Chapter study
Genesis 4
…short, and most of what this study points out is visible in the text itself. Hold three things apart as you read: what Scripture states, what it allows us to infer, and what it simply does not tell us. Genesis 4 is a…
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Studies, reading plans and every single day within them, alongside devotionals and articles. Search by title, book of the Bible, passage or topic.
Bible studies (13)
Chapter study
John 15: The Vine, the Branches, and the Friends of God
…Him has already left to betray Him. And in that hour He does not speak about Himself. He speaks about how His disciples will survive without His physical presence, and He tells them, of all things, to abide. Read the…
Chapter study
Philippians 4: Contentment Learned in Chains
…that cell. This is not theory written by a man with nothing to worry about. Read the chapter above slowly before working through the study. Notice how practical it is. Paul names two women by name and asks them to…
Chapter study
Psalm 23: The LORD Our Shepherd
Psalm 23 is one of the most quoted passages in the Bible and one of the least observed. Many people carry it in memory without ever slowing down to notice how carefully every sentence is arranged. David is not writing…
Chapter study
Romans 8: No Condemnation, No Defeat, No Separation
…from a quiet study. He is writing from the middle of the list he is about to make. Read the chapter above slowly, twice if you can, before any commentary. Then work through the study one verse at a time. There is no…
Chapter study
Genesis 22: The Mountain Where God Revealed the Gospel
…this chapter. Genesis 22 is one of the most important passages in the Bible, and without it much of the New Testament loses its depth. Some chapters can be read quickly without much loss. This is not one of them.…
Dig Deeper
What does it actually mean to abide in Christ?
…15:4 Remain in me, and I in you. As the branch can’t bear fruit by itself, unless it remains in the vine, so neither can you, unless you remain in me. The Greek verb meno means to remain, to stay, to continue in a…
Chapter study
Psalm 1: The Way of the Righteous and the Wicked
…songbook. Read it first as one piece. The psalm describes one person in verses 1 to 3, denies all of it of another in verses 4 to 5, and closes in verse 6 by naming two ways. Everything in the study below comes out of…
Dig Deeper
Can anything separate a believer from the love of God, and what is Christ doing now?
…rather than from anything the believer contributes. The answers are worth naming in order: God is for us; God justifies; Christ died, rose, reigns and intercedes; nothing in creation can separate us. Not one of the four…
Bible study
Romans 8: No Condemnation, No Separation
…had led the church in their absence. Roman adoption law stands behind verses 15-17. An adopted son in Rome received a new name, new debts cancelled, and full inheritance rights that could not be revoked. Paul's readers…
Dig Deeper
Does Romans 8:28 mean everything that happens to me is good?
…not say It does not say all things are good. Paul has just spent ten verses on groaning, futility, bondage to corruption and the suffering of the present time. He is not a man pretending that pain is a blessing in…
Dig Deeper
Does the Bible answer Cain's question, Am I my brother's keeper?
…hating a brother in the heart and commands loving a neighbour as oneself, which places responsibility for a brother inside the law itself. Deuteronomy 15:7-11 forbids a hard heart and a closed hand toward a brother in…
Dig Deeper
Is anxiety a sin, and what does "be careful for nothing" require?
…means to be pulled apart by worry, and Jesus uses it in Matthew 6:25 about food and clothing. Philippians 4:7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your thoughts in Christ…
Bible topics (13)
Christian Living
Identity in Christ: What the Bible Says
…have become new. WEB 2-corinthians 5 The decisive words are in Christ. Identity in the New Testament is not something a believer builds but a place a believer is put. That is why it is stable: it does not depend on…
Topic study
Hope: The anchor that holds when everything else gives way
…word in almost the opposite direction. Biblical hope is not uncertainty about the future. It is confidence because of the One who holds the future. The uncertainty has been moved out of the outcome and into the timing,…
Biblical concept
The Vine
…vineyard that was planted with care and yielded bad fruit. Calling himself the true vine takes up that history and answers it. Psalm 80:8 Asaph pictures God bringing a vine out of Egypt and planting it, driving out the…
Topic study
Prayer: Speaking with the God who has already spoken
…petition, lament, intercession, and silence held in his presence. The Bible never presents prayer as a technique. It presents it as the ordinary language of a covenant. God has spoken, and prayer is how the person who…
Biblical concept
Son of God
…is not a title of honour handed round freely. When Jesus uses it of himself his hearers understand a claim to equality with God, which is why John 5:18 records the reaction it caused. The Father declares it at the…
Biblical concept
The Holy Spirit
…are filled and speak as he gives utterance. Romans 8:16 The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, tying his presence to assurance. The Spirit is present from the Bible's opening…
Biblical concept
Bread of Life
…in Scripture stands for what a person cannot live without. To call himself bread is to say he is not an addition to life but the substance of it. Exodus 16:15 Israel wakes to find bread on the ground and asks each other…
Word and phrase
Faith
…faith comes by hearing the word of God, so it is never trust in trust itself. Genesis 15:6 Abram believed the LORD, and it was counted to him as righteousness. This is the first time Scripture names faith directly, and…
Word and phrase
Grace
…so that no one can boast. Exodus 34:6 God's own description of himself as merciful and gracious is the root every later use of the word grows from. Titus 2:11-12 Ties grace to a changed life rather than to indifference…
Biblical concept
Justification
…the righteous servant would justify many by bearing their iniquities himself. Justification and substitution belong together in the Bible's own account, one person's righteousness and payment become the ground for…
Biblical concept
Living Water
…not come from nowhere. Jeremiah had already used it to describe God himself, the fountain of living waters that Israel had abandoned for cracked cisterns of their own making, cisterns that could not even hold the water…
Place in Scripture
Mountain
…high mountain (Revelation 21:10). The Psalms turn that into a question about worth: who shall ascend the hill of the LORD, and who shall stand in His holy place (Psalm 24:3). The mountain raises the question of who may…
Biblical concept
New Creation
…old things have passed away. The change is described as God's work, not self improvement. Revelation 21 extends the same word to the whole world. New heavens and a new earth are promised, with God dwelling among his…
Questions and answers (34)
Bible question
What does the Bible say about anxiety?
…don’t be anxious for tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Each day’s own evil is sufficient. WEB Jesus takes anxiety about food, drink and clothing and answers it with the Father's knowledge and the…
Bible question
What does the Bible say about work?
…Whatever you do leaves nothing outside. The audience in the surrounding verses includes household slaves, so this is addressed to people with the least interesting and least free work imaginable. Genesis 2:15 Yahweh God…
Bible question
How do I recognize false teachers?
…bought them, bringing on themselves swift destruction. WEB God warned about this plainly and repeatedly. Read the warnings before the explanation. 2 Peter 2:1-3 But false prophets also arose among the people, as false…
Bible question
Is Jesus God?
…for a good work, but for blasphemy: because you, being a man, make yourself God.” WEB The charge is stated by his opponents, in the text, in their own words: you, being a man, make yourself God. Whatever he meant, that…
Bible question
What is faith?
…for, proof of things not seen. WEB Faith is defined by Scripture itself, so let the definition come from God before any illustration of it. Hebrews 11:1-3 Now faith is assurance of things hoped for, proof of things not…
Bible question
What is grace?
…the family David had every political reason to remove. He called himself a dead dog when he was summoned. David gave him land, servants and a permanent place at the royal table for Jonathan's sake, not for his own.…
Bible question
Does God hear my prayers?
…he listens to us. WEB Before anything is explained, hear God speak about your prayers in his own words. 1 John 5:14-15 This is the boldness which we have toward him, that, if we ask anything according to his will, he…
Bible question
What does the Bible say about loneliness?
…Do not be afraid, for I am with you. God answers isolation by naming himself as the one who is near, strengthening and holding. The Bible is full of people who were genuinely alone, including its greatest servants and…
Bible question
What does the Bible say about money?
…is the love of money, and being determined to be rich, that Paul warns about, and the alternative he names is not poverty but godliness with contentment. Matthew 6:24 “No one can serve two masters, for either he will…
Bible question
What does the Bible say about worry?
…don’t be anxious for tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Each day’s own evil is sufficient. WEB Read the command and the reasoning together. Jesus gives four arguments before he repeats the command, and…
Bible question
What does the Bible teach about heaven?
…and he will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. WEB Heaven should be described by God before it is imagined by us. Revelation 21:1-5 I saw a new heaven and a new…
Bible question
How do I study the Bible correctly?
2 Timothy 2:15 Give diligence to present yourself approved by God, a workman who doesn’t need to be ashamed, properly handling the Word of Truth. WEB Scripture teaches how it wants to be read. Hear that before any…
Bible question
What does the Bible say about contentment?
…and the curriculum included both abundance and hunger. Verse 13 is about that endurance, not about achievement. Hebrews 13:5 Be free from the love of money, content with such things as you have, for he has said, “I will…
Bible question
What does the Bible say about fear?
…Scripture the two are never separated, and the reason is always God himself rather than a better outlook. Isaiah 41:10 Don’t you be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you.…
Bible question
Who is Jesus?
…Word was with God, the Word was God. Everything else the Gospel says about Jesus is said about this person. John 1:14 The Word became flesh, and lived among us. We saw his glory, such glory as of the one and only Son of…
Bible question
Who wrote the Bible?
…in righteousness, WEB Before asking historians, ask what Scripture says about its own origin. Two passages address it directly. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 Every Scripture is God-breathed and profitable for teaching, for reproof,…
Bible question
Can God forgive any sin?
…WEB Let God answer this before anyone comforts you or frightens you about it. 1 John 1:8-9 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and…
Bible question
Can I lose my salvation?
…tell them plainly whether he was the Christ. Read what he actually says about his sheep before anything else. John 10:27-30 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give eternal life to them. They…
Bible question
Can the Bible be trusted?
…in your truth. Your word is truth. WEB Read what Scripture claims for itself before reading anyone's argument about it. The claim is unusually direct. 2 Peter 1:16-19 For we did not follow cunningly devised fables, when…
Bible question
Did Jesus really rise from the dead?
…invitation to check. Luke 24:36-43 As they said these things, Jesus himself stood among them, and said to them, “Peace be to you.” But they were terrified and filled with fear, and supposed that they had seen a spirit.…
Bible question
How do I know God's will for my life?
…mercy, and to walk humbly with your God? WEB God has already spoken about his will. Read that first, because most of what we want to know is answered there. Micah 6:8 He has shown you, O man, what is good. What does…
Bible question
How do I trust God when life is difficult?
…the storm Mark 4:35-41 Experienced fishermen were convinced they were about to drown, and Jesus was asleep in the boat. Their fear was reasonable, and their conclusion that he did not care was not. Jesus stilled the…
Bible question
How should I pray?
…loud, and Jesus answered it directly. Read his answer before any advice about prayer. Matthew 6:6-13 But you, when you pray, enter into your inner room, and having shut your door, pray to your Father who is in secret,…
Bible question
What happens after death?
…Scripture keeps the deathbeds of believers on record. Their words are worth more than speculation. The thief beside Jesus Luke 23:39-43 He had hours left, no way to make anything right, and public guilt he admitted…
Bible question
What is repentance in the Bible?
…difference is what it produces. Luke 15:17-20 But when he came to himself he said, ‘How many hired servants of my father’s have bread enough to spare, and I’m dying with hunger! I will get up and go to my father, and…
Bible question
What must I do to be saved?
…and Scripture records the answer he was given. Acts 16:25-31 But about midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them. Suddenly there was a great earthquake, so…
Bible question
Who is God?
…a definition of God assembled by people. It begins with God speaking about himself. Read his own words before any explanation of them. Exodus 34:5-7 Yahweh descended in the cloud, and stood with him there, and…
Bible question
Who is the Holy Spirit?
…him, for he lives with you, and will be in you. WEB Jesus said more about the Holy Spirit on the night before his death than anywhere else. Start there rather than with experience. John 14:16-17 I will pray to the…
Bible question
Why do Christians still struggle with sin?
…I don’t desire, that I practice. WEB Paul described this struggle himself. Read his words before any explanation of them. Romans 7:18-25 For I know that in me, that is, in my flesh, dwells no good thing. For desire is…
Bible question
Why does God allow suffering?
…8:18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which will be revealed toward us. WEB This question deserves God's words before ours. Read these passages slowly,…
Bible question
Why does God seem silent?
…hide your face from me? WEB Scripture speaks first, and what it says about silence is more honest than most of us expect. Psalms 13:1-6 For the Chief Musician. A Psalm by David. How long, Yahweh? Will you forget me…
Bible question
Why is Jesus called the Son of God?
…only broke the Sabbath, but also called God his own Father, making himself equal with God. WEB His own Father is the phrase that provoked them. In this Gospel the sonship of Jesus is not one title among many; it is…
Bible question
How can I grow spiritually?
…of him who called us by his own glory and virtue; WEB God speaks about growth before we offer any method for it. 2 Peter 1:3-8 seeing that his divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and…
Bible question
How do I stop committing the same sin over and over?
…sin not having dominion is grace, not effort, and that the commands are about what a person presents their body to. Proverbs 28:13 He who conceals his sins doesn’t prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces them finds…
The Sunday Study
One deep study, every week.
Verse-by-verse teaching with historical context, and a prayer to close. Nothing else in the email.