Tag Archives: Bible Study

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Resource Recommendation: Panorama Bible

An Immersive Bible Reading Experience

Last fall, I started a new graduate studies program at Ozark Christian College, working toward a Master’s Degree. During the orientation, I found a new Bible resource that has proven to be immensely helpful to me.

Panorama New Testament

As the graduate studies program started last fall, I stayed with a friend during the orientation week at Ozark, in Joplin, Missouri. He showed me a new Bible that he had found that he found helpful, and after a quick glance, I knew that I needed this as well.

The Panorama New Testament is a large book, measuring over twelve inches tall, and ten inches wide. The reason for this is so that the pages are big enough to display large quantities of text across a panoramic two-page spread. This can be especially helpful as you seek to study the Bible, because it allows you to trace themes through the text at a glance.

I have found this to be especially helpful in studying Paul’s epistles. Most of them are completely arranged across one set of pages, allowing you to see the whole letter at once.

The first letter I studied using this tool was Ephesians. One of Paul’s main themes running through this letter is our status in Christ. He uses this phrase, or “in Him,” or “in the Beloved,” over and over through this short letter, repeating it eleven times in the first fourteen verses alone.

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Don’t Just Read It … Study The Bible In 2020

How To Gain A Deeper Understanding Of God And His Word

There are three different levels when it comes to reading the Bible, I think, and each has it’s place in our lives. So if Fox News is right, and 2020 is the “Year of the Bible,” then how do we gain the most from it? I think that comes primarily from good study habits.

Study The Bible In 2020

I think that there are three main ways that we should ingest the Bible into our lives, and all three have excellent benefits for us. Some people may break it down a little differently than I do, but I think this is a good, basic overview.

The first way is a simple reading of the Bible. I believe that every verse of Scripture has value for my life, and it’s worthwhile to expose myself to every bit of God’s Word on a regular basis. For many, that can come though a tool like an annual Bible Reading Plan. I use something that helps me read every passage more than once a year, which utilizes ten different sections of the Bible. It’s a bit more ambitious, but I have found it really useful.

The second way to use God’s Word is to study it, not just read it. That’s what this article is about, so more on that in a moment.

The third aspect is Bible memorization. Simply taking God’s Word and committing it to memory so that it can become a part of your mind and your thinking habits. Bible memorization is a discipline that I think we neglect more than we should, and have tried to incorporate it into my daily life for several years now, most recently tackling Psalm 119.

We may accomplish the first, perhaps employ the third occasionally, and completely overlook the second. The result of neglecting Bible study has created a culture of biblical illiteracy, and most of us know far less about God’s Word than we should. But I think that’s reversible, and all it takes are a few key study disciplines incorporated into our lives.

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Book Review – 90 Days In John 14-17, Romans, James

90 Days In John 14-17, Romans, JamesI am always looking for good devotional material that will challenge me to grow. It seems like much of the material on the market is pretty basic, and doesn’t go very deep. When I first discovered The Good Book Company, and their For You series of commentaries, I was excited and impressed, because this was material that was not simple and underwhelming, and also not dry and academic either. And what made it even better, is that Timothy Keller was involved, who is one of my favorite authors.

So when a new devotional Bible study came out with his name on it, I was excited to dig into it. 90 Days in John 14-17, Romans, James is an excellent study, that guides you and encourages you to dig deeper into the Scriptures as you study.

The format is simple. The day’s passage of Scripture is laid out, some material is presented to read and think about, often with some though-provoking questions to get your mind working. There are also sections that suggest topics and thoughts for your prayers, and for application to your daily life. Finally, before the next day’s entry begins, there is a space you can journal your thoughts and prayers, and any questions you might have.

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Digging Into Logos 6

Sometimes you stumble upon a resource that is incredibly helpful for life, ministry, and almost every other area of life. For me, that resource is Logos Bible Software.

Logos 6

Let me give you a brief history. I’ve tried Bible software over the years. I have tried several different kinds. At one point, I owned a comprehensive piece of software that came on multiple CDs (remember those days?). This software was so large that I couldn’t install all of the features on my computer. I simply didn’t have the room. As a result, I wasn’t able to use it as effectively as I could.

A couple of years ago, I decided to try Logos. Version 4 was the current edition at that point, and I had several conversations with others who used it. Everyone I talked to loved it. But it was expensive. I hesitated to spend a ton of money that I may or may not utilize very well.

Later, my brother bought and raved about Logos, when version 5 came out. I decided to pull the trigger and buy it. But I went for the basic level, the bronze level. This was the cheapest level that they had available. I used this software here and there, and the companion app for the iPad and iPhone as well.

About a year ago, Logos 6 was released, and I upgraded to it, without much changing in my usage. Until I went to the North American Christian Convention last month.

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ICR’s Days Of Praise Daily Devotional

A major key component of my daily rituals includes some significant devotional reading. The vast majority of this is from my Bible, utilizing a pretty comprehensive reading plan. I then narrow my study down to a specific portion of the Bible, using what I call the Nugget Approach to Bible study. But a third part of my daily devotional time is focused on something much lighter.

ICR Days of Praise

I have switched up this third component over the years to include several different items. Sometimes it’s a devotional book, like Today Is Your Best Day. More recently, I used the Ancient Christian Devotional, which includes several key passages from the Early Church Fathers, paired with a yearly lectionary reading cycle.

But even as those resources cycle in and out of my daily routine, one item has remained steady throughout the past several years. That is ICR’s Days Of Praise daily devotional email.

The Institute for Creation Research has long been a strong voice in the discussion about Genesis and Creation. As explained on their website, “For over four decades, the Institute for Creation Research has equipped believers with evidence of the Bible’s accuracy and authority through scientific research, educational programs, and media presentations, all conducted within a thoroughly biblical framework.”

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Understanding The Purpose Of Man

Philosophers have wrestled for centuries with the question, “What is man?” It’s not a new question. And it’s a topic that has been on my mind a lot recently, with a new role in life as a lead minister, the size of my family growing, and the fact that I’ve reached the mid-point of my life.

What Is Man?

A few weeks ago, I took my son to Oklahoma and we went fossil hunting. We stayed with a friend of the family, and went with him to teach an astronomy lesson to a group of people that Friday night. My son and I were able to view several planets, various stars and star formations, a binary system, and even the Ring Nebula!

It was pretty cool. But my son made a comment in passing, that he felt small and insignificant because of the vast grandeur of the universe.

I know how he feels. It’s slightly overwhelming. Several years ago, I met a man who severely struggled with his faith because of the same reasons. He had watched one of Louie Giglio’s videos that examined God’s creation of the stars. This man’s question was, if God could create such a colossal universe and fill it with so many incredible things, then who was he to think that he held any significance at all in God’s mind?

It’s a common question. And it’s been asked for centuries.

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A Study In Contrasts

I’ve been using a pretty comprehensive plan for reading through the Bible for a few years now. This plan exposes me to every single word of God’s message to mankind at least once per year, and many passages much more than that. In fact, some parts get read once a month, or once every couple of months.

Flowing Stream

When I started using this strategy to read the Bible, I had the foresight to purchase a new Bible at the same time. I did this, because I wanted a good study Bible, with good notes and references, to go along with my reading. An unexpected benefit of this purchase has been seeing how many notes and thoughts I’ve added to the margins since starting this plan.

There is a large amount of my own notes, highlights, underlines, and references that have been added over the past few years. It’s kind of cool to look through this Bible and realize that all of this is from the past three years. It’s amazing to see just how much God’s word has impacted my life as a result.

Looking back through this Bible, one of the most impacting portions of Scripture on my life has been the book of Psalms. There are notes and highlights and scribbles and thoughts scattered all throughout these pages. Simply looking back through my own notes in this one book is somewhat overwhelming.