Topic > Christian Living
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.
Uncontrollable Unexpected
Life is full of surprises—some of which take life in unwelcome directions. I still remember the shockwave that hit our family several decades ago when my father lost his job through no fault of his own. With a house full of kids to feed, it was a jarring blow. But as certainly as Dad’s job loss was beyond his control and unexpected, he still knew he could trust God for his future.
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.
Pride And Prejudice
Back in the 1930s, my childhood home was loving and happy, but my parents were often away. On those occasions, the center of warmth in our home was the kitchen and our tiny, joyous housekeeper named Annie.
I spent many hours with Annie, sitting at our kitchen table reading books or playing with toys and listening to her sing and hum spirituals and hymns. From her heart sprang a continual flow of wisdom, cheerfulness, and song.
Practical tools to bring clarity to often misunderstood Bible passages
Tuesday, May 29, 2012
“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 18:19-20).
IDEA: We must submit ourselves to the Scriptures even when the Scriptures are not saying what we think they should say.
PURPOSE: To help listeners be willing to see old texts in a new way in order to live according to the Scriptures.
The benefit to using different translations when studying the Bible
Monday, May 28, 2012
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 18:19-20).
IDEA: We must submit ourselves to the Scriptures even when the Scriptures are not saying what we think they should say.
PURPOSE: To help listeners be willing to see old texts in a new way in order to live according to the Scriptures.
Practical advice for reading through the Bible, and understanding it along the way!
Wednesday, May 16, 2012, Part 2
IDEA: Because we have a reverence for the Bible, we may be led to misinterpret it.
PURPOSE: To help listeners understand that while the Bible is a unique text, it can be looked at as we would any other piece of literature.
Courageous Conversation
Is it possible that technological advances in communication have left us unable to confront people properly? After all, employers can now send layoff notices via e-mail. And people can criticize others on Facebook and Twitter instead of talking face to face. Perhaps it might be better to put all that aside and emulate how Paul communicated with Peter when they had a disagreement.
Are you struggling to get a solid grasp on the Bible?
Tuesday, May 15, 2012, Part 1
IDEA: Because we have a reverence for the Bible, we may be led to misinterpret it.
PURPOSE: To help listeners understand that while the Bible is a unique text, it can be looked at as we would any other piece of literature.
Looking at some commonly misunderstood Bible passages
Monday, May 14, 2012
“Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15).
IDEA: A passage taken out of its context is a pretext.
PURPOSE: To help listeners realize the consequences of misusing texts in the Scripture.
A Woman Of Influence
During the early years of the Prot- estant Reformation in Europe, Katharina Von Bora, a former nun, married Martin Luther (1525). By all accounts, the two had a joyous married life. Luther said, “There is no bond on earth so sweet, nor any separation so bitter, as that which occurs in a good marriage.”
Discover why studying the Bible in community is so important
Friday, May 11, 2012
Cutting A Trail
The Native Americans of Michigan were the state’s first highway route engineers. With few exceptions, Michigan’s major highways follow the trails they cut through the wilderness hundreds of years before the white man came. A trail was 12-18 inches wide, and for safety the people followed single file. Then pack horses followed these trails, widening them. Later came wagons, and the trails became dirt roads and then highways.
A Heart Of Gratitude
My boyhood hero was American frontiersman Davy Crockett. In the book David Crockett: His Life and Adventures, Davy encounters a beautiful sight that causes him to launch into praise to the Creator. The writer describes it this way: “Just beyond the grove there was another expanse of treeless prairie, so rich, so beautiful, so brilliant with flowers, that even Colonel Crockett, all unaccustomed as he was to the devotional mood, reined in his horse, and gazing entranced upon the landscape, exclaimed, ‘O God, what a world of beauty hast Thou made for man! And yet how poorly does he requite Thee for it! He does not even repay Thee with gratitude.’” Crockett recognized that the Creator’s handiwork demands a response of thankfulness—a response that is often neglected or ignored.
