A Study of the Introduction of First John.
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- Written by: Daniel Gray
- Category: Bible Studies.
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People routinely recommend the book of First John to those new to the Bible or new to Christianity as the starting place to read in the Bible. Yet many people find the first four verses difficult to understand. There are so many things going on in these verses that go unnoticed by many students of the Bible. In this solemn, yet emphatic but stately opening, one may read these verses without understanding the reasoning behind many of the things said or the effect they had on the original readers of the epistle because of their cultural distance from the New Testament.
What Happens To Our Sins?
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- Written by: Daniel Gray
- Category: Bible Studies.
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What happens to our sins when they are forgiven? The Bible uses several ways to explain the separation of our sins from ourselves to relieve us of their burden.
The work Christ accomplished on the cross was prefigured in the Old Testament law through ritual cleansings. Lev 14:31, Lev 16:30 and Num 8:21 talks of cleansing a person of their sins through atonement. Psalm 51:2 says, “Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity And cleanse me from my sin.” Here the cleansing is accomplished by a thorough washing.
Living A Life After God’s Own Heart.
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- Written by: Daniel Gray
- Category: Live Fully For God.
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After Saul had offered the burnt offering to the Lord instead of waiting for Samuel to arrive, Samuel said to him,[1]
“But now your kingdom shall not endure. The Lord has sought out for Himself a man after His own heart, and the Lord has appointed him as ruler over His people, because you have not kept what the Lord commanded you.”
1 Samuel 13:14 (NASB95)
This little statement, “A man after His own heart” comes with little explanation. This phrase spoken to King Saul by God’s mouthpiece, the prophet Samuel is not about Saul but rather about his replacement, David. The one that God sees as a person after his own heart is David. Now, David is a man we soon understand to be imperfect and one who commits grievous sins against God. We wonder how David can be an example of a person after God’s own heart. How can we hope to live a life after God’s own heart ourselves?
The Art of Contentment.
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- Written by: Daniel Gray
- Category: Live Fully For God.
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Are you content in your life? What is it to be truly content anyway? Look to Job and Paul in the bible as examples of content people. From these two men we can learn how we ourselves can become content also. We to can practice true contentment.
How to Study the Bible: The Context
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- Written by: Daniel Gray
- Category: How to Study The Bible
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Examining the context of a verse.
Leaders Notes:
This article is designed to work best as a PDF get it here.
The first part of the study takes a selection from Melvin’s Moby Dick. The lesson begins by just showing two lines without any context and asking people to consider the meaning of the two lines.
When the PDF is printed single sided on 8.5” x 11” paper these lines will appear in the same position on the next page. This is to provide a visual effect that they are looking at the same thing but with more information. Ask the students to consider the added context and decide the meaning of the two lines again. The first example ends with providing the correct answer.
What is the Bible? Quiz
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- Written by: Daniel Gray
- Category: Fun Bible Quizzes
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The “What is the Bible? quiz” is a fun way to learn about what the Bible is and how we should view it. This quiz covers topics of inspiration of scripture, authority of scripture, textual criticism, and errors in the bible.
1. T F God gave us the Bible.
2. T F God inspired the Bible.
3. T F The humanity of the Bible’s authors introduced errors.
4. T F The scribes made errors as they copied the manuscripts.