This helps the audience connect what you are speaking on and sharing with them into their every day lives. This paints a picture for them and helps them see where in the next 24 hours this connects to their lives and who they are. It’s useful in preparation because you want to connect what you are saying with your audiences real life,…

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“Explain” is the of connecting the bridge with the audience and your topic, sharing with them why it matters and how it connects broadly to them. “Prove” is sharing the why it matters to them specifically and draws them into the topic or idea no longer in a broad way, but in a personal and thoughtful way. “Apply” is what the audience will do…

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I don’t mind public speaking as a whole if I am prepared and well practiced. I don’t like unprepared public speaking even if it’s sharing your name and something about yourself. My big fear or concerned is to not know where I myself am going in speaking or leading a conversation/topic. If I don’t know where I seem to be leading then the…

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Yes, I think this shapes our individualistic western approach into more wholistic and Jewish reading of scripture. All scripture is meditation literature and that is shaped better when we understand the above truth about what Scripture is and is not.

I think humility is the largest one I need to keep in mind. I have grown up reading the Bible and being taught things from the Bible all my life in church and christian school. I think this pre-assumption I have that I know the Bible well already, becomes a crutch where I then forget to pause and do needed interpretation steps before seeking…

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It gives us some answers to initial questions we might have or get caught up on to better begin understanding our observations and questions as we dig deeper. It also helps us see how the whole of Scripture connects with itself and how it is one big story God is telling about Himself!

I think these are basics for us to know and discover when reading the Bible. These contextual clues really key us in to not read it with our current cultural lenses, but to really take in Scripture as it was first intended to be taken in. These are key steps to good interpretations. We don’t just read the Bible to understand it, we must interpret it!

I have grown up reading and memorizing NIV so it’s what I’m most comfortable with over all. I have really enjoyed Holman Christian Bible for Study and then NLT for devotional reading as well. I will use the NIV translation for this course!

I am taking this course to better dive into Scripture and to understand it in it’s complexity. I also want to learn more about how to understand it to teach others and share those insights with others more.

I think continuing to be able to voice how Christianity is different than other religions is one of my hopes. I have read some good books on this specifically, but want to engage in more open conversations with those of other religions to share the hope and truth of Christ with others. In the work I do with Youth For Christ, I engage with…

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I have found both journaling in prayer and reading scripture while journalling has been helpful practices in my faith walk. I used to journal a lot, but now it is more simple. I also have found going on prayer walks helps my mind focus and heart be free from distractions and worries at busy or stressful times of my life. These things remind me…

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We see how there are different practices of spiritual formation and communication throughout the Bible. God’s Word is a story that speaks to us about who God is, humanity’s purpose and nature, and how that comes together in our lives today as we walk with Jesus. Fellowship with other believers is mentioned throughout the themes of the…

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This is significant in understanding who God is, and God’s heart and nature. If we don’t realize that this is God’s approach to humanity’s mistakes and neglecting of God’s design and words, then we don’t realize that in our own lives when we neglect God’s design and words. God’s nature and character are the greatest things revealed through…

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I think that while God has created and designed us for love and community, we always have a choice, so when we choose selfishly in a moment, this can result in things being unfair or unjust for others. I think we have all been treated unfairly because those around us have chosen to be selfish in different moments. In the same way, when we… Read more

The most wild and specific evidence I see of God’s involvement in Creation and its design is all of the science for the earth’s distance from the sun and meeting all the requirements of sustaining life here on earth amidst the vast list of things that are needed to be a specific way for that to happen. Ecosystems are another thing pointing… Read more

I would think that cultural Christians have been a large part of a negative influence on the world and the church through hypocrisy. I grew up in the church and have had seasons where I had done this and saw many people say “I am a Christian” but that was the only way you knew that they were a Christian. Many people self-identify with their… Read more

The implications are that we don’t believe or hope in the resurrection of all people and for the restoration of all things when Christ returns. Without the reality of Christ’s resurrection from the dead our whole Christian faith lacks the power and credibility that God is a God who restores, redeems, and brings dead things back to life.… Read more

I have had a hard time doubting the historical accuracy of the Bible honestly. I have grown up with a lot of teaching and resources that have helped me see it as historical and truthful. I would say the hardest part of understanding the Scriptures accuracy and truthfulness is the various perspectives of how we may see literal or… Read more

Yes, as a young person who grew up in the church, I often wondered if all we did was just blind faith not really based on something deeper. I think as you grow up you begin to have experience that shape your view of God and view of the world, and for me those experiences began to shape a deeper view of God, and a deeper understanding and faith… Read more

I think the entire history of the Jewish people within and beyond the Old Testament texts are a huge testimony of who God is, why he created the world and humans, and his hope and design for it all. It’s fascinating how much I didn’t hear about this history and even the prophecies in the Torah and Pentateuch growing up in a christian home, but… Read more