Living By The Book

On December 16, 2014May 30, 2017 By Alan MorganIn Faith

Howard Hendrick – http://www.livingbythebook.net

“The Bible was not written to satisfy your curiosity but to help you conform to Christ’s image.
Not to make you a smarter sinner but to make you like the Savior. Not to fill your head with a
collection of biblical facts but to transform your life”

“The more time you spend in observation, the less time you will have to spend in interpretation,
and the more accurate will be your result. The less time you spend in observation, the more time
you will have to spend in interpretation, and the less accurate will be your result”

The 3 Step Process of Inductive Bible Study

Step One: Observation (what do I see?)

Background information (author, audience, date, location, main theme)
Literary genre (exposition, narrative, poetry, wisdom, prophecy, apocalyptic)
Literary structure (a general outline that shows the development of the book)
Grammatical structure (subject, main verb, object, clauses, phrases)
Important terms (nouns, verbs, modifiers, prepositions, conjunctions)

Step Two: Interpretation (what does it mean?)

List your unanswered questions (who, what, when, where, why, how)
Use your Bible study aids to find the answers (concordance, handbook, atlas, etc.)

Step Three: Application (how does it apply?)

How does it apply to me?
How does it apply to others?

The Living Stone

On November 12, 2014May 30, 2017 By Alan MorganIn Faith

1 Peter 1:22

Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart.

Since the word of the Lord endures forever, the source of our love can be sincere and not a love that perishes. (v23-25)

This is how Peter begins the explanation of the Living Stone:
Our love for one another will create a desire to remove “all wickedness, all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and all slander.” 1 Peter 2:1

The desire to remove these things can’t be our chief objective, but instead becomes a byproduct as we step further into the light and live by increasingly more truth. As we “tasted that the Lord is good,” we want Him to fill more of our lives.

v4: Coming to Him, a living stone – rejected by men but chosen and valuable to God – (v5) you yourselves, as living stones, are being built into a spiritual house for a holy priesthood to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

Keep in step with the Spirit

On January 22, 2014June 19, 2017 By Alan MorganIn Faith

Keep in Step with the Spirit

But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.

If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.

Galatians 5:15-26

v25 – let us also keep in step with the Spirit

After providing a huge contrast between works of the flesh and fruit of the Spirit, Paul extorts us to keep in step. The Holy Spirit is moving – active. What about my peaceful time of introspection and navel gazing over coffee? Paul doesn’t say anything about a Miracle Morning, he says keep up.

Yet, the keep in step with the Spirit is not work, it’s fruit. Work is done with the job isn’t finished. Fruit comes only after the work of Christ is done in our hearts.

Activities of the Holy Spirit

On January 20, 2014May 30, 2017 By Alan MorganIn Faith

John 16:7-8

“Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you. And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment: concerning sin, because they do not believe in me; concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you will see me no longer; concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.

The Holy Spirit comes after Christ has done his work. The reason the Holy Spirit comes is to convict the world of sin and righteousness and judgement. The Holy Spirit provides the insight (conviction) to three critical areas of human interaction.

Acts 1:8

Acts 10:19:20

Romans 8:13-14

1 Corinthians 2:12-13

2 Corinthians 1:3-4

Ephesians 5:18-21

Titus 3:4-6