September 10, 2017
Back to Basics
The Bible
In it’s most basic form, the Bible is not a boring collection of rules and regulations, it’s the story of God’s love for us.
John 1:1
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
Books of the Bible
66 books of the Bible
- 39 in the Old Testament
- 27 in the New Testament
The Old Testament is broken up into:
- Pentateuch (mosaic law)
- History
- Wisdom
- Major Prophets
- Minor Prophets
The New Testament is broken up into:
- Gospels
- History
- Paul’s Letters to churches
- Paul’s letters to individuals
- General letters
- Prophesy
Languages
The Bible was written in 3 languages:
Most of the Old Testament - Hebrew
Parts of Daniel and Ezra in the Old Testament - Aramaic
New Testament - Greek
Translations
Word-For-Word: Takes the Hebrew/Greek word, converts it to english, puts it in a sentence
Thought-For-Thought: Takes the Hebrew/Greek meaning of the phrase, sentence, or paragraph, and converts that into something that makes sense in English
Paraphrase: Takes the idea of the story as a whole and re-writes it into something that makes sense
While the Bible itself is perfect, a translation is not perfect. Translations were written by people,
not through people by God like the scripture itself.
2 Peter 1:21
21 For prophecy never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.
How to Read It
The Bible is not something that you should try to “conquer” - it’s a life book, showing how much God loves you. Use it to personally connect with him.
How to Study It
Every time you study a passage, you should look at 3 things: observation, interpretation, and application.
- Observe what the verse is saying
- Interpret what it means at a deeper level
- Apply what it says to your life
Observation -
What does the verse say?
What does that mean in that culture?
Is this a command or simply telling a story (descriptive vs prescriptive)?
How should that thing be done?
Interpretation -
What does this mean?
What does it not mean?
Could it mean something else based on context?
Application -
Do I do what is being described?
How do I do that?
What steps will I take to make sure I do that?
Hebrews 4:12
For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.
Communication Card
- I am going to start reading the Bible daily for the first time.
- I am going to get in the Bible more than I have in the past.
- I will start walking through the Bible with someone else.
Downloads
- Old Testament Information
- New Testament Information
- Translations of the Bible
- Reading time for books of the Bible
