Knowing God's Word #8

Chapter 8: Outlines

Outlining a passage of Scripture may reveal patterns we might otherwise miss. Here's my outline of the Parable of the Sower (Luke 8):

Farmer went out to sow his seed

• Path -- trampled / eaten by birds
• Rock -- withered among thorns / grew and choked
• Good soil -- yielded a bountiful crop

The meaning of the parable: the seed is the word of God

• Path -- Satan takes the word from them
• Rock -- no root among thorns / choked by life’s worries, riches, and pleasures
• Good soil -- noble and good hearts and persevere

Since I don't have access to a tab function, the above outline isn't exactly like I created it in WordPerfect, but you can still get the idea.

Usually, though, I prefer to write out an entire verse or passage, separating and indenting the lines as if creating a poem. This simple exercise helps me pay attention to the prepositions and conjunctions, nouns and verbs.

Knowing God's Word #7

Chapter 7: Back to the Basics

The colored pencils are back again! This time, we looked at the first twenty-four verses of Scripture's longest chapter, Psalm 119. Here's our color code:

Blue: right actions and attitudes
Orange: wrong actions and attitudes
Purple: what God does to/for those who obey Him
Green: what God does to/for those who resist Him
Yellow: the mentions of God's Word

The colors create a visual of this passage that aids our understanding of God's Word.

Knowing God's Word #6

Chapter 6: Pitfalls

When studying Scripture, we need to guard against distorting the truth of God's Word. Neither should we substitute our opinion for truth.

We avoid such pitfalls through careful study of Scripture. Sure, that takes some effort. After all, even Peter said that some of Paul's writings were hard to understand (2 Peter 3:15-16)!

But we have excellent translations, commentaries, and other resources to help us in our studies.

And we're promised that our prayers for wisdom and discernment will not go unanswered.

Knowing God's Word #5

Chapter 5: Dare to Compare

Break out the colored pencils!

In this chapter, we colored-coded the phrases of 1 Peter 1:25 in four different versions. The visual comparisons made it easy to see how different versions translate the same verse.

Which translation is the best?

Generally speaking, scholarly study requires a "formal equivalent" translation, one that translates the original languages practically word-for-word into English. Two popular translations are the New King James Version and the New American Standard Bible.

A "dynamic equivalent" translation, like the New International Version, translates phrase-by-phrase. The NIV is immensely popular because it's easier to read and understand than the NKJV.

Paraphrases, such as The Living Bible, simplify the English language for readers. Even though paraphrases may be easy to understand, they shouldn't be relied upon for theological study.

Knowing God's Word #4

Chapter 4: We Have a Teacher

When we met last week, we dug into Nelson's New Illustrated Bible Commentary for Hebrews 5:12-14. More importantly, we talked about Jesus' promise to send us a Teacher, a Counselor, who guides us into all truth.

We begin our Christian walk as newbies, spiritual babes needing to learn the basics. But as we grow and mature, we long for solid food. "We start with the input of truth, exercising the principle of readiness for learning. We gradually implement the principle of practice for retention of truth. Consistent and persistent practice of truth results in growth to maturity" (p. 45).

Through our Hearts Above spiritual journey, we are learning new study tools so that we can gain a better understanding of Biblical teachings as we are guided by the Holy Spirit.

Nelson's Complete Book of Bible Maps and Charts

I received my copy of Nelson’s Complete Book of Bible Maps and Charts, Third Edition as I was preparing a Bible study lesson on Biblical resources and reference books. After only a few minutes of flipping through the colorful pages, I was excited to share this book with the other women in our group.

The two major sections are Old Testament and The New Testament. Each book of the Bible has its own chapter and these are appropriately grouped. For example, the first five books of the Old Testament are under the heading of “The Pentateuch.”

Between the two major sections is a brief section called “The Intertestamental Period.” It shows four maps that illustrate the “shifts of political power over Palestine” between 750 B.C. until 63 B.C.

The chapters for each Biblical book contain a survey of the book which includes authorship, date written, themes and literary structure, and an outline. Important events recorded in the book are discussed. Charts and maps provide additional information.

The chapter on 2 Samuel, for example, includes a map that shows the locations for important events in the life of King David and a genealogy. Two charts list “David’s Triumphs” and “David’s Troubles.”

The New Testament section opens with charts on “The Miracles of Jesus Christ” and “The Parables of Jesus Christ.” It also includes a “Harmony of the Gospels,” Herod’s family tree, “The Plan of Herod’s Temple,” and a chart showing the “New Testament Political Rulers.”

Photographs, such as the East gate of Jerusalem and Ephesian temple ruins, are scattered throughout the text.

The easy-to-read chapters provide a wealth of historical and cultural background. Bible study leaders and Sunday School teachers will appreciate the many charts and maps, which are reproducible and can be downloaded. But anyone who wants a deeper appreciation and understanding of what they are reading in Scriptures will find this book an invaluable resource.

(NOTE: I received a complimentary copy of this book from Thomas Nelson, Inc.)

Knowing God's Word #3

Chapter 3: Reading vs. Studying

We explored Acts 17:10-12 on our spiritual journey this week, particularly verse 11: "Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true."

The Greek word for "noble," eugenes, appears only four times in the New Testament: Acts 17:11; 24:3; 26:25; and 1 Corinthians 1:26.

But the English word "noble" is also found in some translations of Philippians 4:8 -- "Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, . . ."

So we pulled out the Greek New Testament and the Strong's Concordance (with a lot of laughing) and found this Greek word is actually "venerable" or "honorable."

To get the most out of Acts 17:11, we also looked up "received," "readiness," and "searched." From our study of the Greek definitions, we know that the Bereans were highly esteemed people who deliberately accepted Paul's message with mental eagerness and scrutinized the Scriptures to find out the Truth for themselves.

May we be as deliberate, as eager, and as discerning in our own studies.