Ministry > Discover The Word
Discover how to get a deeper understanding of God’s Word
Tuesday, June 19, 2012
“Let not those who wait for You, O Lord God of Hosts, be ashamed because of me; let not those who seek You be confounded because of me, O God of Israel. Because for your sake I have borne reproach; shame has covered my face. I have become a stranger to my brothers, and an alien to my mother’s children; because zeal for your house has eaten me up, and the reproaches of those who reproach You have fallen on me. When I wept and chastened my soul with fasting, that became my reproach. I also made sackcloth my garment; I became a byword to them. Those who sit in the gate speak against me, and I am the song of the drunkards” (Psalm 69:6-12).
IDEA: Misinterpreted or misapplied passages have different degrees of consequences.
PURPOSE: To help listeners realize the importance of interpreting and applying biblical passages accurately.
Practical tools for getting the most out of your Bible study
Monday, June 18, 2012
“And Hezekiah was pleased with them, and showed them the house of his treasures—the silver and gold, the spices and precious ointment, and all his armory—all that was found among his treasures. There was nothing in his house or in all his dominion that Hezekiah did not show them . . . and [Isaiah] said, “What have they seen in your house?” So Hezekiah answered, “They have seen all that is in my house, there is nothing among my treasures that I have not shown them” (Isaiah 39:2-4).
IDEA: Misinterpreted or misapplied passages of Scripture have different degrees of consequences.
PURPOSE: To help listeners realize that there are consequences to the ways they interpret the Scriptures.
Insight and help for getting through good times, and bad
Friday, June 15, 2012
“Submitting to one another in the fear of God. Wives, to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is head of the wife, as also Christ is head of the church; and He is the Savior of the body. Therefore, just as the church is subject to Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything. Husbands, love your wives just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for it, that he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, that He might present it to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that it should be holy and without blemish. So husbands ought to love their own wives as their own bodies; he who loves his wife loves himself. For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as the Lord does the church. For we are members of His body, of His flesh, and of His bones. For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church. Nevertheless let each one of you in particular so love his own wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband” (Ephesians 5:21-33).
IDEA: To misinterpret or misapply a passage of Scripture always has consequences.
PURPOSE: To help listeners realize the dangers that may grow out of bad exegesis.
Focus on this encouraging verse in Scripture and discover the real power behind it!
Thursday, June 14, 2012
“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:13).
IDEA: Statements seldom have unlimited meaning in life or in the Bible.
PURPOSE: To help listeners keep from giving to words more value than they should have.
Understanding the biblical context surrounding a verse to avoid missing the point
Wednesday, May 13, 201
” ‘For I know the thoughts that I think toward you,’ says the Lord, ‘thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope’ ” (Jeremiah 29:11).
IDEA: We have a tendency to ask “What does this mean for me?” before we ask, “What did this mean for the original readers”?
PURPOSE: To help listeners apply the Scriptures accurately in their lives.
Are you looking to bring your grasp of the Bible to a new level?
Tuesday, June 12, 2012
“Come and hear, all you who fear God, and I will declare what He has done for my soul. I cried to Him with my mouth, and He was extolled with my tongue. If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear. But certainly God has heard me; He has attended to the voice of my prayer. Blessed be God, who has not turned away my prayer, nor His mercy from me!” (Psalm 66:16-20).
IDEA: Sometimes the Bible applies great ideas in unusual ways.
PURPOSE: To help listeners see that putting a verse in its context can lead you to applying it in an unexpected way.
The dangers of misusing or even misquoting Scripture
Monday, June 11, 2012
“He has put forth his hands against those who were at peace with him; he has broken his covenant. The words of his mouth were smoother than butter, but war was in his heart; his words were softer than oil, yet they were drawn swords. Cast your burden on the Lord, and He shall sustain you; He shall never permit the righteous to be moved. But You, O God, shall bring them down to the pit of destruction; bloodthirsty and deceitful men shall not live out half their days; but I will trust in You” (Psalm 55:20-23).
IDEA: Sometimes a good truth can be used in a bad way.
PURPOSE: To help listeners see that when we read the text of Scripture we must discern who says what to whom.
Practical advice on how to accurately interpret the Scriptures
Friday, June 8, 2012
“You have become estranged from Christ, you who attempt to be justified by law: you have fallen from grace” (1 Corinthians 15:29).
“What will they do who are baptized for the dead if the dead do not rise at all? Why then are they baptized for the dead?” (Galatians 5:4).
IDEA: Misinterpreted or misapplied passages of Scripture have different degrees of consequences.
PURPOSE: To help listeners appreciate the dangers of reading a meaning into a passage rather than getting the meaning out of a passage.
Discussion on the delicate issue of reconciliation
Thursday, June 7, 2012, Part 2
“Moreover, if your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he hears you, you have gained your brother. But if he will not hear you, take with you one or two more, that by the mouth of two or more witnesses every word may be established. And if he refuses to hear them, tell it to the church. But if he refuses even to hear the church, let him be to you like a heathen and a tax collector. Assuredly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. Again I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered together in my name, I am there in the midst of them” (Matthew 18:15-20).
IDEA: To understand the passage we have to give credit to the author for being as reasonable as we are as we read it.
PURPOSE: To help listeners see that the flow of thought often helps us as we study the Bible.
Discover practical tools for restoring relationships
Broken relationships aren’t easy to repair. Perhaps there’s someone in your life who’s hurt you, and trust has been shattered.
Confronting someone who’s in the wrong
Tuesday, June 5, 2012, Part 3
“Moreover, if your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he hears you, you have gained your brother. But if he will not hear you, take with you one or two more, that by the mouth of two or more witnesses every word may be established. And if he refuses to hear them, tell it to the church. But if he refuses even to hear the church, let him be to you like a heathen and a tax collector. Assuredly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. Again I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered together in my name, I am there in the midst of them” (Matthew 18:15-20).
IDEA: When we decide what a passage does not mean, it’s important to establish what it does mean.
PURPOSE: To help listeners realize that there is little value in being critical unless we can also be helpful.
Practical ways to repair a broken relationship
Monday, June 4, 2012, Part 2
“Moreover, if your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he hears you, you have gained your brother. But if he will not hear you, take with you one or two more, that by the mouth of two or more witnesses every word may be established. And if he refuses to hear them, tell it to the church. But if he refuses even to hear the church, let him be to you like a heathen and a tax collector. Assuredly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. Again I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered together in my name, I am there in the midst of them” (Matthew 18:15-20).
IDEA: When we decide what a passage does not mean, it’s important to establish what it does mean.
PURPOSE: To help listeners realize that there is little value in being critical unless we can also be helpful.
The steps laid out by Jesus, that lead to the restoration of a broken relationship
Friday, June 1, 2012, Part 1
“Moreover, if your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he hears you, you have gained your brother. But if he will not hear you, take with you one or two more, that by the mouth of two or more witnesses every word may be established. And if he refuses to hear them, tell it to the church. But if he refuses even to hear the church, let him be to you like a heathen and a tax collector. Assuredly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. Again I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered together in my name, I am there in the midst of them” (Matthew 18:15-20).
IDEA: When we decide what a passage does not mean, it’s important to establish what it does mean.
PURPOSE: To help listeners realize that there is little value in being critical unless we can also be helpful.
Want to take your study of God’s Word to a deeper level?
Thursday, May 31, 2012
“Moreover, if your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he hears you, you have gained your brother. But if he will not hear you, take with you one or two more, that by the mouth of two or more witnesses every word may be established. And if he refuses to hear them, tell it to the church. But if he refuses even to hear the church, let him be to you like a heathen and a tax collector. Assuredly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. Again I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered together in my name, I am there in the midst of them” (Matthew 18:15-20).
IDEA: It is possible for us to overlook a teaching of the Lord because it doesn’t fit our preconceived concepts.
PURPOSE: To help listeners realize that a proper interpretation of a passage often reveals to us what we might otherwise overlook.
Let’s look at what they call “hot passages” in the Bible
Wednesday, May 30, 2012
“Moreover, if your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he hears you, you have gained your brother. But if he will not hear you, take with you one or two more, that by the mouth of two or more witnesses every word may be established. And if he refuses to hear them, tell it to the church. But if he refuses even to hear the church, let him be to you like a heathen and a tax collector. Assuredly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. Again I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered together in my name, I am there in the midst of them” (Matthew 18:15-20).
IDEA: We misread the Bible when we look for the “hot” passages and ignore what we think are the cold sections.
PURPOSE: To help listeners avoid taking isolated verses from the Scripture which can lead us to false applications of those Scriptures to our lives.
