Archive for the Ministry Category

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,

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

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

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