Tag: bible study

baby geese bsf (bible study fellowship) www.atozmomm.com

Don’t Quit BSF

by atozmom, posted in Bible Study Fellowship (BSF)

Hey all!

Right about now is the time many people leave BSF (Bible Study Fellowship).

This is for many reasons:

  • Life gets busy
  • You lack time
  • You are being taken out of your comfort zone by God
  • Doing your BSF lessons is daunting
  • The Bible passages are too long
  • You are struggling and bitter against God
  • The weather is cold
  • It’s just “one more thing to do”
  • And dozens of other reasons

I’m here to tell you that I’m feeling this way, too. Thirty weeks of Bible Study is hard, rough, challenging, and tiring. You are growing with God, but you often don’t feel like you are. And, in the midst of life’s struggles, sometimes we don’t want to hear from God (when that’s exactly the time we need to hear from Him).

But, despite all of this, hang in there. You’ll get over the hump, and you’ll be glad you stuck with it.

Go to class without your lesson completed. Soak up the lecture. Or, do your lesson and skip class and the lecture for a week if getting out is too hard.

Whatever you do, just keep at it. God will reward your work!

Contact me today!

how long is bible study fellowship www.atozmomm.com

How Long is Bible Study Fellowship?

by atozmom, posted in Bible Study Fellowship (BSF)

“How long is Bible Study Fellowship?”

Bible Study Fellowship now runs for 30 weeks and follows the school year. In the United States, the first BSF classes begin the week after Labor Day. There is a three-week break for Christmas and a one-week break for Spring Break, which varies depending on your BSF group.

This is different in other countries. Many begin in late August, and those in the Southern Hemisphere begin the BSF study about half-way through ours due to their different seasons.

The BSF classes themselves run approximately two hours. This includes group discussion and lecture.

In the past, BSF was 32 weeks and was 2.5 hours long. However, 2.5 hours is a long time for young children, and students at night would get home really late. Thirty weeks gives a bit more of a break during the summer, too.

Contact me with questions!

5 tips to ready the bible when you don't have time atozmomm.com bible study

5 Tips to Study the Bible When You Have Little Time

by atozmom, posted in Studying the Bible

Most of us have no time anymore, even with COVID concerns. It seems that the days, while chugging along, are always filled. So how do you study the Bible in the midst of personal chaos?

5 TIPS TO STUDY THE BIBLE WHEN YOU HAVE NO TIME

  1. Listen to the Bible. If you drive anywhere (which is the vast majority of us), you can listen to the Bible while in the car. Even if you are only driving five minutes to the grocery store. Any time with God is better than no time with God.
  2. Pick a Bible verse and memorize it. There are so many good (and short) Bible verses to memorize, and it takes very little time. Choose one every week, and you’ll be surprised at how much you’ve memorized of the Bible.
  3. Put Bible verses around your home. This can be on whiteboards, on the fridge, on your bathroom mirror, on your BBQ grill, and on your home gym. Sticky notes fit anywhere!
  4. Pray. When you pray, you don’t need anything — only a heart right for God. It’s that simple.
  5. Decide to read the Bible for 5 minutes every day. That’s it! We all have 5 minutes to spare, so just do it!

I hope you’ve enjoyed these quick tips to help you study the Bible when you have no time. Contact me today with questions!

Bible Study Tools: What Does it Mean to Be a Servant of God?

by atozmom, posted in Studying the Bible

In this second part of our series on what does it mean to serve, we’ll take a look at a few more meanings of this elusive term. Contact me with questions!

WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE A SERVANT OF GOD?

  • A servant does his master’s work. The servant performs God’s work for God, or on God’s behalf. We carry out God’s will and labor for Him willingly. Paul said, “I will most gladly spend and be spent for your souls.” (2 Corinthians 12:15).
  • A servant follows his master. Where God leads, you go through green pastures and dark valleys. He takes up his cross (Luke 9:23) to remain pure in an evil world.
  • A servant is satisfied with what his master pays. We are content with what God has given us in this world. We don’t grumble.
  • A servant defends the honor of his master. A servant defends God and speaks up for Him to others.

Hopefully, this will give you more of an ideas of what a servant of God is. Contact AToZMomm with questions!

Bible Study Tools: What Does it Mean to Be a Servant?

by atozmom, posted in Studying the Bible

We are called to be servants of God. But what exactly does that mean? In this blog post, I’ll dive into that question. Contact me today!

WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE A SERVANT OF GOD?

  • A servant serves one master. When we’re called to be servants of God, it means that we serve only one master: God. We let go of our sins, and we joyfully use our lives for God. In the end, we’ll have eternal life (Romans 6:22).
  • A servant follows God, not himself. We are to do God’s bidding, not our own. Servants listen for God’s voice, and follow it.
  • A servant is bound to his master, in this case, God. Through our faith and baptism, we have promised ourselves to God — a promise we cannot break.

Being a servant of God is not easy. Stay tuned for our next blog post for more on being a servant of God, and contact AToZMomm with questions.

Bible Study Plans: What is My Responsibility as a Believer?

by atozmom, posted in Studying the Bible

Responsibility these days is hard to find. No one wants to take any. That’s why when asked what is your responsibility as a believer, many Christians have no idea what that is. In this blog post by AtoZMomm, we’ll answer that question for you. Contact me with questions!

YOUR RESPONSIBILITY AS A BELIEVER

  • Unwavering belief in Jesus as the Son of God and in his resurrection and death for our sins.
  • “Standing firm, letting nothing move us” and “always giving ourselves full to the work of the Lord” (1 Corinthians 15:58)
  • If we have no eternal home or earthly ramifications then we will be “tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming” (Ephesians 4:14).
  • God has given us everything; we need to give to him everything in return.

WORK FOR THE LORD AND AS HE LEADS

Until the Lord returns, there are souls to reach and ministries of every sort to be performed. We are responsible for our money, time, energy, talents, gifts, bodies, minds, and spirits, and we should invest in nothing that does not in some way contribute to the work of the Lord. James tells us, “As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead” (James 2:26).

We are to work for the Lord always and faithfully. Our work is eternal benefits in heaven.

“Since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving” (Colossians 3:24).

Contact me today!

Bible Study Plans: Best Bible Scholars Part 4

by atozmom, posted in Studying the Bible

We’ve been taking a look at influential Bible scholars of the past. Here’s the last post in our series. Contact AToZMomm with questions!

INFLUENTIAL BIBLE SCHOLARS OF OUR TIMES

  • Francis of Assisi (1182-1226). Perhaps best known as the priest who loved animals, Francis of Assisi was one of the primary influences of orders within the Catholic church. He is a saint who founded the Franciscan orders and is credited with setting up the first live nativity scene.
  • Jerome or Saint Jerome (347-420). Saint Jerome’s primary contribution to Christianity is translating the Bible into Latin (the version known as the Vulgate, which was the official Bible of the Catholic Church throughout the Middle Ages), and he wrote commentaries on the Bible.
  • Teresa of Avila (1515-1582). Teresa of Avila was a nun who reformed the Carmelite Orders. She wrote extensively on Christian mysticism and meditation and was an apologist for Catholicism
  • Karl Barth (1886-1968). Karl Barth was a Swiss Reformed theologian who is most well known for his landmark The Epistle to the Romans and his five volume theological summa the Church Dogmatics. He is the father of “neo-orthodoxy” and influential in the movement to reject theological liberalism.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this series on Bible scholars as much as I have. Contact AToZMomm with questions!

Bible Study Plans: Best Bible Scholars Part 3

by atozmom, posted in Studying the Bible

In our continuing blog series, we’ll take a look at more influential Bible scholars. Contact AToZMomm with questions!

MORE INFLUENTIAL BIBLE SCHOLARS

  • C.S. Lewis (1898-1963). C.S. Lewis is best known for his Chronicles of Narnia series, a children’s books series that uses another world and fantasy high-adventure story as a metaphor for God and man. However, he is widely regarded as the best Christian apologists of his time, which is someone who defends Christianity against objections.
  • Jonathan Edwards (1703-1758). Jonathan Edwards was an American revivalist preacher, philosopher, and Congregationalist Protestant theologian. Edwards is widely regarded as one of the America’s most important and original philosophical theologians, focusing on determination and harmony. Best known for his sermon “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God,” he wrote many books and was responsible for revivals in the church. He was also the grandfather of Aaron Burr, America’s third Vice President.
  • John Milton (1608-1674). Best known for Paradise Lost, John Milton wrote poetry and polemic writings that have had a great deal of influence on theology. He served under Cromwell and spoke and wrote many  languages
  • John Knox (1513-1572). John Knox founded the Presbyterian Church in Scotland. He helped lead Scotland’s Protestant Reformation and contributed greatly to the Book of Common Prayer. He was King Edward VI’s royal chaplain until Mary I rose to the throne when Kind Edward died.

Just reading some of these men’s select writings is fascinating and worthy of your time. Contact me with questions!

Bible Study Plans: Best Bible Scholars Part 2

by atozmom, posted in Studying the Bible

In our continuing look at the most influential Bible scholars of all time, AtoZMomm‘s blog will examine five more. Contact me with questions!

MORE INFLUENTIAL BIBLE SCHOLARS OF ALL TIME

  • John Wesley (1703-1791). One of the most practical theologians of all time, John Wesley is a controversial pick for an influential scholar mainly because most of his work is based on his life experiences as a deep lover of God and Christ. Responsible for the Methodist movement, John Wesley also penned amazing hymns that are still popular today, such as Christ, the Lord Has Risen Today and Depth of Mercy, Can it Be.
  • Charles H. Spurgeon (1834-1892).  One of my personal favorites was Charles Spurgeon. He was an English Baptist preacher. He published copious amounts of work, including his sermons. A powerful speaker, he held audiences spellbound and is responsible for untold number of converts. His Treasury of David commentary on the book of Psalms is unparalleled.
  • Carl Friedrich Keil (1807-1888).  Carl Keil, along with Franz Delitzsch, wrote one the most comprehensive commentaries on the Old Testament that is still used today. They explain the origin of sin versus free will beautifully.
  • Franz Delitzsch (1819-1890). Franz Delitzsch, along with Carl Keil, wrote one the most comprehensive commentaries on the Old Testament that is still used today. See their commentary for the origin of sin versus free will analysis.
  • Martyn Lloyd-Jones (1899-1981). A physician turned preacher, Martyn Lloyd-Jones was a great expository preacher and wrote an amazing commentary on the book of Romans.

These Bible scholars wrote amazing works that we all could use to further our study of the Bible. Contact me with questions!

Bible Study Plans: Best Bible Scholars Part 1

by atozmom, posted in Studying the Bible

When you study the Bible, it’s helpful to read what God has revealed to others. Different ideas and perspectives can spur your own Bible study and take you deeper in God’s Word. In this blog post, we’ll go over some of the best Bible scholars you can use to aid your Bible study journey. Contact AtoZMomm with questions!

BEST BIBLE SCHOLARS

  • Athanasius of Alexandria (298-373). Most of  you have probably never heard of Athanasius of Alexandria before. However, without him, there might be many different beliefs about God. He was one of the first to argue for the Trinity, his writings inspired the monastic movement in the Middle Ages, he put together the 27 books of the New Testament, but most importantly, he was the primary author of the Nicene Creed, which put down in writing the beliefs that Jesus and the Apostles taught to eliminate questions of what was acceptable and was was not in the new Christian movement.
  • St Augustine of Hippo (354-430). It’s helpful when studying the Bible to look at the saints, as most made significant contributions to theology (the study of God and religious beliefs). St. Augustine of Hippo was one of the first Christians outside of the Apostles to help further the teachings of Jesus in a time when writings were few and far between. He converted to Christianity and made the most influence in his writings refuting the idea that man did not God to be saved and that man is inherently good. He was the first to advocate the idea of a just war and his theology formed the foundation of the practices of the Roman Catholic Church.
  • Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274). A philosopher as well as a theologian, Thomas Aquinas was one of the first to look for rational proofs of the existence of God. He believed that Faith and Reason led to truly knowing God, and he greatly influenced the idea of mortal and venial sins.
  • John Calvin (1509-1564). John Calvin taught that scripture must interpret scripture, that God is sovereign in salvation, and used the Covenant as the organizing principle of theology. Many churches and denominations, including Calvinism, use John Calvin as the chief expositor of their beliefs.
  • Matthew Henry (1662-1714). An English Presbyterian pastor, Matthew Henry is famous for his commentaries on the entire Bible (which we’ve discussed here), which cover every verse in detail. His commentaries are lauded for being insightful, thought-provoking, and practical in application. Those who have read all of his commentaries say they are life-changing.

These are just some of the many Bible scholars who have influenced many and helped countless others in their walk with God and Christ. Stay tuned for more Bible scholars who have left a major impact on theology. Contact me today!