Studies, reading plans and every single day within them, alongside devotionals and articles. Search by title, book of the Bible, passage or topic.
Chapter study
Do not rush into 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…
Chapter study
…earthly life. He knows what the next twenty four hours hold. He knows one of the eleven walking with Him has already left to betray Him. And in that hour He does not speak about Himself. He speaks about how His…
Chapter study
Philippians 4 is one of the most quoted chapters in the New Testament, and also one of the most misquoted. 'I can do all things through Christ' has been printed on posters for athletic victories and business success,…
Chapter study
…even though it stands at the head of the 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.…
Chapter study
…also who is speaking. Paul had watched Stephen die, had been beaten, stoned, imprisoned and abandoned. When he writes that nothing can separate us, he is not writing from a quiet study. He is writing from the middle of…
Chapter study
…are part of the writing. This is the first murder recorded in the Bible. It is not the first sin recorded in the Bible, and the chapter does not claim to record everything that happened in these generations. Why did God…
Chapter study
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…
Dig Deeper
…never asks for suppression. It asks for transfer. Peter puts it in one movement: cast your care upon Him. Why thanksgiving is in the middle of it Thanksgiving is included while the request is still unanswered. That is…
Bible study
A verse-by-verse study of the most beloved psalm in Scripture Psalm 23:1 A Psalm by David. Yahweh is my shepherd: I shall lack nothing. Psalm 23 belongs to the collection of psalms attributed to David, Israel's second…
Dig Deeper
…The context is having and not having. Paul lists four conditions in two verses: abased and abounding, full and hungry. Philippians 4:13 I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me. All these things is the…
Dig Deeper
Psalm 23:4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me. Your rod and your staff, they comfort me. Read the pronouns. Verses one to three speak about God: he…
Dig Deeper
…and go into the land of Moriah. Offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains which I will tell you of.” The land of Moriah, and a mountain God will name later. Abraham sets out without the final…
Dig Deeper
…right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us. Four things in one sentence, all present tense at the end: died, risen, seated, interceding. The last is what Christ is doing while the believer reads the verse.…
Dig Deeper
…defined by God, and it is not only material Paul has already shown in verses 11 and 12 that he has known hunger as a Christian, so verse 19 cannot mean that a believer will never lack. The letter itself rules that…
Dig Deeper
…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
…that God does not debate the question. He replies with a different one: what have you done. The evasion is set aside and the deed is named. Where Scripture answers it Leviticus 19:17-18 forbids hating a brother in the…
Christian Living
…to the broken hearted, and my heart is broken. Do not let me grieve alone. Hold me in the days when I cannot pray well, and keep the hope of resurrection in front of me. God draws near to the grieving, and Christian…
Topic study
…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, and even the timing is in faithful hands. That is why…
Christian Living
Hebrews 13:5 Be free from the love of money, content with such things as you have, for he has said, “I will in no way leave you, neither will I in any way forsake you.” WEB hebrews 13 The writer of Hebrews grounds…
Biblical concept
…came down from heaven. Deuteronomy 8:3 Man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the LORD. Luke 22:19 This is my body, which is given for you: do this in remembrance of me. When…
Biblical concept
…Matthew 3:17 The Father speaks from heaven and names Jesus his beloved Son before Jesus has performed a single miracle. John 5:18 Shows how Jesus's hearers understood the title: not an honorific but a claim to equality…
Christian Living
Matthew 6:24 “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other; or else he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You can’t serve both God and Mammon. WEB matthew 6 Jesus treats…
Topic study
…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…
Word and phrase
…believers already have, not only something waiting for them after death. 1 John 5:13 says these things are written so that you may know that you have eternal life. Eternal life is contrasted throughout John's gospel…
Bible question
…made known to God. WEB Read God's words on anxiety before you read anyone's explanation of them, including ours. Philippians 4:6-7 In nothing be anxious, but in everything, by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, let…
Bible question
…of my righteousness. WEB Four statements follow the command, and every one has God as its subject: I am with you, I am your God, I will strengthen, I will help, I will uphold. Nothing is asked of the frightened person…
Bible question
…from the body, and to be at home with the Lord. WEB On a question no one can research, God's word must speak first. 2 Corinthians 5:6-8 Therefore we are always confident and know that while we are at home in the body,…
Bible question
…cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 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…
Bible question
…follow me. I give eternal life to them. They will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all. No one is able to snatch them out of my Father's…
Bible question
…to be convincing, which is why fruit is the test. 1 John 4:1-3 Beloved, don’t believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you…
Bible question
…fear of Yahweh is the beginning of wisdom. The knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. WEB Before we define the fear of the Lord, listen to how God speaks of it. Proverbs 9:10-11 The fear of Yahweh is the beginning…
Bible question
…that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, that no one would boast. WEB Grace should be heard from God before it is defined by anyone. Ephesians 2:4-9 But God, being rich in mercy, for his great love…
Bible question
…For if, while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we will be saved by his life. WEB God commends his own love in the death of Christ for sinners. The…
Bible question
…lusts, such as drown men in ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some have been led astray from the faith in their greed, and have pierced themselves through with many sorrows. WEB…
Bible question
Ephesians 4:32 And be kind to one another, tender hearted, forgiving each other, just as God also in Christ forgave you. WEB God speaks about forgiveness before we explain it, and his words set a standard no explanation…
Bible question
Psalms 68:6 God sets the lonely in families. He brings out the prisoners with singing, but the rebellious dwell in a sun-scorched land. WEB Hear God's answer to loneliness before any explanation of it. Psalms 68:5-6 A…
Bible question
…the arc: where work began, what it now costs, and who it is finally done for. Colossians 3:23-24 And whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord, and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the…
Bible question
…worries on him, because he cares for you. WEB Humbling and casting are one sentence. Worry is treated as a weight we are trying to carry ourselves, and the reason to hand it over is that he cares. Scripture shows worry…
Bible question
…the word is presented as work worthy of care, the labour of someone who will be examined on it. Study is treated as faithfulness rather than as scholarship. Psalms 119:18 Open my eyes, that I may see wondrous things out…
Bible question
…be content with that. WEB Read the three clearest statements first. One defines contentment, one describes how it is acquired, and one gives the promise it rests on. 1 Timothy 6:6-8 But godliness with contentment is…
Bible question
…as their God. He will wipe away from them every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; neither will there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain, any more. The first things have passed away.” He who sits on the throne…
Bible question
…God spoke, being moved by the Holy Spirit. WEB Both agents are named in one sentence. People spoke, and they were moved by the Spirit. Scripture never presents this as either divine dictation with no human involvement…
Bible question
…was on him; and by his wounds we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray. Everyone has turned to his own way; and Yahweh has laid on him the iniquity of us all. WEB Written centuries earlier, this passage says…
Bible question
…not wasted time, and her most desperate prayer was her least polished one. Hannah's song about God lifting the poor and humbling the proud is the pattern Mary takes up when she carries Christ (Luke 1:46-55). The God who…
Bible question
…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 we made known to you the…
Bible question
…appeared to me also. WEB Read the earliest summary of the claim, then one account of a bodily appearance, then the first counter explanation. All three are in Scripture. 1 Corinthians 15:3-8 For I delivered to you first…
Bible question
…God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart, one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes in him will not be…
Bible question
…direction and were given something else instead. Gideon, asking for one more sign Judges 6:36-40 Gideon had already heard from the angel of the Lord and still asked twice for a fleece. He was frightened and wanted proof…
Bible question
…by God,” for God can’t be tempted by evil, and he himself tempts no one. But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own lust, and enticed. Then the lust, when it has conceived, bears sin; and the sin, when it…
Bible question
…the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, that you may not do the things that you desire. WEB The answer is a walk, something continuous, which fits a sin that returns rather…
Bible question
…numbers do not work, the diagnosis has not changed, or the person you loved is not coming back. The question is often really two questions. Can I trust God's power, and can I trust his goodness towards me specifically.…
Bible question
…him, “My Lord and my God!” WEB Read three passages before any argument. One is a claim Jesus made, one is what his hearers understood by it, one is what a disciple said to his face. John 8:58 Jesus said to them, “Most…
Bible question
…salvation, which brings no regret. But the sorrow of the world produces death. WEB Sorrow and repentance are not the same. Sorrow can lead to repentance or to death, and the difference is what it produces. Luke 15:17-20…
Bible question
…of him. Deuteronomy 6:4 Hear, Israel: Yahweh is our God. Yahweh is one. WEB Israel's daily confession. God is one, not one option among many gods, which is why loyalty to him is whole rather than partial. John 1:18 No…
Bible question
…that has been made. WEB Three passages, read before any explanation. One tells you where he came from, one tells you what he became, one records the answer his own disciples gave. John 1:1-3 In the beginning was the…
Bible question
…was lost.” WEB Three sentences of stated purpose, two from Jesus and one from Paul. Read them before any explanation, and notice that each one names the people he came for. Luke 19:10 For the Son of Man came to seek and…
Bible question
…The resurrection is announced by Scripture before it is explained by anyone. 1 Corinthians 15:17-22 If Christ has not been raised, your faith is vain; you are still in your sins. Then they also who are fallen asleep in…
Bible question
…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 forever? How long will…
Bible question
…the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore also the holy one who is born from you will be called the Son of God. WEB The reason given is the Holy Spirit and the power of the Most High, not a marriage.…
Bible question
…timing. Read them before any explanation, and notice how carefully each one is worded. Matthew 6:31-33 “Therefore don’t be anxious, saying, ‘What will we eat?’, ‘What will we drink?’ or, ‘With what will we be clothed?’…
The Sunday Study
Verse-by-verse teaching with historical context, and a prayer to close. Nothing else in the email.