Renewed bible study

[whaaat]

Hi, I am a longtime Christian who needs to get back into the bible. Looking for suggestions for a study.

[Moby]

4 minutes ago, whaaat said:

Hi, I am a longtime Christian who needs to get back into the bible. Looking for suggestions for a study.

Good morning brother! I would love to hear your feedback on any subject in this website that I found to have some fascinating teachings with boat loads of scripture:

https://sumofthyword.com/

[GandalfTheWise]

36 minutes ago, Moby said:

Good morning brother! I would love to hear your feedback on any subject in this website that I found to have some fascinating teachings with boat loads of scripture:

https://sumofthyword.com/

I took a quick look.  This site appears mostly anonymous and done independently by some individual.  There are 12 total topics covered.  It looks to me like a "lone ranger" who views themselves as being right and most other Christians being wrong.   In addition, it explicitly claims Jesus was a created being in the topic where it calls the doctrine of the Trinity a false teaching.   Here's a few quotes from the first page that comes up.   (I changed the formatting to better fit here and retained a different formatting for statements by the writer and scripture quotations as done in the original.)  

We are not to go beyond what is written as so many denominations are doing today but seek out the hidden precepts from Genesis through Revelation and bring them together precept upon associated precept in our quest to discover the sum of His truth:

1 Corinthians 4:6  Now these things, brethren, I have in a figure transferred to myself and Apollos for your sakes; that in us ye might learn not to go beyond the things which are written; that no one of you be puffed up for the one against the other.

Acts 17:11 Now these were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of the mind, examining the Scriptures daily, whether these things were so.

Paul demanded all the brethren in all his churches think, speak, and teach the same doctrines:

1 Corinthians 1:10  Now I beseech you, brethren, through the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfected together in the same mind and in the same judgment.

Father told Ezekiel that he was a watchman who was commanded to warn His people who went astray from His Word or the blood of those men would be on his hands and cost him his soul:

I would NOT recommend this site as a good one to use for a person wanting to get back into the Bible.  Anyone who in essence claims most Christian denominations are wrong and that they or a particular denomination are the only one who is right is usually not a good teacher to learn from.

 

 

[Moby]

1 hour ago, GandalfTheWise said:

I took a quick look.  This site appears mostly anonymous and done independently by some individual.  There are 12 total topics covered.  It looks to me like a "lone ranger" who views themselves as being right and most other Christians being wrong.   In addition, it explicitly claims Jesus was a created being in the topic where it calls the doctrine of the Trinity a false teaching.   Here's a few quotes from the first page that comes up.   (I changed the formatting to better fit here and retained a different formatting for statements by the writer and scripture quotations as done in the original.)  

We are not to go beyond what is written as so many denominations are doing today but seek out the hidden precepts from Genesis through Revelation and bring them together precept upon associated precept in our quest to discover the sum of His truth:

1 Corinthians 4:6  Now these things, brethren, I have in a figure transferred to myself and Apollos for your sakes; that in us ye might learn not to go beyond the things which are written; that no one of you be puffed up for the one against the other.

Acts 17:11 Now these were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of the mind, examining the Scriptures daily, whether these things were so.

Paul demanded all the brethren in all his churches think, speak, and teach the same doctrines:

1 Corinthians 1:10  Now I beseech you, brethren, through the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfected together in the same mind and in the same judgment.

Father told Ezekiel that he was a watchman who was commanded to warn His people who went astray from His Word or the blood of those men would be on his hands and cost him his soul:

I would NOT recommend this site as a good one to use for a person wanting to get back into the Bible.  Anyone who in essence claims most Christian denominations are wrong and that they or a particular denomination are the only one who is right is usually not a good teacher to learn from.

 

 

Please ask yourself why all the prophets were loners who were sent by God to the children of God who all strayed from the truth but most of those prophets were killed by the children of God:

Luke 11:49-52  Therefore also said the wisdom of God, I will send unto them prophets and apostles; and some of them they shall kill and persecute;  (50)  that the blood of all the prophets, which was shed from the foundation of the world, may be required of this generation;  (51)  from the blood of Abel unto the blood of Zachariah, who perished between the altar and the sanctuary: yea, I say unto you, it shall be required of this generation.  (52)  Woe unto you lawyers! for ye took away the key of knowledge: ye entered not in yourselves, and them that were entering in ye hindered.

Please ask yourself if the Holy Spirit only teaches the unleavened truth of all that Jesus spoke:

John 14:26  But the Comforter, even the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said unto you.

Please ask yourself why all the denominations have differing doctrines when Paul clearly said the churches MUST all speak the same thing:

1 Corinthians 1:10  Now I beseech you, brethren, through the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfected together in the same mind and in the same judgment.

Please ask yourself why Jesus promised that there is coming a day when most of the denominations will agian kill those sent to them with the truth:

John 16:1-3  These things have I spoken unto you, that ye should not be caused to stumble.  (2)  They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the hour cometh, that whosoever killeth you shall think that he offereth service unto God.  (3)  And these things will they do, because they have not known the Father, nor me.

Try setting aside your theology and simply read the links this website puts forth for they each contain 80% scripture by volume which is rare these days:

https://sumofthyword.com/

Edited December 16, 2020 by Moby

[GandalfTheWise]

1 hour ago, whaaat said:

Hi, I am a longtime Christian who needs to get back into the bible. Looking for suggestions for a study.

There are different ways to go about reading the Bible and countless studies of various types.  The most important thing is settling into a way of reading and studying the Bible that works well for you where you are at right now.  We are all different and need different things at different stages in our Christian walk.   The best way of reading and study is what works best for us at this point in our lives.

One thing to consider in a study is if it focuses on Bible familiarity or doctrinal familiarity.  Some studies focus on becoming familiar with what is in the Bible.  Other studies focus on what a particular individual or denomination believes the Bible teaches and as such is basically indoctrination into what you should believe.  Some such studies focus on fundamentals of the faith that the vast majority of Christians believe and would give a good base to build from.  Other such studies focus on distinctive beliefs as to why one group of Christians thinks another group of Christians is wrong.  Those types of studies set you up for adding to divisions in the church.  Some are a mixture of fundamentals and distinctive views which basically leave the student not knowing the difference between core beliefs and those held by only some Christians.   My personal opinion is that studies that focus on Bible familiarity are a much better starting point because that Bible familiarity is what can provide a solid base for further study later.

Some Christians find that reading through the Bible or various books in the Bible is fruitful by itself.  If you are not that familiar with the Bible, a good starting point would be to read the Gospel of John followed by one of the synoptic gospels (Matthew, Mark, or Luke).   I'd also recommend Acts.   Since Luke and Acts are written by the same author, reading Luke followed by Acts gives a solid overview of the life of Jesus and the beginning of the church.   After that, reading Genesis and the first part of Exodus covers a lot of ground in the OT.  In addition, books such as Psalms or Proverbs make good books to read individual chapters.    My opinion is that in books such as Genesis, it's fine to skip over long lists of names and genealogies if you're just getting into reading those books for the first time.

The other thing that is probably the most important is finding what type of routine works best for you.  I had one pastor who for the past 20 years has used the One-Year Bible.  Every morning, he wakes up, grabs his coffee, and reads the day's chapters.  For some, the same good routine is good for them for years and years.  I'm of the type that I go through seasons where one thing works for awhile and then I need to do something else.  For example, I once spent 3 months reading the Bible through once per month spending hours per evening doing it.  It was great.  The 4th month however, I crashed and burned.  For about 6 months, I tried to get back into that reading rate but couldn't.  I didn't yet realize that I'd gained a lot from those three months, but it was now time for me to do something different with my reading and study.   Over my life, I've just learned to go with the flow with what works.

We are all different and what works for one of us at one stage in our lives may or may not work well for someone else.  I'd encourage you to learn what works for you.  That might require some experimenting.  To some degree, some amount of change and discipline may be needed.  But if we are forcing ourselves to read and study in a way that doesn't work for us, we'll burn out and fall into a trap of forcing ourselves to read and study out of guilt rather than as a natural enjoyable part of our spiritual lives.

 

 

 

 

[GandalfTheWise]

10 minutes ago, Moby said:

Please ask yourself why all the prophets were loners who were sent by God to the children of God who all strayed from the truth but most of those prophets were killed by the children of God:

Luke 11:49-52  Therefore also said the wisdom of God, I will send unto them prophets and apostles; and some of them they shall kill and persecute;  (50)  that the blood of all the prophets, which was shed from the foundation of the world, may be required of this generation;  (51)  from the blood of Abel unto the blood of Zachariah, who perished between the altar and the sanctuary: yea, I say unto you, it shall be required of this generation.  (52)  Woe unto you lawyers! for ye took away the key of knowledge: ye entered not in yourselves, and them that were entering in ye hindered.

Please ask yourself if the Holy Spirit only teaches the unleavened truth of all that Jesus spoke:

John 14:26  But the Comforter, even the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said unto you.

Please ask yourself why all the denominations have differing doctrines when Paul clearly said the churches MUST all speak the same thing:

1 Corinthians 1:10  Now I beseech you, brethren, through the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfected together in the same mind and in the same judgment.

Please ask yourself why Jesus promised that there is coming a day when most of the denominations will agian kill those sent to them with the truth:

John 16:1-3  These things have I spoken unto you, that ye should not be caused to stumble.  (2)  They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the hour cometh, that whosoever killeth you shall think that he offereth service unto God.  (3)  And these things will they do, because they have not known the Father, nor me.

Try setting aside your theology and simply read the links this website puts forth contain 80% scripture by volume which is rare these days:

https://sumofthyword.com/

There's nothing new there I haven't seen before in some form or another.  It's pretty reminiscent to me of many of the uniquely American sects that emerged among the followers of William Miller in the 1830s and early 1840s.   He'd predicted Jesus would return in 1843 and then in 1844.  After that didn't happen, his followers split into various sects.   The stuff I saw on the site seemed to be a mixture of standard Christians beliefs coupled with exposure to some of the more radical views that emerged in aftermath of the Millerites dealing with the lack of a visible return in 1844/1843.  I could see someone with the views expressed on that site fitting into that type of environment and having started their own little sect or joined one of them.

In some of those sects, there was an underlying assumption of God's Truth resting only in a few brave NT prophets or teachers who would be opposed by the apostate church.  I've seen Christians with this general outlook point to a particular denomination, a particular local church, a handful of teachers, a single teacher, or themselves as the only people still true to God in this day and age.  They then spend their time and effort proselytizing to convert other Christians to their point of view.  They then see any opposition as proof that they are right.  Most of those sects just died out with their leaders.  Some carried on as pseudo-Christian sects that became religions opposed to Christianity (e.g. JWs) and others were groups of Christians who ended up isolating themselves from other Christians.

Been there, and done that myself to some degree many years ago, and finally realized the folly of isolating myself from the rest of the body of Christ.  I also realized the folly of propagating division myself under the guise of eliminating it.    I was merely telling people it was more important to reject other Christians I disagreed with than to look closely as to the fruit of the Spirit in their lives and hearing their testimonies.  Ultimately, unity and fellowship come from loving and valuing each other as unique creations of the Almighty and not just ticking all the right boxes on a 101 doctrines you must believe checklist. 

As I just read recently somewhere as a half-joke and half-truth sort of thing:  Don't start your own denomination that is completely correct about everything.  Someday when you change your mind about something, you'll have to leave and have to start a new one that is completely correct.

Anyway, I'm not going to respond further here.   I do not want to draw away any further from the OP asking about possible studies to use than I already have.  Bottom line is that my assessment of that site is that it is not a good one for someone looking to get back into the Bible.  Its coverage of topics is sporadic and not well organized.  It presents a few views way outside the mainstream of Christians as definitive.  It presents minimal example of how to properly use exegesis or hermeneutics to study particular verses. It pushes the idea that only a few Christians today are real Christians.   The main reason I have responded here is to give an example as to the type of things I look at in deciding if I will recommend a study to someone or not.    

 

 

 

 

[Moby]

26 minutes ago, GandalfTheWise said:

There's nothing new there I haven't seen before in some form or another.  It's pretty reminiscent to me of many of the uniquely American sects that emerged among the followers of William Miller in the 1830s and early 1840s.   He'd predicted Jesus would return in 1843 and then in 1844.  After that didn't happen, his followers split into various sects.   The stuff I saw on the site seemed to be a mixture of standard Christians beliefs coupled with exposure to some of the more radical views that emerged in aftermath of the Millerites dealing with the lack of a visible return in 1844/1843.  I could see someone with the views expressed on that site fitting into that type of environment and having started their own little sect or joined one of them.

In some of those sects, there was an underlying assumption of God's Truth resting only in a few brave NT prophets or teachers who would be opposed by the apostate church.  I've seen Christians with this general outlook point to a particular denomination, a particular local church, a handful of teachers, a single teacher, or themselves as the only people still true to God in this day and age.  They then spend their time and effort proselytizing to convert other Christians to their point of view.  They then see any opposition as proof that they are right.  Most of those sects just died out with their leaders.  Some carried on as pseudo-Christian sects that became religions opposed to Christianity (e.g. JWs) and others were groups of Christians who ended up isolating themselves from other Christians.

Been there, and done that myself to some degree many years ago, and finally realized the folly of isolating myself from the rest of the body of Christ.  I also realized the folly of propagating division myself under the guise of eliminating it.    I was merely telling people it was more important to reject other Christians I disagreed with than to look closely as to the fruit of the Spirit in their lives and hearing their testimonies.  Ultimately, unity and fellowship come from loving and valuing each other as unique creations of the Almighty and not just ticking all the right boxes on a 101 doctrines you must believe checklist. 

As I just read recently somewhere as a half-joke and half-truth sort of thing:  Don't start your own denomination that is completely correct about everything.  Someday when you change your mind about something, you'll have to leave and have to start a new one that is completely correct.

Anyway, I'm not going to respond further here.   I do not want to draw away any further from the OP asking about possible studies to use than I already have.  Bottom line is that my assessment of that site is that it is not a good one for someone looking to get back into the Bible.  Its coverage of topics is sporadic and not well organized.  It presents a few views way outside the mainstream of Christians as definitive.  It presents minimal example of how to properly use exegesis or hermeneutics to study particular verses. It pushes the idea that only a few Christians today are real Christians.   The main reason I have responded here is to give an example as to the type of things I look at in deciding if I will recommend a study to someone or not.  

Who said anything about starting a denomination??? And nowhere on this sight is there any date setting:

https://sumofthyword.com/

If Paul said as soon as he departed from the chruches he established 1900 years ago would immediately begin to be perverted with false doctrine:

Acts 20:26-30  Wherefore I testify unto you this day, that I am pure from the blood of all men.  (27)  For I shrank not from declaring unto you the whole counsel of God.  (28)  Take heed unto yourselves, and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit hath made you bishops, to feed the church of the Lord which he purchased with his own blood.  (29)  I know that after my departing grievous wolves shall enter in among you, not sparing the flock;  (30)  and from among your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after them.

Imagine how much it is today with all the varying denominations with all their ear tickling doctrines of half truths which is nothing more than leavened doctrine:

2 Timothy 4:1-5  I charge thee in the sight of God, and of Christ Jesus, who shall judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom:  (2)  preach the word; be urgent in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching.  (3)  For the time will come when they will not endure the sound doctrine; but, having itching ears, will heap to themselves teachers after their own lusts;  (4)  and will turn away their ears from the truth, and turn aside unto fables.  (5)  But be thou sober in all things, suffer hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fulfil thy ministry.

All this sight does is provide the scriptures exactly as Isaiah told us the scriptures should be studied because all the tables of spiritual food the denominations teach are vomit in God's eyes:

Isaiah 28:8-10  For all tables are full of vomit and filthiness, so that there is no place clean.  (9)  Whom will he teach knowledge? and whom will he make to understand the message? them that are weaned from the milk, and drawn from the breasts?  (10)  For it is precept upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, there a little.

Edited December 16, 2020 by Moby

[walla299]

6 hours ago, whaaat said:

Hi, I am a longtime Christian who needs to get back into the bible. Looking for suggestions for a study.

Have a look at https://www.desiringgod.org/

The "Look at the Book" podcast is good, and is going through Ephesians. There are sermons available and lots of other resources. They do not charge for resources, either.

https://www.ligonier.org/

is another good one and they made many things free due to covid. They also have the $5 Friday, when resources are only $5.

Both ministries have been around a long time.

[NotAllThere]

What really inspired me to read the Bible (again...) was David Pawson's opus "Unlocking the Bible". What you're supposed to do is read the various books of the Bible, then read his chapter. But me, being rebellious and lazy, read his book first. I was working away from home at the time, and couldn't wait for work to end so I could go to my hotel room, curl up with my Bible and read that book. The entire book. In two weeks I read Ezekiel, Isaiah and Jeremiah. And I still love these books now. Especially Ezekiel. Did you know this guy was asked to cooked his food over human excrement, and when he objected, the Lord relented? Did you know that when his wife died, he wasn't allowed to cry... 

So, don't bother with a system. Learn how to read the Bible yourself, guided by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit - for which Unlocking the Bible by David Pawson might help.

[johnthebaptist]

7 hours ago, whaaat said:

Hi, I am a longtime Christian who needs to get back into the bible. Looking for suggestions for a study.

I think one needs to read the entire Bible. I'd start at the beginning and read it all the way through.