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Escaping the Box: Main Session Videos

November 5, 2014 By Peter Krol

One of my greatest privileges is teaching the Word of God. Another is teaching God’s Word alongside teammates whom I respect and from whom I love to learn. I love serving with an organization that loves God’s Word and is committed to helping college students learn how to study it.

On October 24-26, DiscipleMakers held our annual Fall Conference. This year’s theme was “Escaping the Box: The Mind-Blowing Message of Jesus.” At the main sessions, we taught on key aspects of Christ’s salvation from the book of Romans. Below are clips from each session, and you can click the links to video of the full talks (mine was the closing session).

Romans 1: The Overwhelming Despair of Depravity

Romans 5: The Surprising Joy of Justification

Romans 8:1-17: The Gracious Acceptance of Adoption

Roundtable Discussion: The Compelling Summons of Sanctification

Romans 8:17-39: The Unbelievable Goal of Glorification

 

Filed Under: Check it Out Tagged With: DiscipleMakers, Fall Conference, Romans, Salvation

9 Things Everyone Should Do When Reading the Bible

October 29, 2014 By Peter Krol

This article at Relevant Magazine lists 9 simple things anyone and everyone should do when reading the Bible.

  1. Read “king” when you see “Christ.”
  2. Read “you” differently (it’s usually plural, not singular).
  3. If you see a “therefore,” find out what it’s there for.
  4. Realize that not all “if” statements are the same.
  5. Recognize that lamenting is OK.
  6. Realize that prophecy is more often FORTH-telling than FORE-telling.
  7. Become familiar with the idioms of your king.
  8. Remember what you learned in English class.
  9. Read to study. But also, read to refresh your heart.

These are great tips. On the first point, I suggest reading “the Chosen One” instead of “King,” but the article’s general point is sound: “Christ” is a title and not just Jesus’ last name.

Check it out!

Filed Under: Check it Out Tagged With: Bible reading, Observation, Relevant

Answering Kids’ Questions About the Bible

October 22, 2014 By Peter Krol

Desiring God posted an article from Jon Bloom called “Be Ready to Answer Your Kids’ Questions About the Bible.”

Christianity stands or falls on the reliability, inspiration, and authority of the Bible. Children pick up on that early. We tell them that they should trust the Bible. At some point they will (and should) ask why (if they feel it’s okay to ask).

He goes on to answer the following questions in language suitable to a 9-year-old.

  1. How do we know the Bible is reliable?
  2. Who decided what should be in the Bible?
  3. How do we know the Bible has no errors in it?
  4. Who can understand the Bible?
  5. Why do we need the Bible to know God?
  6. Does the Bible tell us everything we need to know?

Are you ready to answer these questions? Check it out!

Filed Under: Check it Out Tagged With: Bible, Children, Desiring God, Jon Bloom, Questions

Matthias Media Home Group Leader’s Digest

October 15, 2014 By Peter Krol

I recently subscribed to the Home Group Leaders digest from Matthias Media. This digest is a free monthly email with practical tips and encouragement to those who lead small group Bible studies.

The September edition was quite helpful on a number of topics:

  • How to follow up with people whose attendance has been spotty.
  • How to develop closeness in the group outside of the Bible study meeting.
  • Why it’s important not to ask questions that leave people feeling like they have to read your mind.

You can check out the newsletter online, or—even better—subscribe! In the subscription options, just check “The Home Group Leader’s Monthly Digest.”

Filed Under: Check it Out Tagged With: Leadership, Matthias Media, Questions, Small Groups

6 Ways to Benefit from Reading Genealogies

October 8, 2014 By Peter Krol

Writing for the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals, Matthew Holst has some very helpful tips for one of the most difficult Bible genres for modern readers.

The genealogies in Scripture are so important that it may rightly be said that we cannot fully see the glory of the metanarrative (i.e. the storyline) of the Bible without them.

His 6 tips are:

  1. Read them.
  2. Pay attention to every word.
  3. Pay attention to every missing word.
  4. Consider how they remind us of life and death.
  5. Consider how they present to us two seeds.
  6. Consider how they present to us a faithful, promise-fulfilling, covenant-keeping God.

We get out of genealogies from what time we are willing to put in. If we are prepared to spend the time, do the work and be guided by the Spirit, we will be presented with potted-histories of God’s kindness to man. So we must read the genealogies of Scripture and study them. They, like every other part of Scripture, are profitable for doctrine, reproof, correction and instruction in righteousness, that you may be made perfect, equipped for every good work  (2 Timothy 3:16).

Check it out!

Filed Under: Check it Out Tagged With: Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals, Genealogies, Genre, Matthew Holst

A Revival We Can Get Behind

October 1, 2014 By Peter Krol

Last week, Tim Challies posted some reflections on a recent upsurge among evangelicals to help ordinary Christians become people of the Word. Within a matter of months, we saw the publication of my book, the publication of Kevin DeYoung’s new book, and the launch of John Piper’s “Look at the Book” conference and online video series.

Challies writes:

Nobody planned this unusual confluence of events, and I doubt that the teams that came up with these similar book and conference titles had anyone in common. I’m hoping this is an indication that God is on the move to exalt his Word even higher within the Church. That’s a revival I can get behind 100%.

Challies goes on to reproduce Tedd Tripp’s entire Foreword from my book.

If you’d like to see more, check it out!

Filed Under: Check it Out Tagged With: John Piper, Kevin DeYoung, Tedd Tripp, Tim Challies

How Long it Takes to Read the Bible

September 24, 2014 By Peter Krol

Literary agent Steve Laube recently posted an infographic showing how long it takes to read about 60 classic and popular works of literature. The entire Bible takes less than 45 hours to read, less than either the Harry Potter series or the Game of Thrones series.

With just 30 minutes per day of solid Bible reading, you could still complete another read-through before the end of the year!

Check it out!

Filed Under: Check it Out Tagged With: Bible reading, Steve Laube

Can We Really Trust the Bible?

September 17, 2014 By Peter Krol

This new book from Barry Cooper looks interesting. Here’s an excerpt of his Can I Really Trust the Bible? from the Good Book blog:

Writing was the natural way to preserve God’s words for present and future generations.

For example, the Ten Commandments are described as having been “inscribed by the finger of God” (Exodus 31:18), and when the stone tablets were smashed by Moses—in a fit of anger at Israel’s idolatry—God immediately took steps to replace them. Writing was the way God carefully protected his words so that they would not be lost, changed, distorted or forgotten. As he says to Moses at one point: “Write this on a scroll as something to be remembered…” (Exodus 17:14).

Again, in the Bible’s final book, we read:

He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” – Revelation 21:5

So there’s no reason to be suspicious of the Bible’s divine authority simply because it’s a book. Words don’t become less authoritative because they’re written rather than spoken.

In fact, when you think about it, the reverse is true. The most important statements human beings make—whether they be legally-binding contracts or lyrical expressions of love—are most often written down, at least when we intend them to be powerful and lasting. When God specifically instructs that his words be written down, things get serious.

Check it out!

Filed Under: Check it Out Tagged With: Barry Cooper, Reliability, The Good Book Company

DeYoung’s 5 Tips for Leading Small Groups

September 10, 2014 By Peter Krol

Kevin DeYoung posted a great article last week on leading small groups. His tips are:

  1. Communicate early and often, and then follow through.
  2. Think through your questions ahead of time.
  3. Be mindful of group dynamics.
  4. Know how to handle conflict.
  5. Plan for prayer.

I wrote some similar things in my posts “How to Lead a Great Bible Study” and “5 Practices for Preparing Effective Bible Studies,” so I highly recommend the full article. Check it out!

Filed Under: Check it Out Tagged With: Kevin DeYoung, Leading Bible Study, Prayer, Questions

Jesus and the Proverbs

September 3, 2014 By Peter Krol

How do we se Jesus in the Proverbs? Simple. As J.A. Medders writes, “Wisdom is a ‘Who’ More than a ‘What.'”

The Proverbs are the practical righteousness of Christ, his life, played out in our sanctification. Wisdom isn’t a nebulous concept, or ancient advice for life. Wisdom is draped in Nazarene flesh. Wisdom is the Ancient of Days. And now, by the gospel of grace, Jesus is our wisdom, and our righteousness, and our sanctification.

Medders summarizes the connections in two concise ideas:

  • Jesus lived the Proverbs for us
  • Jesus lives the Proverbs through us

This has been my understanding all through my Proverbs series, and Medders makes it nice and easy. His full article is well worth reading.

Check it out!

Filed Under: Check it Out Tagged With: God's Wisdom, J.A. Medders, Jesus Focus, Proverbs, Sanctification

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