Studying the Bible is not as hard as it might seem—in fact, there are so many benefits that the task can quickly become a joy. Through Bible study, we draw closer to the Author of our faith, begin to discern his voice as he speaks to us in a deeply...
I have the privilege of teaching Greek. It’s one of my favorite classes to teach. But for many of my students, it is one of the hardest classes they take for their degree. Thus, one of my primary pedagogical goals is to instill a conviction in my...
The significance of Palm Sunday was lost on me as a child. I suspect it’s lost on most Christian adults, too. My first memories of Palm Sunday were of sitting patiently in Sunday school next to my friends, holding palm fronds.
I’ve been using Logos for nearly a decade now and helped others learn how to use it for almost as long. If I had a dollar for each time I was asked if we could make our print books searchable in Logos, I’d be a rich man. Unfortunately, there hasn’t...
Hebrews 11:6 says “without faith it is impossible to please him.” Not unlikely. Not difficult. Impossible. Thomas a Kempis, author of The Imitation of Christ, wrote, “Faith is required of you, and a sincere life, not a lofty...
A friend of mine recently polled his church—both members and pastors—to see which Bible study resources they used. Independently, every single one of them named Strong’s Concordance. Many mentioned nothing else. Strong’s was their only Bible study...
People have been asking, “Which Bible commentary is best?” for as long as anyone can remember. Learn what an exegetical commentary is—and seven exceptional selections.
With sixty-six books of the Bible written over two thousand years, the Bible is the most diverse collection of literature in the world. Those books contain some of the most famous stories, most respected wisdom, and most powerful prose (and poetry)...
Throughout the Bible there is a theme that you might call “choosing between two ways.” It starts with the two trees in the Garden of Eden narrative: the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil produced death, while the Tree of Life was a source of...
Every morning and every evening I pray for my children. I pray the words God has placed over my children and over me. Because God’s Word interprets the world, these words are how God wants me to see my children. In baptism, God has given my...
The most important lexicographer of the Greek of the New Testament had this to say about Greek lexicons: It is a mistake to shun the lexicon as a graveyard haunted by columns of semantic ghosts or simply fall back on it as on a codebook identifying...
This post will offer a fresh perspective on the grammar of a much-debated, and theologically loaded, verse in the Hebrew Bible: שְׁמַע יִשְׂרָאֵל יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵינוּ יְהוָה אֶחָד Listen, Israel! YHWH is our God. YHWH is the one. My interpretation is a...
Ever wondered, “When did Jesus die?” It’s a perfectly reasonable question as we near the celebration of Easter. The good news is there’s a fairly straightforward answer. The Bible and historical records suggest Jesus died at...
God has a name, and it’s not “God.” However, God’s proper name has come to us “damaged”—linguistically damaged. Sadly, we have inherited this name with consonants, but not vowels. I consider the loss of these vowels as one of the sociological and...
During my ten years in our seminary dean’s office, one of my responsibilities was observing faculty members in the classroom. It was an encouraging activity, because I was visiting classes in different disciplines and was observing excellent...
The other day, my brother-in-law gave my children a gift that awoke many of my childhood memories. Indeed, Where’s Waldo? books apparently haven’t changed much since my childhood. The goal remains: find Waldo amidst an overwhelming sea...
Bible study is the practice—whether individually or within a group—of reading, interpreting, and applying Scripture to daily life. Christians don’t study the Bible simply to amass information they won’t use. The point of Bible study is to know God...
We are familiar with God’s calls in Scripture to be marked by a tender heart. Paul commands Christians, “Be … tenderhearted” (Eph 4:32), and Peter tells believers to “have … a tender heart” (1 Pet 3:8). These teachings clearly show what God expects...
Effective Bible study practices Studying the Bible is an important part of the Christian life, but it’s a part that all too often gets swept under the rug and pushed off until a later date. Even if you take the time to read the Bible every day, how...
Since the mid-1980s, the New International Version (NIV) has been the best-selling English-language Bible, both in the United States and worldwide. The NIV was a trans-denominational effort by over a hundred scholars, sponsored by the nonprofit New...
Jason Stone interviews Amanda Bible Williams of She Reads Truth about Bible study and biblical literacy.
Family discipleship is hard work. The days are long with small children: a messy home, a litany of whys, and a gaggle of shouts of joy and frustration over the big and the small. In the midst of all this, you might ask yourself: Am I up for fighting...
Give me life, O Lord, according to your word! (Ps 119:107) Recently, I had a lively conversation with a well-educated young man whom I know quite well. We were both eager to catch up. In the course of our discussion, I asked him whether he still...
Teaching is a form of research, observes William A. Dyrness, senior professor of theology and culture at Fuller Theological Seminary. To teach students well, we must always discover what they know and where they come from. Dyrness is the author of...
Hope. It’s a word most of us overuse: “I hope it doesn’t rain tomorrow.” “I hope there’s a good parking spot open.” And, of course, “Hope you’re well!” as a pleasant (admittedly unoriginal) email intro. The Bible uses hope this way sometimes...
It’s women’s history month—and March 8 was International Women’s Day. To celebrate, we’re highlighting 20 Christian women in Church history who served God in both extraordinary and ordinary ways. 1. Priscilla (first century AD) Though the Bible...
A recent review of Mac OS Ventura began with an all-too-common admission: the features the reviewer had been excited about in previous versions of Mac OS turned out to receive little use. I don’t think that will be the case with Logos’s killer...
The Bible is a big book. More accurately, the Bible is a collection of books written at different times to different people by different authors. Readers will find that the Bible contains literary genres including history, narrative, law, poetry...
One of my required courses in college was titled “Teaching Elementary Math.” I enjoy math and expected the class to be a piece of cake. This assumption quickly proved to be incorrect. During one of these arduous classes, my professor...
What you’ll see in this Logos Live episode Dr. Mark Ward interviews Bible scholar, professor, and author Rev. Dr. Vern Poythress about Trinitarian theology and more. Vern Poythress (PhD, Harvard; DTh, Stellenbosch) is distinguished professor...
