Studies, reading plans and every single day within them, alongside devotionals and articles. Search by title, book of the Bible, passage or topic.
Bible Memory collection
Eternal life in the Bible is longer than a lifespan and deeper than a length. It is knowing God. These verses cover both the certainty and the substance. John 17:3 Jesus defines eternal life as knowing the only true God and Jesus Christ whom he sent. It is relationship, not merely duration. 1 John…
Bible Memory collection
These are the verses believers have used for centuries to explain how God saves. Learn them in order and you can walk anyone from the problem of sin to the person of Christ without opening a single note. John 3:16 Jesus tells Nicodemus that God's love moved him to give his only Son, so that…
Bible Memory collection
The gospel is news before it is advice. These passages give you the message in its apostolic shape, so you can tell it without drifting into moral improvement. 1 Corinthians 15:3-4 Paul hands on what he received as of first importance: Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, was…
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
Romans 8 is quoted more than it is studied. Most believers can recite verse 28 and verse 38 and have never traced the argument that makes either of them true. Paul is not writing a collection of encouraging lines. He…
Dig Deeper
Romans 8:32 He who didn’t spare his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how would he not also with him freely give us all things? The argument runs from the greater to the lesser. If God has already given the…
Dig Deeper
Romans 8:28 We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, to those who are called according to his purpose. Work together, not are good. And the promise is addressed to a specific group,…
Bible study
The chapter that holds the Christian life from beginning to end Romans 8:1 There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who don’t walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.…
Dig Deeper
Romans 8:1 There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who don’t walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. The verdict is attached to a location, not to a performance level.…
Verse study
πάντα συνεργεῖ εἰς ἀγαθόν panta sunergei eis agathon Greek Sunergei is where we get synergy. The verb does not say the ingredients are good. It says they are being worked together toward one end by someone with a…
Verse study
ὅς γε τοῦ ἰδίου υἱοῦ οὐκ ἐφείσατο hos ge tou idiou huiou ouk epheisato Greek Ouk epheisato, did not spare, is the same phrasing the Greek Old Testament uses in Genesis 22:16 of Abraham not withholding Isaac. An…
Reading plan
Advent is practised waiting. Each day pairs a promise with its fulfilment, so that hope is trained on something that has already proved reliable. Hope Salvation Peace This plan draws from two sets of writers: the…
Verse study
οὔτε τις κτίσις ἑτέρα oute tis ktisis hetera Greek Ktisis means anything created. Since only God is uncreated, the phrase excludes everything that exists apart from God Himself. Why death and life come first Death…
Reading plan
John writes so that you may believe. Watch for the signs he selects and the way each one interprets who Jesus claims to be. Faith Identity in Christ Eternal Life The Gospel never names its author, but early Christian…
Verse study
A sentence, not a feeling Katakrima is a courtroom word. Paul is not saying that believers stop feeling guilty. He is saying that the sentence which their guilt deserved has already been carried out. That distinction…
52 Week Journey
Grace is the word Christians use most and understand least. It is easy to say God is gracious and still, quietly, live as though His favor must be earned by good behavior or lost by bad. This week looks directly at…
Devotional
Hebrews 8:6 But now he has obtained a more excellent ministry, by so much as he is also the mediator of a better covenant, which on better promises has been given as law. WEB Hebrews does not say the earlier covenants…
Devotional
Ephesians 2:4-5 But God, being rich in mercy, for his great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ WEB Paul does not describe unsaved people as…
Devotional
Matthew 24:13 But he who endures to the end, the same will be saved. WEB Jesus speaks this in the middle of a warning about false christs, wars, persecution and betrayal that will come before the end. Endurance is not…
Devotional
Matthew 12:36-37 I tell you that every idle word that men speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment. For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned. WEB Jesus is not…
Devotional
Jonah 1:2-3 "Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and preach against it, for their wickedness has come up before me." But Jonah rose up to flee to Tarshish from the presence of Yahweh. WEB Nineveh was the capital of…
Devotional
Acts 27:35 When he had said this, and had taken bread, he gave thanks to God in the presence of all, and he broke it, and began to eat. WEB Paul is a prisoner on a ship that has been battered by a storm for two weeks,…
Devotional
Genesis 7:23 Every living thing was destroyed that was on the surface of the ground, including man, livestock, creeping things, and birds of the sky. They were destroyed from the earth. Only Noah was left, and those…
Devotional
Galatians 3:24 So that the law has become our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith. WEB Paul pictures the law as a tutor, the household servant in the ancient world responsible for…
Devotional
Romans 3:20 Because by the works of the law, no flesh will be justified in his sight; for through the law comes the knowledge of sin. WEB Paul has spent two chapters showing that Jew and Gentile alike are under sin,…
Devotional
Exodus 20:1-2 God spoke all these words, saying, "I am Yahweh your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage." WEB Before a single commandment is given, God identifies Himself by what…
Devotional
Philippians 2:9-10 Therefore God also highly exalted him, and gave to him the name which is above every name; that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, those on earth, and those under the…
Biblical concept
Jesus tells Nicodemus that no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again. Birth is something done to a person, which is the force of the image: nobody arranges their own birth. John 3:8 compares it to wind.…
Biblical concept
The prophets use this phrase for a day when God steps into history openly. Amos 5:18 warns Israel not to long for it lightly, because it is darkness and not light for those unprepared. In the New Testament the same…
Word and phrase
Eternal life is more than life that never ends. John 17:3 defines it directly: this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. It is knowing God, not merely surviving…
Biblical concept
To justify in Scripture is a verdict, not a treatment. Romans 8:33 asks who shall bring a charge, and answers that it is God who justifies, which is courtroom language. Romans 3:24 says believers are justified freely…
Biblical concept
Israel began with God as king. Gideon refuses the crown by saying the LORD will rule over you (Judges 8:23), and when the people later demand a king like the nations, God tells Samuel they have not rejected you, they…
Biblical concept
The kingdom of God is God's rule, not a territory. Mark opens the ministry of Jesus with the announcement that the kingdom of God has come near, and calls for repentance and faith as the response. Scripture speaks of…
Biblical concept
Jesus says he is the light of the world, and adds a promise: whoever follows him will not walk in darkness but will have the light of life. Light here is both revelation and direction. In Matthew 5:14 he turns the same…
Place in Scripture
Mountains in Scripture are meeting places. Abraham is sent to a mountain in Moriah, Moses receives the law on Sinai, the temple is built on a hill in Jerusalem, Jesus teaches, is transfigured, prays and is crucified on…
Biblical concept
Redemption is release secured by payment. In Israel a kinsman redeemer could buy back land or a relative sold into slavery, and the price was real. The New Testament uses the same picture. 1 Peter 1:18 says believers…
Biblical concept
Leviticus gives the reason in one sentence: the life of the flesh is in the blood, and God has given it on the altar to make atonement for your souls, for it is the blood that makes atonement by the life (Leviticus…
Biblical concept
Salvation in Scripture is rescue. It begins with God delivering Israel from Egypt and runs through to the New Testament's use of the same word for deliverance from sin, judgement and death. Ephesians 2:8 to 9 states…
Biblical concept
The cross was a Roman method of execution, and it is the place where Jesus died. The Gospels describe the event in careful historical detail: the charge, the soldiers, the nails, the hours, the words he spoke. The New…
Biblical concept
The incarnation is the entry of the eternal Son of God into human life as a real human being. John 1:14 states it in a single sentence: the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory. Philippians 2:6…
Biblical concept
Jesus says he is the true vine and his followers are branches, and that a branch bears fruit only while it stays joined to the vine. Apart from me you can do nothing is the plainest sentence in the passage. The Old…
Christian Living
John 17:3 This is eternal life, that they should know you, the only true God, and him whom you sent, Jesus Christ. WEB john 17 Jesus defines eternal life as knowing God, not merely as living forever. That means eternal…
Christian Living
John 14:15 If you love me, keep my commandments. WEB john 14 Jesus joins love and obedience so tightly that neither can be claimed without the other. Obedience is not how a person earns His favour, it is how love…
Christian Living
Ephesians 2:8-9 for by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, that no one would boast. WEB ephesians 2 Paul removes every ground for boasting in two…
Bible question
John 10:27-30 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they 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…
Bible question
1 Corinthians 15:3-8 For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the…
Bible question
Romans 10:9 that if you will confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. WEB This is the passage where Paul answers the question directly,…
Bible question
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
John 20:28 Thomas answered 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…
Bible question
John 3:3 Jesus answered him, “Most certainly, I tell you, unless one is born anew, he can’t see God’s Kingdom.” WEB Jesus explains this himself, so read his words before ours. John 3:3-8 Jesus answered him, “Most…
Bible question
Ephesians 2:8-9 for by grace you have been saved through faith, and 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…
Bible question
Acts 3:19 “Repent therefore, and turn again, that your sins may be blotted out, so that there may come times of refreshing from the presence of the Lord, WEB Three passages define repentance from three sides: the…
Bible question
1 Corinthians 15:3 For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, WEB The gospel is a message God delivered, so read his wording before ours.…
Bible question
Acts 16:30-31 and brought them out and said, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?" They said, "Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household." WEB The question in the title of this study…
Bible question
John 1:1-3 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him. Without him was not anything made that has been made.…
Bible question
Luke 19:10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save that which 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…
Bible question
Isaiah 53:5 But he was pierced for our transgressions. He was crushed for our iniquities. The punishment that brought our peace was on him; and by his wounds we are healed. WEB God explained the cross before it…
Bible question
1 Corinthians 15:20 But now Christ has been raised from the dead. He became the first fruits of those who are asleep. WEB The resurrection is announced by Scripture before it is explained by anyone. 1 Corinthians…
Bible question
Romans 7:19 For the good which I desire, I don’t do; but the evil which 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…
Bible question
Psalms 2:7 I will tell of the decree. Yahweh said to me, “You are my son. Today I have become your father. WEB The title has a history. Read where it comes from, then hear it spoken over Jesus, then hear how his…
The Sunday Study
Verse-by-verse teaching with historical context, and a prayer to close. Nothing else in the email.