On what is the basis does God choose the elect? Paul’s answer is that God — as God — has a sovereign right to choose who receives mercy.
15 God’s Sovereign Choice (Romans 9:14-33)
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Latest Blog Posts from Wednesday in the Word, the podcast about what the Bible means and how we know.
14 Is the Gospel Too Good to Be True? (Romans 9:1-13)
Romans 9-11 must be read as a unit that builds to a wonderful climax. It contains some of the most difficult material in the Bible.
Isaiah’s Servant Songs
A 12-week Bible study podcast on the Servant Songs from Isaiah. Isaiah gives us the fullest revelation of Christ in the Old Testament, most notably the Servant Songs.
13 Confidence in Christ (Romans 8:26-39)
Paul argues that because of the activity of the Spirit, we can have confidence that everything that happens to us is in our own best interests.
12 Grief over Sin (Romans 8:12-25)
Paul argues that the Holy Spirit produces within believers grief over sin and eager hope for their inheritance.
Isaiah Quoted in the New Testament
By my count, Isaiah is referenced (quoted or alluded to): 21 times in the Gospels; 25 times in Paul’s letters; 6 times in 1 Peter; 5 times in Acts; 4 times in Revelation; and once in Hebrews.
03 Understanding God’s Will in the World
While Miriam was more focused on getting glory than on doing good, Barnabas was more focused on doing good than on getting glory and in the process he changed the world.
02 Understanding God’s Will in the Church
How do we deal with the fact that we serve and work in a local church where some people just seem to get a better deal than we do? Miriam had the same problem with her baby brother Moses. This talk looks at Miriam and how we go wrong when we focus on who gets the glory rather than doing good.
Isaiah Bible Study Resources
Study questions, maps, charts, key words, history, background, outlines, and links to help you study the Old Testament book of Isaiah.
01 Understanding God’s Will for You
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.
16 things to do while your Bible study is on break
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.
How to Understand God’s Will
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.
03 Interpreting the Psalms
Why we should interpret the Psalms at all. Why not just pick up the book and pray them? Why spend an hour on interpretation?
10 Rejoice in the Lord (Philippians 4:1–23)
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.
09 What To Do When You Keep Sinning (Philippians 3:12–21)
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.
Understanding Hebrew Poetry
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.
08 Count It All Loss: Finding Hope in Christ Alone (Philippians 3:1–11)
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.
07 Do All Things Without Grumbling (Philippians 2:14–30)
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.
06 What Does It Mean to ‘Work Out Your Salvation with Fear and Trembling’? (Philippians 2:12–13)
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.
05 The Mind of Christ: Learning True Greatness (Philippians 2:5–11)
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.
04 Standing Firm and Staying United (Philippians 1:27-2:4)
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.
03 To Live Is Christ, to Die Is Gain: How Paul Views Suffering and Ministry (Philippians 1:12-26)
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”?
02 Why Paul Didn’t Pray for Comfort And What He Asked for Instead (Philippians 1:9-11)
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.
01 Introduction to Philippians (Philippians 1:1-8)
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.
2 Peter Bible Study Resources
Study questions, maps, charts, key words, history, background, outlines, and links to help you study Peter’s second epistle.
1 Thessalonians Bible Study Resources
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
Bible Study 201: Teach the Bible. Take your Bible study to the next step. Learn to teach the bible with Wednesday in the Word.
Acts 16 Why did Paul baptize a household?
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?
Mastering Bible Study Interpretation
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.
Figurative Language in the Bible: How to Read Imagery & Metaphor Well
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?
Making the most of registration forms
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.
10 The the Danger of Small Compromises (Nehemiah 13)
Years later, Nehemiah returns to Jerusalem to find the people have broken all their vows. His reaction is ruthless — to make a point.
Philippians: Choose Life
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.
How to Transform your Bible Study with an Outline
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.
09 From Rubble to Rejoicing: How Nehemiah Celebrates God’s Restoring Work (Nehemiah 12)
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.
08 Why Make Vows You Know You’ll Break (Nehemiah 10–11)
The people vow to keep God at the center of their lives as they move back into Jerusalem both by choice and by draft.