Gospel.com Blog

Do you find the Bible confusing to read? Why is the world’s most-read book so difficult to read and understand? Soulation has just posted some new audio resources to help you out. Listen to Jonalyn Fincher talk about how to read the Bible (part 1, 2, and 3). She starts by highlighting some of the common mistakes that people (Christians and non-Christians alike) make when reading the Bible, and goes on to give some solid advice for reading the Bible wisely.

And while we’re talking about the Soulation ministry, take a look at a recent Wall Street Journal article—about the “does God exist?” debate and the state of apologetics today—in which Jonalyn is mentioned:

Defenders of the faith are drawing crowds of thousands in person as well. Next month, the Southern Evangelical Seminary will host a National Conference on Christian Apologetics, which will include a special segment for teens. Younger people are some of the most avid consumers of apologetics texts, according to Christian author Jonalyn Fincher, who speaks to college and high-school groups regularly. She says that in the 20th century, Christians often reacted to science’s attacks on religion by “running away from culture.” But in recent years more Christians have begun to take the attitude, “If our God is the God of truth, what are we afraid of?”

Ravi Zacharias International Ministries, another apologetics ministry in the Gospel.com community, gets a mention as well.

We’ve talked a lot lately about studying the Bible—a recent post offered some ideas on how to read through the Bible in 2008 and before that we talked about the reading the four Gospels. Here’s another Bible study resource to add to the list: a large collection of Bible charts and studies at Uplook Ministries.

They’ve got charts outlining the contents of most of the Bible’s major books. Many of them cover fairly familiar territory (the Gospels, the Psalms, etc.), but for something a bit different, take a look at some of their charts for the more challenging-to-read books of the Bible:

• an overview of the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Bible)
• a chart showing the connections between Ezra, Nehemiah, and Ruth
• a map of the people, locations, and events in the “minor prophet” books
• a chart outlining Job’s trials

There’s much more—take a look through and see what might be useful for you in your Bible reading!

Most Christians have at least attempted to read the entire bible in a year. For some it comes off without a hitch. For others (like me) it might start well, and then Leviticus comes along. With naive intentions of returning to those priestly codes, we jump ahead to Joshua. Somehow we never quite come back to finish them.

Or, we start in on the New Testament, hit Luke and all those parables coalesce into this massive story about a prodigal fish planting seeds underneath a camel. So, it’s back to Matthew again, and you’re a month behind.

Or, there’s the free-form approach–my personal favorite–where the tried-and-true interesting books are read in no particular order, which generally consists of a mix of Genesis, Job, John and James over and over and over.

We each probably have a story of failing at this bible reading thing, and that’s okay. But perhaps it’s time for a plan.
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The fourth and final Gospel account is the Gospel of John, written by the “disciple that Jesus loved”. John’s account of Jesus’ life and ministry differs in some interesting ways from the other three Gospels—the author has an eye for details that the other accounts leave unmentioned. It’s thus well worth reading, even if you’re quite familiar with the other Gospels.

A few links to help you explore this unique Gospel account: (more…)

In the 1930’s Helen Baugh hosted a dinner where the gospel of Christ was presented in a loving and relaxed manner to other women, after that first meeting the women asked if they could come back again the next week. The weekly meetings took off and soon Stonecroft Ministries was born. From those humble beginnings the ministry branched out to include Christian bookstores, tracts, and bible studies. Currently there are Stonecroft Ministries’ bible studies in sixty-three countries around the world!

Here are some informative pages from their web site:

An interesting set of videos about people’s perceptions of Christians from Stonecroft media.

Stonecroft daily news.

The main page for Stonecroft Ministries’ small groups. If you’re interested in joining a Stonecroft group they have a location finder here.

Main page for Stonecroft bible studies.

Stonecroft Ministries, “is a non-denominational organization that equips women to impact their communities with the Gospel of Jesus Christ, providing resources to enable women to connect with God, each other, and their communities.”

Yesterday we talked a bit about the Gospel of Matthew; today we’ll take a look at the second Gospel account in the New Testament—the book of Mark.

Mark is the shortest of the four Gospels. It is relatively fast-paced compared to some of the other Gospels, was written with a non-Jewish audience in mind, and describes the ministry of Christ all the way to his death and resurrection. You can get started reading it yourself (or listen to it in audio format) over at the Bible Gateway. Before you dive in, though, you might want to take a look at some of these resources to help you get the most out of Mark:

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This week on Gospel.com, we’re taking a look at the four gospels of Jesus Christ, and today we’re focusing on Matthew. For me the book of Matthew was the first book of the bible I ever really studied. By looking at the verses underlined in my aging NIV you can see what was on my mind during that time. Matthew is a book that is often cited as being written for the Greek Jews, and today it remains as one of the four gospels that show Jesus’ life to us. You can read the full text at The BibleGateway, or listen to it here. The International Bible Society has a concise introduction to the book that outlines the structure and history of the book. Additionally, Uplook Ministries has more textual/literary introduction.
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Uplook Ministries is “devoted to to bring helpful information, varied ministry, and encouragement to God’s people, it continues to grow in its readership, many of these readers in Developing World countries.”

The main outlet of their ministry is publishing their magazine, Uplook, which has been regularly published since 1927! If you’re interested in more history on the magazine, read about it here. If you’d rather read the magazine, they have it available online with issues back to 1998.

Have questions about Christianity? You can find thorough answers to some difficult topics on their questions and answers page. Uplook also keeps a list of poetry and hymns as well as helpful charts and Bible study guides. I found the minor prophets chart particularly helpful at breaking down who was sent where. Uplook Ministries is committed to their online presence. So, “what you see on our Uplook site so far is just a taste of what we hope to accomplish.”

Please pray with us as we seek to stir up greater evangelistic interest, especially in North America. We are seeking also to equip young evangelists and provide helpful gospel materials for believers to use in witnessing.

Three new Just Thinking essays have been added to the Ravi Zacharias International Ministries site. Like the other articles in the Just Thinking archives, they offer insights on different aspects of Christian living:

• Tiny Beginnings by Alison Thomas, offering some new thoughts on the parable of the mustard seed (see Matthew 13 for the parable).
• The Test of Trust by Margaret Manning, which talks about what it means to truly “trust in the Lord with all your heart,” as Christians are encouraged to do in Proverbs 3:5-6.
• Our Disappointments Matter to God by Ravi Zacharias, about finding a positive perspective on the failures and disappointments that plague us at points in our lives. Ravi argues that even our most bitter experiences can be used by God to bring us closer to Him.

We’ve all had times where we’ve neglected reading the bible. Frankly, sometimes it’s just hard to make time. This week we’ve been focusing on discipleship, so if you’d like to revitalize your bible study, we’ve compiled some helpful resources for you.

Personally, bible reading has been a foundational aspect of my faith; one that continues and will continue to transform me. Still, on occasion the bible leaves me scratching my head. Without honest study and good teaching, passages like, “I tell you the truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you,” can be very confusing.
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