You’ve probably heard a teacher, pastor or preacher say something like “and then God told me.” What role does personal experience and/or personal revelation play in Bible study? Here are the guidelines I use when teaching.
You don’t pick up a cookbook looking for the same things you would find in history textbook or vice versa. You expect a different kind of experience from a “beach read” and a suspense-thriller or from a travel guide and a self-help book. What do you expect from the Bible? What kind of book do you think it is? What do you hope to gain from reading it? Jeremiah 36:1-32 records a story about Scripture and reveals part of the process of how it was written down. In looking at why God instructs Jeremiah to write down His words, we’re going to answer, “What’s so special about the Bible?”
What is Lent? Is it an official Christian holiday? Was it instituted in the Bible? What — if anything — is required of believers during Lent?
Study questions, maps, charts, key words, history, background, outlines, and links to help you study Paul’s letter to the Romans.
With the Babylonian army threatening their border, Jerusalem was a place with little to no hope. How could that hope be for real? To teach His people that hope is real, the Lord told Jeremiah to do something crazy. In fact it was perhaps the most ridiculous move anyone could take – unless hope is true.
Jeremiah warns the people of Judah that God is about to let the Babylonians conquer Jerusalem and deport them because they have disobeyed God. That raises the question, “If God really is going to let our city be destroyed and send us into exile, what good is believing in Him? What good is faith?” In Jeremiah 31:31-34, God tells Jeremiah to reveal more about His plan and show His people where faith will eventually lead them.
Want to improve your bible study skills? Got 20 minutes? Listen to the Renewing Your Mind podcast. This week (February 2017) RC Sproul is podcasting from his series “Knowing Scripture”, which covers interpreting and applying Scripture properly. Each podcast lasts about 20 minutes, which is perfect for listening while you drive. Time well spent!
Jeremiah 29:1-14 is addressed to people from Jerusalem who have already been deported to Babylon but before Jerusalem itself has been completely destroyed. These people want to escape. They want the exile to end and they want to get back home. Jeremiah writes the letter in this chapter to set them straight. Surprisingly, he doesn’t tell them how to escape; instead he tells them how to endure. What do we do while we await the not-yet? What’s there to do in Babylon?
We live in a world of a million conflicting voices today. You can be constantly updated with tweets, texts, alerts and notifications. Which voice has authority? Which voice can be trusted? In Jeremiah 23:9-33, God addresses this issue of these different voices, criticizing those prophets who claim to speak for Him, but really don’t. In 23:1-8, the Lord called out Judah ’s political leaders; in this section He calls out her spiritual leaders.
Today’s leaders promise hope and change only to deliver corruption and scandal. We elect bright promising outsiders who go to Washington and immediately become insiders. They cease fighting for the ideals they promised in the campaign and start fighting to keep themselves in power. Who can make things right? Who will help us out of this mess?
With Absalom dead, Joab blows the trumpet to end the battles and the civil war is over. Except David is still in exile. Now we have a guilty nation and a vindicated king, and the question that remains is how to restore the relationship. How do you approach your king after you’ve been sinful or rebellious?
A 16-week Bible study podcast on selected passages from the Old Testament book of Jeremiah from Wednesday in the Word with Krisan Marotta.
Krisan Marotta is a Bible teacher and host of Wednesday in the Word, the podcast about what the Bible means and how we know.