Check it Out | Knowable Word

God’s Glory, as Revealed in Exodus

November 16, 2016 By Peter Krol

At the DiscipleMakers Fall Conference a few weeks ago, our theme was “Firm Foundation: Timeless Truths. For Now. Forever.” I spoke on the topic of “The Glory of God Alone: The Vision that Propels Us.” As I’ve spent oodles of time in Exodus, and God’s glory is a major theme in Exodus, I couldn’t resist rooting my talk in Exodus. What better picture of God’s glory than that of a bush that burns yet is not consumed (Ex 3:2).

Some folks said I took this talk in a direction they didn’t expect. Instead of focusing on how to put God first in our lives—a critical thing to do, of course—I focused on what God considers most unusual about himself. And, of course, these traits will lead us to put him first. But starting with God’s view of himself, and not with our need of him, yields interesting results.

Here’s a short clip:

Here’s a link to the full talk.

On our main conference page, you can find more videos on the following topics:

Scripture Alone: the Truth that Ground Us
Grace Alone: the Message that Transforms Us
Christ Alone: the One who Claims Us
Faith Alone: the Reality that Empowers Us
14 breakout sessions on various topics

Check it out!

4 Practical Guidelines for Reading Old Testament Stories

November 9, 2016 By Peter Krol

As I’m well into my series of sample Bible studies through the book of Exodus, it’s a good time to step back and consider how to read stories such as we find in Exodus. This week’s “check it out” comes courtesy of Dr. George Guthrie, who gives 4 practical guidelines for reading Old Testament Stories:

Read the story in light of the bigger story of which it is a part! Don’t read each chapter/episode as though it were in a vacuum, but read it as part of the larger epic. For example, when we hit Exodus 19, we must draw connections back to Exodus 3, where God promised Moses would bring the people back to the mountain of God to worship him.
Read the story in light of its purpose. Take note of the clues dropped by the narrator about why he’s telling this story. For example, I noted last week that God’s plans come with the intentions “you shall know that I am Yahweh” (Ex 6:7) and “the Egyptians shall know that I am Yahweh” (Ex 7:5). Such purpose statements are like bright signs highlighting a text’s meaning.
Understand important cultural elements in the story. The narrator assumes his original audience would have understood certain things due to their experience, history, or shared experiences. Such things are left unstated but nonetheless key to interpretation. For example, though Exodus 6:14-25 never uses the term “high priest,” this cultural element would have been immediately clear to the original audience.
Read the story, recognizing God as the hero. Though Old Testament characters do give us some examples to follow or avoid (1 Cor 10:1-11), those characters and narratives themselves constantly point to God as the primary mover. For example, Exodus 2-7 makes no attempt to put Moses on a pedestal. The narrative shows him as a weak man, full of impediments, doubts, and fears—but he has a big God who will keep his promises to his people.

For more explanation with some very clear examples from other parts of the Old Testament, see Guthrie’s full post.

Check it out!

10 Super Helpful Bible Reading Tips

November 2, 2016 By Peter Krol

This week, courtesy of the Christian satire site, Babylon Bee, we bring you 10 super-helpful Bible reading tips. Please remember these tips are not only helpful, but super helpful to your devotional life.

Carefully select the Bible that looks the coolest.
Broadcast your quiet time on every outlet available.
Pray that God would reveal how awesome you are.
Take it easy.
Figure out the context of a verse, and then disregard it completely.
Draw elaborate doodles all over the text.
Allegorize literally everything.
Make every effort to apply the difficult texts to everyone in the world except yourself.
Keep in mind, every verse means “judge not.”
Remember who it’s all about: you.

For a richer explanation of these magisterial skills and how you can perfect them, make sure to see the full article.

Check it out!

2 Words That Kill Effective Bible Study

October 26, 2016 By Peter Krol

At For the Church, Zach Barnhart writes of those two small words that could potentially undermine everything you seek to accomplish in Bible study. Those words are “to you,” as in, “What does this passage mean to you?”

Those two words turn a glorious question into gobbledygook. They mistake the authority of the text as the authority of the interpreter. And in the name of application, they cut away observation and interpretation. Such application has no power.

“To you” seems like an innocent way to invite everyone’s voice to the table for discussion, but I contend that it’s a surefire way to kill effective Bible study. Of course, some fiction books, for example, are written for the sole purpose of leaving their interpretation open-ended. But this is not the way of historical, bona fide Scripture, the words of God Himself. Though nuance and opinion has its place at the table, the problem with “to you” is that the phrase elevates a reader’s interpretation over the author’s intention.

Barnhart goes on to suggest ways we can avoid the “to you” chaff without shutting down room for disagreement or different perspectives.

Check it out!

Beware the Instagram Bible

October 19, 2016 By Peter Krol

Jen Wilkin makes a critical point about context and reading, when she writes of “The Instagram Bible” at her blog. Here is a taste:

Beware the Instagram Bible, my daughters – those filtered frames festooned with feathered verses, adorned in all manner of loops and tails, bedecked with blossoms, saturated with sunsets, culled and curated just for you.

Beware lest it become for you your source of daily bread. It is telling a partial truth.

I saw in my vision by night, and behold, I dreamed of a world in which every copy of the Bible was gone, except those portions we had preserved on Instagram. Consider this Bible, my daughters, if you will:

Its perfect squares are friend to the proverb, the promise, and the partial quote, leaving laws, lists, land-allotments, and long-stretching lessons to languish off-screen.

It comforts but rarely convicts.

It emotes but rarely exhorts.

It warms but rarely warns.

It promises but rarely prompts.

It moves but does not mortify.

It builds self-assurance but balks at self-examination.

It assembles an iconography whose artists, by spatial necessity, are constrained to choose

brevity over breadth,

inspiration over intellect,

devotion over doctrine.

Beware its conscribed canvas, where calligraphy conquers context.

Beware.

Click here to see the full post. And please take this to heart as you post verses, share verses, or even memorize verses. All such verses are but a nibble of a larger passage, a broader argument. If we don’t get that argument, we misuse the verse.

Check it out!

You and Your Pastor Could Win a Free Copy of Logos 7

October 12, 2016 By Peter Krol

For the month of October, Logos Bible Software would like to honor pastors who work hard and serve well to care for the flock of God. They invite people to publicly thank their pastors for their labors. And, by thanking your pastor, you will enter both yourself and your pastor to win a free copy of Logos 7 Gold.

Logos 7 is an amazing bit of software, which I use extensively every day. I recommend it highly. Click to see my review. Click here to get a 10% discount on a new base package (and send a small commission our way). Or, go thank your pastor and enter to win a Gold package for free.

Three Tips for Teaching OT Narratives

October 5, 2016 By Peter Krol

David Murray reflects on a a sermon he recently heard, and how the preacher excelled at preaching the narrative of Naaman the leprous Syrian, in 2 Kings 5. When the preacher shared his secrets, the following suggestions came out:

Develop a love for reading stories.
Ask the right questions (especially “why” questions).
Delay theologizing or applying until you get the story’s drama.

These are great suggestions for anyone who wants to teach biblical narratives, whether through sermons, classes, or small groups. Murray’s brief reflections are worth reading, and he embeds a video of the sermon that triggered his reflections.

Check it out!

Ask Better Questions in Small Group Bible Study

September 28, 2016 By Peter Krol

This week, the Logos Talk blog published a guest post Ryan and I worked on together, called “How to Ask Excellent Bible Study Discussion Questions.” The post abridges some of the lengthier material from our series on how to lead a Bible study. If you’d like to lead a small group discussion well, we recommend you master these four kinds of questions:

Launching questions
Observation questions
Interpretation questions
Application questions

Check it out!

Free OIA Summary Booklet

September 16, 2016 By Peter Krol

OIA Bible study is a wonderful tool. With this tool, anyone can get to know the Lord Jesus by learning to study his word.

Perhaps you’ve worked through our series of posts walking you through the full process of observation, interpretation, and application. Perhaps you’ve read the book Knowable Word, which gives clearer examples and practice exercises in a manageable package. These resources have helped you to learn the OIA process, but you’d like something more.

What you could really use is a shorter booklet that merely summarizes the key principles. You don’t need all the drama or the fluff; there’s no need to pierce your ear with an awl just to prove how committed you are (Ex 21:5-6). You, like the Apostle Peter facing Ananias and Sapphira, just want the facts (Acts 5:7-9). You might use such a booklet as a reference guide to help you practice OIA, as it reminds you of the main concepts and the steps. You don’t want to have to go back to the complete book every time you have a specific question. And you don’t want to have to sift through page after page on this website to get a speedy answer or reminder. So what is there for you?

Yesterday, I would have sadly turned you away, like a bridegroom at the door of his wedding feast (Matt 25:10-12). But not today. Today, I am happy to welcome ye who are weary and heavy laden. May you find some rest for your soul.

We’ve had a project in the hopper for many months, and I’m delighted to finally release it for general consumption. We have a short booklet outlining basic Bible study skills, and we’ve uploaded it for you to use at no cost.

You could keep this booklet on your desk as a handy reference. Or you could print it out for your study group or church book table. The booklet focuses only on the principles; it gives almost no illustrations or practice exercises. The point is simply to have all the concepts in a short reference guide.

Without further ado, you can find the booklet here:

Basic Bible Study Skills Booklet

For printing and passing out
- print two-sided with short-edge flip, then fold the stack of pages in half
PDF for digital reading
EPUB download for digital reading
Kindle download for digital reading

I’ve also put these links up on the blog’s resources page, so you can find them easily in the future. Happy studying!

Many, many thanks to my colleagues who made this project come alive:

Jenny Carrington took the original blog material and edited it into concise form.
Dan Miller did the booklet design and typesetting.
Ryan Higginbottom scrutinized the project to make sure it was something we could cheerfully offer to our readers.
Caleb Olshefsky did the last-minute troubleshooting to ensure we could deliver usable formats to our readers.

Thanks for visiting Knowable Word! If you like this article, you might be interested in receiving regular updates from us. You can sign up for our email list (enter your address in the box on the upper right of this page), follow us on Facebook or Twitter, or subscribe to our RSS feed.

« Previous Page