Learning to read and study Scripture is an important part of the Christian life. And while pastors and teachers are essential gifts of Christ to his church, individual Christians should also be able to pick up any passage and read it with basic...
Bible study tools come in all different shapes and sizes, and the best ones can really make a difference in your comprehension of the book. Read about different kinds of Bible study tools and what you can do with them—along with some suggested...
Theology is the world’s most important topic. The word “theology” may have only four syllables, but it’s a big word—a very big word. Theology is the study of God. But anytime you set out to study someone as large as the creator of the universe, it’s...
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...
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...
Whether you are just starting to preach or have been preaching for years and are looking for ways to prove, you'll learn the nuts and bolts of writing a sermon in this article.
Learn tips for how to write an expository sermon on Romans, including creating the outline, researching, writing, and publishing your sermons.
Writing a paper on a historically significant event is an excellent way to learn. It trains you to gather information, interpret it, and persuasively present an informed opinion. The researching process itself teaches you a great deal, but it also...
Writing a paper on the theology of a biblical book is one of the best ways to internalize that book’s message. Not only will it require familiarizing yourself with the entire book, but you’ll also synthesize how the parts relate to the whole...
Writing research papers is an excellent way to learn because it trains you to gather information, interpret it, and persuasively present an informed opinion. The process teaches you a great deal, but it also equips you to contribute to ongoing...
In this article, you'll learn how to write a topical sermon, including picking the topic, using the right tools, polishing your message, and more.
Did you know it’s easy to find Jesus in the Old Testament? Once you know how to look, you’ll find him everywhere—through prophecies, typology, and much more.
The Apocrypha is a closed collection of Jewish writings composed mostly during the “intertestamental” period, from as early as 300 BC to AD 100. They are deemed part of the biblical canon by many Christians, including Roman Catholics, the Eastern...
The Mishnah is a third-century Jewish collection that expands upon the legal material and language of the Old Testament and is considered to be “oral Torah.” Mishnah (the Hebrew term מִשְׁנָה means “study by repetition”) is the foundation of all...
Introduction Research papers are one of the best ways to learn in seminary—which is why so many teachers assign them. A research paper trains you in how to gather information, interpret it, and present an informed opinion persuasively. And yet...
Exegesis is the most comprehensive form of Bible study. It gathers together nearly every Bible study task—word studies, translation comparison, research, and more—for a thorough examination of a biblical passage. While there is no singular process...
Dispensationalism is a theological system for interpreting the Bible that views the history of God’s engagement with humanity as divisible into typically seven distinct periods. The system relies upon a literal hermeneutic and the recognition of...
Word studies are a gold mine—and a minefield. Why? Because it’s tempting to derive too much significance from a single biblical word. (We’re looking at you, agape.) With that in mind, here are six steps that will help you mine the gold without...
The Old Testament text that we have today in our various Bible translations is based upon ancient manuscripts that date from as early as 200 BC up to the Medieval Age. The Old Testament manuscripts (OT MSS) that we have access to today include...
Leading a small group Bible study can be deeply rewarding with the right preparation. Here are the four steps that will help you prepare and lead your group well. Step 1: Prepare yourself to lead a small group. Step 2: Determine what your group...
Engraving of Josephus from William Whiston’s 1737 translation of his works. Josephus is the common name for the famous Jewish historian and author, Titus Flavius Josephus, whose major works were written during the Roman occupation and...
Biblical Greek represents one of the most valuable skills a person can develop for studying the Bible. The Greek of the New Testament and Septuagint (a translation of the Old Testament into Greek) is known as Koine Greek. “Koine” is a Greek word...
Whether you’re writing a paper for a class, gathering resources for your doctoral thesis, or compiling a list of resources to share with a small group, building a clear, easy-to-read bibliography is mandatory. But what information do you need to...
Researching for a paper is an excellent way to learn because it trains you to gather information, interpret it, and persuasively present an informed opinion. The process teaches you a great deal, but it also equips you to contribute to ongoing...
The books of the New Testament share in common the fact that they were all originally written in Greek. Although the original parchments used by Paul, Luke, John, and the other apostles have long been lost, history has left thousands upon thousands...
Whether you’re choosing a new Sunday school curriculum or writing one from scratch, consider following these four steps as a guide to get you started. Pray Choose a curriculum Find supporting resources Share with teachers If you truly want to write...
Prayer and personal study are vital to powerful biblical teaching, but good teachers and preachers know that they are not the first ones to travel these interpretive pathways. It is often helpful to access what other pastors and theologians have...
What you need is a system that allows you to take notes easily (one that is not clunky); allows you to use your notes for drafting essays (one that allows you to find and search easily); and one that protects you from plagiarism, both now and for...
Even if you’ll never preach a single sermon in your entire life, you should still know what good preaching is. And not just so you can spot (and avoid) bad preaching; not even so you can seek out good preaching. You need to understand what...
Almost four years to the day before I came to serve the church at Logos Bible Study, I wrote a post on my personal blog, “How to Pronounce ‘Logos’ in ‘Logos Bible Software.’” You see, there’s something of a schism among Logos aficionados, with...