Since I was a freshman in college I have maintained the same Bible study plan each year. I have simply read through the entire Bible. Granted, as a minister there were some portions of scripture that I studied in greater detail, but for the most part my daily Bible reading has been to just read the Bible.

This year however I am doing something different. This year I am going to work through the Synoptic Problem. For those unfamiliar with the term let me explain briefly: In the the New Testament with have 4 Gospel accounts of the life of Jesus. Three of them (Matthew, Mark and Luke) are called the Synotpics, meaning that they take the same view, covering much of the same material. Now, of course John is covering the life of Jesus as well, but he goes about it in a much different way and shares some events that the others leave out.

The Synoptic Problem focuses on how each of the writers tell the same story. What details are the same, what is different, and most importantly: what does it mean? Honestly, it’s an issue that I have largely ignored until now. I am still in the process of developing a method for this study but I have been greatly helped by The Synoptic Project over at New Testament Gateway. As the year goes on I will be updating you on my progress here, so stop in and check it out.

Also, I would love to hear your plan for Bible Study in the next year:

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Tags: Bible Study, Gospels, New Testament Studies, Synoptic Problem

Last month Logos released a new resource to aid for Bible Study.  It’s not an additional to your digital library, its Bible Study Magazine.  This first issue features Josh McDowell on “Defending the Bible.”  This was not the article that really grabbed my attention however.

There are several articles throughout the magazine that seek to improve the average person’s Bible study skills.  In fact, one article outlines an 8 week study of Hebrews 1:1-14 (although there is a consistent typo in the references).

There is also a great interview with Dr. Goodacre about how he reads the Gospels.  This article has inspired to spend next year working through the Gospels.  Another highlight was an article examining Sennacherib’s invasion of Judah.  It is refreshing to see that the article does not simply provide pat answers when examining the Sennacherib’s Prism, which, at first glance, appears to conflict with biblical narrative.  It will be interesting to see where parts 2 and 3 of this series take us (which of course means I will need to get a subscription before the January/February issue comes out).

I would highly recommend this magazine for anyone interested in improving thier Bible studies.

Tags: Apologetics, Bible Study, Bible Study Magazine, Josh McDowell, Logos, Reviews

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The last truth I believe we need to hold onto without fail is this: The Word of God is Living and Active.  The Word of God would be more at home at a zoo than an museum.  Unfortunately, many have tried to tame the Word of God and put it in a cage.  But the Word must remain living and active in our lives.

For many, the Bible has become a manual.  I don’t know about you, but like most guys I throw manuals in a junk drawer, only to be used when something breaks.  Typically they never see the light of day.  Is this how we treat the Bible?

The Word of God is meant to be lived in our whole life, not just given a corner of it.  The important question for us is, how are we doing this?

You should also really check out this video from one of my friends, Kyle Mott, who is a youth minister in Kingsport, TN.

Tags: Bible Study, Christianity, Devotional Thoughts, The Bible

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The fourth truth we need to hold onto as Christians is this: “I can all things through Christ who strengthens me.” Philippians 3:14.  This is a wildly popular verse that is often taken out of context, see Tim Tebow and many others who wear it during games.

I share that, not to attack players who do this.  I am glad they find strength in the Lord who gave them the ability to play a such a great level, but in the context of the passage, winning a football game or even just achieving your dream is not what Paul is talking about.  Paul is talking about contentment.  His message is that no matter what circumstance he finds himself in, he knows that God will provide what is needed.

We need to remember that I can do all things through Christ as long as it is His will.  So far in my life it has not been His will to let me fly like a bird, travel back in time, or perform any miracles like the ones He did during his earth ministry, but that doesn’t make the verse untrue.  He has provided me with the strength to face my temptations without falling, but also the strength to get back up when I do.  I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me.  The things which are impossible for man are now possible through Christ.

Tags: Bible Study, Christianity, Devotional Thoughts, Philippians 4:13

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“I am who God says that I am.”  Popeye use to say, “I yam what I yam and that’s all that I am.” Good, great.  Be happy with who you are, but at the end of the day I want some confirmation about who I really am.  I know myself well enough to know that I can trick my own mind into to believing things about me that aren’t true.  I also have some help in this area, and so do the teens that I work with.

Our culture is constantly feeding lies into our lives.  I was teaching about the impact of culture the other week, and one student said, “I’m really careful about what I watch, we keep it on the Disney channel.”  She’s right, at least she isn’t watching Sex and City, like a majority of her peers, but is Disney really any better?  My 4 year old daughter, Gabie, knows that Hannah Montana needs to put more clothes on.  Because of that, she turns off the TV if Hannah comes on, not me.

Now, part of your job as a Christian is to confront the lies that you hear, but it is also important that you have a firm grasp on who you really are, and the only one who can truly know that is God.  A when it comes to knowing how God sees you, this is all you need to know: You are His.  You are His child.  You were bought with the an extraordinary price, making you extraordinarily valuable to Him.  Holding on to this truth can help you overcoming the lies, criticisms, attacks, and personal difficulties that you face.

Tags: Bible Study, Christianity, Culture, Devotional Thoughts

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The second belief we all must hold as Christians is this: God will do what He says He will do. There are hundreds of promises from God throughout the Bible and He is committed to keeping everyone of them.  It would be impossible to go through all of them here [or during a devo], but here are three that I believe are vitally important to Christians:

1. To Deliver: Psalms 18:17.  God’s people face hardship and enemies constantly, and God has promised to deliver us from the hands of those who are against us.  God delivered the Israelites from Egypt, Daniel from the lions den, Christ from the grave, us from our sins.

2. To Strengthen:Isaiah 40:29. Deliverance is just the beginning! The Israelites left Egypt, but they need to strength to make it through the wilderness. Daniel’s career took off after he exited the lion’s den, but he need God’s strength in order to remain pure.  We need His strength today.

3. To Restore: Isaiah 49:6. I don’t care how strong you are, you can never earn your salvation.  Only God can restore the broken relationship between Himself and humanity.  Like most guys I try to fix things myself, but this is one job that only God can do.

Tags: Bible Study, Christianity, Devotional Thoughts, God's Promises, Religion

On Sunday I spoke at the last Sunday night devotional of the year, the last devotional that I will give as the associate minister at the Goodwood Blvd Church of Christ.  I thought for a long time about what my last devotional thought should be for this amazing group of teens.  Rather than go out with some emotional, tear jerking thought, I felt it would be better to examine the 5 most important things that these teens (and all of us) should believe concerning God and our lives. Over the course of this week we can examine these 5 truths together.

First, God is who He says that He is.  There are so many false pictures of who God is.  He is not a candy machine.  You don’t put your quarter in, turn the handle and get a reward.  He is also not a slot machine, where you put your quarter in, pull the handle and have to wait to see if He randomly gives a response.  There are lots of titles, descriptions, and pictures of God in the Bible.  Writers wiser than I have taken the time to outline all the names of God.  I simply want to look at 4:

1. Creator: Genesis1:1. The fact that God created everything around us is quite impressive.  If I am going to serve a god, I want that god to be bigger than me.  Isaiah addresses the foolish of idols by pointing out that an idol is made by human hands, rather than the other way around.  God took the time to create, and that says something about the love he has for us.  Creation takes time.  Any one who has write a song, created a piece of art, made a piece of furniture, or done any other creative act knows the investment of time required.  And the amount of time we invest in something reveals how important it is to us.

2. Lord: Joshua 3:13. he is Lord over all the earth. It makes sense, he created it all, therefore He should get to rule it.  Some people struggle with authority, I like to think that no one is over, but this simply is not the case.  The CEOs of several major corporations thought that nothing could bring them down, that they would never get caught, how wrong they were.  The thought they were the lord of their domain, but there is only one true LORD.

3. Counselor: Isaiah 9:6. I help balance the image of the Lord of Creation I think that it is important for us to know that God is some one that we can go and talk to at anytime about anything. Each of us has felt lonely, at one time or another and it is comforting to know that we can go and talk with Him.

4. Redeemer:Jeremiah 50:34.  The greatest work that God ever did for us was to redeem us through the cross of Christ.  God created man to be in perfect relationship with Him. That lasted until Adam and Eve messed it up.  Fortunately, God saw fit to restore that relationship.  God is in the process of redeeming his creation, all of it.

So there is my list of what I feel are the most important aspects of God’s nature, but what would you add to the list, what characteristic of God do you most identify with?

Tags: Bible Study, Christianity, Counselor, Creator, Lord, Names of God, Redeemer, Religion, The Nature of God

Lagniappe:”lan-ˌyap.”  Oh the fun of learning Cajun words.  It means “something extra” and today during my Bible study I found an example of it.

I was reading in Luke 17 and came across a section that its not in any of the other gospels, Luke 17:7-10.  Upon first reading this section it sounds like strange.  The pericope in my ESV gives it the title “Unworthy Servants.”  And the point of this section is that a servant does his job without the thought of getting thanks.  A servant simply does what he is commanded to do according to verse 9.

The first time reading through this I was a little confused by the context.  Right before these verses Jesus is talking about the power of faith, that even a little faith can do great things.  Following these verses we are told about 10 leperswho are healed, yet only one, a Samaritan, comes back to thank Jesus.  How are these things tied together?

1. Faith is not an end to itself, it grows as it is used through service.
2. Faith can do the impossible (move trees in verse 6) but it is also required for the routine tasks of life.
3. God owes us nothing, everything we get from Him is lagniappe.
4. Jesus displays the exact humble service that he commands by healing 10, knowing that only 1 will be thankful.

Therefore, let us all be unworthy servants, do what is right simply because that is what God has called us to do.  Don’t do it for the praise, the honor, the reward, do it because its what Christ did.

Tags: Bible Study, Luke 17