Sometimes It Helps Sometimes it helps me to see an example of what the author is talking about. You can only read so much explanation before you say, “All right! Enough theory! Show me how this actually works!” Some people like examples. If that is you, this post is for you. Others say, “Yeah, I get it. No need to show me an example.” That is okay. You do not have to read this chapter. You can scan it and file it in your mind as reference material. Figure out what words were used and why. Notice how words are flagged,
Read more →In Bible study, application is essential but dangerous. It is essential in that every Bible text has some kind of application to life. It has to, or else God wasted His and a lot of people’s time writing and preserving it. (In case you are wondering, God did not waste His time.) Application is essential, but it can be dangerous because it can be done wrong. Remember the posts about observation (see here and here)? Incorrectly applying a text like “Judas went and hanged himself” can lead to some big-time neck burns! Application must be done in order to take the
Read more →Understanding your daily Bible reading is possible–even when you’re in Ezekiel (although I wouldn’t recommend starting there.) For me, it helps to have a system. When I get overwhelmed with all that goes into “Bible Interpretation,” I slow down. I break things down. I take smaller steps. Here are the steps I learned a long time ago. These steps are the same basic steps I take almost every day in order to see the Big Idea of what God is trying to tell me through His Word. Step 1: Read The first steps are the simplest. Do you think you can
Read more →When choosing a Bible text to study, beginners will often take the Bible-flop approach: flop open their Bible, stick their finger on the page and start reading. While God IS on that page, that approach may not be the best for your daily practice. Choosing your text is still easy. Why? Because “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable…” (2 Timothy 3:16a) No matter where you turn in Scripture, you will be able to find something that is profitable. It will not all be equally profitable, because your needs are not the same as your dad’s needs, your teacher’s
Read more →
In compiling the BIBS process of Bible study to teach to my teens, I found that the concepts were simple, but actually doing the work was hard. Bible study–when you’re doing it right–is an exacting exercise. Not only do you have to mentally and emotionally get into it, but you have to live it out spiritually, too. Daily. It takes discipline. And courage. And determination. And grit. “Sure, I get it. Read a text; figure out what it says.” It goes beyond that, though. None of these steps are original to me, but they’re the simplest way I have found
Read more →Start With Your Toothbrush Some tools—dentist drills, for example—are used only by specialists. I would not recommend drilling out your own cavities. However, other tools—toothbrushes, for example—are for everyone. I do recommend you use a toothbrush daily. Do not leave your teeth cleaning up to your dentist. Your annual checkup does not count as good hygiene. Use the tools you have. A specialist’s tools might do incredible work, but only the specialist knows how to use them. Sure, anyone can learn dentistry over time, but it makes sense for everyone to just start with a toothbrush. If you are a
Read more →
A Trip To the Library You walk into a library and plan on reading a book. Even before picking up the novel, you scan the library for what shelf to start looking. You see signs hanging from the ceiling: Non-Fiction, Periodicals, Children’s Books… You are drawn to the kids’ section but have to keep scanning. Ah! There it is! The fiction section. Already, you have an idea of what type of book you will be reading. Fiction. It will be a story. It will not be a reference book, a poetry book or a school book. It will be an
Read more →
Probabilities and Prophecies Prophecies of Scripture verify that the Bible is real—that it is God’s Word. Only a fool would deny that Jesus Christ was a real, historical figure (basically every historian agrees that he was a real, living person), yet many people still choose to ignore the prophecies that surround this man, Jesus. Scores of prophecies were told hundreds of years before Jesus was born. Prophets wrote down their “guesses” as to how this man would live, act and die, and all of their “guesses” came true. Some prophets predicted his birth, some his death. Some predicted his name, some
Read more →I tell people often that there are about five people who have shaped the direction of my life, and they are the top five people I respect the most. Bro. Sam Davison is one of them. He was my pastor all through college and taught me to love the Word of God like I never had before. I appreciate Bro. Sam’s kind and thoughtful words in the foreword of the book BIBS: Big Idea Bible Study, available from Calvary Baptist Publications. Here is his text as it is found in the book: Though I had been involved in Bible College work before 1998,
Read more →
I preached the Big Idea Bible Study (BIBS) concepts to our church in a 4-week miniseries back in August, 2015. The following is preaching outline #4, adapted from the book BIBS: Big Idea Bible Study, available from Calvary Baptist Publications. I preached through a more extensive series when explaining the concepts to our teens, spending several weeks within each section (Observation, Interpretation, Application), but this mini-series covers the highlights. See below for the Preaching Outline for the explanation of the third step in Bible study: APPLICATION: See the other sermons in the series here: BIBS 1 – Introduction BIBS 2 – Observation BIBS 3 – Interpretation
Read more →
