Showing category "Bible study" (Show all posts)

Do you take the Bible literally?

Posted by Anne Witton on Tuesday, September 22, 2020, In : Bible study

I’ve been asked this question a number of times and it’s a tricky one to answer as it all depends on what the questioner means. If they mean ‘Do you take the Bible seriously as the authoritative word of God?’ then the answer is yes. But if they mean ‘Do you think that every piece of writing in the Bible is literal description?’ then no.

Let me explain. The Bible is a library of 66 books written over a period spanning about 1370 years by 35 different people, for different purposes. ...

Misunderstood lyrics and the Bible

Posted by Anne Witton on Tuesday, September 15, 2020, In : Bible study

Remember the Beatles song Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da? We used to sing it in school choir. One of the lines is ‘Desmond takes a trolley to the jewellery store.’ which had me really confused. I used to think that Desmond was buying so much jewellery that a basket wouldn’t be big enough. It was years until I realised that ‘trolley’ meant ‘trolley bus’ - the mode of transport that Desmond used to get to the jewellers.

This silly example shows how important it is to understand cultural and li...

5 ways the prophecy of Joel challenges today’s church

Posted by Anne Witton on Wednesday, April 3, 2019, In : Bible study

Joel as a missional book

I recently wrote an assignment for my Master’s which involved a missional reading of the book of Joel. I could pick any passage of Scripture I liked and there were several times I regretted choosing Joel, but I’m glad I stuck with it as it’s an oft-neglected book of the Bible which has an important message for the church today. When I started, all I knew about it was that it involved a lot of locusts!

As it turns out, Joel’s prophecy demonstrates the whole redem...

Bible Study Tips

Posted by Anne Witton on Monday, August 29, 2016, In : Bible study

There are three phases to good Bible study:

Discovery (observation) What does the text say?
Understanding (Interpretation) What does it mean?
Application What does it mean for me / us?

Remember to ask good questions:

Who is the writer?
is he writing to?
is he writing about?
is speaking?
is being spoken to?

Where is the writer writing from?
is the intended audience of the letter / prophecy / book?
is the writer referring to?
is the action taking place?

When is the writer...
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4 thoughts about the Great Commission

Posted by Anne Witton on Monday, September 1, 2014, In : Bible study

At the weekend, I had the privilege of speaking at Kelvin Grove Church in Gateshead. I shared some thoughts about the Great Commission, and thought it might be useful to summarise them here.

Matthew 28 is one of the most exciting chapters in the Bible. The preceding chapters have been an emotional roller coaster - Jesus has had the final meal with his friends, was betrayed by one of his closest followers, was arrested and dragged before the high priest. Then he was disowned by Peter, who had p...
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