Tuesday, May 4, 2010
"sons of God"
Chapter 6 briefly states that the "sons of God" had sex with women. What do you think "sons of God" means? You may be surprised at what the overwhelming majority of scholars thinks it means.
Did you notice?
Did you notice what God said to Abraham right after He stopped him from killing his son? He said that now He (God) knows that Abraham is a faithful person. The question is...does this mean that it took this event for God to realize this? If so, does that mean God does not the future?
There is a growing "heretical" theology going around right now called Open Theism, which states that God does not know the future and is learning things as we make our free will decisions. There are vast examples in scripture that under-girds the point that God does know the future and has predestined many things to happen. Having said that, this is one of the verses that Open Theist use to prove their point.
There is a growing "heretical" theology going around right now called Open Theism, which states that God does not know the future and is learning things as we make our free will decisions. There are vast examples in scripture that under-girds the point that God does know the future and has predestined many things to happen. Having said that, this is one of the verses that Open Theist use to prove their point.
Saturday, May 1, 2010
What have you learned?
Paul tells us to "Edify" the church. This means to build each other up in our faith. There are many ways to do this but one of the ways is to share what God is teaching you in His Word.
If there are things that are standing out to you so far in your readings, take a moments and share them.
If there are things that are standing out to you so far in your readings, take a moments and share them.
Instructions for Genesis
These are general instructions for the reading of Genesis.
Genesis falls into two segments. The first, chapters 1 through 11, covers four major events. The second segment, chapters 12 through 50, covers the lives of four major characters.
As you read chapter by chapter train yourself to ask the 5W's and one H about the text: Who? What? When? Where? Why? and How? You should ask questions such as: Who is speaking? What is happening? When is it happening? Where will it happen? Why was this said or done and what were the consequences? How did it happen? And how is it supposed to be done? Etc.
Mark in a distinctive way in the repeated words or phrases which are key to understanding the content of the chapter. There are several keywords you should look for throughout the book of Genesis: “God said or commanded”, “generations of”, “covenant”, “altar”, “circumcised”, “Abram/Abraham”. You may want to write these words on an index card and use it as a bookmark to study Genesis.
The timing of events can be very important. When you see a time phrase, draw in the margin an appropriate symbol and the color of your choice so you will be able to see it immediately.
In the margin, summarize the main things which occur in the chapter. List them in the order in which they occur. You may even want to number them.
As you study you will gain insights into God's character and ways. As you read each chapter, in the margin, note what you learn about God.
Genesis is often referred to as the book of beginnings; it is the seedbed of truth. This is because the word of God is a Progressive Revelation. Progressive revelation means that truth is unveiled over a period of time throughout various books of the Bible. God doesn't say everything He has to say about a particular subject at one time or in one place. Rather He will introduce a truth and progressively reveal more and more about it.
In conclusion I hope this is a helpful tool to get us started in reading. If you're behind in your reading don't worry about it, but one thing I'm encouraging you to do is not wait until the night before to read all the verses. This is not a test in which we are trying to cram for, but the transforming Word of God. Let His word soak into you and reveal His truth about Himself and areas of sin that we must turn over to Him. I look forward to being on this journey with all of you.
Brian
Genesis falls into two segments. The first, chapters 1 through 11, covers four major events. The second segment, chapters 12 through 50, covers the lives of four major characters.
As you read chapter by chapter train yourself to ask the 5W's and one H about the text: Who? What? When? Where? Why? and How? You should ask questions such as: Who is speaking? What is happening? When is it happening? Where will it happen? Why was this said or done and what were the consequences? How did it happen? And how is it supposed to be done? Etc.
Mark in a distinctive way in the repeated words or phrases which are key to understanding the content of the chapter. There are several keywords you should look for throughout the book of Genesis: “God said or commanded”, “generations of”, “covenant”, “altar”, “circumcised”, “Abram/Abraham”. You may want to write these words on an index card and use it as a bookmark to study Genesis.
The timing of events can be very important. When you see a time phrase, draw in the margin an appropriate symbol and the color of your choice so you will be able to see it immediately.
In the margin, summarize the main things which occur in the chapter. List them in the order in which they occur. You may even want to number them.
As you study you will gain insights into God's character and ways. As you read each chapter, in the margin, note what you learn about God.
Genesis is often referred to as the book of beginnings; it is the seedbed of truth. This is because the word of God is a Progressive Revelation. Progressive revelation means that truth is unveiled over a period of time throughout various books of the Bible. God doesn't say everything He has to say about a particular subject at one time or in one place. Rather He will introduce a truth and progressively reveal more and more about it.
In conclusion I hope this is a helpful tool to get us started in reading. If you're behind in your reading don't worry about it, but one thing I'm encouraging you to do is not wait until the night before to read all the verses. This is not a test in which we are trying to cram for, but the transforming Word of God. Let His word soak into you and reveal His truth about Himself and areas of sin that we must turn over to Him. I look forward to being on this journey with all of you.
Brian
Saturday, April 24, 2010
Getting Started
Hey everyone,
This is our new life group blog for our summer Pentateuch study. My hope is that this will be a guide to our reading and provide resources to enhance our study of scripture. Seeing that I have never created a blog, I am sure there are helpful tools that can be added to enhance the usage (please let me know). This is our space and should be enhanced by all.
What I do hope to provide on the blog is a clear "behind the scenes" introduction to each book and helpful tips and suggestions to enhance your reading. I also hope to provide the audio files of the texts we are reading, so if you are unable to read one day you may find value in hearing God's Word.
So, let's get started.
We will meet approximately 7 times over the summer. This means roughly 27 chapters will be covered every two weeks. Or to put it another way, two chapters a day will keep you on pace.
If I am correct we are meeting May 7th, and we will discuss Genesis chapters 1-27.
Make sure to check back and see the fun enhancements to our blog.
This is our new life group blog for our summer Pentateuch study. My hope is that this will be a guide to our reading and provide resources to enhance our study of scripture. Seeing that I have never created a blog, I am sure there are helpful tools that can be added to enhance the usage (please let me know). This is our space and should be enhanced by all.
What I do hope to provide on the blog is a clear "behind the scenes" introduction to each book and helpful tips and suggestions to enhance your reading. I also hope to provide the audio files of the texts we are reading, so if you are unable to read one day you may find value in hearing God's Word.
So, let's get started.
We will meet approximately 7 times over the summer. This means roughly 27 chapters will be covered every two weeks. Or to put it another way, two chapters a day will keep you on pace.
If I am correct we are meeting May 7th, and we will discuss Genesis chapters 1-27.
Make sure to check back and see the fun enhancements to our blog.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)