Scripture and ...

  Faith, a foundational aspect of the Christian walk, serves as the bedrock upon which our relationship with God and Jesus is built. It is the unwavering trust in the promises of the Almighty, the assurance of things hoped for, and the conviction of things unseen (Hebrews 11:1-2). In a world fraught with trials and uncertainties, nurturing and strengthening our faith in God becomes not only a pursuit but a lifeline, leading us closer to a stronger relationship with God and the eternal treasures of heaven. To aid in this endeavor, use this downloadable Bible study focused on unraveling the truths and treasures of faith through God's Word. In this downloadable Bible study , we study the topic of faith rooted in the timeless truths of Scripture and illuminated by the word of God. Through a selection of Bible verses, we explore different topics about faith as it pertains to our relationship with God and Jesus, its manifestation in the lives of believers, and its transformative power i...

  In my college classes on education, I remember my professor constantly pushing that students needed a framework on which they could hang their knowledge. If they only shoved information in their brains without any organization or connection, it wouldn't be retained or understood. Think of a pile of facts about someone's ancestors compared to an illustration of their family tree. The visual framework is much easier to understand and helps them retain information about their ancestors. Instead, we need to provide students with a framework, so that they see how it connects to other information and can see the big picture. This educational philosophy has always stuck with me. As I saw my children learn about the Bible at church, camp, and home, it dawned on me that they are learning many Bible stories but don't really have a framework on which to hang this knowledge. They knew about Samson but didn't know what judges were or why Israel had them. They knew about Daniel but...

After going through my Bible study on Prayer or on Praying for others , I recommend putting these thoughts into practice by spending 30 days praying for others. Modeled after the concepts in the verses in the bible study on praying for others, each day you pray for yourself or someone for help in a specific area.  Print out the following chart to spend each day praying for a specific person and for a particular biblical purpose.

Did you know that, in the original Greek, Ephesians 1:3-14 is one long sentence? In that long sentence, there are mentioned six specific blessings that we have in Christ. Try delving into this sentence listing many spiritual blessings by completing this Bible study on it. Just download the Every Spiritual Blessing Bible Study  and print it out. Then, highlight each spiritual blessing, underline how it was given, and circle why it was given. Then fill out the columns so that you can see any patterns. Then, take some time to thank God for these blessings and how He provided them for us. 

Have you wanted to learn how to study God's Word, but didn't know how to get started? I'm writing a series with some printable Bible Study resources to help you. First, here is a printable for making observations about a Bible verse. Begin by writing in the full verse and then follow the hints to write observations below. Try to look at things from different angles. Then right some of the highlights that you noticed at the bottom. Often it is the unexpected observations that make the biggest differences. Here are the hints that are listed on the printable to help you get started: 1. Think of each word in a different context to understand its meaning.  2. Think why each word was used instead of another similar word (ex. using "the" instead of "a")  3. Don’t miss the little words that are often skimmed over (of, the, in, on…)  4. Use a dictionary to clarify words if necessary.  5. Watch for connecting words (and, then, therefore, but…) and what is being ...

Do you want to learn more about God's Word, the Bible? Print out this Bible study and see what the Bible has to say about itself. Read each of the Bible verses/passages and take notes about what those verses are saying about the Bible. You will learn about the characteristics of God's Word, how it was written, why it was written, how we can understand it, how we should use it, how it can be misused, when to read it,  how to respond to it, the results of reading it, and requests for help with it.  Also, watch for some upcoming resources on how to study God's Word. These free printable resources will help you look at Bible verses, words, and topics on your own.

Have you ever read Psalm 136? If so, you have had one thought firmly pressed upon your mind: God's lovingkindness is everlasting. This thought is supported by many statements. God is good and sovereign. He is the Creator of everything. He saved Israel from Egypt and gave them their land.  So, does Psalm 136 apply to believers? Not in the same sense that it did to Israel. It was written to remind Israel of all the ways that God showed Israel His everlasting lovingkindness. However, God has done much in love for the Church as well. This idea had me thinking of writing a Psalm about the lovingkindness that God has shown to the Church. So, I did. But I thought that you could make one of your own as well. Print this out and fill in the blanks with ideas from verses from the New Testament. If you are having trouble coming up with ideas, you can look at my example below to get you started. For His Lovingkindness Is Everlasting Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good,  For His lovi...

  When's the last time you were not in harmony with others? Your family? Your church family? Your friends? Have you had to deal with difficult people? Maybe you can be the difficult person (can't we all)?  What does the Bible say about peace with others? What does it take to make peace? How can we be at peace with others? What attitudes and actions go along with peace? What are the results of making peace with others? How do harmony and unity relate to peace? You can answer these questions by looking through some verses I have found in the Bible that deal with peace. Print it out here.   For each verses, you can take notes on different topics. Add the references of the Bible verses so that later you can look back and understand where that answer was found in the Bible.  After you have taken notes, be sure to find two or three things that you can work on to help you live in peace with others.  Also, to help remind you to put those things into practice, you can u...

  If you are reading through the books of the Bible, it is helpful to understand the theme of each book. I have  an old printable with the themes from each book of the Old Testament , but I've updated them by making a Quizlet out of them. There are quizzes for each division of the Old Testament to help you learn them in chunks.  You can access them on Quizlet here . On Quizlet you can practice matching keywords in different, fun ways. If you are still learning the order of the books of the Bible,  check out these fun suggestions to help you.   After you have learned the keywords you can  practice applying them by matching Bible verses with the book of the Bible they are from . Keywords for the Gospels and History Keywords for the Pauline Epistles Keywords for the General Epistles and Revelation Keywords for the entire New Testament

If you are reading through the books of the Bible, it is helpful to understand the theme of each book. I have an old printable with the themes from each book of the Old Testament , but I've updated them by making a Quizlet out of them. There are quizzes for each division of the Old Testament to help you learn them in chunks. You can access them on Quizlet here . On Quizlet you can practice matching keywords in different, fun ways. If you are still learning the order of the books of the Bible, check out these fun suggestions to help you.   After you have learned the keywords you can practice applying them by matching Bible verses with the book of the Bible they are from . Update: Now you can learn the order of the Books of the Old Testament and their key words with flash cards available on Teachers Pay Teachers . Key Words for the Books of the Law   Key Words for the Historical Books      Key Words for the Literature Books      Keywords for the...

You may recall that recently I wrote about three hymns that I discovered when going through some items from my grandfather's funeral. He died long eight years before I was born and I have always wondered what he was like. However, the three hymns quoted at his funeral and in letters of condolence also provided insight into my grandmother as well. While reading these items, I was told that my grandmother had tested positive for COVID-19. Thankfully, she has since recovered, but they made these hymns extra special to me. The hymn The Lord Will Provide was quoted in my grandfather's funeral bulletin. It was also mentioned in several letters to my grandmother after the funeral. Apparently, it had been a phrase that my grandfather had often repeated during his struggle with leukemia. The paradox of a dying man talking about the Lord's provision is important. Though the Lord never provided healing on this earth, spiritual blessings were instead provided. This made me think abou...

Lately, I've been listening to a lot of music lately. I had been feeling down and worship music really lifted my spirits. It led me to look into some verses in the Bible about singing and music.  What does the Bible say about singing? When and where should we sing? How should we sing? Why should we sing? What should we sing about? What effect does singing have? Just click here to print out the Bible study . Go through the verses I have listed and see what the Bible has to say about singing. And maybe listen to some worship music while you do it. Feel free to use this printable for personal use or in a small group or Church Bible study.  You may also share them online, but please include a link to this webpage rather than a direct link to the google drive file.

During the current pandemic, there is a lot of talk about fear. Of course, the best place to get our information is the Bible. So, here you can take a look at some Bible verses on fear (and a few on worry and anxiety), and see what they have to say about fear: about what to fear, about what not to fear, what is associated with fear, what is contrasted with fear, what God does to help us get over our fears, and conditions for being fearless. All you have to do is print this out , look up the Bible verses, and take notes on what they have to say about fear. Don't forget to apply it to your life (fearing what we should fear and focusing on what God does (or has done) to help us conquer our fears. Feel free to use this printable for personal use or in a small group or Church Bible study.  You may also share them online, but please include a link to this webpage rather than a direct link to the google drive file.

After reading through the entire Bible last year using a reading plan by the Bible Project , I decided to read through Acts more slowly. Here is the reading plan I made which includes some themes to focus on. I also made some bookmarks to mark your Bible page each day and to summarize the keywords and themes.

Have you ever wondered what the blood of Jesus in His sacrifice for us accomplishes? You can find out for yourself by looking at these Bible verses about Jesus' blood and seeing what it does, to whom, how, and why (not all verses will have answers for every category). It is Jesus that we worship. His blood is just a symbol of His life and reminds us of His death for us. Leviticus 17:11, 14  ‘ For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you on the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood by reason of the life that makes atonement....  For as for the life of all flesh, its blood is identified with its life . Therefore I said to the sons of Israel, ‘You are not to eat the blood of any flesh, for the life of all flesh is its blood; whoever eats it shall be cut off.’ Follow this link to print out a pdf of the Bible study or view and print it below. Enjoy! Also, watch for my upcoming hymn study of "Precious, Precious Blood of Jesu...

With the day set aside to celebrate Jesus' resurrection quickly approaching, my mind has been on Jesus' resurrection. First, I copied all of the verses that I could find about it onto a sheet and then I started scribbling notes about all kind of things. Below is the printable Bible study that came out of my study. Through it, you can explore all of the predictions and evidence of Jesus' resurrection, the work of the Trinity in the resurrection, and how the resurrection effects Jesus and believers.  If you are interested in a secondary study about Jesus' resurrection, tally how many times each of the different names of Jesus is used when discussing His resurrection. The different names are interesting and some appear more in one section of Scripture (the gospels, Acts, or the epistles) more than others. Hopefully, this Bible study will prepare your heart for Resurrection Day. Of course, it's always a good time of year to study Jesus' resurrection. Pay par...

Often, when I pray I feel like I don't know what to pray for. I believe in the importance of the eternal, but my requests are often focused on the temporal (healing for the sick, provision for those with financial needs, safety for those in dangerous situations...). There is nothing wrong with praying for these things, but my desire is to pray in ways that can affect eternity so  I decided to look into the types of prayers that were encouraged in the New Testament as well as the examples of prayers and prayer requests that were included in the epistles.  Below are two printables. The first printable is a list of all of the verses that I found for you to study on your own. I encourage you to circle the verb that refers to prayer (pray, ask, thank...) and then to underline what is being requested (or for what God is being thanked). Take notes in the right column about the different themes. The second printable is a list of the verses in the first section already...