Effective Bible Study Lesson 8 – “Studying Biblical Words”

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Note: Effective Bible Study is a Sunday morning study for Q1 2016 at North Charleston. Below are slides and helpful resources pertinent to our class discussions.

Lesson #8: Studying Biblical Words

SUMMARY: The Bible is the verbally inspired word of God (2 Timothy 3:16-17). Spiritual live is found in the words of the Bible (Matthew 4:4; James 1:21). Therefore, it is important to study the words of Scripture.

Click here to download this lesson’s study sheet (PDF).

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LINK:

BlueLetterBible.org – This is the resource that is used throughout the presentation to look up the etymology of the words via Vine’s Expository Dictionary of the Bible.

Effective Bible Study Lesson 7 – “Biblical Exegesis”

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Note: Effective Bible Study is a Sunday morning study for Q1 2016 at North Charleston. Below are slides and helpful resources pertinent to our class discussions.

Lesson #7: Biblical Exegesis

SUMMARY: Exegesis means to bring out the meaning of a text as it was intended by the original author. It is the right and the obligation of every person to determine the meaning of the inspired text. How do we do that?

Click here to download this lesson’s study sheet (PDF).

Click here to download a printable handout of the slides (PDF).

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Effective Bible Study Lesson 6 – “Analyzing the Bible by Chapter”

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Note: Effective Bible Study is a Sunday morning study for Q1 2016 at North Charleston. Below are slides and helpful resources pertinent to our class discussions.

Lesson #6: Analyzing the Bible by Chapter

SUMMARY: Almost all of the Bible’s chapters (either in part or in whole) have a definite development which, when studied, yields great riches. This lesson is designed to help us learn how to study and analyze the Bible by chapter.

Click here to download this lesson’s study sheet (PDF).

Click here to download the answers for the back page of the study sheet (PDF).

Click here to download a printable handout of the slides (PDF).

SURVEY OF BOOKS OF THE BIBLE:

The following links are podcast episodes by Brad McNutt, a gospel preacher in Benton, Kentucky. 

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Effective Bible Study Lesson 5 – “Analyzing the Books of the Bible”

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Note: Effective Bible Study is a Sunday morning study for Q1 2016 at North Charleston. Below are slides and helpful resources pertinent to our class discussions.

Lesson #5: Analyzing the Books of the Bible

SUMMARY: Now it’s time to put into practice the principles we have learned in the first four lessons. If we really want to understand the Bible, we must analyze the contents of each book.

Click here to download this lesson’s study sheet (PDF).

Click here to download a printable handout of the slides (PDF).

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Effective Bible Study Lesson 4 – “Periods of Bible History”

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Note: Effective Bible Study is a Sunday morning study for Q1 2016 at North Charleston. Below are slides and helpful resources pertinent to our class discussions.

Lesson #4: Periods of Bible History

SUMMARY: An important key to effective Bible studying is understanding the different periods of Bible history. In his book A Study Guide to Greater Bible Knowledge, Wayne Jackson lists eleven periods of Bible history, which we use as the basis of this study.

Click here to download this lesson’s study sheet (PDF).

Click here to download a handout of the slides (PDF).

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Effective Bible Study Lesson 3 – “Introduction to Interpretation”

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Note: Effective Bible Study is a Sunday morning study for Q1 2016 at North Charleston. Below are slides and helpful resources pertinent to our class discussions.

Lesson #3: An Introduction to Interpretation

SUMMARY: Some people treat Bible study as though it is some mystic process that prohibits anyone from really understanding the text. Statements such as “that’s just your interpretation” attest to that. The truth is, we can know the true meaning of the biblical text. This lesson is designed to help us avoid subjectivism and to handle God’s word with care (2 Tim. 2:15).

Click here to download this lesson’s study sheet (PDF).

Click here to download a printable handout of the slides (PDF).

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Effective Bible Study Lesson 2 – “Reading the Bible & Deciphering Its Theme”

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Note: Effective Bible Study is a Sunday morning study for Q1 2016 at North Charleston. Below are slides and helpful resources pertinent to our class discussions.

Lesson #2: Reading the Bible & Deciphering Its Theme

SUMMARY: Reading the Bible is different from reading the newspaper. As we read, we should hang on every word, like someone reading a love letter. After all, every word is true and packed with meaning that we must understand (John 17:17; Psa. 119:160). How can we learn to maximize our efforts in reading the Bible to yield the greatest results?

Click here to download this lesson’s study sheet (PDF).

Effective Bible Study Lesson 1 – “Who Can Study the Bible?”

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Note: Effective Bible Study is a Sunday morning study for Q1 2016 at North Charleston. Below are slides and helpful resources pertinent to our class discussions.

Lesson #1: Who Can Study the Bible?

SUMMARY: The first step to learning good Bible study technique is to realize that if you are not the right who in studying the Bible, then how you study the Bible will not matter.

Click here to download this lesson’s study sheet (PDF).

Will you make The Josiah Covenant?

Click here to download a printable handout of the slides (PDF).

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Gratitude for God’s Freedom – Periscope Revival

PeriscopeRevival

I was blessed to participate in the first-ever Periscope Revival last night (Tuesday, November 10, 2015). This is a fun little project (that quickly grew into a not-so-little project) that Adam Faughn put together. The theme for the event is “A 20/20 Vision of Gratitude.”

The revival spans the better part of two weeks (with the exceptions of weekends and Wednesdays), and includes nine speakers. Each night’s speaker delivers a brief presentation on a selected passage of Scripture about gratitude, and concludes with several minutes of audience interaction.

My presentation was titled “Gratitude for God’s Freedom,” and it was based out of Romans 6:17-18. You can watch the replay below.

Be sure to check out the other presentations in the Periscope Revival. Plus, you can still tune in live for the rest of the sessions. Click here to learn how to participate and to watch archived presentations.

To God be the glory!

 

Wandering Christian, Please Come Home

WanderingChristian

Seek the LORD while He may be found,
Call upon Him while He is near.
Let the wicked forsake his way,
And the unrighteous man his thoughts;
Let him return to the LORD,
And He will have mercy on him;
And to our God,
For He will abundantly pardon (Isa. 55:6-7).

Dear Christian brother or sister who is wandering in sin,

Will you please come home?

Listen, we are family. It’s not just that we miss you when you aren’t at worship and Bible study, though we do miss you there. It’s deeper than that. We miss the encouragement that we get when we see your smiling face. We miss working alongside you at church activities.

What was it that caused you to get to this point? Was it charismatic false teaching that carried you away? Was it a misunderstanding with someone here? Was it the ceaseless struggle with sin that burdened you down and caused you to be weary? Whatever it is, want you to know that none of it is stronger than Christ. He loves you, and so do we.

Satan will try to tempt you into thinking that nothing is wrong with your current situation. He will tempt you to believe that we are reaching out to you out of pride and self-righteousness rather than out of love. Don’t listen to that. We are concerned for your soul. Don’t you remember the reason why you became a Christian? Do you remember the gratefulness you felt for God’s grace, and the awe you felt for the cross of Christ? Do you remember how good it felt to finally have your sins washed away in baptism? None of us here are sinless. We’re forgiven. Please, my brother or sister, come home.

We are praying for you to return. In fact, many of us mention you specifically by name every day. Sometimes it even brings tears to our eyes because we have been praying for a while now. Please know that we want you to come back. Please know that God wants you to return. He, your Heavenly Father, is the Father portrayed in Jesus’ story of the lost son. When that son returned home, his father was waiting with open arms. The father initiated a celebrating at his son’s return. Jesus said that it will be the same in heaven if you will return. Won’t you come home?

Let’s wrap it up: I hope you will consider coming home to Jesus and to His church. I know there are probably several hurtles that you will have to clear for that to be possible. It may even seem overwhelmingly difficult. Is there something that we can do to help ease that burden? We can’t claim that it will be easy, but we can assure you that it will be worth it.

Acknowledge the sins in your life before God. Cease all activity that is sinful in His sight, and ask for His forgiveness in prayer. Know that He loves you. Know that we love you, too.

Love, your brothers and sisters in Christ.