9.A Word to Those who Wish to Help Others Apply the Bible This post reflects on perhaps the most important practice for a Bible teacher or small group leader to embrace:Do not try to help others to apply a Bible passage without first applying it to yourself.If you feel the need to sch...
You are God’s precious child, adopted and perfectly loved. This should give you confidence to face your next Bible study with hope and excitement, knowing that God is at work in you and in your friends as you read and discuss his Word. Use What You’ve Learned Inmy previous post, I ...
The careless “word study” is one of the most common mistakes made with a Bible search tool. If you haven’t been part of a study like this, you’ve heard about it. A leader or teacher decides to explore “the real meaning” of a single word in the Bible—like “hope,”“peace,...
When our Bible study focuses intently on each passage, one after another, we may find it difficult to step back and see how they fit together. But we must remember the Bible is a work of literature. It was not written to be scrutinized in bites; it was written to be devoured in gobbl...
In both mypostsand on thespreadsheet, I’ve tried to be clear about my assumptions and approach. May this data prove useful in your study of God’s Knowable Word. I’ve created a newResourcespage, with this spreadsheet as the first item.Check it out!
I am delighted to have and to have readThe Treasure. As a child’s introduction to Christianity through the lens of Luke and Acts, it succeeds marvelously. But as a child’s Bible study of Luke and Acts, it is less than could be hoped for. I’m happy to recommend it as a primer ...
Bible study is for everyone, even ordinary people. But that doesn’t make it quick or easy. Let’s do good work so we can understand the meaning these authors intended to communicate to us, especially when the NT uses the OT to make its point. ...
With my tools in hand, these are the eight steps I take to prepare a small group Bible study lesson. Before I do anything, I pray. I am weak and full of sin, and I am approaching God’s holy word. I need his help! My first step is to print out my markup Bible. Simple enough...
Let’s follow the grammar. The Lord’s compassion is connected by the word “for” to his knowledge of us. Because he knows our frame, he shows compassion to those who fear him. From this I conclude that one of the best ways I can grow in compassion for my children is to know them...
This same sort of thinking shows up when Bible study leaders think only about how to apply the text to the group members and not about how to apply it to themselves. One sign of this struggle is when theirpreparation time doesn’t feel devotionaland they need to schedule separate personal ...