could not have even been imagined just fifty years ago. At that time one was limited to just a handful of English Bible translations and all Bible study was done with books made from ink and paper.(more...)
The Joy of Bible Study
Have you ever desired to know your God in a more powerful, intimate way, communing with Him in depth and being totally immersed in the joy of His gift of salvation? Bible study unlocks the door to that kind of wonderful relationship which only continues to grow, producing a stellar Christian adventure. (more...)
What Is Bible Study?
Life presents us with many issues, and ways to respond to those issues. How we respond will often depend on our understanding of the issue at hand. For the Christian, serious Bible study will serve to provide the foundation for dealing which the serious issues of life. Without it, we will find ourselves doing as those “who did that which was right in their own eyes.” (Judg 17:6; 18:1) (more...)
Inductive Bible Study
I’ll probably never forget a men’s Bible study in the book of Colossians that I attended three or four years ago. We were using Bible study material written by a well known pastor in the United States. I was so excited to be studying Colossians with other men because it was a book God used very powerfully to shape my understanding of Jesus Christ and the nature of my relationship with God early in my Christian walk. (more...)
Language in Bible Study - Logos Lends a Helping Hand
As a first year biblical language student at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, I have learned many things—one of which is the importance of the biblical languages for Bible study of any kind or of any level. Though, for the deepest Bible study possible, one needs the original languages, even if only rudimentary.(more...)
What is Happening to Bible Study?
I have noticed more and more as I travel, visit various churches, and talk with many people who are solid evangelical Christians that the church often has a lack of understanding what a Bible Study is and how one ought to be done. (more...)
Missional Bible Study
I can never read scripture the same way again. Even before I became a follower of Jesus, I had a fascination with Scripture and Bible study. I knew, in the deep recesses of my soul, there was something living behind this text. How does one approach a text that, on the one hand, was originally written in approachable language, yet on the other is unrivaled in global impact?(more...)
Why Should a Christian Engage in Bible Study?
Reading the Bible in Bible study is a spiritual endeavor. The desire of my Bible study is not to force my belief system on the Bible; my desire is to discover truth that will challenge my belief system as I submit to the truth. Secondly, as a minister of the gospel, I want to engage in Bible study so that, after I have submitted to the message of the Word, I will be able to communicate life-changing truth to other people.(more...)
Establishing a Pattern in Bible Study
One of the greatest challenges that I have faced in my walk with the Lord over the years is maintaining a pattern of consistent Bible study. As a Christian, I know that the Word of God is essential for effective daily living. In my journey, I have asked “How is it so easy to fall out of the habit of not getting alone with the God’s Holy Word and maintaining a pattern of effective Bible study?” (more...)
Bible Study, Why?
A Long time ago I was asked, "Why do you serve God?" and I responded, “Because I can not, not serve Him. After all the times He has spread my life, and after all the times He has brought me through, it is impossible for me to not serve Him." The similar response would apply to 'Bible study', or the question "Why Study?" Because God has done so much for us as Christians, and because we as Christians want to know him better, WE STUDY. (more...)
A Bible Study Prayer
Theological studies help us to learn about God: his nature, his character, and his will. All bible study should have this as its aim. But theological study is distinct from other forms of study. When engaged in doctrinal bible study, for example, we are more interested in learning about justification, about sanctification, about redemption, about man’s fallen sinful status. Sometimes we study the bible in order to prove a point...(more...)
Encouraging Bible Study Students and Teachers
The Christian walk can be compared to wartime strategy: In a battle, you attempt to sever the supply and communication lines. If you succeed, you will win the battle. How true! The Christian’s supply line is the Word of God and the communication line is Prayer. We are in a spiritual battle and if the enemy can keep us out of Bible study and out of prayer, we will not be effective Christians.(more...)
Bible Study for Pastors
Training pastors and Christian leaders is my passion and heart’s desire. I minister in Cuiaba, Brazil, a medium-large city in the middle of the South American continent. I have been meeting bi-weekly with pastors from the group of churches that have been formed through the work of my mission. We are doing a Bible study through the New Testament looking for principles on church leadership.(more...)
Bible Study with the Telescope and the Microscope
When we sit down to do serious Bible Study, we have all sorts of tools available to aid us in making discoveries. But generally these Bible Study tools fall into two categories – Microscopes and telescopes. As any good scientist can tell you, these tools each have their uses, and to learn the most you need to know to use them both.(more...)
Bible Study - Communal in Nature
Our evangelical Protestant heritage rightly celebrates sola Scriptura (Scripture alone as our authority). However, in our American cultural context so much emphasis is placed on personal salvation that the normative Scriptural experience of evangelicals is as individuals in the context of private devotions. This has positive and negative dimensions. (more...)
Purpose of Bible Study
On many occasions we believe that the purpose of a Bible Study is obtain knowledge, or to enable us to confront tests in the life, or even to get ready for the ministry; however isn’t true. As the first reason by which were called the twelve, the Bible Study has the same purpose: to be with him. (more...)
Does Bible Study Have to be Practical?
It may well be true that lay members don’t get excited about Bible study unless they can see how it’s going to impact their lives today, but aren’t we really talking about a promotional issue? When we talk about making things practical, we’re really talking about selling Bible study like we would market a product. In the end, the Word of God is more than a product. Bringing people of faith to organized Bible study or getting people of faith to engage in Bible study should transcend humanistic marketing philosophies.(more...)
The Benefits of Bible Study
We all possess at least one Bible if we are a Christian, but just possessing one does not bring a Christian to maturity. It takes hard work and that means Bible study. For all the hard work, there are benefits in the end that far out way the cost. Benefits can be getting answers to life’s problems, building a foundation for an intimate prayer life with God, or defending the Christian faith, but the ultimate payoff of Bible study is knowledge leading to maturity and confidence as a Christian. (more...)
Bible Study Magic
Many times, Bible study is just like [magic]. However, unlike standard magic, Bible study requires the highest degree of honesty. As a student, you have to be honest with yourself, with the text, and with God; as a teacher, you also have to be honest with your students.(more...)
Results of No Bible Study
At first blush, the call to serve this church seemed the right fit. They seemed to have it all in place. They had a kid’s ministry that focused on Bible Study, and youth program, and also several adult Bible Studies. It appeared that they had their priorities straight. My wife and I were excited about taking the call. When we arrived, the facade fell off rather quickly. (more...)
Revelation: The Key to Bible Study
The book of Revelation begins with this promise, “Blessed is the one who reads the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near” (Revelation 1:3). Yet many who spend much time in Bible Study tend to avoid this book, claiming that it is a mystery, or a sealed book. This is in spite of the fact that the word Revelation means the revealing of a mystery. (more...)
Digging Deeper in Bible Study
I recently started to complete my BA in Ministry online and have had to quickly refine the way I do Bible Study to assist me in the completion of by papers for class. One of my significant tools that I have used for Bible Study that has assisted me in the past for Sermon preparation is my Logos Software. (more...)
Bible Study Reveals the Deep Meaning of the Word
Bible study is like a free pass to added attractions. When you first read a scripture, you can get enough meaning from it to meet a challenge victoriously, but that top level of meaning is just the tip of the iceberg. As you proceed deeper and deeper into its heart through Bible study, the deeper you go into the heart of God, understanding His perspective. The more you study a scripture, the more it means to you, and the more it can do for you. (more...)
Hermeneutics in Bible Study
Prayerful Bible study is the means by which a believer’s relationship with God may become more intimate and practical. Knowing the Word of God is critical in dealing with the turbulence of life on earth. Pragmatically, however, the key is not in knowledge of the Word, but in understanding and application. Hermeneutics is the science and art by which the meaning of biblical text is determined and by which one’s Bible study can become Bible application. Proposed here is a Bible study of Romans 12:20, a particularly difficult passage with some very real world applications. Presented utilizing the Romans passage as an illustration are hermeneutical principles that may be applied to gain the most from any Bible study.(more...)
Bible Study: A Truly Exciting Time With God
One of the most truly exciting experiences for me besides speaking the Word of God is studying the Word. Well really, in order to speak the Word effectively you must first have a good idea of what you’re saying. God is in the business of teaching us. There is no greater teacher in this universe and He has supplied us with all we need by giving us His Word, the Bible.(more...)
Bible Study As Life
Almost all Christians would agree on the importance of Bible study, but how many of them would acknowledge actually doing it? Well, perhaps it would depend on one’s definition of ‘Bible study’. For example, we read the bible each Sunday in our main service, isn’t that Bible study? Furthermore, our preacher preaches from the bible, expounding its finer points and reinforcing the message, wouldn’t that be considered Bible study? The short answer is yes, but the longer answer is that that is just the first step.(more...)
The Why & When of Bible Study
What does it profit to engage oneself in Bible Study? Notwithstanding the unmatchable joy and fellowship attained through a committed and intentioned study of the Word of God, Bible study encourages all who are hungry and thirsty to come and partake—the banquet table has been set. For Bible study encourages us to look concurrently at the promises and fulfillments of the past, the benefits and legacies of the present and the guaranteed assurances of the future. (more...)
Bible Study: Release the Theologian Inside
I subscribe to the notion that the pastor ought to also be a theologian. That is, his position and responsibilities demand that he be a passionate student of the Word. From his fresh Bible study should come his preaching, teaching, counseling and all the other ways a pastor leads and feeds the flock entrusted to him. That painstaking, verse-by-verse study develops a love and respect for the written Word and a personal biblical theology that he defends with his own thought and study, and not merely with quotes from dusty (or digital) seminary books. Bible study makes him both a pastor and a theologian.(more...)
Using Our ‘Enemies' for Better Bible Study
Bible study can be sabotaged by the same thing that can sabotage any human activity – egocentrism. All humans are naturally self-centered and Christians are just as self-centered as the next person. Because of egocentrism, we tend to think that the conclusions we come to when we engage in Bible study must be right. No matter what methods we might use for Bible study, what we discover may still be distorted by our cultural influences, denominational predispositions, emotional biases, and unconscious selection of evidence. (more...)
God Works through Bible Study
Bible study takes on two main forms, personal and group. There are benefits to both methods of study of God’s Word. Personal Bible study allows the student of Scripture to let the Holy Spirit to lead in the portion of God’s Word to be studied. When combined with prayer and journaling God can speak to the student of Scripture. Group Bible study allows God to speak through other people to help us see truths of scripture that we can not individually. As we study with others we increase our opportunities to see how God worked through certain verses of text.(more...)
Bible Study: Change the Filter
Now the right way to do Bible study is to read a passage without any preconceived notions of what it’s about. You should seek to understand the author’s original intent. You should ferret out what the text would have meant to the first readers. This method helps keep us from turning Bible study into an exercise to justify our prejudices.(more...)
The Privilege of Bible Study and Being a Bible Student
There are many privileges in store for the believer in Jesus Christ and it will take eternity to fully explore all the nuances and details of our inheritance as joint heirs with Him. But perhaps the most unique provision that God has made for us as believers is the access that He gives us to Himself through the study of His word. To be a student of God’s Word, when the Holy Spirit is fully involved, brings the believer into access to the very thoughts of God. (more...)
Life Changing Process of Bible Study
Bible study! The very thought of it produces a myriad of emotions that compete with each other within my mind. Candidly, not always are these emotions initially what I might classify as positive in nature. But one phenomena is quite constant – Bible study produces change.(more...)
The Dangers of Bible Study – When Bible Study is Wrong
It may seem odd to think that bible study can be wrong or dangerous. How can studying Gods word ever be wrong? Bible study must have an aim. If that aim is wrong then the study is wrong. Don’t forget it was the scribes and the Pharisees who were the custodians of bible study in the time of Jesus and it was to them that Jesus aimed much of his criticism. (more...)
My Computer-Based Personal Bible Study Timeline
Many years ago, my computer-based Bible study was relegated to a text editor with a search function on a CPM computer and a lot of 8" floppy diskettes. I only had available to me the public domain text of the King James Version of the Bible in ASCII form. This continued into the late 80’s when I had upgraded to a DOS system and a 5 megabyte hard drive.(more...)
The Road to Maturity through Bible Study
For years, I was a spectator in the church. I had come to a believing knowledge of Jesus Christ. My joy was full and my hunger for God was insatiable. I sat under the teaching of Godly men for years. I listened to teachings on tape and radio. There was so much to learn. Bible reading was very important to me but Bible Study was nothing more than reading my Bible. I had not yet an understanding of the revealed mysteries of scripture. Without a teacher, it was difficult to understand what was being said.(more...)
The Bereans Did Their Bible Study Daily
The Bible says that those committed to Daily Bible study have an advantage over those who ignore it. In the Acts of the Apostles, those who practiced daily Bible study are commended. Contrasting the habits of the Thessalonians with the Bereans we read, “These (the Bereans) were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so. Therefore, many of them believed… (Acts 17:11, 12)” (more...)
A Personal Testimony on the Power of Bible Study
I am a living testimony to the power of Bible study. I grew up in a Roman Catholic home and attended Mass every Sunday. After Vatican II, we were encouraged to read Scripture and throughout high school, I participated in the weekly Mass as a lector. However, while I read Scripture to the congregation every week and read my Bible every day, I was not taught how to engage in personal Bible study until much later in life. (more...)
Bible Study - Paying Attention to the Context
One important aspect of personal Bible study is trying to understand the situation that God’s people were in when the writer of a particular Bible book or letter wrote to them. Understanding the context is important because it helps us to understand the message of God clearly and accurately.(more...)
It's In Bible Study...
How can Bible Study help us grow spiritually? It’s in Bible Study that you’re able to ask questions, hear different views or interpretations consecutively, and participate in a mid-week fellowship.(more...)
The Discipline of Bible Study
Bible study is widely understood as being a very important Christian discipline. But too many Christians don’t attempt it because it’s what pastors or elders do or seems too hard. The biggest reason why Christians don’t do personal bible study is that they don’t know how to do it. In my walk I have found that having a bible study system has aided me in studying the bible with confidence and enabled me to come to biblically sound conclusions. (more...)
An Approach to Bible Study
If I want to be a musician I will not only spend time practicing my instrument but studying music theory, reading about great composers, and learning a variety of techniques. If I want to be a Christian I will spend time not only reading the Bible but in Bible study.(more...)
Bible Study, Like Man Needs Air
I go to church and Bible study every Sunday. I hear the preacher's words and it causes me to evaluate myself. I come away with a sense of what needs to change in my life. I learned again today that I am impatient, because I am selfish. I already knew that, but it seems to have more meaning when I hear it in person. How do I change? (more...)
The Necessity of Bible Study for Pastors and Teachers
Therefore, in order for our hearers to continually drink from a running stream, we must immerse ourselves in Bible study, learning and applying God’s Word to our personal lives. Otherwise, both our word and our lives will become a stagnant pool.(more...)
Finding Truth through Bible Study
I jumped head first into Bible study when I became a believer. With sincere intentions, I purchased the right books and started a daily journey into the Word and world of words. It became my passion with the intent to quench my thirst and fill my hunger for spiritual knowledge. (more...)
Bible Study with International Students
For many years now, I have been leading a Bible study group with international students. You might wonder what is so special about that. Is it not the same as studying the Bible with any other group of believers or unbelievers? No, it is not! (more...)
Bible Study: Reflecting Back, Looking Forward
Often times it is good to look back and reflect on how God grows and develops us. Some of the questions I recently asked myself were: How has God used the time I spend in Bible study to grow me closer to Him? Is my time being well spent? Has the way I study His word grown and developed over the years? In other words, am I learning how to study His word “better”?(more...)
Bible Study as a Conduit of the Holy Spirit
I am a recovering evangelical who, two years ago, could not bear to engage in any Bible study, as it engendered flashbacks of having previously been in a more interpretively dogmatic environment. The true spirit of Christianity lives and flourishes when the tools for personal study allow one to engage in Bible study without dependence upon any institutional authority. (more...)
Bible Study is a Delight!
What do you delight in? Not long ago I was reading Psalm 1 and noticed this theme concerning the person who is blessed: “But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night.” This verse essentially tells me that the man who is blessed is the one whose delight is for the Word of God, for Bible study! Because the law is his delight, therefore he meditates on it day and night. (more...)
Developing a Biblical Perspective of Bible Study
Bible study results in obedience. “But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves” (James 1:22). Scripture exists to be done, not merely read. The Sovereign God of the universe has spoken and He demands your obedience. (more...)
Why Bible Study is Important
In this world that we live in, it is imperative that we are active in bible study. Active bible study is like a muscle that, when fed through bible study, gets stronger and stronger and stronger. So that, when Satan and his lies comes into our lives, a person that is active in continual bible study will have the strength to survive the blows he offers.(more...)
The Ultimate Goal of Bible Study
What should be the ultimate goal of Bible study? The standard hermeneutical approach that has been promoted most recently is the three-pronged approach of observation, interpretation and application. (more...)
What Bible Study Has Done For Me
I know I do not spend enough time in Bible Study. I don’t know if anyone does, but I am sure I do not. But those few quite hours a week I do devote to Bible study are the best moments of my life. (more...)
Setting the State for a Personal or Group Bible Study
Today we do not live in a vacuum. We live in a postmodern informational age, where we bring our experiences (true and false) and countless outside influences (‘helps’) into our interpretation grid of understanding. We begin our Bible study first with simply looking at what the passage is saying, focusing our attention on the original meaning, ‘the grammatico-historical method’. (more...)
Transformation of Bible Study
[T]he Bible is different from any other book in the library. Even though the Bible is printed with ink on pages, it is living and active. There is dynamic energy at work whenever a person engages in Bible study. This makes the Bible very different from any other book. (more...)
Bible Study and You
The Bible is as relevant today as when it was written. As you undertake personal Bible study, you find that the situations described, the practical advice given, and the wisdom imparted address the same universal human needs today as it did centuries and millennia ago. It answers the same universal questions about human origin, purpose and destiny.(more...)
The Most Important Bible Study Tool - "Agape"
The word of God, diligently approached for the purpose of Bible study, has the power to transform the individual into a Christ-like mind. The closer the individual gets to a Christ-like mind, the bias that our individuality begets is reduced and truth becomes more apparent. Only by feeding upon the words of God daily, with tolerance and longsuffering, can we ever expect to achieve this like-mindedness with the Lord. (more...)
Blessed Are They Who Thirst For Good Bible Study
Sometimes I feel a thrilling tingle go up my spine when I hold the Bible in my hands, which is the word of the living God! But the long-lasting richness of understanding the scriptures is only found through diligent Bible Study. (more...)
Devotions: An Intimate, Adventurous Daily Bible Study
Many of us read the Bible daily as an act of devotion, love and submission. We do it out of understanding the benefits it may have and sometimes we do it out of legalism. Do we understand that "devotions" are a form of Bible Study and should be taken SERIOUSLY?(more...)
Bible Study Turns to Tears
Well, that just about wrecked our Bible Study for that first night as this lady of unusual composure totally lost it! Tissues were called for from every corner as we wept with and for her and the gracious love of our God who is always merciful, kind and loving. (more...)
A Bible Study Analogy: What if we drove our cars like we study our Bible?
If we drove our cars like we studied the Bible, some people would never get out of the driveway at all. Of course, the shiny Lincoln is parked out front for everyone to see. There are even a number of different models parked along the street, sparkling in the sun, one for every type of driver.(more...)
Bible Study, Bullets and the Ambassador
I grew up in the hills to the south of Medellín, Colombia... Every morning, without fail, was started with family worship. It was really a simple Bible Study. (more...)
Key Elements in Bible Study
To truly engage in Bible study means as the word “study” is defined...to devote time and attention to acquiring knowledge. This is more than mere reading. This involves thinking about and meditating upon what is read. (more...)
Bible Study: Meeting the Need for the Spiritually Hungry
Just as unfortunate as it would be to go hungry in a land of plenty, even more so it would be unfortunate to ignore the “streams of living water” and the “land flowing with milk and honey” that God provides in His word. None need be spiritually deficient in life because God abundantly provides in His word. (more...)
The Blessings and Burdens of Bible Study in the Digital Age
With the advent of the "digital age", not only is the Bible readily available for any who wish, but Bible study tools, basic and advanced, are readily accessible to anyone who owns a computer.(more...)
The Purpose of Bible Study
If we as Christians want to effectively minister the Word of God to people we need to know what the Bible actually says. This is what makes bible study so important. (more...)
Bible Study 101
The depth of understanding and application will grow with maturity, but the method presented here encourages even the most recent believer to get into the word of God and apply it to their life. What more could I ask for as the believer opens the Bible for the first time?(more...)
Bible Study – The Roadmap to a Successful Christian Walk
Many Christians today complain that they don’t know what God wants them to do. Could it be that this is because they haven’t taken a good look at the map lately? The Bible is God’s roadmap for our lives. (more...)