A Secret Worth Sharing

I will admit It is nearly impossible for me to keep a secret from my wife. If I buy a gift for her birthday or Christmas I had better buy it the day before I give it to her; otherwise, I’ll blow the surprise of the gift. The secret of the LORD is with them [...]

Helpful Thoughts on Bible Reading

A college friend and fellow pastor, Matt Hoskinson, wrote a series of blog posts last fall that I came across that were a real help to me. One or two are dated because we’re well into 2011 but there are helpful ideas and timely reminders that we need: Bible Reading in 2011 Dangers Within (this [...]

A Free Bible for Your Phone (or computer)

One of the great things about using technology redemptively is the spiritual growth that is possible. Cell phones used to be for making phone calls, but now there is an ever-increasing versatility with smartphones. One incredibly helpful addition to my cell phone was downloading YouVersion. Now Bethel Baptist has its own page for you to [...]

Ten Strategies to Reading Your Bible

During our Wednesdays in the Word series, Ruud Stolvoort has been teaching an extremely helpful series on Bible Study. Ruud recently gave ten strategies to reading your Bible. It was a helpful list that has aided me in my Bible reading and I hope it will be a help to you too. Read your Bible [...]

Understanding the New Testament

Over the past couple of Sundays Pastor has given to us a helpful structure of the New Testament. Understanding how all the books of the New Testament work together is essential when attempting to understand what God is communicating to us as His people. I hope this small chart is helpful to you. Overall Theme [...]

Consider a Bible for Your Devotions – Part 2

I hope that you are having a good start to the New Year and also a few days successfully into your Bible reading.  Remember that your goal is to read through the Bible at a pace that is comfortable for you.  Don’t be afraid to push yourself though and, above all, do not quit if [...]

Writing Between the Lines

Recently, Pastor Campbell has posted some helpful insights about Bible reading. I came across the following passage in an old classic, How to Read a Book, by Mortimer Adler & Charles Van Doren. What Adler & Doren say about reading books applies in an even greater way to our reading of the Bible: It is [...]

Consider a Bible for Your Devotions – Part 1

The purpose of these two articles is to serve a dual purpose – first is to challenge you to have a second Bible that you use only for your devotional time.  Second, in the  next article, I thought I would just give an informal evaluation of the Bible I have been using for my devotions this last year. Let [...]

How to Read Through the Entire Bible

The Bible is God’s Word to people.  We know that and do not debate that.  So what is so hard about reading the whole Bible?  Well, if you have ever tried and given up then you know it is not like reading any other book.  Let me give you some helpful suggestions to put you [...]

“I just gave up”

How many people have said those words about trying to read through the entire Bible?  As we close in on the end of 2009 I want to encourage and challenge you to make a commitment to read through the entire Bible.  Most people are not against it; they love Bible preaching and they love their Bibles.  [...]