Bible Study

Bible Study equips Christians to read, understand, and apply Scripture with clarity and confidence. Explore Bible-based articles on interpreting the text, studying context, asking good questions, and forming habits that help individuals, classes, and small groups grow in God’s Word. You’ll find guidance for using study tools, leading discussion, teaching the Bible, and connecting Scripture to daily life without losing the meaning of the passage. Whether you’re new to studying the Bible or helping others learn, this hub offers practical help for faithful, fruitful Bible study.

October 15, 2011

Christian Standard

Swiss Army Knife or Sword of the Spirit?

By Jim Eichenberger One of the most “handy” passages for condemning behavior we do not like has to be 1 Corinthians 6:19, 20: “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body” (New International Version, 1984). In fact, this verse is like the proverbial Swiss Army knife. It is useful for a variety of occasions! Here is how it works. Are you looking for a way to condemn

September 19, 2011

Christian Standard

Opening His Word, Discovering His Love

By Dave Smith When I reflect on my almost 30 years of following Jesus, God”s Word has always been central. I remember my first feeble attempts at a quiet time. It was 1982, I was a new Christian, and trying to know God through Bible study and prayer felt awkward. But gradually I experienced the reality of communing with God and having his Spirit-empowered Word transform my life. In the spring of 1983, I knew God was calling me to vocational ministry. I still had more than two years left on my Army commitment. During those years, as my wife,

September 15, 2011

Christian Standard

Taking the First Bite Out of Biblical Illiteracy

By Jim Eichenberger An old joke asks, “How do you eat an elephant?” The response, of course, is “One bite at a time.” The church of the early 21st century seems to agree that biblical illiteracy is the elephant on our plate. Anecdotes abound of believers who confuse Abraham of Ur with Abraham Lincoln and who can name all four Beatles but not all four Gospels. How can we call others to the message given to us by God if many of our own brothers and sisters in the faith do not have a good working knowledge of our treasured

September 3, 2011

Christian Standard

Four Special Verses

By Sam E. Stone Out of a lifetime of Bible study, four verses have become especially significant to me over the years. Let me tell you why each is so special.   James 4:15 About halfway through my freshman year at Ozark Bible College, I became very ill. My parents sent a telegram that they would come to Joplin to help, but the message was a puzzle. It concluded with an unusual abbreviation. “Will arrive tomorrow about 6:00 p.m., TLW.” Several student and faculty friends tried to figure it out. Could TLW be short for Trailways Bus? Could it mean

August 20, 2011

Christian Standard

My Favorite Passage

By Tom Ellsworth My favorite passage of Scripture? I hem and haw and generally fumble trying to find the right answer. What about John 3:16? Naw, everyone picks that one””be more original. All right, how about Philippians 4:13? Overused. OK, let”s try the Old Testament””Psalm 23? Did somebody die? That”s a funeral text. Sorry, I”ll say Revelation 3:20. Are you serious? You”re going to pick prophecy as your favorite? The inner deliberation rages while on the outside I try to appear thoughtful and decisive. How does one choose a favorite passage? That”s like asking me to identify which of my

August 12, 2011

Christian Standard

An Embarrassment of Riches (Part 3: The Most Popular Translations)

By Mark S. Krause   Last week we looked at numbers eight through five on the list of top-selling English Bibles. The article included a survey of the presuppositions behind the translations, and their audiences. This week we will look at the top four. As before, we will compare the treatment of Psalm 8:4 and Matthew 16:18 in each version reviewed (see bottom for fuller explanation of our test verses).   4. New Living Translation The New Living Translation (NLT) first appeared in 1996 with a substantial update in 2007. Its roots can be traced to Kenneth Taylor”s The Living

August 3, 2011

Christian Standard

An Embarrassment of Riches (Part 2: Four Popular Translations)

By Mark S. Krause Last week we looked at five factors that shape an English translation of the Bible: interpretation, version genealogy, translation theory, audience, and gender-neutral language. This week and next week, we will take a quick look at eight translations.   Popular English Translations There are too many English translations of the Bible to write about each one, but we will focus on a few. In each case, we will look at the presuppositions behind the translation, its audience, and a couple of test verses: Psalm 8:4 and Matthew 16:18. Psalm 8:4 is well-known for its ringing question,

August 1, 2011

Christian Standard

An Embarrassment of Riches (Part 1: Why Different Translations?)

By Mark S. Krause This year marks the 400th anniversary of the publication of the King James Version, the most famous English Bible translation of all time. The KJV continues to be used in many pulpits and Bible classes. Standard Publishing uses the KJV as the base translation for its enormously popular adult-level Standard Lesson Commentary. In the 19th century, after many years when the KJV was virtually the only version available, changes in English began to build pressure for new translations. KJV words such as thee, thou, hath, hast, wert, and wot were considered archaic. Many desired a Bible

June 26, 2011

Christian Standard

How We Got THIS Bible (Part 2)

By Jon Weatherly The Bible”s history helps us understand why we have this Bible, not a tidier, easier-to-understand, simpler-to-explain Bible. We have the Bible because God acted in history to make himself known, and faithful people responded. What God did and how the faithful responded tells us how the Bible came to be and came to us. The fact that the process happens in history helps us understand why we have the Bible we have, instead of the one that some imagine. Last week, in Part One of this article, we considered how God acted in history. We examined what

June 20, 2011

Christian Standard

How We Got THIS Bible (Part 1)

By Jon Weatherly Where did the Bible come from? Was it delivered by angels to King James I in a leather binding with gilt-edged pages? Was it the product of church councils seeking to squelch dissent? Was it immediately and universally recognized as God”s Word until the recent rise of secular humanism? Today the Bible is the world”s most widely read and widely debated book. We Christians revere it as God”s Word, the full and final authority for what the church believes and does. But the Bible is not necessarily what people expect in God”s Word. It has many sections

June 12, 2011

Christian Standard

Sustained by the Word

By Kay Moll I was 22 years old. My husband of eight months had left our home in Illinois to travel to Homecoming at Johnson Bible College in Tennessee early on a snowy February morning with five teenagers from the small congregation we were serving in Illinois. A small group of us from the church had prayed with them for safety on the trip and watched them drive away. A little while later I went to the junior high school where I was teaching English and history and began my workday. Around 10:00 a.m., a fellow teacher stuck her head

June 8, 2011

Christian Standard

Read the Bible

By Jon Weece Of all the books our children will read in their lifetimes, none will prove more valuable than the Bible. But the Bible has been exiled from far too many Christian homes. I love to read. Always have and probably always will. When I was in the third grade my older brother, Jud, introduced me to the book My Side of the Mountain. It chronicled the life of a boy who ran away from home and lived in a hollowed-out tree in the Catskill Mountains of New York. At the age of 9, I did not possess the

June 3, 2011

Christian Standard

Questions After a Dinner

By Mark A. Taylor Why attend a retirement dinner? To honor the retiree, of course. He (or she) is the focus when speakers describe accomplishments, tell a few funny stories to show his human side, and present a gift from admirers who have gathered to congratulate him. All that happened at the last retirement dinner I attended. But since then I”ve decided the greatest benefit of a retirement dinner may not come to the person or couple retiring, but to everyone else at the party. We hear the accolades and wonder, What will people say about me when I get

May 19, 2011

Christian Standard

If You Want to Know God, Immerse Yourself in the Psalms

By Barry McCarty Like most Christians, I have always loved the book of Psalms. It was the first hymnbook of the early Christians and the hymnbook and prayer book of the Jews. Jesus died with the words of the Psalms on his lips. After his resurrection, he told his disciples: “Everything written about me in the law of Moses, the prophets, and the psalms must be fulfilled” (Luke 24:44, New Revised Standard Version, author”s emphasis). No other book of the Old Testament is so often quoted in the New. It is a storehouse of messianic prophecies that the first Christian

May 17, 2011

Christian Standard

More than Teacups . . . a Plea for Biblical Literacy

By Megan Gariss I was in elementary school during the mid-1990s when “Magic Eye” posters were all the rage. As you may remember, these posters produced three-dimensional images out of two-dimensional patterns. For some in my class, seeing the image was no problem””they could simply glance at the poster and quickly discern the hidden 3-D image. However, for most of the class, myself included, viewing the image was hard work. We all had different methods of looking at the “Magic Eye” poster, each guaranteed to help the viewer discover the 3-D image””be it a penguin on a raft or the

May 2, 2011

Christian Standard

Lesson for May 8, 2011: Perpetual Praise (Revelation 4)

This week”s treatment of the International Sunday School Lesson (for May 8 ) is written by Tom May who serves with Eastside Christian Church in Jeffersonville, Indiana. ____________ Perpetual Praise (Revelation 4) By Thomas May Revelation 4 provides another of many transitions in the final book of the Bible. John is given a glimpse of the end of time. Picture someone looking at a two-sided coin. On one side, John sees images of God with his people, protecting and encouraging regardless of the apparent circumstances of life; and on the other side are inscriptions of the judgment that will come

April 25, 2011

Christian Standard

Lesson for May 1, 2011: Be Like Jesus (Philippians 2:1-11)

This week”s treatment of the International Sunday School Lesson (for May 1) is written by Lise Caldwell, a freelance writer living in Indianapolis, Indiana. ____________ Be Like Jesus (Philippians 2:1-11) By Lise Caldwell To paraphrase A Christmas Carol, I am a famously competitive person: to begin with. This must be distinctly understood, or nothing wonderful can come of the story I am going to relate. My husband loves to tell the tale of the time I mercilessly defeated a 12-year-old girl in a game of Scene It at Walt Disney World in order to win Electronic-Banking Monopoly, a game he

April 18, 2011

Christian Standard

Lesson for April 24, 2011: Go and Tell (Matthew 28)

This week”s treatment of the International Sunday School Lesson (for April 24) is written by David Eichenberger who serves with the Hillview Community Christian Church in Louisville, Kentucky. ____________ Go and Tell (Matthew 28) By David Eichenberger (Note to teachers: The italicized sections are questions designed to help involve your students in the learning process.) We humans have a way with words; the ability to speak makes us different from all other forms of life. We tend to tell others about information and events that stimulate our minds and emotions. It comes as no surprise, then, that when we are

April 11, 2011

Christian Standard

Lesson for April 17, 2011: Praise the Lord (Mark 11:1-11)

This week”s treatment of the International Sunday School Lesson (for April 17) is written by Tim Turner who serves with Christ”s Church in Winterville, North Carolina. ____________ Praise the Lord (Mark 11:1-11) By Tim Turner Can you imagine the anticipation of knowing everything you”ve lived for and prepared for was just hours away? My wife and I just celebrated our 20th anniversary by going on our first cruise. I must confess my excitement as I anticipated the experience””and it lived up to its billing. I was eager for time alone with my wife and to see the exotic places we

April 4, 2011

Christian Standard

Lesson for April 10, 2011: Remember the Warnings (Jude 17-25)

This week”s treatment of the International Sunday School Lesson (for April 10) is written by David Ray who serves with Christ”s Church at Mason (Ohio). ____________ Remember the Warnings (Jude 17-25) By David Ray Jude advised his readers to remember what the apostles predicted (v. 17). But the core of the problem was people were forgetting (or ignoring) both the apostles” authoritative word and their clear warning. The apostles had said, “In the last times there will be scoffers who will follow their own ungodly desires” (v. 18). Peter warned, just as Israel had its “lying prophets,” so “there will

Help Keep Christian Standard Free & Accessible with a Tax Deductible Donation

We can do more together!

Every gift makes a difference!

No, thank you.
100% secure transactions - receipts provided.
Does Your Church Want to Support Christian Standard?

Would your church consider including support for Christian Standard in its annual missions budget? Your support would help us not only continue the 160-year legacy of this unifying ministry, but also expand the free resources, cooperative opportunities, and practical guidance we provide to strengthen churches in the U.S. and around the world.

We can do more together!

Every gift makes a difference!

No, thank you.
100% secure transactions - receipts provided.
Secret Link