Reading Colossians

All written from during his first Roman imprisonment, Paul’s four letters of Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon all carry similar themes and messages. Each of them stresses in some manner the work of Christ and the unity of the church. Yet perhaps no two letters are more similar than Ephesians and Colossians; so reading Colossians […]

FREE — Journal of Biblical Manhood and Womanhood

The Journal of Biblical Manhood and Womanhood has long been a very helpful resource and clear-sounding voice on the Biblical position of complementarianism in marriage. And a subscription to the bi-annual journal was always very affordable (I think about $10, if I remember correctly). And now the price is even better — it’s free! Like […]

Reading Samuel

Samuel’s books are important for the nation of Israel for they provide not only the monarchy for the nation of Israel, but also include the Davidic Covenant (God’s promise that the Messiah would come from the line of David). Yet in the midst of these books there is much about the reality of sin and […]

Reading Philippians

In today’s Bible reading, we read the book of Philippians — a favored book of many because it is one of Paul’s most personal and intimate letters and strikes a strong note of encouragement to rejoice in Christ. Of note, joy is not only encouraged, but it is even something that is commanded — a […]

Reading Ephesians

I have often said that my favorite book of the Bible is the book that I am currently preaching. And that means my current favorite is Ephesians — the book we have been reading in the Bible reading plan the past couple of days. Not only is Ephesians a great theological work, offering insight into […]

Reading Deuteronomy

We have just begun reading the book of Deuteronomy in our annual Bible reading plan. This final book by Moses is written as a second giving of the Law (the word “Deuteronomy” means “second law”). So it is a book of reminders. As such, it summarizes the previous books of the Pentateuch. It reminds the […]

Reading Galatians

Today we begin reading the book of Galatians. This is the first of Paul’s letters, and it is key to understanding the relationship between gospel and law, grace and legalism. The purpose of the letter is clearly stated in the introductory section of the book (1:1-10): Judaizers had infiltrated the Galatian church and had attempted […]

Reading Numbers

The book of Numbers, while often regarded among the less “interesting” books in Scripture to read, is an important book for it is the book of testing for the nation of Israel. And through the testing, the nation discovers that God is faithful to His promises and His people. In addition, the holiness of God […]

Reading Psalms

Today we resumed our reading of the book of Psalms. This is the longest book in the Scripture (at least by chapters — 150) and one of the most popular books in Scripture. But the Psalms are written by a variety of authors over hundreds of years, so how are they to be interpreted and […]

Study the Bible

Just as we are sometimes reticent to read the Bible, so we are at times also slow to spend labor in the hard discipline of Bible study. To that end, the encouragement of the riches that are derived from that study are worth remembering: There is divinity in Scripture. It contains the marrow and quintessence […]

Reading Leviticus

This week we began reading the book of Leviticus in our Bible-reading plan. It is for most people a somewhat confusing book to read — and certainly disconnected from what NT believers understand about faith in Christ. After all, the system of sacrifices is long-departed. So how are we to understand these things? In short, […]

Reading Proverbs

Today we begin reading the book of Proverbs. Here is some background information (Word document) about the book that will help you understand it as you read, as well as a brief summary here: The key word in Proverbs is “wisdom,” and making men wise serves as the fundamental purpose of the book (cf. 1:2). […]

Reading Exodus

A couple days ago, we began reading the book of Exodus in our reading through the Bible in a year program. Some of the books may be unfamiliar to you, so in an effort to help you understand what you are reading, as much as possible (I am fully confident I will be unable to […]

Help for reading through the Bible

A couple years ago, our church read through the Bible over 66 Sundays by reading the key chapter in each book of the Bible. To help our body understand the context in which these chapters were written, we provided some basic background information, which we then posted on the church website. That information has now […]

Today’s Quote – Scripture (Brooks)

Thomas Brooks, Precious Remedies Against Satan’s Devices: It is not the hearing of truth, nor the knowing of truth, nor the commending of truth, nor the talking of truth, but the indwelling of truth in your souls, that will keep your judgments chaste and sound, in the midst of all those glittering errors that betray […]