The words of wise men are like goads, and masters of these collections are like well-driven nails; they are given by one Shepherd. {{NASB}}
Category:Study
designing a Bible study
When I browse the shelves at Family Christian, Lifeway, or even Barnes & Noble, I see various and sundry Bible studies by all kinds of authors: for the ladies, {{Kay Arthur}}, {{Beth Moore}}, & {{Priscilla Shirer}}; for the gents (or coed), there’s {{John MacArthur}}, {{David Platt}}, {{Dr David Jeremiah}}, and many many more. What I’ve …
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Daniel 4 (NASB)
{Daniel 3} Nebuchadnezzar the king to all the peoples, nations, and men of every language that live in all the earth: “May your peace abound! It has seemed good to me to declare the signs and wonders which the Most High God has done for me. “How great are His signs And how mighty are …
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Daniel 3 (NASB)
{Daniel 2} Nebuchadnezzar the king made an image of gold, the height of which was sixty cubits and its width six cubits; he set it up on the plain of Dura in the province of Babylon. Then Nebuchadnezzar the king sent word to assemble the satraps, the prefects and the governors, the counselors, the treasurers, …
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unconverted believers – chapter 1 – #followme
Though not directly the Bible, I am following-up my previous post, and am blogging my reading. Here are some excerpts from {{David Platt}}’s book {{Follow Me}}: “tell Ayan the truth…in the gospel, God is calling her to die. Literally. To die to her life. To die to her family. To die to her friends. To die …
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adoption is not a “rescue” – it’s wonderful, but it’s very very sad
Many people view adoptions (like my wife and I are pursuing right now) as a “rescue” – you’re “rescuing” an orphan from some third world country where they’ll die of starvation, illness, or neglect, and giving them a warm, loving, nurturing home in America! No. That is not what happens when you adopt. And not …
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Daniel 2 (NASB)
{Daniel 1} Now in the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams; and his spirit was troubled and his sleep left him. Then the king gave orders to call in the magicians, the conjurers, the sorcerers and the Chaldeans to tell the king his dreams. So they came in and stood before …
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Daniel 1 (NASB)
In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it. The Lord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, along with some of the vessels of the house of God; and he brought them to the land of Shinar, to the house …
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proof-texting considered harmful
Myriad excellent works of the faith throughout the centuries have used the “proof-text” method for supporting their statements: Westminster Shorter Catechism, Second London Baptist Confession of Faith of 1689, and many many more. On the surface, it seems like a great idea – quote the single statement (or sometimes a couple single statements) that support your …
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the gospel according to hashtags
For the past many months I have been meeting almost bi-weekly with a small group to study the book of Matthew. We started in Jan 2012, and as of the end of May of 2013, we’ve made it through chapter 21. At our last meeting, I had an epiphany: if the gospels were written today, …
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“The” Antichrist?
A recent article, along with some other recent discussions I’ve had, has led me to study-out the issue of both “antichrist” (lowercase ‘a’), and “The Antichrist” (uppercase ‘A’). First let me point out that the term “antichrist” is only used 4 times in the New Testament*, only by John, and only in the first two …
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lots of changes
This will likely be the last term I teach a Sunday afternoon discipleship class at Porter. But this is a Good Thing™. Beginning the first Sunday in April, I will be trialing as the new primary leader of a SS class Life Group. If all goes well, after the first month, I’ll be in there …
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quotes to prepare for session 3
Trials hurt. They stretch us, bend us, twist us, and pressure us as they develop us into the people God would have us to be. A chef in an authentic pizzeria stretches the dough, pounds it, flattens it, rolls it, twirls it, and then cooks it. A pizza can’t become all that a pizza was …
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quote to prepare for session 2
It’s important to realize faith is more than a feeling. Faith is a function. ({{God’s Unlikely Path to Success}} by {{Tony Evans}} p38 (ref)) {session 1 thoughts}
study, study, study
In addition to leading a Sunday afternoon study at my church this spring, I am also participating in the 40 Day Challenge with a friend‘s church in NJ. That one uses the {{NIV}} (a version I’m not especially fond of), but it’s been reformatted into a chapter- and verse-less edition so that the books of …
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A Visual Guide to the Gospels: fascinating insights into where they happened and why
I just finished reading {{A Visual Guide to the Gospels}} by {{James C. Martin}}, {{John A. Beck}}, & {{David G. Hansen}} a couple nights ago. I grabbed this on a lark from my local library the other day. What a find. Wow. This is a phenomenal piece of Bible study, archaeological research, prophecy linkage, and …
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quotes to prepare for session 1
To prepare for session 1, and to remind you of the whole purpose of this study, I want to share a pair of quotes: Faith means acting on God’s Word. Faith is acting as if something is so even when it is not so in order for it to be so simply because God said so. and When you …
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It’s [still] Not Too Late!
Due to weather and other concerns, the spring classes at PMBC won’t start until this Sunday – 10 Feb. So. It’s [still] Not Too Late! I’ll be starting that class at 1700 in two days 🙂 There are several others, too – but mine’s the best 😀
suggestions for improving your walk this year
One of the pastors at my old church in NC has some great suggestions/thoughts for improving your walk this year. Personally, I think it’s a Good Idea™ to also read non-“spiritual” books/works, too – because it can help keep you abreast of cultural trends and changes – but his list is a fantastic start.
spring class – It’s Not Too Late
This spring (starting on 03 Feb), I will be leading a Bible study class at PMBC based on {{Tony Evans}}’ book {{It’s Not Too Late}}. I invite you all to join me in this ~8 week study!
podcasting the Bible
I’ve been tossing around the idea of podcasting the Bible for some time – ie, creating an audio Bible of my own (using a readily-available translation), and posting episodes (chapters or books – haven’t decided which yet) on a frequent basis (perhaps weekly). After all, what better way is there to study the Bible than …
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How to Study the Bible
In follow-up to my last post about {{George Guthrie}}’s book {{Read the Bible for Life}}, I wanted to give some more thoughts on how to study the Bible in practical ways. Let the Bible speak for itself “The Word of God is living and sharper than any two-edged sword” (Hebrews 4:12). Given that this is true, …
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Reading the Bible for Life
A couple weeks ago I finished leading a small group study through {{George Guthrie}}’s {{Read the Bible for Life}} video and study series. It’s a good introduction to the {{Bible}}, and I found it helpful – though I think that video-based studies like that are too slow-paced, and encourage “waiting for the fill-in” to appear …
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Bereanism: Bible study, and seminaries
In Acts 17, we are introduced to the Bereans: The brethren immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea, and when they arrived, they went into the synagogue of the Jews. Now these were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica, for they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to …
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Are you Pro-Life or Pro-Death? There is no “pro-choice”.
There is a lot of debate in the so-called “pro-choice” camp about when an unborn child is a “person”, and when it is merely a mass of cells that can be terminated with no qualms. Since I am a Christian, I like looking at what God says about the issue first. Some selected passages on …
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