Bible Studies - Learn from The Bible

You may not even realize it but there are audio Bible Study programs going on all over the world. Audio Bible study is one way that scholars and students are making use of the audio Bible. Audio Bible Study brings the Word of God to people who cannot read, the majority of the world’s population at present. The Bible on audio CD allows missionaries and local pastors to share the treasures of the Bible to all who would like to hear about them. The audio Bible on CD is also being used worldwide as an aid to literacy.

One of the first steps a missionary or pastor might take is to begin an audio Bible listening group. The Word of God is presented in a language familiar to native speakers, and it begins to work on the hearts of the listeners.

This often leads to the building of new churches. People then come to the churches to listen to the audio Bible and continue after with discussions of what they have heard, in order to build their faith.

Listening to the Bible also helps new believers to memorize passages from it. Those living in a predominantly oral culture respond to dramatic readings of the Bible, and audio Bibles are available in dramatized versions, with sound effects, music and staged readings.

Some places in the world do not have the luxury of reliable power. This might put a damper on hearing the audio Bible, because without a power source electronic equipment will not run. However, improvements have been made in this area with the application of recent scientific digital technological advances. There are now solar-powered CD players that will play the audio Bible CD without the need for any local energy at all, allowing the audio Bible to reach into indigenous areas that might otherwise have not been blessed with God’s Word.

If you are learning how to read, it helps speed the process by listening to what you are trying to read being spoken as you attempt to read it. The audio Bible is used in this manner to help improve literacy skills of people all around the world. Over half the world’s population cannot read, so audio Bibles are being used as one method of sharing God’s Word, and are also used to help improve reading skills.

Illiteracy is even a problem in the United States, where many do no reading at all after graduating from high school or college. This can hamper spiritual growth, if a congregation is simply not reading the Bible. One way to overcome that obstacle is an audio Bible program that allows listeners to listen to the entire New Testament in forty days while spending only 28 minutes a day at this endeavor. Because the audio Bible also comes in an MP3 player format, it can go with you to the gym or on your commute, so that in spare moments you can catch up on your Bible study.

Deja

True or False? You should bring a Bible to a Bible study.

The answer is False. As long as you have Boopsie, you can perform a fast, free Bible search right on your mobile phone.

John Wesley, a college student from Aberdeen, Maryland is a Boopsie user and new Bible study student.

He knew the rules. Anyone that didn’t bring their Bible to the young adults’ study group was assigned to bring donuts the following week. He remembered this as he entered the room – and realized his Bible was back at home on his nightstand. Thankfully John had a backup plan.

“I told the group that I had my Bible.” Wesley recalls. Then I pulled my iPhone out of my pocket. At first they thought I was kidding, but I assured them that with Boopsie’s mobile search I could keep up with our discussion on chapter 13 of First Corinthians.”

Boopsie provides the fastest, free search available on any mobile device (BlackBerry, iPhone, Windows Mobile, Palm, and more). The quick-to-display interface gives users faster results than a more traditional search tool launched from a web browser- all from their mobile phone.

Boopsie’s smart prefix search allows users to enter just the first few letters of each word. So instead of entering “For God so loved the world”, users just type “go so lov wor” to find John 3:16. Boopsie starts narrowing the results as soon as the first letter is given, so there’s no waiting till the Enter key is pressed to get information. That means less work for thumbs, and faster, more useful results.

Wesley did indeed show the Bible study group that his mobile phone Bible could keep up with the discussion. He accessed the New Revised Standard Bible channel through Boopsie then entered “1 cor 13″. A split second later he started reciting the chapter to the rest of the group. The traditionalists in the room seemed a little offended at first, but they became more and more intrigued.

“When I got to ‘Love is patient, love is kind’ in verse four, someone thought they could stump me by asking if I could provide the King James translation,” Wesley recalls. “Just a few seconds later after I switched over to the King James channel, I read, ‘Love suffers long and is kind.’ After that, no one challenged Boopsie as an acceptable Bible alternative, the only Bible search tool needed.

The moral of the story: Simply put, Boopsie offers a free mobile phone Bible download anyone with a pda can use. Now that’s using mobile find to enlighten one’s life.

“At the next week’s Bible study, I noticed several people quietly take out their mobile devices and fire up Boopsie. I turned a room full of skeptics into a room full of Boopsie believers with a free bible for mobile phone users. Now that’s faith.

“And I never did have to bring donuts.”

Franklin

There is a big confrontation amongst scholars, saints and journalists whether Bible is a myth, foisted off upon us or a true history. Even public opinion is quite against the authenticity of the great epic Bible. If we believe upon pollster George Gallup then in 1963, two out of three Americans believed it as the word of god but in 1999, it remained only one out of three. In other countries, the declining rate is far lower.

So, we have website like onlinebible.com on the internet. To strengthen human faith and divinity of holy epic Bible, we need many more such site. If we minutely analyze the reason behind increasing disbelief then scientific inventions and discoveries are emerging as evil villain. How can we forget the first and the biggest one combat between Darwin’s theory of evolution and Bible! The important thing is the acceptance of Darwin’s theory.

Probably, the theory ignited the debate upon the authenticity of Bible amongst intellectuals particularly in European universities. It was concluded that the book has not been written by reputed authors. It is simply a collection of myths and tales. Characters are just fiction. It is sad that even today such biases are being pervaded by mass media and most of the scientific community. Richard Dawkins is a zoology professor in Oxford University. He writes, “The Genesis story is just the one that happened to have been adopted by one particular tribe of Middle Eastern herders. It has no more special status than the belief of a particular West African tribe that the world was created from the excrement of ants” (The Blind Watchmaker: Why the Evidence of Evolution Reveals a Universe Without Design, 1986, p. 316).

But, the time changed and science opinion as well. In mid 1800s archaeologists scratched biblical lands and revealed a many facts in favor of the holy Epic Bible. Robinson was the first person who could dare to reveal biblical facts with the eyes of science. Later on, German, English and French excavators also joined this foray. Results were just astonishing. Great cities like Assyrian and Babylonian empires mentioned in the Bible were proud reality and it was proved now.

Terrance

“O you foolish Galatians, you who saw Jesus Christ the crucified so plainly, who has been casting a spell over you?” (Galatians 3:1) These haunting words of the Apostle Paul find application not only with these Galatians, but to people of every generation—even to us in this postmodern world currently entranced by countless mystifying spells of mythological fables.

So what was this Spell? What was Paul’s message to these Galatians entranced by its influence? What do we discern as the Bible speaks to us through Inductive Bible Study regarding its application in our lives today? At Paul’s Primers Online Ministry we answer such questions every day in our ten minute daily Christian Podcasts. Sign Up today, and as a listening member you will have the powerful experience of walking daily in His word, enhancing and strengthening your Christ-like faith with ease and modern day convenience.

For now, let’s begin this written study by noting how Paul felt it necessary to remind these Galatians that indeed, he truly was the thirteenth apostle, equal to the other twelve in every way; how he and the other twelve were in perfect agreement regarding their gospel message. Remember, Paul had established the churches of South Galatia on his first missionary journey, and the churches of North Galatia on his second missionary journey, so these were folks with whom he was well acquainted. Thus his dismay that they would so easily be led astray by false apostles, those who came in after him—casting their evil spell by preaching a different Jesus. This is why he opens his letter to them with a reminder of who he truly was, to call them to remembrance of how they first came to faith, and the signs and wonders worked through him as evidence of the truth of his gospel.

Early on in his letter to these Galatians, Paul also makes a high level mention of the true gospel and its connection to the end of time. Why? Because he was concerned that these beloved Galatians, believers who had come to faith by his very preaching, would not make it safely to the coming catastrophic end of that Old Covenant Age. This mention of the end, of course, is also applicable to our day. Not in form, for the fall of Jerusalem and the destruction of the Temple could happen only once; but in essence, for the end of our earthly existence and the destruction of our bodily temple will most assuredly come upon each one of us. So we, like these Galatians, will meet our Maker, and our only valid claim to salvation will be through Grace by faith in Jesus Christ. Only that Grace preached by Jesus Christ Himself, His hand-picked Apostles, and recorded for us in the beautiful writings of the early church fathers will be sufficient for our salvation.

So what was the “spell” Paul was referring to in chapter three? Simply put, it was the faulty teachings of false apostles. The spell thus cast had these Galatians leaving that “Ancient Christian Truth” that first beckoned them to an authentic faith in the Lord. They were being drawn away from the liberty of Jesus Christ through faith alone and back into a pharisaical anti-Christ religiosity. They were being drawn away from the truth of a New Testament Israel made up solely of believers, and back into a religiosity based on physical seedlines and earthly paradises. They were already falling for new doctrines to replace the “Ancient Christian Truth” preached directly from the mouths of the Apostles. And O’ how Paul sought to call them back—even as he seeks to call all men back, from every generation, to that Ancient Christian Truth once delivered to the saints.  

Consider our world today. What “spell” have we come under. . .  that somehow denominationalism means more than brotherhood in Christ? What “spell” have we come under. . .  that somehow the simple truth of being chosen is no longer connected solely to one’s belief, or lack thereof, in the deity of Jesus Christ? How many new doctrines of men, in truth nothing more than fables and mythologies, must we of this generation fall prey to regarding the end of time? When will we return to that faith that once beckoned us to the Master—can you not hear the sound of the trumpet calling us home through the words of the Apostle Paul?

Now, the application of lessons learned from Paul’s letter to the Galatians for our world today is simple; it is the same in essence as it was for the Galatians of Paul’s day. First, we must return to the Ancient Christian Truth of Jesus Christ and His Apostles, as made evident for us through the writings of the early church fathers—this is the only means to obtain a truly authentic faith. Second, we must obey this truth and reinstitute that brotherhood of believers founded upon faith in Jesus Christ alone. And third, we must walk away from modern day fables and mythologies and return to the sound doctrine of the early church, especially in regard to the dominion mandate and the end times. As Saint Augustine (354–430 AD) wrote: “The advice, Brethren, which ye have just heard Scripture give, when it tells us to watch for the last day, every one should think of as concerning his own last day … Let no one then search out for the last Day, when it is to be; but let us watch all by our good lives, lest the last day of any one of us find us unprepared.”

We will continue our readings in Galatians and make them available to our Online Ministry members through our Christian Podcasts, always allowing the text itself to speak to us by following the three basic rules of Inductive Bible Study: Rule 1) Observation, that is, noting the who, what, when and where of the text; Rule 2) Interpretation, that is, noting the how and why of the text; and Rule 3) Application, that is, noting the application of the text in our daily walk with the Master.

As we proceed, the Ancient Christian Truths once delivered to the saints will return us more and more to an authentic Christian faith that provides a truly relevant Heaven View, and subsequent relevant Worldview, by which we can truly live in the power of the heroic greatness of that mighty warrior Jesus Christ. Only this Ancient Christian Truth leads to authentic Christ-like faith with a Heaven View so powerfully victorious that the Christian’s Worldview can be nothing but overwhelmingly triumphant. In the end, all else is but sinking sand.

Clay

How many time have you promised yourself that you were going to study and learn the bible from end to end, only to peter out soon after you got started studying it. Then there you were in some group situation having to listen while someone that did take the time to learn it completely dominated stage or the conversation.

Time to Step Forward in Life

They quote phrases and chapters one after the other in rapid fire machine gun fashion, while your peers sit and listen with rapt attention. Then afterwards, people stare at them in awe and make positive comments about them. You know that all that it takes is to study the bible enough and you too can be the “leader of the pack” the next time that the “sheep” gather to listen.

Instant Replay

The fact is, that you may be going at all the wrong way. Why read the bible when you can have it read to you word for word with an audio bible. Not only that, but any parts that you feel you have to rehash, simply replay them again and again until it is pounded into your thick head.

Its Time for Your Star to Shine

Anytime is the right time to listen to an audio bible and with a compact CD player slung around your shoulder you can listen to it pretty much all day. This means that in as little as one week you can be the “big man at the pulpit” and command the rapt attention of the flock.

Command Debates

Heated debates will be a cinch when you can whip out bible quote after bible quote to slam sinners and doubters with. Who would dare challenge you to a verbal altercation when they know that you will smite a painful blow with your words and wisdom alone?

Now is the Time

Maybe now is the time to pick up a copy of an audio bible and begin listening to it and start changing your life for the better. Listen to it all the way through and then listen to again until you can recite it completely and then head out into the world and knock-em-dead.

Camille

At Desert Springs Community Church, we believe in the study of the word of god, and know that for many the passion for studying at our church goes beyond just the traditional Sunday service. The ability to break down the bible verse by verse and chapter by chapter is a highly enlightening experience, and providing a forum for bible study is one of our most cherished missions. In that spirit, our community church is proud to offer bible study classes for men, women, and children that bring the power of the group dynamic to the study of scripture.

BibleIn a church setting that incorporates many wonderful mediums including Christian music and our Vacation Bible School program to spread and share the gospel, our bible study programs are one of our most popular and effective tools. Women who might not otherwise think of attending church can find a comfortable and welcoming place to worship in our Women’s Ministry, Girlfriends Unlimited. We offer a variety of studies certain to enlighten and enrich the lives of women looking to get closer to God and to do so in a comfortable setting of their peers.

A man who gives his life to god is a strong man indeed, which is why the name of our men’s bible study group, Ironmen, is so appropriate. Our Ironmen ministry is designed for godly fellowship and accountability, and is a wonderful place for men to learn and evolve through the study of the gospel.

We have a passion for teaching children the gospel of Christ, and offer a number of children’s ministries charged with doing so. From our Little Sprouts program for ages 2-5 to Awana, a program for children ages three through sixth grade, we believe that no child is too young to begin learning the word of God. Circle of Friends, our ministry for elementary school aged children, combines the gospel with arts and crafts, games, and activities that serve as a tool for reinforcing what children have learned. Meanwhile, our very popular vacation bible school offers a week long mission project that focuses on group worship, life challenges, fun, and the opportunity to make lifelong friends.

Megan

Studying the Bible should be a meaningful endeavor that gets you closer to God and helps you understand the meaning of his words. Understanding every passage you read and the meaning it holds for your life can be quite a challenge, however. Rest assured that God has a message for your life with every passage and in every scripture, but it is your job to study the Bible and determine this meaning for yourself.

There are many Bible study methods you can use to uncover God’s message to you, find the meaning in his word, and relate it to your life. Here are some tips on developing a method that will work for you.

You should read passages and chapters systematically in order to uncover the entire meaning of God’s word as it applies to you. It is easier to study the bible when you build on lessons and allow them to uncover their meaning and build on each other.

It can help to put yourself in the passage you are reading in order to understand its message.  Imagine yourself in the same situation and think about how it would feel to be there and how you would react to the words being said.

Putting each passage in your own words is also a great way to understand the message in it. A good Bible study method is to paraphrase each passage by restating it your own words. When you use simple and familiar language it will help you to understand the message contained in the passage.  

Writing down your thoughts is another good way to discover the message contained in each passage. Write down your insights and what reflections you have from each passage and create a way to apply these insights into your own life.

You can also carry your favorite verse with you on an index card or small paper so that you can read it occasionally throughout the day to remind yourself what lesson you are trying to apply to your life. This method will help you to remember passages and the message contained in them

Kaitlin

Too many young people think that Bible study is boring and that they have plenty of time to learn and follow the word of God once they are an adult. This is not true, and a lie that Satan uses to stop young people from knowing and loving God. Bible study is exciting because learning and following the word of God. A person is never too young to understand the word of the Lord and apply its message to their life.

Young people can find many rewards from the Bible. God has promised many rewards to those who find him through His words and prayer. He has promised Strength (Isaiah 40:29-31), Peace (Psalm 119:165), Joy (Psalm 16:11), Success (Joshua 1:8), Stability (Psalm 16:8-9), Answered prayer (John 15:7), Personal testimony (Acts 4:13).

Youth Bible study does not have to be complicated. There are three important steps that a youth Bible study group should follow to understand the Lord’s word. They should observe God’s word and see the message in the passage. Then they should then interpret the meaning of the text as it applies to their life and finally apply the message to themselves by asking what the passage wants them to do.

When you observe the passage ask who is in the story, who is writing and who is being written to. Look for what is being communicated, the cause, affects and meaning in the words. Put yourself in the passage and think about your reactions to what is being said and what the words mean to you.

In order to interpret the Bible’s message ask why the writer said the words, why they are significant, and what is important about the words. Finding the importance of the words as they are written will help you to find the importance of the words in your own life.

To figure out how a passage can be applied a student Bible study group should focus on taking the message and working it in to their actions at home, at school, and everywhere else. They should think about the changes they should make or actions they should take to embrace the message.

The goal of teen and youth group Bible study should be to develop a love and understanding of God’s word. He messages of His word will help young people to navigate the confusing world of today with lessons that will teach them how to love and revere God. Young people can show their love of God by following John 5:3 and joyfully obeying his commands.

Mathew