TREASURE MAP
08/07/24 15:05
Bible study can become a little difficult just because the differences in how we think. Think about the geographic area in which you live today and how people will communicate differently in a different geographical area not too far from you. In America, the southern portion of the country communicate differently than the north east portion, which is also different from the west. Even within our closer communities, we communicate differently. When looking at the caucasian, African American, Asian, and Mexican communities, we all communicate differently. It doesn't matter if we are all speaking the same language, words, thoughts, slangs, etc are communicated differently and this can lead to difficulties. Read More…
DO WE NEED TO LEARN?
08/07/24 11:48
But the anointing that you received from him abides in you, and you have no need that anyone should teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about everything, and is true, and is no lie—just as it has taught you, abide in him.
(1 John 2:27)
If the Ruach HaKodesh (Spirit of God) teaches us so that we don’t have to be taught then why is LEARNING HOW TO STUDY THE BIBLE so important? Read More…
(1 John 2:27)
If the Ruach HaKodesh (Spirit of God) teaches us so that we don’t have to be taught then why is LEARNING HOW TO STUDY THE BIBLE so important? Read More…
HOW DID WE GET IT?
08/07/24 10:50
“The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul. The statutes of the Lord are trustworthy, making wise the simple. The precepts of the Lord are right, giving joy to the heart. The commands of the Lord are radiant, giving light to the eyes. The fear of the Lord is pure, enduring forever. The ordinances of the Lord are sure and altogether righteous. They are more precious than gold, than much pure gold; they are sweeter than honey, than honey from the comb. By them is your servant warned; in keeping them there is great reward.” (Psalm 19:7-11)
When I set out to learn how to study the Bible, the first thing I wanted to understand about the Bible was how it got into my hands. Many of us have heard the claims that it could have been written by a man in prison, or it’s just a book written for control. Can you defend that challenge? Read More…
When I set out to learn how to study the Bible, the first thing I wanted to understand about the Bible was how it got into my hands. Many of us have heard the claims that it could have been written by a man in prison, or it’s just a book written for control. Can you defend that challenge? Read More…
WHICH BIBLE TO USE?
07/07/24 18:14
One of the most common questions is the question of which translations should be used. In order to determine the translation, and for you to understand why a certain translation would be better than another, we must determine the process behind the translation. Read More…
STUDY BIBLES
06/07/24 06:36
We talked about Bible versions and now I want to discuss study Bibles because many people are drawn to a study Bible in hopes of learning more about what they are reading.
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APOCRYPHA
05/07/24 06:48
I remember the days of buying CD's, cassettes, and for us really old people, eight-track tapes of musicians whose music I liked. If you're old enough, like me, you'll remember doing so but we would wear out the track's that we knew best. At concerts, it's the songs that were more known that got the best response from the audience. I'm sure this still holds true today. We are a people who like familiarity. Read More…
MIDRASH
05/07/24 06:35
So, let's get into Midrash. If we've talked very much Bible, you've probably heard me refer to Midrash before. A few weeks ago, our pastor referenced a book he had called "the Babylonian Talmud". This is one of the earliest known books of Midrash. Everyone has heard of 1Enoch. This is another well known Midrash. Both are examples of the two types of Midrash that was written. Read More…
WHY DON'T WE STUDY?
30/06/24 12:03
I have heard all kinds of excuses on why people don’t study the Bible. Even if we don’t say it, we really don’t see how the Bible applies to our lives. This is an ever growing belief in today's culture and, unfortunately, its evolved in the church in proof by our actions (or the lack there-of). When we read through Leviticus, Deuteronomy, Jeremiah, or Ezekiel, we’ve often felt these do not apply to our lives today. Read More…
THE NEED TO STUDY
29/06/24 12:04
“Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. 14 For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.
A Tree and Its Fruit
15 “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. 16 You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? 17 So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. 18 A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Thus you will recognize them by their fruits.
I Never Knew You
21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ 23 And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’
Build Your House on the Rock
24 “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock.” (Matthew 7:13-24) Read More…
A Tree and Its Fruit
15 “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. 16 You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? 17 So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. 18 A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Thus you will recognize them by their fruits.
I Never Knew You
21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ 23 And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’
Build Your House on the Rock
24 “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock.” (Matthew 7:13-24) Read More…
WHO CAN STUDY?
28/06/24 12:05
I have good news, anyone can study the Bible. The only difference is, only those who have the Ruach HaKodesh will understand the Bible. Yes, an atheist can even learn truths from Scripture; but those without the Spirit will see all kinds of confusing things and contradictions throughout the Word. If God does not change, then why did He once kill for adultery but He doesn’t now? Unless you are on a walk with Messiah, you will never understand this book. Not those who say a prayer and go to church; but rather, those who desire a life free from sin, who want to seek after Messiah, those willing to take the time to study so they can look like Christ, those with a desire to be the image of God to a lost and dying world. Do you remember why Jesus spoke in parables? (Matthew 13:10-15) Read More…
HOW DO WE STUDY?
27/06/24 12:06
So then, how do we study the Bible? Let’s look at an overview; and then we will get into technique.
On a trip to Africa, we had a group of people and two of the women were overweight. We were traveling in a van and a car. One of the women started to get into the car and one of our African brothers said, “Oh no, you’re too fat for the car. Get into the van.” I looked to see the expression on the peoples faces because what they just said was completely rude, at least in America. The fact is, in Africa, it was a compliment. Read More…
On a trip to Africa, we had a group of people and two of the women were overweight. We were traveling in a van and a car. One of the women started to get into the car and one of our African brothers said, “Oh no, you’re too fat for the car. Get into the van.” I looked to see the expression on the peoples faces because what they just said was completely rude, at least in America. The fact is, in Africa, it was a compliment. Read More…
DANGEROUS APPROACHES
25/06/24 17:58
Let’s look at a few dangerous approaches to Bible study. These are common approaches that we need to try and avoid. Read More…
DEPENDABLE APPROACH
24/06/24 12:08
I remember the first time I ever got to go on a mission trip. Out of eight people, I was one of four who had never been. We were in northern Ghana and those who had never been out of the country before were very observant at the differences: the restrooms, food, water, the way they carried things, different farming techniques, cultural differences and natural differences. We kept our eyes open for these differences. Read More…
CONTEXT
02/03/24 18:16
We've all watched the movies where someone is looking for a treasure. They have a treasure map and they are trying to interpret the clues to find that treasure. Typically, the main problem with the understanding of the clues is context. The map is old and written in different areas of the world. This means the treasure hunter must interpret these, along with other, contexts to understand the clues of the map. Read More…
TYPES OF CONTEXT
01/03/24 05:49
When studying Scripture, we need to understand the different types of context of Scripture so we don't make the Bible say something it was not intending to say.
What if I told you that Paul was a sports fan? This is highly possible as he often talked about running races and made references to sports of that day. But, what if I told you that he was a Georgia Bull Dogs fan? "Watch out for those Dogs" Philippians 3:2. Now, that's an extreme example but it makes an extreme statement, we can make Scripture mean whatever we want if we ignore context.
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What if I told you that Paul was a sports fan? This is highly possible as he often talked about running races and made references to sports of that day. But, what if I told you that he was a Georgia Bull Dogs fan? "Watch out for those Dogs" Philippians 3:2. Now, that's an extreme example but it makes an extreme statement, we can make Scripture mean whatever we want if we ignore context.
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MAP DETAILS - The Audience
28/02/24 05:51
We've all been here, a person snaps at us and we may think, even possibly say, "Don't talk to me like I'm your child!"
In life, we communicate differently with those who we are talking to. We talk to our children differently than our spouse, which is different than our boss (or it better be). Our friends have a different type of communication from us. We don't communicate the same way to each person in our lives. We must understand that the Bible is doing the same thing. Read More…
In life, we communicate differently with those who we are talking to. We talk to our children differently than our spouse, which is different than our boss (or it better be). Our friends have a different type of communication from us. We don't communicate the same way to each person in our lives. We must understand that the Bible is doing the same thing. Read More…
MAP DETAILS - Pronouns
27/02/24 10:26
In looking at pronouns we're trying to see how things connect in this Treasure Map. Pronouns help us see connections in the text. Remember that a pronoun is saying, "I" instead of my name and instead of saying your name I say, “you”, “he”, “she”, etc. Pronouns connect a conversation with whoever the statement is intended for. Remember that, especially in the New Testament, we see Y'shua speaking to multiple groups of people, sometimes at the same time. We see letters where the Apostles are correcting actions of those they are writing to. This will cause shifts in pronouns that will lead us to clues of better understanding of the meaning of the text. Read More…
MAP DETAILS - Verbs
26/02/24 10:41
There are all kinds of ways that the text emphasizes something. One way it emphasizes is through VERBS.
There are a few ways we need to look at verbs and we're going to look at those. Buckle up, we're going back to grammar school.
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There are a few ways we need to look at verbs and we're going to look at those. Buckle up, we're going back to grammar school.
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MAP DETAILS - Repeating Words
26/02/24 10:40
Repeating words are often a clue in the Treasure Map and gold may be found. Does the author intentionally repeat anything in the text? Whenever you're studying the Bible and you notice something is repeated over and over again it does not mean that the author forgot that they already said it - he's doing this for reason. The author is trying to point something out that is really, really, important. Read More…
MAP DETAILS - Lists
26/02/24 10:39
There are lists all through Scripture. The authors didn't list things just to list them. Even the genealogies, that most find boring and a good way to get to sleep at night, have a reason for being recorded. Many times we have to put ourselves in their context to understand the reasoning of these lists but it's worth it. Look for any instances of two or more itemized things and observe what they are trying to say. When we see a list, we want to ask “How are these listed?” and “Why are they ordered in this way?” Read More…
GOSPELS
08/02/24 07:14
Have you ever noticed that the stories in the Gospels don't line up? Have you noticed that a specific story may be located in a different area of events in one Gospel than its location in another? There's nothing nefarious about this, it's part of a plan and we're going to look at how to study the Gospels in this section. Read More…
LETTERS
08/02/24 06:40
Before this study I would recommend reading up on Apocrypha and Midrash as it's imperative to know the context of these two subjects to understand how to read New Testament Letters.
The New Testament consists of four basic genre's of text. We have the Gospels and Acts which are historical accounts, there's parables which are within the Gospels, and there's Revelation that is an apocrypha. The last genre is the letters. Read More…
The New Testament consists of four basic genre's of text. We have the Gospels and Acts which are historical accounts, there's parables which are within the Gospels, and there's Revelation that is an apocrypha. The last genre is the letters. Read More…
QUOTES - Remez
07/02/24 13:21
Much of the New Testament consists of quotes from the Old Testament. These are called Remez (Hebrew) which is a hint towards something larger. We must remember that most of the Bible was written to Hebrews and even if it wasn't, the Gentile Christians were taught through Old Testament text (Acts 15:21). While we struggle with remembering what we were doing five minutes ago, people in these days did well at remembering Scriptures; especially the Jews who were raised with them taught to them morning and evening from childhood. The Hebrews knew Scripture and the author knows all they had to do is give a small quote to bring their reader back to the Old Testament Scripture that would paint a bigger picture. Read More…
CHIASTIC STRUCTURE
25/01/24 16:42
What we call CHIASM today was a common way of speaking and writing in Biblical times. There are several literary structures used in the Bible and the chiasm is one of the most complex and also revealing structures. Lost for centuries, chiasms have recently been re-realized and there's been many in-depth studies of chiasm by all literary scholars. Read More…
PARALLELISM
08/01/24 15:55
So, we talked about Chiastic Structures and now let's talk about Parallelism's. Parallelism's are another vastly used literary structure used in the Bible. Parallelisms are a regular recurring juxtaposition of symmetrically constructed sentences carried out in substance as well as in form. It points to the relation of the expression to the thought. If you're already feeling overwhelmed please keep reading as it gets easier as examples are given. Read More…