Well Equipped Training Articles
BibleEquipping is all about instruction on Bible interpretation. Our newsletter, Well Equipped, goes out every other month with a practical and accessible training. We post them here for you to reference. You can find worksheets to practice the skills you learn at the bottom of each article.
Walking with a Friend through the Book of John
We want to read the Bible with our friends who are curious about Jesus. How do we do this?
I Will Arise & Go to Jesus: Praying the Scriptures
There is so much to learn about prayer as we study the Scriptures and within those gems, there are three principles we see bubbling to the surface. These principles are helpful for us as we approach the Lord in prayer, and as we teach others about prayer.
Study the Whole Word with the Whole Church
You’re sitting across from a friend. She has questions about why she should believe in Jesus, so you pull out your Bible. Which book do you open?
I’m guessing you start with one of the gospels. Get straight to Jesus. Maybe you turn to Romans next to explain humanity’s sinfulness and need for atonement.
How long would it take before you turned to the Old Testament? I know it might take a while to cross my own mind.
Don’t Forget the Story: Biblical Context
Continuing our series on context, let’s talk about biblical context
Understanding Context Pt 2: Stories Within Stories
I remember being taught that Martha, Lazarus’ sister, worked too much. What I needed was to find better balance to keep from stumbling down her path, for Jesus wanted women who weren’t too much like Martha. Do you remember being taught something like that?
In Luke 10, Jesus does come to the house of Martha and Mary and does ultimately call Martha to leave the tasks that have distracted her to come and receive something better. But, this passage is not about better scheduling or balancing our “quiet times” with our to-do lists. Nor is it a message about Jesus’ dislike for “women like Martha.” The message will actually take us much deeper into our understanding of self-justification when we consider context—specifically the literary context.
Understanding Context Pt. 1: Brought and Sought
It’s context that helps us communicate in many interactions. From preschoolers, to date night, to a grocery store exchange, context frames the meaning of our words from one to another.
Since we know Scripture is communication, we have to treat it as such. God spoke through human authors to intended original audiences, and he inspired it for his people of the future as well. We hold both of these in our minds as we pay attention to context.
Covenants: The Backbone of the Bible
We don’t talk a lot about covenants today. But we should. They’re one of the most important themes in the Bible because they act as the skeletons upon which the entire redemptive story is built. They’re like the backbone of the Bible. From Genesis on, God enters into one formal relationship after another (i.e., covenants) with various humans in order to rescue his world. These divine-human relationships push that narrative forward until it reaches its climax in Jesus. Thus, to tell the story of God redeeming his people through Jesus is to tell the story of God’s covenantal relationship with his people.
Pretty important, right?
Tracing a Biblical Theme Through a Text
You know there are themes that flow through the Bible, and you’ve seen them illuminated as others teach. But how do you look at a passage and see the threads of a theme the author is pulling on? Here’s our first training article from Well Equipped.