Latest Blog Posts from Wednesday in the Word, the podcast about what the Bible means and how we know.
Sometimes we act as if finding God’s will is a version of the old 3-shell con game: where a marble is hidden under one shell and the con man moves them rapidly around the table and you have to guess which shell contains the marble. No matter which shell you pick you are always wrong. I would argue that the problem is not God hiding his will. The problem is the way we are looking for it.
Make the most of your Bible study break with these practical and enriching ideas. From organizing past notes to preparing for your next study or exploring something new, discover meaningful ways to stay engaged in Scripture.
A 3‑week Bible study on how to understand God’s will for you, your church, and your world, with practical insight from James, Exodus, Acts.
Why we should interpret the Psalms at all. Why not just pick up the book and pray them? Why spend an hour on interpretation?
Paul concludes his letter wrapping him up major themes of embracing the gospel individually and striving toward unity around that common belief and thanking them for their support and partnership in proclaiming the gospel.
What do you do when you try harder and still struggle with sin? That’s the question Paul answers in Philippians 3:12-31. Paul pauses to clarify what he means by perfection and the goal of the Christian life.
The key to understanding Hebrew poetry and Wisdom Literature is knowing that the “rhyme” of ideas is more important than the sounds. This “rhyming” of ideas is called parallelism.
With chapter 3 of Philippians, Paul begins a new but related topic. While his major concern is still that the Philippians sincerely embrace the gospel and so find eternal life, he now warns them against the false teaching of the Judaizers. While warning against legalism, Paul explains his view of his own “accomplishments” under the law.
Paul concludes this first section of the body of the letter by again encouraging them to persevere in the faith and telling them of 3 ways he hopes to communicate with them.
Philippians 2:12-13 is one of Paul’s most famous statements and it’s one we forget to place in the context of the letter. At first reading, it looks like Paul is highlighting a paradox of YOU work out your salvation because GOD is working in you. But in context, I think Paul is still concerned that the Philippians are living their lives in a manner worthy of the gospel (1:27) and are motivated to do so for the right reasons.
Philippians 2:5-11 is traditionally associated with the doctrine of the Trinity. However, I think the context suggests that Paul’s main point is not to teach the doctrine of the Trinity. From an interpretative standpoint, I believe the context suggests that Paul intends to teach something about unity and our attitude towards other believers, and he uses Christ as an example to make that point. If we also learn something about the Trinity, that is icing on the cake.
Philippians 1:27 begins a new section in which Paul urges his readers to live a life worthy of the gospel. Living such a life does not mean that you will live a perfect life. Rather if we actually believe the gospel is true, we now see the world differently and, we begin to view some things as right, proper and good, and begin to view other things as wrong, selfish and evil. And we choose accordingly.
What are we to make of Paul’s joy that selfishly ambitious teachers are proclaiming the gospel? And, what can we learn from his famous statement “to live is Christ, to die is gain”?
Paul’s opening prayer in Philippians reflect what he hopes and confidently expects God to do in the lives of his readers and it introduces the main theme of his letter. From this short prayer, we can learn what we ought to most want for ourselves and for each other.
Paul’s message in Philippians is essentially the same as Moses in Deuteronomy 30:19-20: Choose life by loving the lord your God, obeying his voice and holding fast to him. He opens the letter expressing his gratitude — not because the Philippians have sent him financial support. But rather he is grateful that the gospel was so important to the Philippians that they wanted to support it.
Study questions, maps, charts, key words, history, background, outlines, and links to help you study Peter’s second epistle.
Study questions, maps, charts, key words, history, background, outlines, and links to help you study Paul’s first epistle to the Thessalonians.
Bible Study 201: Teach the Bible. Take your Bible study to the next step. Learn to teach the bible with Wednesday in the Word.
In Acts 16, when Luke reports on the conversion of two locals, he tells us that Paul baptized their entire households. Why would Paul baptize an entire household?
After you’ve done your observation, word studies, outlining and answered the questions you generated, it’s time to start putting it all together. In this step, you want to collect, refine and organize all those details you observed into a coherent meaning.
We use figurative language all the time: “I’ll have to face the music.” “I’m bored to tears.” “She has a green thumb.” “Don’t let the cat out of the bag.” “He died of embarrassment.” Biblical writers also used figurative language and vivid imagery. How are we to understand it?
Registration is a chance to collect valuable information about your participants that can help you build small groups, evaluate the success of your program and plan for the future. Here are some questions you might want to include on your registration forms.
Years later, Nehemiah returns to Jerusalem to find the people have broken all their vows. His reaction is ruthless — to make a point.
A 10-week Bible study on Paul’s letter to the Philippians. Learn from Paul how to rejoice and persevere in the mundane, ordinary difficulties of life.
An analytical outline is a way of displaying a text of Scripture so that the flow of thought and the relationship between the grammatical parts become clear. It is my favorite study tool and one of the first things I do. Learn how to make one.
The history told in Nehemiah is a historic witness to the restoring work of God in people’s lives. Now in chapter 12, at the what should be the end of the story, Nehemiah is once again going to make a circuit of the city. But this time instead of a single rider on a single horse as we saw in chapter 2, he is part of a parade circling the city on top of the rebuilt walls, singing the praises of God.
The people vow to keep God at the center of their lives as they move back into Jerusalem both by choice and by draft.
Many of the classic commentaries are free online, but how do you know which one(s) to use? And where do you find them? Here’s a quick list and explanation
If all the generations prior to you have been people who listened to God and eventually rejected him, what is the likelihood that your generation is going to be different?
In chapter 7 the wall is finished. The city is safe, but not yet “alive.” In chapter 8 the people long to know God so they ask Ezra the priest to teach them the Law.
A timeline of the major events in the life of the Apostle Paul and the dating of his letters.
In chapter 5, the problems Nehemiah and the Isrealites encounter are inflicted from within the community itself. In Chapter 6 Nehemiah is tested. Is he the kind of leader who fears God? Or is he the kind of leader who thinks too highly of himself and had been seduced by the power of leadership?
Study questions, maps, charts, key words, history, background, outlines, and links to help you study Paul’s epistle to the Philippians.
Chapter 3 paints a picture of community, including the main point that we should begin serving the body by working on “the broken wall in front of our own house.” Chapter 4 records the opposition they face and the leadership they need.
The New Testament is our divinely inspired commentary on the Old Testament. When studying a passage, it’s often helpful to see how other biblical authors understood it. Here is the Apostle Peter’s use of the Old Testament in his letters.
Nehemiah faces three moments where he must rely on the word of God and speak out boldly.